I turned 30 in September of 2014, and as I predicted, definitely did not achieve all of the items on my list! I did have an amazing time checking off the ones I did complete, and checked off a few other things that weren’t on the list in the meantime.
Of the items left on the “Still To Do” list in September 2013, here’s what I did manage to accomplish:
Take A Course On Wine Tasting: Nick and I attended a one-night seminar at J Lohr in San Jose and learned a lot about what makes a wine sweet vs tart, what gives it that viscous mouthfeel, and how to spot different scents (J Lohr set up about 50 wine glasses with berries, fruits, nuts, coffee, etc mixed in with the wines to help with this – so cool!)
The lineup of scent-enhanced wines.So many glasses!
Run a 5k in under 30 minutes: After posting last time that this was a goal I really just needed to suck up and check off, I started a running program and signed up for a 5k color run (that actually turned out to be a grueling 5 miles), and I’m happy to say achieved my goal!….and then promptly abandoned running 🙂
BeforeDuringAfter…through the lens of my iPhone camera which would never be the same after this.Colourful!
Visit Australia: OK, so even though I technically completed this one a month after my 30th birthday, and technically relocated to vs visited, I’m calling this a win 🙂
So, to recap, here’s the full list, with completed items in bold. Hey, 20 out of 30 ain’t bad!
Skydive (Abel Tasman, NZ, 2012)
Wine tasting tour in California (Sonoma, Napa, Livermore, Paso Robles…you name it – 2012 through 2014)
Visit New Zealand with my brother & sister (2011)
Learn to snowboard or ski (Calabogie, 2011)
Shoot a gun (Stittsville, 2011)
Bungy jump (Queenstown NZ, 2010)
Visit Paris (2009)
Visit London (2009)
Visit somewhere surprising (Tokyo, 2010)
Fly first class (2010)
Get a tattoo (2011)
Visit Vancouver (2012)
Visit Las Vegas (2010)
Take a course on wine tasting (2014)
Run a 5K in 30 minutes or less (2014)
Visit Australia (2014)
Learn to sail
(Re)learn a language
(Re)learn a musical instrument
Stay in a presidential suite
Visit Hawaii
New England Road Trip
Visit every continent (except Antarctica)
Take a last-minute trip
Lose 30 lbs
Be making some progress on some sort of formal education (MBA, Bcom)
The last four are goals that I am not comfortable sharing publicly, but I have achieved them! Yay!
Next up…move some of these to the 40 before 40 list! 🙂
One of the first things on our Australia bucket list was to visit my grandmother in New Zealand. I am very close to my grandmother, and Nick loves her as well, so it was a pretty high priority for us to go and see her as soon as we could. That plan came together during the second-last week of January.
Just to show you how amazing my grandmother is, here’s a picture of her in her heyday as a go-go/cage dancer, after she had given birth to 4 sons:
Grandma is on the right with the big white feather headdress.
And without further ado, we were off to the airport!
In the airport, looking forward to a 3 hour flight…as opposed to the 30 hour flight from Ottawa to New Zealand!
The first thing we did upon arriving, after settling in, was visit the bustling downtown of Oamaru, which is where my grandmother lives. Oamaru is an adorable Victorian heritage town in the South Island, about 3 hours drive south of Christchurch. It has a stunning, bright blue harbour, gorgeous buildings made from limestone (or “Oamaru stone”), and a Victorian-inspired bustling tourist industry.
Lovely Oamaru harbour. I can’t get enough of the colour of the water.Beautiful downtown Oamaru. http://www.visitoamaru.co.nz/Interesting carvings we saw in the harbour district.
There’s also quite the “steampunk” presence in Oamaru – in fact they label themselves as SteamPunk World HQ. If you’re not familiar with the steampunk thing, my understanding is that it’s sort of like Victorian-era machines – more info at the Wikipedia page. Regardless, there’s a steampunk showroom, which we visited, and which has lots of machines you can play around with and climb on:
Nick’s new steampunk ride 🙂Nick loading a (non-functioning) steampunk cannon.
During our visit, in addition to hanging out with the awesome lady who is my grandmother, we also wanted to do a bit of exploring. Given the short amount of time we had (about 5 days total), we opted for a short road trip down to the Catlins.
Road trip!! Old school (paper) GPS due to poor cell phone service in the rural areas.Road trip selfie!
The Catlins are a district of NZ on the southeastern coast of the south island. They have the reputation of being isolated, wild, and beautiful, and they certainly didn’t disappoint.
