The three busiest weeks of the year

The last 3 weeks were probably the busiest ones for me in the past year. My sister and her boyfriend came to visit and stayed with us during their travels, so I got to do a bunch of activities that I was holding off from until they would be here.

During the first week, Claude came by herself. I showed her around the city and the beaches, we went to Melbourne, saw the "Fairy Penguins" (they are sensitive and sometime prefer being called "Little Penguins") and we had some surfing lessons so that we could be pros by the time Nick arrived.

The next week when Nick arrived, we did as many Sydney things as we could. The Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, the zoo, beaches, pubs, cafés, shops, etc. Claude and Nick also took 2 day trips to visit the Hunter Valley and the Blue Mountains.

And the last week was one of the most idyllic ones I've lived. We packed a car with 3 surf boards and our things and headed down the coast to Jervis Bay and Shellharbour for a week of surfing, beaching, sun-bathing, exploring, relaxing, eating and drinking. Luckily, the weather warmed up by then and summer finally started so that we could all work on our tans!

Claude and Nick are already back home and I sure miss having them around to play Hearts after dinner but I know I'll see them again soon.

And now, only 3 more weeks to go and I have to get ready for the cold. Next week, I will be in Brisbane for my first real Aussie Christmas, complete with seafood and lounging by the pool.

What can one do before noon on a sunny day?

This Saturday, we woke up early (6:30am) and met up with our jet-lagged friend Dave for an early morning walk and swim at the beach, followed by breakie and coffee by the Harbour.

This weekend was the start of Sculpture by the Seas and last year, my friend Emma went with my boyfriend and I was jealous of all her pictures. This year though, I got to see it for myself. Sculptures by the Sea is a 2-week event where there are about 100 sculptures scattered from Bronte to Bondi beach. Most of them are obvious, but a few are a little bit harder to find.

The day's weather was perfect for this, and a swim in the ocean was well deserved after walking from Bronte to Bondi and back all before breakfast. After breakie, we went back to Dave's place for coffees with a view. I would say more about this but the pictures are much prettier than my words.

It's been a while!

I know, I know...it's been a really long time since I've last posted anything. Don't worry, I'm still alive and doing well. I've just been a bit busy and a lot has happened in the last few months. Before getting into a quick recap of all the wonderful things I've been up to, a bit of news:

I'm moving back to the motherland in January - or frozen waste-land as my boyfriend likes to say!! We will be living in Montreal so that I can find a job in a more creative environment and so that the man can enjoy as much hockey as he can. He's already gotten into the habit of wearing his Habs jersey on days when there is a game. Yes, he even wears it at work, and he's wearing it at this very moment.

Back to the recap of the last few months:

My birthday was spent in the Hunter Valley. We had heaps and heaps of wine, good food and I had fun swimming outside in the middle of winter :) Shortly after, I landed a new job, being a wine sales rep, which now makes every day feeling like my birthday again!

August was a quiet month where I worked, figured out if I was to go back to Canada or stay here, enjoying spending time with friends and discovery even more hidden treasures in Sydney. I've also let go a little bit of the blog I was doing aside this one about writing and communications. It's not that I've let go of the idea completely. It's more that before getting back into it, I want to have a better direction for it.

In September, we went to Melbourne for a week of cafés, secret bars, graffiti and shopping for me. We were there during the 1st Grand Final and it was quite the affair. The Grand Final here is the equivalent of the Stanley Cup, but if the game ends with a matching score, instead of having overtime or an "shoot-out", the game stops there and they have to re-do it all over again the following week. It's all anyone could talk about for the rest of the week!

And now, it's October and the month is almost over. I've been to the Noodle Night markets, have stored away most of my big jumpers and coats and have taken out my shorts, skirts and dresses. I've already been to the beach 3 times in the last 2 weeks only and am planning for more and more time by the sea. I've done a day-long surf course to help me get back into it and managed to stand up on my first wave. I've even graduate to using a smaller board :)

In the next few weeks, I am attending my first "Network Canada" event as a volunteer for the Halloween party, my friend Penny from London is visiting for a couple of week and then both my sister and her boyfriend are coming to stay with us for 3 weeks. I promise to keep this going, because the next few months should be exciting.

Until next time!
mp

Wine snobs

Since arriving in Sydney, I have learned quite a few new things about my boyfriend. I already knew he liked wine, but it took living in the same country to realize that he's more on the side of wine snobism, than simple a wine amateur would be. And living in the same household as a wine snob, I can't help myself but to slowly become one myself. In our home, we have:

• One tasting chart on the fridge to help us describe what we taste
• Two casks of wine (one white, on red) for evening when it's just the two of us
• Two wine bottle openers and bottle stoppers
• About 20 or so bottles stored in a cupboard so they can either age, or wait for special occasions

We love our wine! And so, in the past week, we've had quite some fun doing wine-related activities.

First up, mulled wine. It is winter here in Australia which is relative considering that the coldest it's been is well above zero, but I do get very cold regardless and so a good cup of warm red wine was on the menu last weekend. We had just been having drinks with friends in Sydney's oldest pub (Lord Nelson) and on the way home we stumbled on the The Rocks Markets by Moonlight. We could not resist.

People warming up next to  a fire in a metal bin. Keep it classy Sydney.

Me and my mulled wine...and yes, a scarf and a coat in the middle of June!

This past weekend, cousins from Brisbane came to visit. They were in town to celebrate their wedding anniversary and shared an evening with my boyfriend and I, once again in the Rocks where we made a new discovery: Wine Odyssey. It's a tasting room/restaurant/permanent wine show.

