LA vs Sydney

It's funny, you just assume that things are the same everywhere - brands, drinks, food, etc.   Then you move to a new place and try to order a "kamikaze" shot at a bar and get the weirdest look. After googling what goes into the shot and having an Aussie bartender attempt to make one without ever having heard of it, you are unpleasantly surprised at what you get.

As much as I love it here in Sydney, there are things back home that I can't get here and miss.  So here is my list in no particular order:

• Toliet Seat Covers
• Miller Light (light beer here = less strength)
• Milano Cookies
• In and Out Burgers
• Coffeemate 
• Taco Bell/Dell Taco (Access to late night Mexican food in general)
• Hawaiian Food (Completely nonexistent here if you don't count hawaiian pizza (called Tropical Pizza)
• Bartenders that can make cocktails quickly (takes at least 10 minutes for a drink here)
• Monterey Jack Cheese
• Tapatillo or Cholula
• Bananas (they have them here but because of the recent floods, they cost $10-15 a kilo
• Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream that doesn't cost $7 for one scoop

Here is a flipped list of things that I love in Sydney that I wouldn't be able to get back at home

• Pavalova (yummy Australian meringue dessert)
• Burger with the lot (egg, bacon and beet-root - sometimes pineapple) 
• Baramundi (yummy Australian fish)
• Cider on tap at almost every bar!
• Mars Bars
• Sticky Date Pudding
• Lemon, lime and bitters (awesome drink!)
• Tim Tams (yummy chocolate cookies, or "biscuits")

Melbourne

I went to Melbourne for the weekend with two of my Irish friends - Ann & Orla. Funny story about Ann - we studied together at UCD in Dublin and I saw that she was living in Sydney on Facebook, so I messaged her.  We were planning to meet up in the city (both work in the CBD) but one Saturday as I was jogging around Pyrmont, we literally ran into each other. Turns out she just lives down the road from me!

Anyways, we decided to take a weekend and see Melbourne, which is in capital of the of Victoria.  It's an hour and 15 minute plane ride.  I had previously gone for the day for work - flew up in the morning, attended a seminar that I planned and then had drinks and dinner with some coworkers - so I didn't get to see that much.  It's kind of like San Francisco, whereas Sydney is like LA. It's a smaller, more slow paced kind of city.  There's a lot of character in Melbourne and it's known for it's food and shopping.

We flew into Melbourne on Friday night after work, checked into our hostel and then went out for a quick drink.  The next day, we went up to the Eureka Sky Deck which is on the 88th floor and you can basically see the whole city from there.

Then we had lunch at the famous Press Club which is home to Master Chef judge George Calombaris.  We got there at 1:30 and had some delicious and yummy courses plus two bottles of wine!

After we went to a few pubs and had a few more drinks, cause that's the way Aussies roll! (and the Irish and American!)  Of course the night wouldn't be complete without a stop off at "Lord of the Fries" for some "hot chips," something I've become accustomed to eating after a night of drinking!

The next day we went to the Melbourne Aquarium and saw some cool penguins, sharks and other aquatic creatures. 

After the aquarium, we sat out at a cafe and had some yummy coffee and headed back to home to Sydney.  Overall a great weekend away! 

People In Your Life

It's interesting how your life can change from one year to the next and how the people in your lives come and go. One minute, you are super close to this one person, see/talk to them everyday, but a year down the road, you have no idea what they are up to.  I have about 10 cousins here in Australia that I honestly would only see once or twice every few years, but now they are just a bus ride or phone call away.  That of course means, unfortunately, that the people I used to see every day - my parents, my sister and bro, and friends back in LA aren't as accessible.

As I settle into my life here in Sydney and slowly acclimate to my new surroundings, I can't help but think how much things have changed and how different life is.  I am making new friends, I have new roommates and I have new coworkers who I see every day.  But what gives me happiness is knowing that despite all this, there are always constants in your life.  Your family will always be your family, no matter how far you are or how long you've been gone. There are friends you know will always be there for you and even if your paths change and you don't see them for a while, when you do, you can just pick up where you left off.  And with technology today, communicating with people from halfway across the world is just a click of a button away.

Happy 1st Birthday Abby!!

Wow, I can't believe my little chubby wubby is 1 years old. Another sad occasion to be missing while I am down under.  Happy 1st Birthday Abigail Yoshimura!