The Magic of a Flat White

G'day Jetlag!

It's really hard to break old habits. Instead of falling asleep in bed like a normal person, I woke up on my 2nd day at the lovely hour of 3:30am local time (i.e. 10:30am in CA) on the couch with the TV on low and the lights on high. If you asked Colin, this scenario has nothing to do with my jetlag and everything to do with my bad habit of "accidentally" falling asleep on the couch. The only difference is now, Colin's not here to wake me up in the wee hours of the morning to remind me to go to bed. Somehow I managed to fall back asleep (on the couch of course) and wake up at a more reasonable hour. I left my apt at 8am and headed to a Catholic Church in nearby Chinatown. You would think that I would have gotten there on time considering that I was wide awake starting at 6:30am but Google maps gave me "wrong directions" - the horror!

After church, I headed back to Balmain to meet some friends for brunch. Seeing it was my 2nd day in Oz, I wasn't familiar with Sydney transport. So rather than be late for brunch, I opted to take a taxi from Chinatown vs. walk for ~40 minutes. I learned one important lesson in this taxi ride - Taxis in Sydney are e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e. In theory, my 3.5mi journey and 15mins taxi ride should have cost ~$12 USD with tip. In reality, my taxi ride was almost 2x that rate because in Sydney, you pay not only for the distance but also for time spent in the taxi. Did I mention that the traffic lights in Sydney take a really long time to turn from red to green? Note To Self: In order to have budget to eat over the next 4 weeks, I, Rosalie vow to walk, bus or train around Sydney vs. rely on taxis to get around. :)

Goodbye for now overpriced friend

G'day Balmain!

Brunch was on the agenda on a sunny Sunday so I met Stephanie, Jenn (a friend from my days in LA who now lives/works in Aussie) and her boyfriend Ryan at Kasbah, a Moroccan/Middle Eastern inspired restaurant on Darling Street in Balmain. The food was delicious and the portions were so big I had to take pictures.

Ryan decided to order the French Toast with Aussie Bacon

Stephanie decided to order the same thing

Jenn with the Kasbah Tagine

After our Brunch bonanza, we walked around Darling Street and eventually made our way to the water. Jenn took over the reigns of being my unofficial "tour guide" and decided to show me around The Rocks - a neighborhood that truly encompasses the past (the indigenous Cadigal people lived at the rocks for thousands of years), present and future of Australia. During the weekend, The Rocks is usually busy with people exploring the open air markets. However this weekend, The Rocks was host to the annual Aroma Festival. We had all sorts of aroma that afternoon - good coffee (i.e. flat white), rich desserts and "tea leaves" (that's code for "we had our tea leaves read by some psychics").

View from the Ferry Landing at Balmain

The Opera House & Circular Quay

We've landed at The Rocks!

Crowds at The Aroma Festival

All smiles before trying my 1st Flat White

Jenn and me enjoying the festival

After the festival, Jenn showed me around the CBD (aka Central Business District) before catching a bus to her home. I crossed the Pyrmont Bridge and thanked the sun, stars and moon above for bringing me to Sydney.

Sydney Harbour at sunset

Who would have thought that after a bad case of jetlag I would have survived a full day in Sydney? I guess there really is something magical in Aussie coffee. :)

Next on the blog agenda: 1st week at the office!

Cheers,

Rosalie