More fireworks and even more food

January 26 is an important day in the Australian calender. It marks Australia Day - a celebration of all things Aussie on the anniversary of the First Fleet arriving on Sydney's shores way back in 1788. It is a controversial day in some respects, as indigenous Australians see it as a marking of the day they lost their aboriginal culture. Having said this, most Australians use it as a day to embrace the Australian way of life and embark on traditional activities such as barbies, fireworks and live music.
I had to work during the day (despite it being a public holiday - what's that all about??) so Dan came and met me at the gelato shop and we headed straight into the city. The first stop was The Rocks, just to the left of Circular Quay. The place was heaving with families, all lapping up the sunshine and enjoying the entertainment which was spread over four or five different stages in the area.

As well as plenty of market stalls, there was also quite a bit of random street entertainment. Dan took a particular shine to a large display of red trumpets that were dotted about on the main street through The Rocks!

After treating ourselves to a yummy cake from one of the best bakeries in Sydney we wandered over to Darling Harbour, as we'd heard that was the place to be for nightfall. And they weren't wrong! Again, the whole area was absolutely packed. People were sat all around the edge of the harbour, watching the live music on a stage that was floating on the water! well, I don't know that it was actually floating, but it looked pretty impressive none the less.

We managed to secure a spot to the left of the stage, just in time to hear the speech from the newly appointed Premier for NSW Kristina Keneally. We were then treated to a number of performances from a string of Australian 'celebrities'. I use that word in the loosest possible way, as I had heard of none of them and I'm pretty sure most of the people around me hadn't either! I had, however, vaguely heard of the star of the show - Australian idol winner Stan Walker - and the teenage girls next to me definitely had, judging by the high-pitched wailing in my ear!
The highlight for me, however, was when a fleet of sailing boats started circling the harbour in time with music from Swan Lake. They literally did look just like swans as they glided around, luminated with blue lights.

In keeping with tradition, the night went off with a bang at 9pm when the firework spectacle started. With the reflection of the water they really did look very dramatic. Part of me even thought they might have been better than NYE (am I allowed to say that?)

Although Dan and I have been working hard, we have managed the odd day trip here and there. A couple of weeks ago, on a gloriously sunny day, we decided to check out Bronte Beach. We'd heard so many good things about it, so thought it only right that we pay a visit. We caught the bus to Coogee and decided to do the coastal walk to Bronte, passing through Clovelly on the way.

In Clovelly we were both suffering from the heat a bit, so we tucked in to ice creams to give us some energy for the second part of the walk. After the infamous picture of me eating an Oreo Kit Kat Dan made me take a picture of him munching his Tim Tam Cornetto....!!

After an hour or so we finally reached Bronte. It was smaller than I imagined, but very cute. Dan headed straight for the little seawater pool to cool off while I lounged on the beach reading a mag. I have to say, that's one thing I really miss about England - proper girlie mags!! The Aussie equivalents just aren't the same, plus I have no idea who half the celebs are in the pictures.... where's Cosmo when you need it?!

For Valentine's Day we booked a meal at Chedi Thai, a restaurant in Newtown that had been recommended to us by Dan's boss. I took the pic below mainly to show their speciality (sorry Dan) - the pineapple rice, served in an actual pineapple.

All the food was incredible and, if you ever find yourself in Newtown, I thoroughly recommend you check it out. Yum Yum! (we're not always eating, honest!)

Size Matters

Jo and I have always wanted to go to a music festival in another country, so getting tickets for Big Day Out was quite exciting. There were a load of good acts playing this year including Calvin Harris, Lily Allen, Groove Armada and Muse to name just a few. We managed to download a map and times a week before, giving us a chance to plan our day. The gates opened at 11am so we got up at 8am to get there just after. We had to catch a train from Redfern (two stops from us) to Olympic Park where the festival was being held. It was obvious which train we needed to catch as there were lots of people dressed in whacky/crazy clothing on one of the platforms. I could never have imagined what the next 20 minutes would entail on what felt like the longest journey ever! The train arriving at Redfern had already been through Central so we knew it would be quite busy - understatement! The train pulled in and we both could see it was pretty packed. Not wanting to wait for the next one we joined the crowd and muscled our way onto the train. It was really squashed inside and we both felt like sardines! With the bad singing, sweaty bodies and warm environment it felt like the rugby trips I remember from school! Finally the singing stopped and we were there. We stepped off the train and followed the 55,000 festival-goers to the entrance. The weather was gorgeous and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We were greeted at the entrance by a giant inflatable mouth that had 'Boy' written on it. It was meant to symbolise - 'Enter a boy and come out a man...!'

