Victoria Sponge Cake

On Monday we were invited over to Pip's house to try her attempt at making Victoria Sponge Cake. This is a trial run of the cake she has promised to make her boyfriend Paul, who is moving to Sydney in a couple of weeks. When Jess and I found out about the cake trial, we graciously volunteered to offer our opinions (i.e. eat yummy cake) - keep in mind Jess and I didn't even know what Victoria Sponge cake was before talking to Pip.

Pip lives a great location in Clovelly with hilltop views of the ocean. Being my first time in Clovelly, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the sights. But enough about the view, lets get back to cake. The other judges were Pip's sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, and friend. When we arrived, Pip had just completed putting the final touches on the cake...and it looked spectacular (see pics below)!

We all agreed that the cake tasted great, but could be accompanied by some fresh fruit (maybe strawberry or passion) to really give the taste buds a kick. Notice that at the end there was no cake leftover...I call that very thorough judging.

Australia Day Weekend

Luckily we moved to Australia at a good time as most of the public holidays occur at the first of the year. The first one up was Australia Day. This is basically Australia's version of 4th of July. We started the weekend out strong on Friday night with a fabulous dinner with Pip (Jess' Boss) at the Bentley Hotel celebrating Jess' Birthday. Side note, the restaurants/pubs/bars are called hotels here...don't ask me why, it is just the way it is. What we (Americans) call hotels are also called hotels...very confusing.

Anyway, the Bentley hotel is located in Surry Hills - a short cab ride from our place. We met Pip at the bar a little early for a pre-dinner drink. The drink list is quite exquisite - Jess had a stawberry basil mojito which was very impressive to watch being made. The dinner menu was also quite inviting with tapas or entrees. We opted to have two tapas (chorizo & calamarri) and then individual entrees. Pip selected an excellent white wine that paired well with the meal. The food was superb and went well with the minimalist atmosphere.

On Saturday, we got up early and started our hunt for a car. We know we want a 5dr hatch, but that still leaves a lot of options to choose from. We went to look at the Toyota Corolla hatch, VW golf, Peugeot 207, and Honda Jazz (or Fit as it is know in the U.S.). Our main concern is safety (considering the history), but Jess prefers to get something we can't get in the U.S. and I want something that fits the purpose. Ideally we hope to find something a few years old with a few thousand kms. After several hours of car shopping, we met up with Chad and Whitney Casey at The Glenmore Hotel. Side note: Chad and Whitney both graduated from UT as engineers and got me my job at URS. Suprisingly Jess and I had actually been to the Glenmore hotel once before. The hotel features a rooftop terrace with amazing views of the harbor - we of course forgot to bring the camera. The roof (and entire bar) was packed with people celebrating Australia Day. It was a wild experience, but everyone was nice and we ended up meeting some new people.

On Sunday, Jess and I did some more car shopping. This time looking at the Holden Astra and Mazda 3. The Holden seemed to fit the best balance of cost, safety, and utility for us. Now we are on the lookout for a used one. Afterwards, we took the 30min ferry ride to Manly Beach for dinner. Manly is a beach community on the North side of the harbor. Dinner was good, but nothing spectacular. On the way back on the ferry we had a great view of the city at night.



On Monday, we met up with Pip for Victoria Sponge Cake (see separate post) then we headed over to Watson's Bay (on the ferry again) for Fish and Chips at Doyles. Watson's Bay is right on the edge the Harbor with some amazing Ocean Views. The Fish and Chips were good and we finally felt like we got to enjoy the long weekend.

Bollywood Magic 2008

While in India, I had the pleasure of attending my company's annual employee event titled, "Bollywood Magic 2008." I was originally asked to perform at the event, which after some thought I politely declined bearing in mind that everyone values their hearing. Now I've been to a few employee events in my day, but never really seen a showstopper like this. Upon arrival after walking the red carpet, I was greeted by these guys:



Brushing off the shock of my second ever red carpet walk (the first was at one Dr. Julia Johnson's bachelorette party, so I clearly have had some practice at strutting my stuff), any reservations were quickly put at ease once I was assured by this guy that the night gets a "thumbs up." I think it was Enrique Inglesias, but it was kinda hard to tell because the light was prety much focused not on his face.



Once the show got started, I enjoyed some really good performances of traditional Indian music and dance. I was really impressed with the talented folks we have in our India offices! But this reminded me of the second reason I elected not to perform at the show: I don't speak Hindi.