Florence Hill Lookout – Catlins NZ – with our Jucy rental carTautuku Beach – Catlins, NZA random drive on a back country road – Catlins, NZThe road less travelled in the CatlinsCurio Bay – the CatlinsThe view from our guesthouse in the Catlins…this is at breakfast.
There are also many waterfalls – one of the key activities touted by the Catlins guide is to hike to all of these waterfalls:
A typical hike (more like a lovely forest walk) to a waterfallMatei FallsHorseshoe FallsMcLean FallsPapatowai FallsAnd the most majestic of them all….Niagara Falls…yes really 🙂
The last one – Niagara Falls – must have been named by some homesick Canadian, because they are hardly a waterfall and more maybe more of an eagerly bubbling creek?
Nick and I stopped for dinner at the Niagara Falls Cafe, which calls to mind the words “touristy” and “overpriced”, but was actually really lovely, everything there is home made (I had the salmon, which they smoke in-house!).
Also, one of the daughters of the owner won Bronze, Silver, and Gold in the London 2012 Olympics, and the medals and several photos are on display in the restaurant:
London 2012
Next up, the petrified forest at Curio Bay. This forest is 180 million years old, and incredibly historically significant as it is one of the most extensive and least disturbed petrified forests in the world.
Petrified logs
Then, we headed off to Slope Point, which is the southern-most tip of New Zealand! The South Pole is only a mere 4,803km from where we were standing in the picture below. We could certainly feel the antarctic winds!!
The walk to Slope Point is through someone’s sheep pasture…typical NZ. By the way, there were no yellow markers – just a path worn through sheep poo and the grass.Chilly but happy at Slope PointNick and another chatty tourist walking back from Slope Point
We then went to check out “Jack’s Blowhole” (ha ha). A blowhole is basically a hole in the roof of a sea cave. Jack’s Blowhole is a 55m deep hole 200m inland from the sea, which sounds pretty cool, but in actuality the best part of this little excursion was the beautiful hike there. The blowhole itself was not very special to see.
Warning: Jack blowsJack’s blow hole – can’t see much other than hole.The path to Jack’s blowholeAlong the path to Jack’s blowhole
And one final stop, at the Flying Gypsy, which had been recommended to us by the waiter at dinner the previous night. The Flying Gypsy is an emporium(?) of sorts, full of lots of inventions and machines cobbled together from shells, scrap wood, old toys, etc. It was a very cool place and I would definitely recommend paying the $5 for admission into the “theatre” which is more like a little maze of inventions and machines.
The Winding Thoughts Theatre at the Flying Gypsy
We then made our way back to Oamaru, where we had just one more day trip up our sleeves before we headed back home to Sydney. My grandmother has a ritual of sorts whenever people come to visit her. We always visit the Moeraki Boulders, the town of Moeraki for lunch, and then the ancient Maori Pā.
The boulders are perfectly round huge rocks that emerge out of the cliffside and move down towards the ocean over time on a beach near Moeraki. It’s quite amazing to see and I don’t mind making a ritual of it either.
Moeraki boulders.Moeraki vista
And lunch in Moeraki is always lovely, as long as you get the fish – it’s a fishing village and the product is always fresh and perfect.
Ladies who lunch in MoerakiLunch in Moeraki
And finally, it was time to close our visit with a trip to the ancient Maori Pā, located in the hills near Moeraki. A pā is a fortified Maori settlement, usually found on a hilltop or headland. It is holy ground and one must be very respectful – no food or trash or disrespectful language is allowed on the pā, and she always gives a respectful greeting before we step onto the holy ground.
I really love visiting the pā, not just because it is truly beautiful, but also because there is amazing wildlife there – lots of birds, sea lions, dolphins, and endangered yellow penguins.
Pā vistaHerro penguin – you are not supposed to come this close to them, but we were standing still and he was the one who was on the path.Sea lions and gorgeous blue water on the pāGrandma and Nick having a serious discussion on the pā
And with that, we dropped grandma off at home in Oamaru, and we headed to Christchurch to catch our flight back home to Oz.
One of the first big challenges in any new city is trying to find a place to live. Not only do you have to choose a neighbourhood with little to no knowledge about the available choices, but every city seems to have different “rules” about apartment hunting, rental applications, rent payments, etc.
