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| This great white shark was s-c-a-r-y |
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| The only type of octopus I like- fake ones |
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| The under water bridge |
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| We stared at this fish tank for a good hour, just sitting and watching the exotic lil fishies swim by... |
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Under The Sea At Sydney Aquarium
Here are some pictures from when Kristin and I went to the Sydney Aquarium:
Hip Hip Hooray! Patrick Saved The Day!
Good news! Patrick, one of my favorite waiters at the Summit, has retrieved all my lost data from my computer! I have all my pictures back, which means I can now share them with you. Unfortunately, the computer itself still isn't working, but I have all my data saved and stored now on an external hard drive. As a show of my appreciation I baked Patrick brownies and wrote "Thank You" in M&Ms. A small token for the huge way he salvaged my Australia memories. My managers at Summit found this to be quite amusing, and for some reason they were surprised I could bake (although I would hardly call adding water and an egg to a Betty Crocker brownie mix baking). I can live without my computer. I cannot live without my photos. Now I can go on living! I am smiling from ear to ear. Now, with no further ado, here are the photos I promised to share with you once retrieved. Enjoy!
Monday, November 29, 2010
K+S In The City: Day 10-Skydiving Finale
Kristin and I saved the best for last. On Sunday, our final full day together, we went SKYDIVING! This act of total insanity was perhaps the number one activity on my to-do-list in life, not just in Australia, and thanks to my bestie (slang for "best friend") this dream has at last became a reality. Jumping out of an airplane over the beaches of Australia was not something I had included on my itinerary of things to do with Kristin while she was visiting. Why? Because this is something I never fathomed Kristin would do. She is terrified of heights. So you can imagine my utmost surprise when she suggested we go. "Let's go skydiving," Kristin insisted. "This may be my only time in Australia and you only live once. If I'm going to jump out of a plane I want to do it here with you." She didn't have to twist my arm to get me to agree, I was sold instantly. All week we checked the weather trying to determine which day would be the best day to go, and each day the weather forecast showed rain, clouds and more rain. The only sign of hope for sun was on Sunday, and so we crossed our fingers that come Sunday we would wake to sunny, blue skies. To our delight, we did: the sun decided that Sunday was a perfect day to come out and play, making it a perfect day for us to fulfill our week-long skydiving fantasy. We called the skydiving company and booked our spots, and then hopped a train to North Wollongong (located about an hour south of Sydney along the coast) where the daring act would take place.
Accompanying us on our adventure was Harley, a co-worker of mine from the Summit. The prior evening while orbiting around the bar, Kristin had mentioned our plans to go skydiving and Harley said that if we went he wanted to come. Together the three of us sat on the train, anxious, eager and excited to arrive at our destination. It worked out to our advantage that Harley came with us, because his sister lived in Wollongong and had generously offered to chauffeur us around for the afternoon. She met us at the train station and drove us to Skydive the Beach Sydney on the Wollongong North Beach. We arrived around 1:00 pm. Once there we had to fill out paper work (basically signing our lives away) and then wait until our names were called to suit up. This was the worst part of it all- the waiting. This was especially true for Kristin, whose face read fear and worry (watching her have a near panic attack was pretty entertaining for the rest of us, however). Despite her nerves, she was determined to jump no matter what. I'm proud of her for punching her fear in the face and embodying the true spirit of a dare devil!
Finally, around 2:00 pm our names were called. First, we were instructed to put on the appropriate skydiving pants located in a nearby bin. Then we put on a fanny pack that held a life vest if we happened to accidentally land in the ocean (or, in a worse scenario, crash into the ocean). Next, we stepped into our harnesses which were tightly fastened to our bodies by the skydiving crew. Then we were briefly instructed on what to do once in the plane. This instructional session took a total of about one minute; basically we were told to cross our arms across our chest and fall forwards out of the plane. Yup, that was it. I can't say any of us were feeling confident about how what we were suppose to do once the airplane doors opened and we were suppose to jump, but we figured if everyone else before us could do it then we could too. Lastly, we were paired up with our jumping instructor. This was tandem skydiving, so we each jumped with a licensed professional strapped to our back. I'm embarrassed to admit that I cannot remember my instructors name! How terrible of me. I guess I was too nervous to retain that information at the time. For the purpose of this blog, I will call him Joe.
