Bugs, wine, and crucks

Not surprisingly, Australia has a lot of seafood, some of which I have never heard of before. There is the barramundi (Brooke had this one night thought it was similar to flounder), sand whiting (described as a creamy white fish), and let's not forget Moreton Bay bugs! The bugs are not really bugs, thankfully, but crustaceans that hang out at the bottom on the water. There are two types of bugs, Balmain bugs and Moreton Bay bugs, and they are caught year round. I have not tried one , but a colleague said they were similar to lobster. I'm adding it to the list! 

One block away from our new apartment is a wonderful wine bar called, Bar Barossa. It has lots of wine from the Barossa Vally in South Australia and is very charming inside. This is where we went to celebrate signing the lease for our new apartment! Move in date is next Wednesday! They have an amazing menu of fancy combinations I've never had, such as Smoked Ocean Trout croquette with baby leaves, shaved fennel, pear salad with Hahndorf chutney--I had this and it was amazing. 

All over Brisbane you can see crucks --the half car, half truck combo from I think the 1970's in the US. They are everywhere! They have nice ones, sporty ones (that wish they were a Mustang), beat up ones, work ones...it's hilarious!

Last, but not least, there are these absolutely gorgeous trees all around Brisbane! They are called Jacarandas and bloom from around September to October'ish. Apparently, In October/November some sort of red tree then begins blooming, followed by a yellow one in the later months. It will be like living in a rainbow!

First day of work! (Oct 4, 2010)

We started work on Monday, Oct 4th. We spent the first day going through the induction process and getting laptops, etc. Deloitte has three floors in the 38 floor building and we are on the 25th floor. This is the client facing floor, so it is fancy (just like us, haha!). The whole floor is windows, which provides amazing panoramic views of the city. They also have a break room with Weeetabix and Nescafe haha!

View from 25th floor
Deloitte balcony

There is also a balcony that overlooks the water (and our new apartment). Apparently, they have BBQ's and happy hours out there sometimes, which I am really excited about it. We snuck out there for a minute to take a picture, but it didn't do it justice.

Pie Face!

There are cute coffee shops everywhere, which is awesome! The coffee drinks are called different things and I still have not figured them all out. A long black is an Americano, and I think a short black is just a really strong Americano! The cappuccinos seem more like lattes and then there is this thing called a flat white, which sounds like something between a latte and an Americano, but I still need to investigate more.  Pie Face appears to be a chain around the area and has incredible mini pot pie type things filled with all sorts of different things. You can get it "stacked," which means the out mashed mashes pies, topped with mashed potatoes and gravy on top of the pie. It sounds and looks bizarre, but it's delish and I will take everyone who visits me there!

Kangaroos, dingoes, wombats, oh my!

Me and another Roo!

On Sunday (belated post due to lack of Internet access for a few days) we went to the animal sanctuary just outside of the city. It was absolutely amazing!  You could walk amongst the Roos in a large field as they lounged around and ate. 

Dingoe--so cute!

They were adorable and incredibly tame and comfortable around people. You can pet and feed them and they will walk right up to you. They have a very interesting walk--not what I was expecting--and are fast when they hop!

Family of koalas
(see the joey on the right?)

We also saw cuddly koalas and had the opportunity to hold one! It was like holding a stuffed animal- cute, small, and soft. This particular sanctuary had over 100 koalas on site, so we had several chances to see them in action. We also saw dingoes (so cute), wombats, and flying foxes (aka, adorable, fuzzy bats). 

We made it!

Despite the incredibly long flight, we finally made it to Brisbane, Australia! We left the U.S. around 11:30pm on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 and arrived two days later at 6:00am on Thursday, September 30, 2010. Wow, that was a loooong and squished flight! I definitely need to fly business class next time.

View of bridge from city center waterfront

(also the view from what will hopefully

be our apartment)

We managed to stay up until 6:30pm the first day, after getting settled in our hotel, setting up local bank accounts, and getting new phones. The city reminds me of the Northwest U.S.; akin to a small scale Vancouver, Canada, with lots of tall, glass buildings, surrounding water, and coffee shops on every corner.  While it's spring here, the weather reminds me of Seattle in the fall--cool and overcast. There are several bridges, each with their own style and character, connecting the main city center to the surrounding areas, such as South Brisbane/West End and Kangaroo Point.

Schnitzel sandwiches?

At least from what I can tell from Brisbane, there are a lot of things that are different between Australia and the U.S., (see Things to Ponder below), but there is also a lot that is the same. In the main shopping area you will find several stores that we have in the U.S., such as Guess, French Connection, Lululemon, Tiffany's, Fossil, etc., but often they have a twist. For example, while they too have Subway and Starbucks here, the menu are somewhat different. Subway serves chicken schnitzel sandwiches and Starbucks serves lamb pies!  Americanos are called Long Blacks and, sorry, sugar free syrup and splenda are not common.  There is also a Target, but it's pricey! We saw dresses for around $60...what happened to affordable shopping and prices around $19.99?  

The food is yummy, but insanely expensive. Everyone warned me about this, but I figured D.C. was pretty expensive so it couldn't be much worse. Club sandwiches, at lunch, cost around $20.00! It's like D.C. dinner prices for lunch and many things are a la carte. An omelet at a casual outdoor cafe would set you back $18.95 and an additional $3.95 for a side of hash browns. We have not gone grocery shopping yet (because we still live in a hotel), but a quick glance at prices does not assuage my wallet's concerns. Next time you see me, I may be a few pants sizes smaller!

Fig tree in main street

The scenery is beautiful and intriguing! About 80% of the flora and fauna here is unique to Australia, which I think is just amazing. There is a gorgeous, hug fig tree in the middle of Eagle St (one of the main roads that parallels the water). The tree branches are like vines and look like they are growing into the ground, instead of up from it!  There are also trees with huge leaves, brightly colored and very interesting flowers (yet no one seems to know what anything is called, haha!), and lots of parks.

Our office

We start work on Monday, which is exciting, but I wish there was more time to explore beforehand too. This is our building...on the water with a great view!

We put in an application for an amazing apartment, so please keep your fingers crossed!









Things to ponder about Brisbane and Australia?
Why are the egg yolks orange? 
Why are there needle syringe disposal boxes in the public bathroom stalls?