So without further ado, here are a few highlights from the show:

Mexican Food - Down Under Style

The selection of Mexican food here is nearly non-existent, which is not a surprise given the distance away from Mexico. Anyway, I am kind of on a mission to find a half way decent Mexican restaurant, just to see if one exists. So far we have found a couple of places that have Mexican food on the menu, but I wouldn’t categorize them as Mexican restaurants. Near my office is a placed called Xquisito, which has tacos, nachos and burritos, but apparently they specialize in Mexican crepes. Hmm…don’t seem to remember any Mexican crepes back home…seems like a rare French-Mexican hybrid to me. Jess and I also tried a taco place in Bondi Junction, which was actually pretty good, but the tacos only came with meat and beans…not exactly a full fledged taco if you ask me. I have a crazy idea that a good taco stand/shop would do really well here…still on the lookout at the moment.

At the grocery store, there are usually one or two shelves that have “Mexican Food”, which usually consists of canned chillies, salsa, taco seasonings, and tortillas. The only brand to choose from is Old El Paso. Jess and I have already gone through a jar of salsa, which tastes more like spicy ketchup than actual salsa. The tortillas come with a moisture absorption packet (the same kind that comes in the box with new shoes), but surprisingly it doesn’t affect the taste as much as I thought it would...although they were a bit dry. Once our kitchen stuff is delivered, I am sure will be attempting to make tortillas on our own (any advice John Q?).

Update: I decided to try one of these so-called “Mexican Crepes” for lunch – it was terrible and it cost $9! The Asian behind the counter seemed shocked when I wanted avocado and cheese….um this is a Mexican Crepe right? The crepe itself was too thin to pick up, yet to tough to cut with the plastic fork and knife….hmmm maybe a tortilla would be better? The “spicy meat” filling was interesting, but in no way had any resemblance to “meat”. So I have learned my lesson….if I want Mexican food here I am going to have to make it myself.

Our Stuff

In moving to Sydney we elected to have some of our ‘stuff’ shipped (by air and sea) over. The air shipment arrived as expected back in December when Jess was here working. Since this shipment was weight restricted (500lbs), it contained mostly clothes and linens. Everything else (furniture, kitchen ware, etc…) was shipped by sea. The sea shipment arrived in Sydney on Dec. 26th and due to the holidays has been there ever since. We ended up having to buy a few items from Ikea (a story in and of itself) and other places to get the bare essentials (like some place to sit other than the floor). Luckily, we already had a very nice air mattress (thanks to Jess’ Mom) that we are able to sleep on in the meantime.

We finally got word this week, that our ‘stuff’ will be delivered to our apartment next Tuesday (the day after Australia Day). After the dusts settles, we will be sure to take a few pictures so everyone can see where/how we live.

Sydney Fest - Part 2

Monday Jan. 21st – Clogs & The National

I have been very excited to see The National, however with Jess’ trip to India this week it meant that I had to go alone – which is never as fun…still I was looking forward to the show.

This performance took place in the heart of Sydney at The City Recital Hall, which is only a quick train ride, 2 stops away, from our apartment. Tucked away between two major streets, the recital hall sits patiently waiting for patrons to fill its halls. It sits patiently because it is a classy venue that does not want to boast about what lies inside. Opened recently, the City Recital hall is the first purpose built concert venue erected since the famous Opera House in 1973. The closest venue I can compare it to is The Hobby Center in Houston, but even that doesn’t do this building justice. Built mainly for orchestras and classical music, this performance was a little different.

The opener band was the The Clogs, whom I had never heard until this performance. The Clogs are a little difficult to describe, but at the core is a 4-piece band, mostly instrumental orchestra/jazz fusion, with winds, strings & percussion. Each member is multi-talented on various instruments, which makes for a fun show to watch. I was surprised to learn that two of the members of The Clogs are also in The National, which explains a lot of the composition heard in The National’s music. Reading the description of the band in the program made me think of Sigur Ros – which is close, but that isn’t quite right either. I really liked listening to The Clogs, although at times it sounded like museum music, which went really well with the venue.