Because we relocated for work, we were able to use the services of a local agent who specialises in helping relocating people with all of the above challenges and more. During one of the first conversations we had with her via Skype while we still lived in California, she asked us to describe the type of place we would be looking for in Sydney. We said that something like what we had in San Jose would be perfect – a three bedroom single-level house (we used the third bedroom as an office), with a small back yard, great kitchen, and lots of character (our house in SJ was a 100-year old craftsman – so cute); close to the office and downtown (7 minute drive, 15 minute bike ride or 40 minute walk). Hardwood floors, stone master bathroom with a huge tub and glass shower, basement and shed for extra storage. A hot tub in the backyard would be a bonus, but we wanted to be realistic. Oh, but since we were in Sydney, we wanted to be close to a beach.
She…totally…laughed at us.
Now that we have a little more experience, we know that a place like that would cost an astronomical amount, and in fact probably doesn’t even exist in Sydney. We had no idea at the time how incredibly 1) tiny and 2) expensive the typical rental is in Sydney. Apparently, owning a home or condo is part of Australian core values, so there are very, very few “nice” places for rent. The type of rental available in San Jose and Ottawa that we would call an executive rental or executive apartment, with nice finishings, good location, and decent size – doesn’t seem to exist in Sydney (or if it does, you’re paying out the nose).
As some examples of executive apartments in Sydney…
Here is one on the harbour, considered an executive apartment, $1500 per week (yes, per week) but still has carpet and an absolutely tiny kitchen.
Here’s another in a similar location, but this one is $1,800 per week, and only one bedroom. Looks like tile floor instead of carpet throughout.
This one, appears to be right on the water. 2 beds, 1 bath, $1000 per week, but no photos of the apartment itself, so you will just have to go and see it during the 15 minute viewing time from 5:15pm to 5:30pm on Wednesday.
So, you can see even a small apartment in the city is quite pricy…and these aren’t even close to a beach, they would require about a 40 minute ferry north to Manly or a 40 minute bus ride north to Balmoral or east to Bondi. We gave up pretty quickly on finding a 3 bedroom house near the city and near a beach.
I mentioned above also the viewing times. Apartments are generally only available for 15 to 30 minute “open house” style viewings, once or twice a week (usually Wednesdays and Saturdays). There is a small possibility that you could arrange with the agent to see it privately without anyone else there, but this would be rare in today’s market, which is very much a landlord’s market.
You generally also must decide during that 15-30 minute window if you want the apartment, as there will be others there who will fill out an application on the spot and hand it in. We saw this on a few occasions – in one case three people were busily filling out applications, each trying to fill theirs out the fastest, since the first person to hand in an application is generally accepted as the tenant unless there is some sort of credit problem, as there are strict anti-discrimination laws here.
Nick and I spent a few weeks looking at apartment listings during weeknights after work and making schedules and lists of places to visit during the weekend. It was honestly quite soul-destroying because even if a place looked nice in the photos, they could be old photos, or perhaps it’s a great place in a not-great neighborhood, or the bedroom was too small for our king-sized bed, etc etc, and all of these things we wouldn’t discover until actually visiting the apartment, which meant we had prioritised it over other apartments and spent the time to commute there and agh!!!
You know us though…we did still have fun along the way, exploring all of the different neighbourhoods – checking out pubs and cafes and shops and parks. Sydney is an amazing city with a wide variety of all of the above.
And of course, the story has a happy ending… we did finally find a place that was spacious and in a great neighborhood. It ticks almost all of our boxes:
Three bedroom – yes, one of the few we saw with three decent sized bedrooms (in most places, the third bedroom was a closet). Three bedrooms are very important to us, as Nick works from home a lot, so needs a home office; and we also want our visitors to be able to stay with us, eliminating the “hotel cost” barrier and allowing LOTS of friends and loved ones to visit 🙂
Backyard – kind of. We have a split-level brick patio. Eventually I’ll have (unkillable) plants out there, but for now, at least we have a bit of outdoor space that’s all our own.
Great kitchen – well, it’s large, but certainly can’t compare to the cook’s kitchen we had in San Jose.
Lots of character – it is completely missing character of its own. Since we’re part of a modern apartment block, we have beige walls, beige carpet, beige tile, stark white bathrooms, and beige blinds. We’ll add character ourselves through decorating, but it certainly doesn’t have its own inherent flair in the same way that a 100 year old craftsman would have. I will however add, that our neighbourhood, Pyrmont, has character coming out of its eyeballs – far more than downtown San Jose could even dream of having.
Close to the office & downtown – yep! This we have in spades. My walk to work is a beautiful 20 minute walk through a leafy walking path, through streets lined with shops and cafes, and over Darling Harbour via a gorgeous pedestrian bridge. Downtown is a mere 10 minutes walk from there. Although, I’m also quite happy with our suburb’s downtown area and don’t even really feel the need to go into the city for bars, restaurants, etc – we have a great selection here in Pyrmont.