 

Once inside we thought it would be a good idea to explore before any bands started playing. There were seven stages spread over the whole site. The Orange and Blue Stages were the main two and had the biggest acts playing on them. They were right next to each other so once a band finished on one stage another band would start on the next, ideal. This was a clever idea because (as any music festival geek would say) at the likes of Glastonbury, once you see an act on one stage you have to wait an hour for the next. Plus the stages aren't anywhere near each other....! 

 

Anyway, after doing a loop of the venue we thought we would grab a quick drink. As you can guess, food and drink at festivals isn't cheap. A bottle of Coke is about $5, which is too expensive. Luckily Jo had a spare bottle of water on her so we thought we should find a water refill station and 'quickly' fill it up. Each water fountain on the day had a queue longer than any other line. With the temperature creeping up to a whopping 42°C (!) it seemed that everyone wanted water. As you can guess the water fountain was our friend for most of the day, as we were dehydrating quicker than we could drink! Finally it was time to head to the Green Stage where The Temper Trap were playing.

We both really enjoyed The Temper Trap. Halfway through I had to get out to grab a drink, as it got very squashed and started to get hotter. After they finished we headed over to the Orange Stage to catch the end of Kasabian. The stage was in the middle of a massive arena surrounded by seating and shade which was very hard to come by on the day. The next acts I wanted to see were all playing in the Boiler Room. Jo wanted to see Dizzee Rascal at 5pm so she came with me until he started. The Boiler Room, ironically, was the coolest place on the day! The stage was inside but once you entered you could feel the air conditioning straight away. We were greeted by two massive screens and a ferris wheel inside. The band I wanted to see didn't start for an hour so we just chilled out/cooled off for a while.

  

 

While Jo was away watching Dizzee and Lily I was 'having it large' in the Boiler Room with The Midnight Juggernauts and Girl Talk! Jo came back to watch Calvin Harris with me who we thought was one of the highlights from the day. He blasted out his top tunes and the crowd went wild for him. After the Scottish DJ finished I stayed and Jo went off to see Ladyhawke, who she said she enjoyed. Later we met up for Muse who were headlining on the Blue Stage. Once they finished we headed back to the Boliler Room to see the last act of the night, Groove Armada. I really enjoyed them as they belted out such classics as Superstylin' and At the River. The train on the way home was practically empty compared to the way in. Once home we both reminisced about what a great day we had...! 

  

 

A few days before Big Day Out arrived I was reading the local music magazine - Brag. Every Monday Brag comes out and you can normally find one in any café doorway in Newtown. I always make a habit of reading it as it keeps us up-to-date with what is happening with music. What grabbed me this particular week was a poster advertising a 'MySpace Secret Show' in Sydney with Florence and the Machine. If you don't know already a MySpace Secret Show is an exclusive gig by a band/artist held in different cities all over the world. The latest one was being held in Sydney, ideal! The advert said to put your mobile number in on their website and they would send you a text telling you where it was being held. The night before the gig (Saturday) Jo received a text telling us it was taking place at Paddington Uniting Church - yes a church!!! We both had work the next day but as things like this don't always come up we managed to get our shifts covered. We did a bit of homework that night and came up with the conclusion that we had to get there early as it was 'first come first served'. The following day we arrived at the church, seven hours before the doors opened wondering if it was the right place...?!

 

After doing loops of the church to see if anyone had camped out or there was a queue we couldn't see, we thought it would be wise to sit in a nearby café and wait. An hour later a few people who looked like they were there for the same reason appeared. Not wanting to miss our place in line (losers!) we hovered outside and waited. Shortly after it came apparent that we were in the right place, as a car sporting the MySpace logo pulled up outside the church. We were spotted by the security guard who came over to speak to us. He asked if we were there to see Florence and to make sure we didn't lose our place in line as they were only letting in 95 members of the public - intimate or what! This surprised us as we found out the night before that the venue holds 250 people. The guy said that there were friends and media making up the other numbers. After wiping the grins off our faces we sat on the wall near the entrance. More and more people started appearing and forming a queue. It wasn't long until the 95 mark was hit but this didn't stop anyone from staying and waiting...!

 

There were a group of girls who came early and sat with us at the front. They were all really friendly and made the wait more bearable. The girls held our spot so we could grab some lunch. Just after lunch the security guard came back to tell us that we couldn't leave or we would lose our spot. The organisers came around just after to give everyone their wristbands which basically was your ticket inside. The queue was getting longer and more people were getting turned away. Posters were being handed out to anyone who couldn't get in as a consolation.  The following few hours consisted of games, photos and an interview for the website!