At 2:30 our skydiving crew loaded onto a bus which drove us to the airport. By this point the adrenaline was fully pumping through our veins. I was hyped and ready to go. Kristin was terrified and ready to go. Harley was both hyped, terrified and ready to go. We all climbed on board the teeny, tiny airplane. There were a total of eight people jumping in our session, so including instructors there were 16 of us in total on the plane. And there was the pilot, so make that 17 persons crammed on the plane. There were no seats to sit on inside. Instead, each person sat on the airplane floor in a line with their legs straddling the person in front of them facing the back of the plane. We were packed in like sardines. Once set, we were off! The plan took us 14,000 feet into the air, over the ocean, beaches and towns below. We climbed up and up and up, past the clouds and towards the heavens. The view from the plane was spectacular and once I get my pictures back I will share this view with you!
And then, suddenly, it was time to jump! The plane door located immediately to my left was pushed open and I felt a cold gust of wind and water burst over my body. By this point I was securely fastened to Joe and sitting on his lap. We were third in line to go. I watched wide-eyed, heart pumping, as the two pairs before me disappeared out the open door. Then Joe tapped me on the shoulder and motioned that it was now our turn to go. We shuffled on our knees to the edge of the open door. I crossed my arms across my chest. Joe tilted my head back against his chest. Then before I knew it my body was no longer on solid ground. It took a few seconds for me to grasp that I was rapidly falling like a torpedo through the air at what felt like a million miles an hour. Once I was finally aware of this fact, I became aware of how darn uncomfortable it was. We were moving so fast that the skin on my face was contorted every which way. My ears were popping and ringing quite painfully due to the rapid altitude drop. And it was hard to breathe. As we fell, air rushed into my mouth and filled my nostrils, but it took a conscious and hard effort to actually push that air back out in a breathing pattern. Falling, I recalled someone saying that it was a good idea to purchase a video of your skydive experience because the first 60 seconds (this free fall period) went by so quickly that it was hard to remember. However, I clearly remember this fall and my feelings that I wished it was shorter. Those 60 seconds felt like a couple of minutes, and I would have been quite content had the free fall only lasted for 30 seconds or so.
My salvation came at second 61 when Joe pulled the cords releasing the parachature attached to his back. At this moment, we transitioned from falling rocks to soaring birds. From this point onwards the experience was incredible. We glided, twirled and swirled through the air while gazing as far as the eye could see up and down the coast, peering observantly at the ocean, beach, towns, greenery and people below. This is as close to flying as any human being will ever come, and it was magical (corney but true). It was almost an out-of-body experience, one that is difficult to accurately and justly explain with words. I was like an angel peering a the beautiful creations of God on the earth below. I felt as if I had been transported to another time and place, to my own little world of peace and tranquility, meditation and stillness, and pure joy and euphoria. It was incredible. My advice to you is to do the same (that is skydive) so that you can have this experience.
I didn't want to come down from this high; but as the law of gravity states, what goes up must come down, and down I came eventually landing among the other divers on a grassy landing patch. I was the first of the three of us to land. It was now 3:00 pm. I looked up searching the sky for Harley and Kristin. I couldn't see Kristin, but I certainly could hear her. She was screaming (I think it was probably a combination scream of fear and enjoyment) at the top of her lungs. I burst out laughing watching her land. We peeled off our parachutes and harnesses, ran to each other and tightly embraced, smiles plastered to our faces. We did it! We were speechless. We were happy. Harley landed shortly after. He came wobbling over (our legs were quite wobbly upon landing) and asked, "Do I have snot on my face?" I burst out laughing. Plastered all over his face was a crusty, white substance. I wanted to yack. "Oh my gosh," I exclaimed. "If you mean that (pointing to the goop on his face) stuff all over your face, then YES." Everyone was laughing now. Harley was just getting over a cold, and apparently the instant he jumped from the plane the snot housed in his nose came shooting out and landed smack-dab in the center of his face. He even has video proof of the occurrence, as he chose to record and purchase his skydiving experience. It was perhaps the most disgusting yet simultaneously hilarious thing I have ever viewed. Kristin also recorded her skydiving experience, and this video I much prefered viewing. It too was hilarious. Kristin is so animated throughout the entire fall; it is really fun to watch.