There, you can get a card that you put in one of the machines closest to the wine you want to taste and you have a choice of selecting a taste, a half-glass or a full glass. There is a wide variety of Australian and international wines to taste that range form $3  to $28 for a taste. The $28 taste is for the Penfold's Grange, one of the most expensive and supposedly delicious wine on the planet. Once you are done with your tasting, you give the cards back and the total amount is tallied up, so for the same cost as 2 glasses in other bars, you can taste about 6 or so if you stick to the lower price range.

My handsome wine snob boyfriend. He's even got a wine tasting grin.

 

I was staring at the Penfold's Grange, amazed by the price for a taste. $28!!!

Life in the land of (F)unemployement

I've rarely ever been unemployed for more than 3 weeks. I've always managed to jump from coop-job, to uni semester, to contract job, to full-time work and so on. And now, I think I know why. It still hasn't been a total of 3 weeks yet, and I already have had enough things on my plate to keep me busy and get me out of the house every day for one reason or another. It's almost as if all this free time just means that it's the perfect opportunity to cram as much as I can into my days with things I day-dream of doing when I work in a cube.

Unemployed or self-employed?

During the last week, my life has changed a bit. What’s happened is that I no longer work at the bakery. I had known for a little while that I would end up wanting a change of work, but it all happened much faster than I thought, without any other seriously good job prospect in sight, and it ended on of sour note.

Walking home that day, I was talking to my boyfriend about how the events of the day turned out and the conversation ended with him telling me something along the lines of “Welcome to your first day of full-time freelancing!"

Time flies by...

I can't believe it's almost been a month since I've last posted anything. And it's not for lack of new things to talk about. I've just been busy so I'll do a quick round-up of the latest activities.

Playing with food

When I left, I only got to bring 3 suitcases with me and I allowed myseld to fill one with random stuff that was not necessary but I knew I'd like to have with me. One of those things is my book "Hello Cupcake!" that I got as a gift a few Christmases ago (Merci Nat!).

Around the world

What do you do with a ping-pong table, one ball and about 10-15 players? You can have a tournament where everyone waits for their turn, or you can play "Around the world" where everyone plays at once.

The rules go as follows:

1. Things have to keep moving, and each person gets one shot at hitting the ball before letting the next person take over.
2. You have three chances to "loose" and then you are O-U-T.
3. The last 2 players duel with a best 2 out of 3.

That's it. Nothing too complicated and heaps more fun than waiting out your turn at a traditional ping-pong tournament.

Happy Easter Bilby Day?

Right when I am starting to feel like Sydney is my second home again (I haven't gotten lost in over a month now) and I'm getting used to being in a different country (I can safely drive on the left side of road with my bike), I learn about new things that remind me I haven't been in the World of Oz for that long.

On Easter morning, as my boyfriend and I were sharing a Lindt chocolate bunny, I asked him if he ever thought it was weird to celebrate a holiday that is so much centered on the whole Jebus thing, and so re-birth, spring, bunnies, chicks, flowers, etc. while here, the days are getting shorter and colder because it's autumn. His answer: "I never really thought about it that way, but I guess that does explain the bunnies. I never really understood the bunny thing but it would make sense. We have Easter bilbies here instead". Me: "An Easter bilby? What's a bilby?"

Love is in the mountain's air

It's been a while since my last post. What can I say? life is a bit normal here and my love and I are slowly getting in a regular mode of work, spending time at home, hanging out with friends. Last weekend however, we got a break from our routine and attended the wedding of friends in the Blue Mountains.

A weekend spent in the Blue Mountains was my present 4 years ago, and I have to say that nothing much in Leura and Katoomba has changed much since. The air was so crisp and refreshing and it was nice to see greenery all around. Some of the trees were even changing colours because here, it's the start of autumn. I believe it made us a bit giddy for our stay. Or maybe it was because we were there for love? Who knows!

Future Music and smelly bodies

In the last week, I was lucky enough to attend 2 music shows (and a movie as part of the Sydney French Film Festival).

My progress on the "no-cube-for-a-year" resolution

Most of you already know of my 2010 resolution which is to stay out of the cube for a least a year to try out all the job I wish I had done, and try new things. One of them, I had done a bit of in the past, but wanted to spend a bit more time doing this year. With the baking now underway, I still have plenty of time to work on other adventures. Today, I'm talking about......freelance writing.

Busy Bee

For the last week or so, I've been following what seems to be my new routine and it's been keeping me busy. Here are a few highlights from the past week or so.

1) I get around.....on a bike!!! It's a folding one just like I wanted so that I can lift it more easily when I get back home to our 3rd floor apartment (no elevators). With the super low bar, I can also wear dresses and skirts with it, which means I use it at night when meeting up with friends for drinks. I need a name for it so if you have any suggestions, send them my way.

Will work for cake

I've told a few people about my new job, but left it a little vague because I wanted to make sure I liked it and that my boss would like me. I think it's time to let you all know where I work.

I've manage to stay away from the cube (my resolution for 2010 - spending a year away from office work), and did a complete change of career by becoming a baker. Have a look at my new "office":

I like my sushi raw

Last night, Rowan and I went for a late sushi dinner not too far from our house at a place called Sushi Suma. I've been told about this place so many times (and confused it for another one called Jazzushi where they sometimes have jazz bands playing while you eat) but we had yet to go because the mission was to go with Rowan's friend Dave.

Four years later

I first set foot downunder just a little under 4 years ago. Since then, some things have changed, but a lot has also stayed the same which has been quite a relief because basic things, like finding the closest grocery store, are much easier this time around.

The one things that is probably the most different, is the place where I live. It is not the student residence I used to live in, and I like so much more. Here are a few pictures of my new home.

If you come visit, remember our door number (and buzzer number), is 6. When people come into our building, they get confused, because our buzzer is the fourth one, and you go buy apartment 4, and then 2 before getting to ours. Apartment 5 is after ours.