Full of fruit

Julia and I awoke from our naps on the brisk but sunny Wednesday afternoon to go for another drive with Chris as he mixed errands with another brief tour of Sydney. We cruised through neighborhoods and by schools, commented on the high school ladies playing netball (some sort of mix of lacrosse and basketball exclusively for females) in their flouncing pleated skirts, and wound around lagoons that led to the ocean. Chris noted, "Development in Sydney is so ferocious, it is truly amazing so much of this is left underdeveloped." Indeed even with polished European and modern architecture overflowing in downtown areas, both those concentrations of humanity and suburbia in Sydney do emit an aura of a better connectedness to nature than the buzzed lawns and white picket fences of Mr. and Mrs. Jones.

One little inlet took us to a cute little parking lot (never thought I would use those adjectives for a parking lot...) that is actually a viewing area! We ran across more of these on our drives with the family, little turnoffs where Aussies and tourists can pull their cars off the road and get some perspective of the beautiful terrain on which they live. This one gave us a lovely view of one of Sydney's many beaches, and Chris threatened to take us surfing in the next few days if it works out! It is chilly outside but people still surf year-round because the water is still warm... What a life.

My geo major friends would be happy - some sweet rock formations!

And wildlife. Though this particular species isn't the most unique I've ever seen...

Another nice warning sign.

Sunset along a different beach we walked along.

Surfboards itching for warmer weather.

Following errands, the three of us headed back home to chill out, watch some silly Australian TV with the family, and hang out with their daughter Ally. I actually had the hardest time understanding her because while I have had a decent amount of familiarity with Australian accents, Aussie accent plus college-age speak and slang is not something my brain can make complete sense of quite yet. We actually got an opportunity to listen to a different Aussie flavor too when her boyfriend and his Adelaide accent came over to dine with us.

Dining at home is an experience in itself. Being a foodie and letting myself be on vacation may mean I will have a little more work to do to get back in shape this summer, but hey, that's part of the fun - experiencing the food and culture! Julia and I only have one case study on Australian food, and that is Janet's cooking. I'm not sure if insights we glean from her style of cooking alone can be generalized to Aussie cooking, but it seems the general trend is to pick fresher ingredients, spend more time cooking, and enjoy the culinary process. I'm used to the natural and fresh style of my own mom's cooking, but in general I would characterize Americans as being more prone to choose something quick and pre-processed rather than spend time creating their food.

I'm definitely a fan of Janet's cooking, and I think Julia would definitely say the same! And the family asked if we would like to join them in adding some wine as a complement to the meal, why not? Chris gave us tips from his vast wine knowledge and was thrilled to have us taste various Aussie varieties. Or maybe he was just excited about having more people to share with! A couple hours after the initial cooking process began, we were having conversation over roast chicken, broccoli, and potatoes accompanied by tastings of a pinot grigio and then of a pinot noir. Yum.

With Chris still in his businessman attire despite being done with work for several hours and slightly losing his acuity from the wine (his glass was refilled a bit more than ours, don't worry), the family helped us plan our next few days. Julia and I had done surprisingly a decent job at figuring out ideal sites that were close to each other and designating lists of places and activities for each day, but of course they all had some great recommendations as well.

The most fruitful recommendation of all is that we do not have to get going right away in the morning and we can hop on the bus to downtown after breakfast. 11 hours of rest and a decent "brekkie" in our systems, may sightseeing day two be fruitful as well!