 

Finally after seven hours of waiting the doors opened and we were in. Jo and I were still laughing about the interview in which we spoke to the organisers about the gig. I only said a few words but Jo did most of the talking. With answers like "We've eaten loads" (!) it made me wonder if they would use us in the final product...! As you can guess the church was tiny inside making it even more 'intimate'. Along with the group of girls we both stood right at the front touching the stage. We couldn't get over how small it was and how we could literally touch the mic! Moments later Florence walked on to everyone screaming like crazy. She sang nine songs from her album Lungs including 'You've Got The Love', 'Rabbit Heart' and 'Drumming Song' (without the drums!). 

 

The time inside went so quickly but it was amazing and worth the wait. On our way out we got our free poster which we were lucky enough to get signed. Along with that and a picture next to her it turned out to be a very memorable day...! If I haven't bored you enough with all the excitement please feel free to check out the link where there are more photos of the day alongside the infamous video. See if you can spot us...

 http://www.myspace.com/secretshowsau

Mobes, soap and 3D glasses

Since all the excitement of Christmas and New Year we've taken the time to chill out a bit over the past few weeks. We've both settled into daily routines consisting, usually, of work, food, gym (yes, Dan's joined eventually!) and sleep.... all very well for us, but it does mean that the Bloggable material is a bit thin on the ground!!
Having said that, there have been a few highlights.... the first being our trip to the Opera House to see Moby.

I'll be the first to admit that Mobes (as we've affectionately named him) is not really my cup of tea, it was more for Dan really. Having said that, I was literally blown away by the concert. The sound quality inside the OH is amazing and I even got goosebumps during Flower. I loved the fact the show kept alternating between a civilised 'sit down' affair to a full-blown rave! The atmosphere was fantastic.

 

On our days off together Dan and I usually go to the beach. Although we love Coogee, our local, we've tried to check out a few different ones too. A couple of weeks ago we went to Maroubra, which is south of Coogee. It reminded me of the beaches at home, because it is more rustic and surfy than commercial beaches like Bondi. It was also a lot less crowded, which was a bonus.
Last week we took the two-hour bus ride to Palm Beach, the most northern suburb of Sydney. Although the area is great, the thing I was most excited about is that the beach's alter ego is 'Summer Bay' - i.e. the setting for Home and Away (yes, I'm sad). Dan rolled his eyes as I made him take pics of me outside the lifesaving club and doing the iconic stroll down to the beach. No sign of Kim Hyde though.... :-( !!

 

 

After waiting several weeks to get tickets, we finally managed to see Avatar at the Imax in Darling Harbour. And, it was definitely worth the wait. Dan was like a little kid when we got in there, and I was pretty excited too. It took a little while to get used to the 3D glasses (especially with my dodgy eyesight!) but after a while I just forgot about it and appreciated the sensation of being surrounded by a film. It's the future of cinema for sure.... and James Cameron has set the bar very high.

 

Tomorrow we are going to the Big Day Out - Australia's Glastonbury but, as the name suggests, for one day only. There are some great acts playing, including Muse and Calvin Harris, so it should be good. Bit concerned about the weather forecast though - 42 degrees!! Better make sure we take lots of suncream and water... bit different to Glasto... well, the suncream bit anyway!

Where did that year go...?!?

Firstly I would just like to say that I hope you all had a great Christmas and all the best for 2010...!

Christmas this year was a little different to other years as it was the first one we both have had away from family back at home. Jo told me that she didn't get me anything this year because we were saving but that all changed when I woke up to a load of prezzies on the bed!! She got me a t-shirt, mug, incense sticks and some candy. I bought her a necklace, Robbie's new album, a soundtrack to a cute film, some nibbles and vouchers for two clothes shops as I know that she has been wanting a change to her wardrobe...!

 

Once we were dressed we headed to our local beach, Coogee, with our picnic. When we stepped off the bus all we could see was a wave of little red hats. Seeing everyone in Santa hats near the beach was a bit surreal but 'normal' at the same time! The picnic was really yummy and we finished just in time, as it started to drizzle. It was only moderate until we got home and then it started to rain properly. We both couldn't believe it was raining on Christmas but that wasn't going to ruin our day.

 

Once we got home we played a game that I got from Nichola and Dave; Pick-up-sticks. This, along with a bit of festive telly, made it feel more like Christmas. Later that evening we Skyped my Mum and Dad which was nice. It was weird not being there but after a chat and a toast it almost felt like we had popped in to join the celebrations! We also had a nice long chat with Jo's Mum and Dad over the phone and wished them a Merry Christmas that evening, followed by another fun festive Skype on Boxing Day to them and Granny and Grampy.

