Day 34: Living the Dream

Coming 'home' after our trip to Sydney and Melbourne, also came with a bit of a shock to the system: the holiday is over. Well at least for one of us - my husband started a contract position with one of the bigger companies in Brisbane. The shock to the system came as we were preparing for the first day at work, and realised work shirts don't iron themselves while hanging in the cupboard.
Wife suddenly have a bit less free time on her hands...

There's nothing like a bit of physical labour to get the mind going though, and I soon started musing about our recent experiences in this new country. We have seen three cities, met new people, and had a tiny peek into what life in Australia is about.

But... what does it really mean to 'live the dream'?

Life on the Gold Coast could certainly fit that description for many people: live in a spacious house with a garden, lots of waterways, beaches right next to parks with barbeque facilities open to anyone, and an extra two hours of sleep every day on the train to Brisbane. That is if you don't mind a slightly bumpy sleep, and sacrificing a bit of dignity. If you DO want to preserve last-mentioned, you get two hours of reading, working uncomfortably on a LAPtop, or daydreaming.

My view on Brisbane is unfortunately somewhat unreliable, as this is the first city that I got to experience in Australia (two years ago now), and would therefore always have that untouchable 'first-love' spot in my heart. It's not the biggest, not the bussiest, not the smallest, nor the richest, probably not the most of anything... but even strangers are friendly and they have a conservatory of music right next to a big park. That counts something in my books.

Now Sydney - there's one big and busy city! Everything seems to run on very oiled wheels - down to the double-decker, air-conditioned trains. I had the feeling there's a place for anyone and everyone SOMEwhere in that big hive, if you look long and hard enough. That feeling was confirmed one day as we waited for a train in one of the underground stations... As I was looking at the big adverts on the station wall, some movement on the tracks caught my eye. I looked more carefully... a rat! A track-rat, I guess you could call him. And judging by his size, he is quite a train wise creature, to have survived such a literal rat-race for that long!

On the opposite side of educational levels, you can take a stroll through Hyde Park, and at almost any hour of day you are bound to find creatures of a different kind: the kind that plays chess, in a park, for FUN. Moreover, you find some other creatures who find it entertaining to WATCH a game of chess in the park! And yes... I am one of them. You can not blame me when the game is accompanied by running commentary from one of the players: 

Mamma Mia!!! That's a power move! Watch and learn, kids, watch and learn... Chess is easy! You want to take my pawn? You want to take it?? Yes! Push it, push it! ... What? You put me in check??

Chess players in Hyde Park, Sydney

And then there's Melbourne. City of street musicians, charming cafés and hidden alleyways. A city where you find streets lined with old buildings - proud, aristocratic buildings. Where you find rooftop cinemas, would-be and have-been artists literally painting the streets, and Vivaldi's Four Seasons aptly accompanying the changing weather of the moment. A city where street and art meets, where people still dream of becoming more than just another piece of mechanism in a big machine. 

Where are we going to end up? Where do we want to be? Where do we want to live our dream? At this moment, it is still a question that will be answered in due time. Maybe it has already been answered, we just don't know it yet.

Maybe part of the answer lies in the words of William Hennessy: Do what you love with all your might, and so find your place in the world - joyfully, abundantly and free from the guilt that you should be elsewhere, affirmed that you are actually where you belong.

(Loosely quoted)

Day 31: Weather Comparison

Today a bit of analysis. There's nothing quite like numbers to prove a point - numbers in themselves are unbiased - it's how we INTERPRET them that creates debate!

For the comparison below, we are looking at the Average High / Low, Record High / Low and Average Rainfall (not on the same scale as the temperatures!!)

It is a common believe that Sydney's weather the most closely resembles the weather we are used to in South Africa, but after seeing the graphs, I will take such statements with a pinch of salt. No major city in South Africa has close to the rainfall of Sydney!

However, of all the cities Brisbane and Durban are the most similar in both temperature and rainfall, with the Gold Coast a close comparison.

Somewhat surprising (for me at least), Perth and Cape Town not only has similar trends, but are also closer in temperature than Perth compared to the other cities.

Lastly, Melbourne is not THAT bad, but it's also not 'like Cape Town, just more so'. Winter lows doesn't drop as low as Johannesburg / Pretoria, though it rains consistently throughout the year, but still has 2000 sunshine hours. It's maybe just the big difference between the recorded highs and avg maximum temperature in summer that signifies how... hm... temperamental the weather really is!

There really is no city quite like Melbourne...

Temperature and Rainfall patterns - January to December

Weather comparison legend

All data sourced from Wikipedia.

Edit: Yearly Rainfall graph edited to zero-based.

Day 27: Walking... Sydney to Melbourne

It is amazing how quickly one can adapt to new surroundings. Back in South Africa, a HAT was something buried quite deep in the back of my cupboard, reserved for taking out once or twice a year for holiday. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of sun in Joburg, but by mostly travelling by car, one doesn't get much incidental exposure to it.

This all changed very quickly in a city where using public transport is a way of life, and walking is the means of getting from front door to station, and station to everywhere else. So I quickly got into the habit of hat-wearing around the streets of Sydney.

Well-prepared... for Sydney!

