This past week we somehow managed to hit up six or seven different restaurants and bars around Sydney with various friends and such. I thought I'd take a minute to do a quick re-cap:
-The Wine Library: Why wasn't this in Paddington when we lived there? It's an inviting bar that is much bigger than it seems on the outside with a cool back room and outdoor area. The food and overall vibe was great -- loved the sweet potato crisps, cheese, bresiola with tomato and mozerella. Here's the SMH review
-Opium Den: Yummy thai food in Potts Point and man the service was quick (or maybe b/c we were there on the early side). I also really like the big communal table and dark/rich decor. Plus the prices were just as good as any thai take-out joint. I don't really do the club thing, but would be a great place to eat before heading out in the Cross or that area.
-Vamps: We've eaten here a few times and I love the cozy/local vibe it has. And I just love LOVE five ways. Plus it's BYO, so you can get a great french bistro meal and have equally good wine without breaking the bank. Although, don't go here for quiet conversation - it gets very loud on the weekends. There was a massive birthday party group sitting right next to us the other night.
-10 William St: I was so happy to stumble across this cute wine bar on William Street in Paddington. It's a bit no nonsense with wine and food selections on a giant chalkboard and very minimal decor. The waiter had great suggestions for wine and dessert. I had a canoli with chocolate and cherries - yum! The London definitely has some competition now.
-Bloodwood: Had delicious food and microbrews here on Sunday night. It's a relatively new restaurant in Newtown and I was diggin' it! Really funky, yet cool decor (door panels on the ceiling and exposed lightbulbs..hard to describe). The food options include small plates and then a few mains to choose from. I'd suggest eating family style and trying as much as you can. We enjoyed the polenta chips, sweet potato croquettes, socca, lamb w/ yogurt and okra...and the bloodwood trifle for dessert. Sooo yummy! They also had one of my favourite Aussie beers - Moo Brew. Here's the website http://www.bloodwoodnewtown.com/
It's spring in Australia, which means the nippers are out in full effect! We did not experience this last year living in Paddington, but it's hard not to miss these kids living by the beach. The Surf Life Saving Clubs (volunteer institutions at Australia's beaches) run the nipper programs, which teach kids about swimming, live saving and ocean safety - starting at a very young age. It actually seems to be a right of passage for many Aussie kids - sort of like how kids in America are thrust into peewee soccer, T-ball or the like.
After seeing the force that is nippers, it's no surprise that Australia is home to some of the strongest swimmers and surfers in the world.
Here's some photos from Jennie and Thor's second annual Halloween party. Their place was decked out with Halloween decorations including orange lights in the lamps! Each couple got a pumpkin to carve and as you can see, some people got pretty crafty. We went for the simple bat design, which I thought was appropriate with all the bats in Sydney. Thankfully Thor brought back pumpkin cutter kits during his last trip to the US (and candy corn!).
Halloween definitely isn't as big a deal here as it is back home - sort of surprising given how much Aussies love their fancy dress parties. But we hear that it's gotten more popular over the years, especially for kids.
I've been starting to think that maybe Australia has less commercial interest in holidays than the US, but then I saw Christmas pudding mixes and full holiday decor at the David Jones grocery section the other week (October!).
"What time is it there?" is by far the most frequently asked question we get on calls back to the USA. The real answer is, "it depends". Before we moved I didn't really consider the implications of daylight savings time affecting the time difference between countries in different hemispheres, especially when both countries recognize DST, and switch on different dates.
Currently, both countries are observing DST (Australia started on Oct. 3rd and USA ends on November 7th) this means that the time in Sydney (AEST) is 18 hours ahead of the west coast of the USA (PST), so if it's 7pm on Thursday in San Francisco, it's 1pm on Friday in Sydney. Another way to figure this is to subtract 6 and add a day. I find that it's easier for me to do it that way.
Now it gets tricky... Before Australia started DST on October 3rd, the time difference for us was 17 hours ahead of PST (or subtract 7 and add a day), once DST ends in the USA the time difference for us will be 19 hours ahead of PST (subtract 5, plus one day). A huge benefit being that 12:30 College Football games now start at 7:30am instead of 5:30am for me. Next, Australia has 3 time zones, 6 states, and 2 territories. Two of the states and one of the territories do not observe DST. Queensland is one, part of the year it will be the same time as Sydney, but when we traveled to the Whitsundays in February it was an hour behind. The most ridiculous time zone in my opinion is Australian central. They decided to do things their own way and are 30 minutes behind Sydney making the conversion even more of a pain. In summary, and if my math is correct, you could potentially have one of 8 different offsets from the USA depending on where and when you are traveling in Australia. Try planning your Monday meeting around that.
Hopefully I've confused you enough for now. Keep in mind that we have to keep on top of this for our jobs, so we always know what time it is in the states when you call. Also, don't feel bad asking, "What time is it there?". We don't mind and it adds to the charm of living far away.
One last thing, as a cheat sheet, here's a clock that should always display the current time in Sydney.
We've been regulars every Tuesday at the Fringe Bar for about a year now. Tuesday evening is when the pub holds trivia hosted by Mike Blades (who moonlights as an 80s DJ on the weekends). We always meet the same crew of friends there, order something from the bar menu (recommend the chicken parm) and have a glass or two of wine. I usually get a select few answers right..normally the pop culture ones like, "what was this name of this Jennifer Lopez song from 2002?" Luckily we have lots of trivia wizzes on the team to take care of the tough/random Qs. I enjoy doing trivia, but more so I enjoy this evening as a constant in my week. It's never a question whether people are going -- we always have a team there and I love that.
There's lots of pubs that hold trivia nights in Sydney. I know that the Light Brigade, London Hotel, The Royal Hotel and North Bondi RSL have trivia nights. I haven't been though..I'd say we're fiercely loyal The Fringe!
In other news, we went ice skating last weekend..at Bondi Beach! They Sydney Winter Festival has expanded to more locales through out the city this year. After skating while looking down at the beach and ocean, we headed to the 'ski chalet' which served mulled wine, german beer, bratwursts and dutch pancakes. It was some good, Southern Hemisphere winter fun.
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