Each Boxing Day Sydney hosts the start of the yacht race to Hobart. We wandered down to the harbour to see what was going on. You could just about make out the boats on the horizon. There were lots of spectators there but before we knew it the race had started and the yachts had gone! Jo had work that evening so we walked back through the city on the way to see what sales were on. All the shops were stupidly busy. We attempted two shops but after nearly getting squashed to death we headed back home!
The next few days after Christmas were lazy for me as my work place was closed for nearly a week! Jo had to work for most of the week but we still found time to do a few things together. The local cinema is just up the road so one evening we went to see Sherlock Holmes. We both really enjoyed it. I won't bore you with a review but I highly recommend it.
With Christmas feeling a bit strange this year we held out for a 'normal' New Year's Eve. Our American friends that we met at the beginning of our travels said they were heading down to Sydney to meet up and see the New Year in with us. It was really nice to see Courtney and Cory again and hear how they have been getting on. They have been in Newcastle for the past two months. They were only going to stay there for a couple of days but things changed and they ended up staying longer (sounds like Melbourne Jo!) The theme for the evening was to wear a touch of blue so we all tried our best...!

We headed down to the city around 3pm to try and find a good spot to see the fireworks. We walked around for a while but ended up staying at Campbells Cove near The Rocks, which is one of the vantage points for the fireworks. We couldn't believe how busy it was and it appeared that a lot of people had been there all day or had camped out the night before! Once we got into position we waited for the first display which was at 9pm. I think they were for families and youngsters, as a few people headed home after. We had three hours until midnight and Jo wanted to get a drink. I looked around and thought it would be wise to stay put as most people around us had sat down. It took us long enough to get where we were by manoeuvring around people and nearly standing on fingers, so staying put seemed wise.
After the 9pm fireworks there were more at 10pm, 11pm, 11.30pm, 11.45pm and then the grand finale at midnight. The atmosphere was amazing. There was an overhead speaker that was letting everyone know how long it was until midnight. Everyone counted down the last 10 seconds and before we knew it 2010 was here and the display had started. It is hard to describe the experience but seeing the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge light up and witnessing it with 1.5 million other people was such an honour for us and another memory for the box!

 

After the fireworks had finished everyone wished each other a Happy New Year. We walked back up George Street and headed somewhere to get some grub - we needed it! The streets were so busy and there were lots of police around including police on horseback. The atmosphere was amazing as people were playing music in the streets and just generally enjoying the celebrations. As you can imagine the roads were packed and each place selling food was bursting at the seams. We managed to get some food and then caught the train back to Newtown.

                                         

The night went so quick but overall it was one to remember. Courtney and Cory had to catch the train back to Newcastle so we went out for lunch and wished them a safe journey. They are due to fly back to America in February but they are thinking of staying until May. Either way they said they will call through and spend the last few days with us before they leave.

So there you have it, another year has gone. 2010 will be an exciting year and I hope you enjoy hearing all about it. Happy New Year everyone!!!

Season's Greetings

Now we're both working, 'blog time' has been seriously reduced....hence the fact it's been a little while since the last post.....!
Anyway, all is still bonza, as they say over here. Dan's yoghurt shop is closed for most of Christmas so he's got a cushty week off.... in contrast, I'm working every waking hour with my only day off being actual Christmas Day. Someone's got to put bread on the table!

I'm still blagging the fact that I'm a 'barista' at the ice cream shop. I can cope with the simple coffees now but anything out of the ordinary still confuses me. Here's a pic of me practising at home....

Our landlady, Joanne, organised a Christmas get-together for the housemates here and the ones at another of her houses. We all went round to their house, because it's huge, and had a pizza night. We were eating pizza for the next week, as Joanne had ordered us a giant pizza each...I think she thought we needed feeding, as we're all living away from home!

Last week we headed over to Coogee beach, after Jen our housemate recommended it. It's about a 30 minute bus ride from here, which saves us going into the city. We had a really lovely day there, relaxing on the beach. It doesn't seem quite as manic as Bondi, which tends to get overrun with school kids (especially now it's the school holidays).

We liked Coogee so much that we decided to go back there at the weekend for their carol concert. We headed over early and spent a bit of time exploring the area. Someone at work had said that Clovelly (not the one in ND!) is really nice, so we took a walk along the coastal path to check it out. It was a lovely walk and I'm sure we'll revisit Clovelly with our swimming costumes again soon. It's a very narrow beach, and they've made the bay into a massive swimming pool, with places to climb in along the side. It wasn't the weather for it when we were there, but we'll definitely be back on a sunny day.

Dan and I got to the carol concert nice and early to get our pitch. It was a good job we did, because by the time it started every little space was taken by families and their picnic blankets. Dan bought a little candle and a booklet so we could sing along..... as you can see, he got well into it!!

 Newtown is full of lovely restaurants, so it is surprising that we have only just been out for our first meal. To celebrate our five and a half year anniversary (any excuse!!) we went to Thai Riffic, one of the most popular eateries. It's got a great reputation, and I can see why. The decor in the restaurant is so pretty and the food was amazing. A very enjoyable evening....

  All that's left for me to say is MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!