All in all our skydiving experience was an enormous success. We all were so glad that we did it. It was the perfect end to an already amazing trip, and an experience that Kristin and I will remember for the rest of our lives. And if I can get four mates who have never gone skydiving before to go with me then I can jump for free! I am certainly going to try and take advantage of that deal.
Accompanying us on our adventure was Harley, a co-worker of mine from the Summit. The prior evening while orbiting around the bar, Kristin had mentioned our plans to go skydiving and Harley said that if we went he wanted to come. Together the three of us sat on the train, anxious, eager and excited to arrive at our destination. It worked out to our advantage that Harley came with us, because his sister lived in Wollongong and had generously offered to chauffeur us around for the afternoon. She met us at the train station and drove us to Skydive the Beach Sydney on the Wollongong North Beach. We arrived around 1:00 pm. Once there we had to fill out paper work (basically signing our lives away) and then wait until our names were called to suit up. This was the worst part of it all- the waiting. This was especially true for Kristin, whose face read fear and worry (watching her have a near panic attack was pretty entertaining for the rest of us, however). Despite her nerves, she was determined to jump no matter what. I'm proud of her for punching her fear in the face and embodying the true spirit of a dare devil!
Finally, around 2:00 pm our names were called. First, we were instructed to put on the appropriate skydiving pants located in a nearby bin. Then we put on a fanny pack that held a life vest if we happened to accidentally land in the ocean (or, in a worse scenario, crash into the ocean). Next, we stepped into our harnesses which were tightly fastened to our bodies by the skydiving crew. Then we were briefly instructed on what to do once in the plane. This instructional session took a total of about one minute; basically we were told to cross our arms across our chest and fall forwards out of the plane. Yup, that was it. I can't say any of us were feeling confident about how what we were suppose to do once the airplane doors opened and we were suppose to jump, but we figured if everyone else before us could do it then we could too. Lastly, we were paired up with our jumping instructor. This was tandem skydiving, so we each jumped with a licensed professional strapped to our back. I'm embarrassed to admit that I cannot remember my instructors name! How terrible of me. I guess I was too nervous to retain that information at the time. For the purpose of this blog, I will call him Joe.
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| Harley, me and Kristin outside the Skydive place - - psyched! |
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| So nervous and excited! |
And then, suddenly, it was time to jump! The plane door located immediately to my left was pushed open and I felt a cold gust of wind and water burst over my body. By this point I was securely fastened to Joe and sitting on his lap. We were third in line to go. I watched wide-eyed, heart pumping, as the two pairs before me disappeared out the open door. Then Joe tapped me on the shoulder and motioned that it was now our turn to go. We shuffled on our knees to the edge of the open door. I crossed my arms across my chest. Joe tilted my head back against his chest. Then before I knew it my body was no longer on solid ground. It took a few seconds for me to grasp that I was rapidly falling like a torpedo through the air at what felt like a million miles an hour. Once I was finally aware of this fact, I became aware of how darn uncomfortable it was. We were moving so fast that the skin on my face was contorted every which way. My ears were popping and ringing quite painfully due to the rapid altitude drop. And it was hard to breathe. As we fell, air rushed into my mouth and filled my nostrils, but it took a conscious and hard effort to actually push that air back out in a breathing pattern. Falling, I recalled someone saying that it was a good idea to purchase a video of your skydive experience because the first 60 seconds (this free fall period) went by so quickly that it was hard to remember. However, I clearly remember this fall and my feelings that I wished it was shorter. Those 60 seconds felt like a couple of minutes, and I would have been quite content had the free fall only lasted for 30 seconds or so.