The National went on at about 10 o’clock and played a great set with music from all of their albums. Since I only recently started listening to The National (I really only know the new album), I was surprised to find out that band includes twin brothers (one of the brothers in also in The Clogs – Confused yet?). I thought the best songs were the ones with the full ensemble, which also features brass and wind instruments. On a side note: the brass section of the band was the same that played for Sufjan Stevens a few nights ago. The band was very happy to be playing in the upscale venue, but it was clear the hall wasn’t intended for a rock band (although the acoustics were great). Also, it has been awhile since I have seen a band where the lead singer doesn’t play any instruments – this isn’t a bad thing, it is just something I noticed. Overall, the band was really good live (they played about and hour and a half), but the venue didn’t quite do The National’s performance justice - in my opinion.

I was sad that Jess couldn’t make it (even though she may have fallen asleep during come of The Clogs music), but I still managed to have a good time. The Sydney festival ends this weekend (which also happens to be Australia Day), and I had a great time checking out a few different performances.

Traffic

India has been an absolutely amazing and eye opening experience. More posts to follow, but the thing that has struck me most is the traffic. You have never seen traffic until you've been in India. Three wheeled cars are like gnats everywhere, cyclists and pedestrians are more or less motor vehicles and use the roads as such, children play on the major thoroghfairs, miscellaneous cattle and animals roam freely amongst the cars, and everyone honks their horn to the point that there is so much horn honking going on no one knows what it really means...it's amazing. I'm not articulate enough to really describe what it's like, so I'm posting two videos. One: a few minutes of just what driving down the road is like. Bear in mind I had a driver. Two: driving down the road only to meet a herd of water buffalo head on. Enjoy!

Sydney Fest – Part 1

For Christmas my beautiful wife gave me tickets to a couple of music shows happening at The Sydney Festival. Basically the festival is a month long event featuring art, music, food, etc… taking place throughout the city. We figured that this is great opportunity, for us newbies, to see a little more around Sydney than just the typical tourist destinations.

Saturday Jan. 13th – Sufjan Stevens
The performance took place at The State Theatre in downtown Sydney. At street level, the theatre doesn’t look too impressive, save for the large neon sign outside – however once inside you are immediately taken back to a different era (namely the late 1920’s when the theatre was built). The main entrance foyer is quite lavish, with art deco accents in every corner and a very large and ornate spiralling staircase on the right to the upper balcony and on the left down to the main floor level. In the center of the main theatre hangs a huge crystal chandelier, which the theatre boasts to be the second largest in the world (weighing over 4 tonnes) – although I can’t find anything to prove that claim.

I found out the hard way that theatre management won’t let you take pictures inside. Here is the one picture I was able to take (of the entrance foyer) before being told the “rules of attendance”.


While I have only recently started listening to Sufjan (pronounced /’suːfjɑːn/) Stevens (thanks to Matt), but what I had heard I really like. I guess Sufjan’s music is best described as folk rock, but seeing him live really made him seem more like a composer of an orchestra whose music fits the folk rock form. While Sufjan stuck mostly to playing piano and guitar, he had a backing ensemble featuring a brass and wind sections. The theatre had excellent acoustics and really helped the music come alive. In addition to a musician, Sufjan is also a (amature?) videographer and his work was featured behind the band during the set. Some of the videos told a story while others showed images that went along with the music.

The whole performance was about 2 hours long and featured mostly songs off of his albums Michigan and Illinois. One standout performance was a 5 minute extraction from his over 1-hr commissioned piece about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and featured a hula-hoop dancer on stage.

Overall Jess and I had a great time listening and watching Sufjan’s performance and exploring The State.

Next up: The National & Clogs at The City Recital Hall.

Funny Money

The currency here in Australia is very strange...or should I say very different from the U.S. I like the "bills" because they are made of a polymer which allows them to be much more durable than the paper "bills" of the U.S. - i.e. no permanent creases. In addition, because they are a plastic it also allow them to have a see-through window which helps combat the fakes, but at first glance seems like a hole. Like most other foreign currency, Australia dollars vary in sizes and colors with denomination.



I really don't like dealing with coins on a day to day basis and unfortunately Australia is full of coinage. Since the smallest bill is $5, coins are essential as they are used for the $1 and $2 denomination. The dollar value coins are gold in color and small in size when compared to the other coins...which seems backwards to me. The 50 cent coin is huge and obnoxious with its jagged corners.