As such, I felt quite prepared for Melbourne as I added a scarf, light jersey and umbrella to my list of everyday things. After all, everyone knows you get all four seasons in one day in Melbourne! What I REALLY should have added is a morning jacket, convertable boots-to-sandals and a fold-up silk coat - similar to silk sleeping bags that fold up into the size of a small koala, but keep you warm like a bear. That would have done much to help me quicker on the way of appreciating the marvels of Melbourne instead of scurrying from shop to shop in search of a warm coat. ANY warm coat!

In retrospect, I should have done the maths when packing my suitcase. Really, it is not difficult: if a city has an average temperature of 26°C for January, and the previous week registered temperatures in excess of 36°C, it HAS to balance out with maximum temperatures of 16° this week...

I guess this bi-polar weather is just one of the things one has to get accustomed to in Melbourne, like someone said, Melbourne has so much MORE weather!

A definite upside: you get to wear your boots and coat throughout the year, even with a little summer dress!

Location: Block Pl,Melbourne,Australia

Day 24: All in a day's work

As I have to remind myself occasionally, part of our short-term plan is to acquire employment. It is rather hard to convince all the parts of your mind to switch from HOLIDAY-mode to INTERVIEW-mode, but somehow it is possible, and for a couple of hours it was business in all seriousness.

With the feeling of high-heels still fresh in my feet's memory, we decided to spend the afternoon in Manly. I am rather relieved that I was infinitely better prepared for the interview than for what waited on Manly!

To put the experience in perspective, my prior knowledge about Manly centered mainly around three things:
1. It is an extremely popular and hip place to live in.
2. It is an expensive place to live in.
3. You can get there by ferry.

Yep. Not a wealth of information.
You can then well understand my surprise when nearing Manly - on the famous ferry, of course! - I see a stretch of tall buildings, a line of trees, and best of all: a beach!

Of course that piece of information is known by MANY people, and thus, even on a weekday afternoon, the beach is dotted from end to end with people. Furthermore, just off the beach, you find yourself in friendly streets of shopping and eating. Thus armed with a feeling of pleasant surprise on the one hand and Danish ice-cream in the other hand, we head off to walk along Manly beach...

It is along this walk that I seriously considered a change in career. A radical change. Here we are, in the country of new opportunity, and I am looking for a job where I will spend most of my day in an office, looking at a computer screen, or getting other people to look at a computer screen? I have to wear suitably uncomfortable shoes to look 'professional', wear different IRONED clothes every day, and even brush my hair EVERY morning! Clearly all of that is overrated, totally unnecessary, and probably bad for your health.
HERE, on the beach of Manly, is where things can change. THIS is where I can spend my days. Live my future. Become...

Living the dream!

There is only one small problem. Call it a challenge, if you like. I would need to learn to swim!!!

Location:Manly, Sydney

Day 23: City of Diversity

One thing that struck me about Sydney almost immediately, is its diversity. People from different countries and cultures flow in and out of its public spaces like ants after rain. I thought it's a good opportunity for some list-making.

First: the number of times I heard and could identify different languages in one day in Sydney. (Sadly I won't know the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin, or Bulgarian and any number of Eastern European languages, so my list is very limited to what I CAN in fact distinguish easily!)

List of Languages

I was surprised at the high frequence of French. But maybe my ears just pick it up easier.
On the other hand, I expected to hear much more Italian. All my research indicated that there is a very large Italian community in Australia. I'm beginning to wonder if my method of identifying Italian is maybe faulty.
Only one person was singing La donna e mobile as he walked past.

The next list is very similar. This was compiled in the span of around three hours over lunch-time. Restaurants and any other shops related to food, with an obvious foreign connotation.

List of International Cuisine spotted

The Fruitologist sneaked through on the list as it really tickled my interest. Would they perhaps advise customers that an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay?

Now off to look for a French Pattiserie, Italian ice-cream and Belgian waffles!

Location:Pott's Point, Sydney

Day 22: Home is...

Our first day in Sydney was utterly and deeply depressing.

Arrive at airport.

Take taxi to where we'll be staying. Taxi driver takes different route than what Trusty Tom suggests. Route goes through industrial area, China Town and other dodgy-looking back streets.

We get dropped off.

Get keys for the house we'll be staying in.

It's old. Very old.

It's dark inside.

There's no coffee.

No breakfast.

No views.

No friendliness. Need to get out. Get away. Get the train.

Google Maps. Find the station. 2km walk.

Train to town. Look for food. Any food. Heart-attack. Look for cheaper food.Walk in park. Walk in town. Walk in Circular Quays. Walk some more.

Hungry again. Missing home. Take a train. And another one. 2km walk. Up the hill. Old streets. Old houses. Old everything. Dinner time. Google Places. Pizza place. Walk around corner. Closed until 17 Jan. Kick the rubbish bin. Sore toe.

Spot hungry locals. Follow them. Stealthily. Found it. Pizza. Large. Crispy base. Delicious.
We start the walk back. Oddly, I notice a charming little house nestled between some of the other old ones we saw earlier. Funny. They have some charm of their own, actually. You must just have a closer look. Wait, THERE is a beautiful nave. And a bay-window. That house even has a name! I have always thought one day I will have a house with a name. The last light of day clothes the street in glorious golds and pinks.

Ahoy! What's this? A train station? This close? How did we not see it before?? The whole place has suddenly, magically, been transformed. I see stained-glass windows and wooden floors and high ceilings.

What has happened? What has changed?? Gourmet pizza. Clearly... home is where the food is!

House Highbury

Location: Croydon Rd,Croydon,Australia