My salvation came at second 61 when Joe pulled the cords releasing the parachature attached to his back. At this moment, we transitioned from falling rocks to soaring birds. From this point onwards the experience was incredible. We glided, twirled and swirled through the air while gazing as far as the eye could see up and down the coast, peering observantly at the ocean, beach, towns, greenery and people below. This is as close to flying as any human being will ever come, and it was magical (corney but true). It was almost an out-of-body experience, one that is difficult to accurately and justly explain with words. I was like an angel peering a the beautiful creations of God on the earth below. I felt as if I had been transported to another time and place, to my own little world of peace and tranquility, meditation and stillness, and pure joy and euphoria. It was incredible. My advice to you is to do the same (that is skydive) so that you can have this experience.
I didn't want to come down from this high; but as the law of gravity states, what goes up must come down, and down I came eventually landing among the other divers on a grassy landing patch. I was the first of the three of us to land. It was now 3:00 pm. I looked up searching the sky for Harley and Kristin. I couldn't see Kristin, but I certainly could hear her. She was screaming (I think it was probably a combination scream of fear and enjoyment) at the top of her lungs. I burst out laughing watching her land. We peeled off our parachutes and harnesses, ran to each other and tightly embraced, smiles plastered to our faces. We did it! We were speechless. We were happy. Harley landed shortly after. He came wobbling over (our legs were quite wobbly upon landing) and asked, "Do I have snot on my face?" I burst out laughing. Plastered all over his face was a crusty, white substance. I wanted to yack. "Oh my gosh," I exclaimed. "If you mean that (pointing to the goop on his face) stuff all over your face, then YES." Everyone was laughing now. Harley was just getting over a cold, and apparently the instant he jumped from the plane the snot housed in his nose came shooting out and landed smack-dab in the center of his face. He even has video proof of the occurrence, as he chose to record and purchase his skydiving experience. It was perhaps the most disgusting yet simultaneously hilarious thing I have ever viewed. Kristin also recorded her skydiving experience, and this video I much prefered viewing. It too was hilarious. Kristin is so animated throughout the entire fall; it is really fun to watch.
All in all our skydiving experience was an enormous success. We all were so glad that we did it. It was the perfect end to an already amazing trip, and an experience that Kristin and I will remember for the rest of our lives. And if I can get four mates who have never gone skydiving before to go with me then I can jump for free! I am certainly going to try and take advantage of that deal.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
K+S In The City: Day 8 & 9- Working Weekend
Friday I had to work a double, again. Luckily Kristin was a great sport about it and easily kept herself occupied souvenir shopping. That evening she met up with Sara to celebrate our friend Matt's birthday, and once finished with work I joined them. It was a birthday party unlike any birthday party I had ever been too. Matt decided that for his birthday he wanted to go to a foam party. This was a novelty to me. All I gathered was that foam (the white, bubbly, soapy stuff) would be involved somehow. This assumption was correct. I entered the bar to a room full of people covered in foam, dancing in a sea of bubbles and having a grand 'ol time. From the ceiling hung a foam machine that would generate heaps of foam and dump it on the club-goers below. This was more than I had bargained for, and I opted to stay on the outskirts of the dance floor as far away from the foam-spitter as possible. We had a great time dancing, but the fumes and smell of the foam was unpleasant and slightly nauseating. We left after a short while. At least I left the cleanest I've ever been after a party. Although I have no intentions of ever returning to a foam party, I'm glad that I can add it to my list of "firsts".
Saturday I also had to work in the evening again, but we spent the morning at Paddy's Markets, Australia's original market, browsing the stalls full of souvenirs, clothing, jewelry, sun glasses and much, much more. Kristin again spent the evening with Sara while I worked. Then around 11:00 pm she came to the Summit. I had intended to meet up with them after work, so I was startled when I turned and saw Kristin walking towards me worried that something had happened. But no, she just came in to say hello. I introduced her to my co-workers and managers. Frank, who I am now quite fond of, told me to sign-off and go sit in the Orbit Lounge for some cocktails and tapas. Wahoo! I got off work early AND got free food and drink. Thank you Kristin for being such a good looking, charming visitor. I know it was the dimples that did it. We spent about an hour in the bar, circling round viewing Sydney at night before we headed home to rest up for the most exciting day of our trip yet -- skydiving day. Dun dun dunnnn...