The one thing I do like about the currency is that tax (or GST (Goods and Services Tax) as it is known here) is already included in the price. On most items, food items excluded, the tax rate is 10%. I feel that including the tax in the price makes things much easier, since the price you see is the price you pay...no hidden charges. Most totals are in whole or half dollars.

Generally speaking items here in Sydney are expensive (at least compared to Houston - which I know is a truly fair comparison). Currently the exchange rate between the U.S. and Australia is about 0.85 to 1. Generally speaking I don't take into account the exchange rate as 1)it is so close to the U.S. dollar and 2) Jess and I are getting paid in Australian dollars, so why bother figuring the exchange rate. Just for comparison purposes here are some items and prices my trip to the grocer today:

Loaf of Bread = $4.00
Cheese (shredded) = $6.00
Sliced Chicken = $5.00
Avocado = $2.00 ea (on sale)

The sandwich that followed was worth every dollar.

Leave Us Comments

Just a quick note to let you know that I have opened up the comments section of the site to everyone. Previously (and mistakenly) I had this set to only allow registered Google users to comment. Hopefully the comments won't get bogged down with spammers.

Anyway I hope everyone is enjoying the site and I hope to see some comments.

Forecast for India

So for those of you who don't know, I'm on my way to India on Saturday for a quick business trip. I'll be flying into Mumbai and then going on to Pune. In preparation for the big trip, I thought I'd check out the weather. The current weather conditions in India are "smoke." Can someone please tell me what appropriate attire is for "smoke?" And what do you think the chance of a non smoking forecast is?

Monkey Business

As Chris mentioned, we went to the Taronga Zoo this past weekend. I love the zoo. To me, zoo's are like a good wine, they get better with age...er, apparently I am like a good wine and I enjoy the zoo more as I age? Whatever.

Regardless, in addition to Tim Tams, monkey's are also awesome. And it's not really the monkey's that were awesomeness this weekend, it was the chimpanzees! I learned that chimpanzee's don't have tails, monkey's do. And if you were ever stuck alone in the middle of a jungle and needed a blood transfusion, you could get one from a chimp and be a-okay. That is if the chimp had the same blood type, which like humans, is classified as A, B, AB, and O.

Aside from learning about chimp blood types, I also learned the true meaning of the phrase "going ape." The chimps were CRAZY! And not just "oh hey, look at the chimp eat a banana, he's so funny" crazy, they were throw some feces-type crazy!

We were lucky enough to get there at chimp feeding time, which proved to be quite a performance by the Alpha male. I was able to capture what I believe was the essence of the moment in the photo below - Alpha male pummeling other male. Alpha male then stole a banana from a baby chimp and climbed a tree. All in a day's work for a chimp that would most likely be called a -censored- if he were a human...which he almost is...only two chromosomes short of being mankind (another fun fact picked up at the zoo).



So I learned a lot from my visit to the zoo, summarized below:

1) Chimpanzees are awesome.
2) The Sydney zoo is also awesome and a must see for any visitor.
3) The Sky Safari is the best view in town.
4) You too can be considered awesome if you visit your two favorite Americans in Sydney.

Until next time...

Taronga Zoo

On Saturday, Jess and I went to the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. This isn't something we would normally set out to do, but we got free passes with the purchase of our TV, so we thought we would give it a shot. To get to the zoo from our place we had to take a train to circular quay and then take a ferry to the zoo. This was my first ferry ride here in Sydney but there are lots to choose from. The ride was only about 15min, but provided some spectacular views of the Opera House, Harbor Bridge, and Downtown.

The zoo is situated on the side of a large hill and and features a sky safari cable care which takes people from the bottom to the top of the zoo. In addition to the 'normal' zoo features, this zoo also features 'Wild Australia', which basically allows you to go on a 'walkabout' with Kangaroos, Wallabees, and Kola bears. I will let Jess talk about the chimp highlights....

Here are some pictures from the outing.

Tim Tam-tabulous!

There are many reasons to come and visit your two favorite Americans in the land of Oz. Although we promise everyone a rockin' good time in the land down under, the real reason you should visit (reefs, architectural icons, a perfect climate and general fabulousness excepted), is a little cookie know as the Tim Tam - "the most irresistible chocolate biscuit." Tim Tams are awesomeness in biscuit form. Chocolaty wafers with a smooth caramel center dipped in chocolate - what's not to like? Oh wait, there's more ways to get your Tim Tam on. You have your choice of mouth watering centers or you can even get them double dipped in chocolate.