Close to the beach….ehhh…we are about a 10 minute walk away from a park on the water, where there are steps down into the water and where you can sunbathe on the grass and swim in the harbour if you like. But, not exactly a beach. And, I’ve heard sharks are much more plentiful in the harbour than on the beaches 🙂
No character…but lots of cardboard, on our move-in weekend.My walking commute over the Pyrmont Bridge every day
In part one, I covered the beaches & wildlife, and ended the post by saying Nick and I were off to dinner at a local restaurant, which brings me nicely to my next favorite thing about Sydney…
FOOD!
Everywhere we have been here, the food has been fantastic. Sydney has a worldwide reputation for great food and great coffee, and boy have they earned it. Even when we visited the most hole-in-the-wall pub, with sticky floors and tables and a surly bartender, the burger we ordered was cooked to perfect medium, juicy and clearly homemade, with a gorgeous salad and fresh hot chips.
Example of a typical pub meal – nicely presented and absolutely delicious.
We are looking forward to our first fine-dining experience in Sydney, at Momofuku Seiobo, for our fifth dating anniversary in a few weeks. Our minds will surely be blown.
Oh yes…and the grocery store has some interesting things in the meat section…
FESTIVALS
There always seems to be something going on in Sydney. Since we arrived on 17 October, we’ve been to the night noodle markets in Hyde Park, where a bunch of vendors set up booths selling amazing Asian foods…
…after the noodle markets closed, there was the Santa Festival prior to Christmas (free concerts, fireworks, a Santa Run, and a bunch of Santas in Darling Harbour you could paddleboat to & around)…
Santas!
…after the Santa festival was Christmas, and of course New Year’s Eve in Sydney is spectacular (though we were in Ottawa over Christmas so missed it this year), and then in January was the Sydney Festival with concerts and food galore, capped off on 26 January with Australia Day (Australia’s “Canada Day”) and some boat ballets and spectacular fireworks…
…and now that Sydney Festival is done, it’s on to the Lunar New Year! See what I mean? The celebrating never stops around here! Sydney certainly knows how to keep summer rolling. Being slightly Type-A, I’m a little overwhelmed by everything that’s available – you could never see and do everything – but it certainly is nice to have so many options!
DRIVING
Driving here has been something else. Not only because we’re driving on the left side of the road, which takes some getting used to, and not necessarily in the ways that you expect:
Several times we have briefly thought there was either no one driving a car, or a dog driving (actually the dog or empty seat was the passenger side)
Reaching over the incorrect shoulder to put your seatbelt on because you’re used to it being over your left shoulder when you’re the driver, and vice versa
Using the windshield wipers when you intended to use the turn signal
Checking your blind spot when turning right across traffic, even though there is surely no one coming from behind you
Going around to the wrong side of the car (e.g. driver will walk around to passenger side)
I find myself habitually looking up for the rear view mirror to check my makeup when I am the one sitting in the passenger seat
Often looking the wrong way first when crossing the street…I now just err on the side of caution and always look both ways
Getting out of the wrong side of a taxi…you should get out on the curb side, but I am so used to that being the other side…
The unshakeable feeling that cars turning right at a light are going to turn into your lane and hit you straight on…
And not to mention cycling on the left…remembering to keep left, not right, and my balance is all off now because I need to signal turns and stops with my right hand, not my left…
There are also some different rules here that took some getting used to:
Speeding of any kind is not tolerated and there are hidden speed cameras everywhere which tolerate max 4km/h over the limit
No left turns on red (same as right on red in Canada and the US) and there are red light cameras which will catch you if you try
The bus lanes are strictly for buses (and bikes) and there are cameras which will catch you…
We’ve seen a few interesting road signs…
uh, ok.Kanga crossingBike lane…on the side of a 100km/h highway
And finally, navigation and parking in Sydney city is nearly impossible for a newcomer…in fact, after we arrived at our temporary living, we mainly just left our rental car parked and didn’t use it, and finally we returned it ahead of schedule because it was just sitting there gathering dust due to the hassle of driving:
There are so many one-way streets, we would often end up crossing the Harbour Bridge before we realized what was happening
Oh and by the way, there is about a $6 toll every time you cross…one way…so a mistake which costs you $12 each time.
Parking spots and parking garages are absolutely tiny with many tight corners, and also extremely expensive – the one at my work is $23 per day!
Which is a nice segue into part 3, coming soon…a special post on cost of living here in Sydney…one of the best…and most expensive cities in the world.
Ottawa -> California -> Sydney 