Saturday I also had to work in the evening again, but we spent the morning at Paddy's Markets, Australia's original market, browsing the stalls full of souvenirs, clothing, jewelry, sun glasses and much, much more. Kristin again spent the evening with Sara while I worked. Then around 11:00 pm she came to the Summit. I had intended to meet up with them after work, so I was startled when I turned and saw Kristin walking towards me worried that something had happened. But no, she just came in to say hello. I introduced her to my co-workers and managers. Frank, who I am now quite fond of, told me to sign-off and go sit in the Orbit Lounge for some cocktails and tapas. Wahoo! I got off work early AND got free food and drink. Thank you Kristin for being such a good looking, charming visitor. I know it was the dimples that did it. We spent about an hour in the bar, circling round viewing Sydney at night before we headed home to rest up for the most exciting day of our trip yet -- skydiving day. Dun dun dunnnn...
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
K+S In The City: Day 7- The Zoo, Manicures & Fiery Nights
The sun went back into hiding on Thursday and the rain came back out to play, but we didn't let this stop us from heading to the zoo. The Taronga Zoo was chosen as the "Best Major Attraction" at the NSW Tourism Industry Awards, so you know we had to go. Getting to the zoo required taking a short ferry ride across the harbor. Then we had to climb aboard the Sky Safari Chair Lift, which carried us high about the trees , animals and people below to the entrance at the top. We disembarked, opened our umbrellas and spent the afternoon trekking around the zoo seeing the wild things contained within.
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| Riding on the Sky Safari Chair Lift |
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| View of Sydney from the Zoo |
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| The definition of adorable. I wanted to kidnap them. |
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| I like the way you hang dude |
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| Kristin's fashion inspiration |
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| The Aussie animal icon- Kangaroo |
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| Tasmanian Devil...much cuter than I was expecting |
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| I love peacocks, and this fellow was roaming freely around the zoo. He was our tour guide for a bit (or, as this picture may suggest- we chased him around a while) |
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| The butt looks painful |
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| Just monkey-ing around |
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| Baby elephant! |
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| The bird show we attended because after someone told me it was awesome and couldn't be missed. It was ok. The best part was probably the view of the city we saw behind... |
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| The bird show... |
We caught the last ferry back to the city. Then it was time for martini's and manicures, my favorite Thursday evening activity. Kristin and I arrived early and snabbed spots 1 and 2. Aubrey joined us and together we sipped sparkling wine while our fingers were filed, painted and polished. I walked away with bright pink nails, Kristin with deep red nails. Then we made our way to Darling Harbor for the "Harbourside Fiery Night" that was taking place. I'm still not 100% sure what exactly Fiery Nights was, but I do know that for weeks I had seen advertisements urging the public to come see the "skies come alive with fire." The website touted: "Feast on delicious cuisine from around the world while fire cannons put on a show." It sounded pretty worthwhile to me and something different to do, but the "fiery" night was a fiery dud. I was expecting a magnificent cannon-shooting fireworks show, or something of that nature that would knock my socks off (or at least my hat had I been was wearing one). But nope, all my clothing remained put. All that we saw was an occasionally blast of fire off in the distance. That was it. I know, its boring to read and it was boring to see. Still, we enjoyed chilling on the harbor, fully aware that sometimes you have to make your nights fiery on your own.
K+S In The City: Day 6- Sculpture By The Sea
Wednesday Kristin and I headed to the beach where we embarked on the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk. It was an absolutely beautiful day (one of the few we had), and the entire walk we took in stunning views of the coast.