If you're into kickin' it old school, the original Tim Tam is filled with a light and fluffy chocolate cream. And better yet, they are healthy. In Australia, there are no calories, just "energy" and the Tim Tams have lots of it. Isn't that wonderful?

Being a creative, inventive and boozey people, the Aussies have even figured out how to incorporate the Tim Tam into a drinking game. It's called the "Tim Tam Slam." You can read about it here . Or if you're a visual learner, see instructional video with Natalie Imbruglia below.



The Tim Tam is available at your local Sydney grocer. I'm not bringing them back to the US. You have to come and visit us. So there. Come and be Tim Tam-tabulous!

Water Works

One of the many questions we have been asked is to confirm the direction of water flow. Well I did a quick test and caught it on video so you can see for yourself.



I know some of you may not be happy with this result as I did touch the leaf before starting the drain. I did this because on the previous 3 attempts the leaf went off to one corner of the sink and did not get any rotation. Like I said, this was a very quick and simple setup. If I see something more definitive, I will let you know.

G'day Mates!

I'm new at blogging, which is my subtle way of saying I don't know what I'm doing. And I've also never been much of a journal keeper, so I hope everyone enjoys this wild ride knows as "babies first blog."

For lack of a better idea, I've decided to make a list. I preface this list with the following: Don't get me wrong, I love Oz, but aside from living life standing on your head (yes, technically, we are upside down), these folks do several things that I just find odd and interesting. So, here is my list of all the things weird Aussie. I'll update as more things come out of the woodwork.

1. They don't keep their eggs refrigerated. Can anyone say salmonella?
2. One of the most frequently run commercials, is some dude doing music covers with "hand farts." This leaves you wishing for the "meow mix" of Jingle Bells.
   
   Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.
   
   
3. The obvious - they drive on the wrong side of the road.
4. The buses don't stop unless you wave at the driver. Literally they will look at you standing at the stop and breeze on by.
   
5. They don't have pennies or any type of coinage below 5 cents.
6. Raisins are called "sultanas."
7. Breakfast is better known as "brekkie." Seriously, McDonald's makes and advertises a "brekkie roll." WTF?
8. The world's worst primetime soap opera airs here - it's called "Home and Away," which is fitting because when you watch it, it makes you want to leave home and go away...far, far away from a television.
9. Mozzies = man eating mosquitos. The saying everything is bigger in Texas is totally false. The mosquitos here make the mosquitos in Texas look puny.

Stay tuned for more oddities from the land of Oz.

Seaplanes and Opera

Since Jess was working today I went out on my own expedition. I took a 10min bus ride to Rose Bay to check out Sydney Seaplane base. Jess got me Seaplane ride for our 1st anniversary present. The bay was packed with some very nice boats and a couple of seaplanes (beavers on floats). On the East side of the park is a the Sydney sailing club and a kayak rental place. I had a quick bite to eat at the Lyne Park Cafe...a tasty chicken burger...and watched 2 seaplanes come and go.



After the seaplane base I took the bus back to Edgecliff station where I caught a train to the Circular Quay (pronounced "key"). This is the spot where a bunch of stuff is going on...ferries, busses, tourists, street performers, etc... I headed out to get some pictures of the Harbor Bridge, The Opera House, and Sydney's Downtown. Although it is summer here, the temperature isn't really that bad when compared to Houston. The best part is that in the shade with a little breeze it feels just like air conditioning...which is not very common here.

New Year's Eve in San Francisco

On our way to Sydney we had to stop in San Francisco, so we decided to spend a few days and celebrate New Year's eve. We stayed at the Harbor Court hotel on the Embarcadero. This boutique hotel is part of the Kimpton lineup, which we really like (mainly for the free happy hour, but the service is also top notch). Our room had a spectacular view of the Bay bridge, which allowed us to watch the fireworks from our room window.



While we didn't have an agenda in SF, we managed to get quite a bit of last minute shopping done before our journey (thanks to the closeness of the Westfield shopping center). On our last day in SF (Tuesday - Jan 1st), we checked out the movie Juno. It was a great mind release from the impending 14 hour flight. I thought the movie was kind of a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Knocked up...which is not a bad thing.

New Site

It a new year and it is time for a new site! Welcome to the updated ChrisandJessica.net! Jess and I hope to both update this with our adventures in our move to Australia. More to come soon...