Yakattack

Compared to Seattle and Portland, there aren't a whole lot of craft beer options in this part of the world. I saw one called "Lazy Yak" at the bottle shop, and decided to give it a try. Only after I gave the label a more in-depth read did I realize that the name of the beer is derived from the growing region of the hops used in the beer: the Yakima Valley! I think of all the times I drove through those hop fields in unincorporated Yakima County to get to my piano lessons, and am a little bit amazed that they made it all the way to Sydney. The beer wasn't half bad, either.

1st Day of Summer

It's a hot one! Unfortunately my building overcompensated with the air conditioning and I'm currently freezing at work.

Wipeout!

I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised when a Christmas tree appeared in the lobby of my building on Monday. With the weather heating up (and no Thanksgiving holiday to celebrate), Australia is well and truly in holiday mode at the moment.

While an evergreen tree propped up in an office building in warm weather looks ridiculous to me, I do appreciate other unique ways in which the Southern Hemisphere celebrates Christmas. If it’s too hot to sit in front of the fire wearing an actual ugly Christmas sweater, why not purchase an ugly Christmas sweater rashguard?

Tassie

When I first moved to Australia, I imagined living in Sydney for a few months, saving some money, and then spending a bit of time travelling to all of the places I wanted to see: The Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Tasmania and New Zealand. Obviously I haven’t done all of that, but I was very happy to have the chance to spend four days last week in Hobart. Tasmania reminds me a little bit of New Zealand – the air is cool and crisp, the scenery is green, and there is water everywhere. We arrived in Hobart in the morning, and had time to drive up to the top of Mt. Wellington just outside of town. It’s about 4,000 feet above sea level, and while there was no snow at the summit, there were a few clouds hanging around the mountain. Luckily they would shift every now and then, and it was possible to get a glimpse of the amazing view down into Hobart.

The Hobart airport is similar in size to the Yakima airport.

Top of Mt. Wellington

Top of Mt. Wellington

The main activity for Day 2 to was to see Port Arthur, a former convict settlement located about an hour and a half outside of Hobart. In spite of a few school groups who were visiting for the day, Port Arthur is still very eerie and quiet after all of these years. We went on a river boat tour past the former boys’ prison where children as young as nine served time, as well as the Isle of the Dead, a cemetery where prisoners and officers are buried. Port Arthur was also the site of a horrific mass shooting in the 1990s, which prompted Australia to enact strict gun control laws. Despite its terrible history, it is an incredible outdoor museum with very well-preserved buildings and gardens, and it was one of the most interesting parts of the trip.

Port Arthur from the wharf

View from the hill behind the old penitentiary

Day 3 was uncharacteristically hot for Tasmania – 30 degrees Celsius (86 F). It was a beautiful day to catch the ferry to Bruny Island, where we drove to a narrow sand spit connecting the north and south parts of the island. After climbing the stairs to the lookout, we went searching for penguins, who use the beach as a nesting ground. I saw plenty of little penguin footprints going to and from the water, but no birds – the weather was a bit hot, and we were there at midday, which isn’t an ideal time to see them. On the way back to the ferry I stopped in at Bruny Island Cheese Company and consoled myself with a massive cheese plate.

Bruny Island

Penguin footprints at Bruny Island

The last day in Hobart, Hayden and I parted ways so that I could go see MONA (Museum of Old and New Art), and he could go do something that wasn’t complete torture for him. I took the fancy ferry out to the museum first thing in the morning, and was absolutely blown away by the place. The exhibitions range from ancient Egyptian sarcophaguses to a hallway decorated with plaster moulds of 70 different women’s vaginas. After I got back into the city, we enjoyed a few beers at the historic Salamanca Place district of Hobart before an early flight back to Sydney.

Ferry to MONA - note the artsy sheep looking out over the water

Central Perk

After a very long wait, Australia was finally introduced to Netflix this year. I haven’t gotten a subscription, but from what I hear there are fewer shows and movies offered in the Australian catalogue than the American one. I’m not exactly sure why, but I imagine it’s probably for the same reason that digital downloads on iTunes cost more in Australia for no apparent reason.

One alternative to Netflix that is available here now is Stan, and to attract new customers they are making every episode of Friends – a show that has been off the air for over a decade – available to new subscribers. Every day on my to work this week, I walked past “Central Perk”, a re-creation of the coffee shop from the show, where the friends would meet to discuss Ross and Rachel’s most recent breakup, or Phoebe’s evil twin sister, or Joey’s acting career, etc.

They were giving out free coffee to market the service, but the line was so long I didn’t bother. I probably won’t bother getting Netflix until we’re back in America, either – but it’s not a bad idea as far as marketing gimmicks go!

Adios, Abbott

Last night, Tony Abbott got ousted as Prime Minister, making Malcolm Turnbull the 5th Prime Minister that Australia has had in 5 years.

Tony Abbott sporting his famous budgie smugglers in happier times. 

Not only was Tony Abbott the PM, he was also the Minister for Women (self-appointed), so needless to say I'm feeling a bit lost without him.

Flat White

Typically I make my own coffee at home, but every now and then I like to order a fancier drink at a cafe on my way to work. When I do this I typically stick to cappuccinos, because I don’t want to waste $4 on a drink I don’t even like. Today I finally got around to trying one of Australia’s proudest inventions: the Flat White.

I’d always been curious to try this drink, but not really curious enough to deviate from cappuccinos or lattes. The name sounded kind of gross – I like foam, so why would I want to drink scalding, flat milk? It also didn’t help that I’d asked several Australian people to describe exactly what a flat white is, and they never really could give me a definitive answer. “It’s like a latte, but the foam is different”, “It’s sort of like a café au lait...I think?” and “It’s similar to a cappuccino, but stronger” are explanations I’ve heard over the last four years.

Having now tried one, I can say for certain: It’s a latte. It’s nice, but it’s just a latte.