When we reached Tamarama, the center point of the walk, we had the additional benefit of viewing artwork along with the coastline as part of Sculpture by the Sea. Sculpture by the Sea takes place in November only and is an art exhibition in which the coastal walk is "transformed into a giant sculpture park of over 100 sculptures by artists from Australia and across the world" (www.sculpturebythesea.com). This, in my opinion, is most definitely the best way to view artwork- with soft, white sand as the canvas and a piercing blue ocean and sky as the backdrop. Kristin and I roamed among the statues which were scattered across the sand, rocks and grass which lined the water. Around each bend we discovered new statues, some of which were hidden within the landscape surrounding us. Below are some of my favorites we saw that day.
That evening I had to work again. It was hard to drag myself into the restaurant and get into "work mode" after such a lovely day at the beach. However, this evening turned out to be perhaps the best night I've ever had at work, the reason being that I finally consumed my first meal at the restaurant. Day after day, week after week, and by this point month after month, I stood at the hostess stand watching the mouth watering starters, mains and desserts pass my by on trays. Smelling the tantalizing aromas of the food, I tried with all my might to halt my salivary glands and suppress the hunger raging in my stomach. I fought this same battle every night. But on this Wednesday night I had the unexpected pleasure of eating those dishes I had dreamt about eating for so long. Finally, I surrendered the battle and gave into the temptations before me. Why? Because for some reason my manager Maricia thought I deserved a Summit meal. "Sarah, " she said at the start of the night, "have you ever had anything on the menu before?" When I replied no she seemed taken aback. A few hours later she came over and handed me a menu. "Here," she said. "Pick out something you'd like to eat. I'll put in the order and we'll have dinner after your shift." I was psyched. I don't know why she was offering me a meal, but I wasn't going to question her motivation!
For my main meal I selected Michael Moore's signature dish, the twice cooked pork belly. The menu description is as follows: glass crackling, royal gala apple & radish salad, apple vanilla marmalade & apple balsamic toffee, roasting pan juices. Delicious. For a side we shared broccoli with red chilli and garlic butter. It had been a while since I had fresh broccoli, so this simple side was especially enjoyable to eat. And for dessert (yup, I had the works baby!) I selected the hot raspberry "meringue souffle", served with a raspberry custard and clotted meander valley cream. Heavenly. Maricia also ordered the cheese platter which, as you know from my trip to Hunter Valley, I thoroughly enjoyed. All this was coupled with a few glasses of wine. And viola! There was my first (and probably last) Summit meal. It was splendid. Not only was I thrilled to finally dine at the restaurant, but my joy was enhanced by the fact that it was free of charge (always a bonus). Yes, I would have splurged on a meal at the Summit before leaving Australia, but now I don't have to thanks to my awesome manager. Thank you Maricia for pleasing my taste-buds while enabling me to hold on to my nickels and dimes (lots and lots of them)!
Now do you understand why my mouth watered every night?! This girl was happy.
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| Cooggee Beach |
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| All that's missing is the Little Mermaid |
When we reached Tamarama, the center point of the walk, we had the additional benefit of viewing artwork along with the coastline as part of Sculpture by the Sea. Sculpture by the Sea takes place in November only and is an art exhibition in which the coastal walk is "transformed into a giant sculpture park of over 100 sculptures by artists from Australia and across the world" (www.sculpturebythesea.com). This, in my opinion, is most definitely the best way to view artwork- with soft, white sand as the canvas and a piercing blue ocean and sky as the backdrop. Kristin and I roamed among the statues which were scattered across the sand, rocks and grass which lined the water. Around each bend we discovered new statues, some of which were hidden within the landscape surrounding us. Below are some of my favorites we saw that day.
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| It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a statue! |
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| Made entirely out of plastic bottle tops |
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| The circle of life... |
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| This would make a cool slide |
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| Recycled icicles |
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| The aliens have landed |
For my main meal I selected Michael Moore's signature dish, the twice cooked pork belly. The menu description is as follows: glass crackling, royal gala apple & radish salad, apple vanilla marmalade & apple balsamic toffee, roasting pan juices. Delicious. For a side we shared broccoli with red chilli and garlic butter. It had been a while since I had fresh broccoli, so this simple side was especially enjoyable to eat. And for dessert (yup, I had the works baby!) I selected the hot raspberry "meringue souffle", served with a raspberry custard and clotted meander valley cream. Heavenly. Maricia also ordered the cheese platter which, as you know from my trip to Hunter Valley, I thoroughly enjoyed. All this was coupled with a few glasses of wine. And viola! There was my first (and probably last) Summit meal. It was splendid. Not only was I thrilled to finally dine at the restaurant, but my joy was enhanced by the fact that it was free of charge (always a bonus). Yes, I would have splurged on a meal at the Summit before leaving Australia, but now I don't have to thanks to my awesome manager. Thank you Maricia for pleasing my taste-buds while enabling me to hold on to my nickels and dimes (lots and lots of them)!
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| The pork belly dish |
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| The raspberry souffle |
Now do you understand why my mouth watered every night?! This girl was happy.
K+S In The City: Day 5- Melbourne Cup & Sushi Trains
Tuesday I had to work during the day because it was the Melbourne Cup. The Melbourne Cup, for those of you who have never heard of it (I never had) is the "greatest 3200 metre handicap horse-race in the world" (www.melbournecup.com). Its most equivalent to the Kentucky Derby in the USA, only one hundred times larger in Australia. The Melbourne Cup is as talked about and as big a deal in Australia as the Superbowl or World Series is in the US. The hype and anticipation built up around it the months, weeks and days before the two-minute race (at least it felt that long) was enormous, and surprising to me because horse races back home don't cause national frenzies. Sure, we (Americans) air the races on television and the winning horse may grace the front page of the newspapers the next day, but we don't stop work, halt our lives and attend special luncheons and parties to watch the big event. Some people may get out their fancy cocktail dress and wacky hats to attend the event, but us common folks at home don't do the same and head to the local pub. This is what the ENTIRE population of Australia does on Melbourne Cup day- they leave work, go to a party (the ladies wearing ridiculous hats, bows and hair accessories), bet on the races and watch the big event in crowds. Thus, like every other bar and restaurant in Sydney, the Summit hosted a special Melbourne Cup lunch. I was looking forward to working the event because I couldn't understand the hype and I was eager to finally experience the horse race that is basically a national holiday.
When I arrived to the Summit, the restaurant had been transformed into a replica of a horse race track: white fences and trees lined the elevators and grassy mats covered the floor. Three large plasma televisions stood erect for patrons to view the big day happenings. People all around me were buzzing about the races, talking about which horses they bet on and pondering who would win. I had not bet on the races. I am not a better, I have zero skills when it comes to gambling. When I went to Las Vegas I spent a total of $1.00 gambling at a penny machine. Thus I didn't even think to bet on the races. Fortunately for me, my fabulous co-workers Natasha did. Well aware that I, Miss America, didn't "get" the Melbourne Cup, Natasha thoughtfully took it upon herself to bet for me. She came skipping into the Summit with a ticket in hand and gave it to me. "Here," she said, "I bet on Americain for you because you're American!" I laughed, thanking her for her kind deed. Then she handed me a headband with a black flower on it. "I also brought you this because I knew you wouldn't have anything to wear on your head." I laughed some more as I put the headband in place, now officially ready for the race that was about to take place.
The race itself was quick. I had no idea what was happening, which horse was which or who was in what place, but it didn't matter because seeing the excitement on the faces of everyone around me was all I needed to raise up on the tip of my toes, strain my neck to see the television and eagerly watch the race unfold. By the final lap most people were jerking their bodies and yelling at the screen encouraging their horse to cross the finish line first. And then, as if in the blink of an eye, the race was over. I was clueless as to who had one, but then my manager Maricia turned around and shouted, "Sarah, you won!" I looked at her perplexed. "Huh?" I said. "I won?" "Yes, Americain won! Isn't that the horse Tash bet on for you?" I threw my hands up in victory, laughing at the irony that the American who didn't know a thing about the Melbourne Cup won $15.00 because her Australian friend bet on an American-themed horse for her.
Meanwhile, Kristin met up with Aubrey in Newtown (where I went to the festival) for some afternoon beverages and quality get-to-know-each-other time. After the Cup had ended and I finished work, we all reunited back in Sydney along with Sara for dinner. The destination was Sushi Hero, a sushi train restaurant (you know, the kind with a rotating belt carrying plates of sushi that you pick and eat). Not only was the sushi good, but the Hero also had a stack up magazines available for your mindless, pleasure reading. And so the four of us spent the evening chomping on sushi while flipping through the pages of the latest fashion and trashy pop culture magazines available in Australia.
Afterwards we went to a local rooftop bar, which in itself is not blog worthy but while there we saw a massive flock of bats (do bats fly in flocks? it looked that way) soaring through the night sky. I felt like I was in Gotham city and batman was being summoned to fight evil somewhere in the land. The picture doesn't do the moment justice, but it was pretty cool. Overall, it was an idyllic, relaxing Tuesday evening.
When I arrived to the Summit, the restaurant had been transformed into a replica of a horse race track: white fences and trees lined the elevators and grassy mats covered the floor. Three large plasma televisions stood erect for patrons to view the big day happenings. People all around me were buzzing about the races, talking about which horses they bet on and pondering who would win. I had not bet on the races. I am not a better, I have zero skills when it comes to gambling. When I went to Las Vegas I spent a total of $1.00 gambling at a penny machine. Thus I didn't even think to bet on the races. Fortunately for me, my fabulous co-workers Natasha did. Well aware that I, Miss America, didn't "get" the Melbourne Cup, Natasha thoughtfully took it upon herself to bet for me. She came skipping into the Summit with a ticket in hand and gave it to me. "Here," she said, "I bet on Americain for you because you're American!" I laughed, thanking her for her kind deed. Then she handed me a headband with a black flower on it. "I also brought you this because I knew you wouldn't have anything to wear on your head." I laughed some more as I put the headband in place, now officially ready for the race that was about to take place.
The race itself was quick. I had no idea what was happening, which horse was which or who was in what place, but it didn't matter because seeing the excitement on the faces of everyone around me was all I needed to raise up on the tip of my toes, strain my neck to see the television and eagerly watch the race unfold. By the final lap most people were jerking their bodies and yelling at the screen encouraging their horse to cross the finish line first. And then, as if in the blink of an eye, the race was over. I was clueless as to who had one, but then my manager Maricia turned around and shouted, "Sarah, you won!" I looked at her perplexed. "Huh?" I said. "I won?" "Yes, Americain won! Isn't that the horse Tash bet on for you?" I threw my hands up in victory, laughing at the irony that the American who didn't know a thing about the Melbourne Cup won $15.00 because her Australian friend bet on an American-themed horse for her.
 |
| Americian, the winning horse, on Melbourne Cup Day |
Meanwhile, Kristin met up with Aubrey in Newtown (where I went to the festival) for some afternoon beverages and quality get-to-know-each-other time. After the Cup had ended and I finished work, we all reunited back in Sydney along with Sara for dinner. The destination was Sushi Hero, a sushi train restaurant (you know, the kind with a rotating belt carrying plates of sushi that you pick and eat). Not only was the sushi good, but the Hero also had a stack up magazines available for your mindless, pleasure reading. And so the four of us spent the evening chomping on sushi while flipping through the pages of the latest fashion and trashy pop culture magazines available in Australia.
 |
| At Sushi Hero for some Din Din |
Afterwards we went to a local rooftop bar, which in itself is not blog worthy but while there we saw a massive flock of bats (do bats fly in flocks? it looked that way) soaring through the night sky. I felt like I was in Gotham city and batman was being summoned to fight evil somewhere in the land. The picture doesn't do the moment justice, but it was pretty cool. Overall, it was an idyllic, relaxing Tuesday evening.
 |
| Bats taking flight, can you see them? |
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