In the US we have an Air Quality Index where forecasts are given daily. In Australia, they have a burn index. This is the time it takes for skin to burn as a result of the intense sun from the ozone hole centered above Sydney.
Today was the last day of racing and the best weather day we have had so far. Mid 70s and not a cloud in the sky. This equates to very hot and a very cripsy feeling Kris at days end.
For a quick race update, the US won the Nations Cup. First time ever. This is a very good thing. Basically this means the US finished with the most points, so the US finished consistently in the top three spots overall more times that any of the other 15 countries competing. More race updates later.
We head to the Outback tomorrow.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Australian Chickens
As requested in a comment, here is a discussion on Australian chickens. What I know so far is that a Cassowary is a wild Australian Chicken. And because it is Australian, that means it can kill you in some form. The skill of the cassowary lies it is feet. The frightening fowl has the ability to kick its opponent and then gut it with a talon like claw on it's foot. Nice right? We'll try to get a picture if we see one.
Hey Moo - got a picture from the Sydney Fish Market of Doyle's Family Fish Stand. Looking for a new Handmade business?
Hey Moo - got a picture from the Sydney Fish Market of Doyle's Family Fish Stand. Looking for a new Handmade business?
Running the bridge
Today I ran the Sydney Harbour Bridge Run, my first 9km race! I have done 5ks and 10ks but never a 9km, so needless to say I got a personal best! :) The weather was glorious, blue skies, barely a cloud and sunny! Lovely..... There were 4 races going on at roughly the same time, a half marathon, full marathon, the 9km and a family fun walk. There were so many walkers on the course that it ended up being more of an obstacle course then an all out run, which made it much more interesting.
I was in it more for the scenery and the wonder of running over the Sydney Harbour bridge. We ran through the Botannic gardens and ended at the Opera House---it was incredible to be stretching at the end looking out into the bay!! Really really amazing.
What a beautiful place this is! A few days ago I went for my first bushwalk! A hike in English terms. the weather was again beautiful and we bushwaled from Spit Bridge to Manly beach --sparkling blue/green water, soft sand, rocky cliffs, aboriginal etchings and great company, I seriously couldn't ask for anything more!!
Tomorrow we leave bright and early 4:10 am shuttle for the airport where the next leg of our adventure will begin. We are heading to the Outback, up north to Ayers Rock. If you have ever seen a picture of a big red rock in Australia--that is Ayers rock. So, our blogging might stop for a few days depending on computer access.
Jocelyn asked me to say hi to all of her fans as she isn't engaging in computer time. She is alive and well and having a fabulous time.
Thanks to everyone for their comments, they are great and make us laugh!!
We will also try to post pictures soon.
I was in it more for the scenery and the wonder of running over the Sydney Harbour bridge. We ran through the Botannic gardens and ended at the Opera House---it was incredible to be stretching at the end looking out into the bay!! Really really amazing.
What a beautiful place this is! A few days ago I went for my first bushwalk! A hike in English terms. the weather was again beautiful and we bushwaled from Spit Bridge to Manly beach --sparkling blue/green water, soft sand, rocky cliffs, aboriginal etchings and great company, I seriously couldn't ask for anything more!!
Tomorrow we leave bright and early 4:10 am shuttle for the airport where the next leg of our adventure will begin. We are heading to the Outback, up north to Ayers Rock. If you have ever seen a picture of a big red rock in Australia--that is Ayers rock. So, our blogging might stop for a few days depending on computer access.
Jocelyn asked me to say hi to all of her fans as she isn't engaging in computer time. She is alive and well and having a fabulous time.
Thanks to everyone for their comments, they are great and make us laugh!!
We will also try to post pictures soon.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Exploring
Yesterday was the first chance Joann, Jenny and I had to go explore Sydney. We wanted to do a packed in version and hit the main areas so we hoped on a bus tour that was one of those multi stop buses where you could get off and back on again throughout the day.
We started by taking the ferry into Sydney from Parammatta where we are staying. The ferries were created for the Olympics and are all names after Australian athletes. We were on the Betty Cuthbert. Such a formal name for a ferry. We docked in Syndey harbour along side the opera house. What a site. The Harbour Bridge on one side, the opera house on the other, boats of all kinds sailing around and clear blue sky.
Next onto the bus. We went to the Opera House, Harry's famous Meat Pie truck in Wolloomoolo(picture will be posted later), China Town, the Sydney Fish Market (largest working fish market in the southern hemisphere), Paddy's Market, a very interesting farmers market/ flea market that is described as East meets West, an are called the Rocks and a few other places in between.
At one point in the trip, I managed to fall over and skin my knee. I look like a six year old now with a big brush burn. But as the Australian's say - "No Worries." Rosemary got a picture -
The architecture in Sydney is fantastic, a mix of big stone houses and ornate government buildings, mixed with houses with tile roofs that look like southern Florida.
More racing on the schedule for today.
We started by taking the ferry into Sydney from Parammatta where we are staying. The ferries were created for the Olympics and are all names after Australian athletes. We were on the Betty Cuthbert. Such a formal name for a ferry. We docked in Syndey harbour along side the opera house. What a site. The Harbour Bridge on one side, the opera house on the other, boats of all kinds sailing around and clear blue sky.
Next onto the bus. We went to the Opera House, Harry's famous Meat Pie truck in Wolloomoolo(picture will be posted later), China Town, the Sydney Fish Market (largest working fish market in the southern hemisphere), Paddy's Market, a very interesting farmers market/ flea market that is described as East meets West, an are called the Rocks and a few other places in between.
At one point in the trip, I managed to fall over and skin my knee. I look like a six year old now with a big brush burn. But as the Australian's say - "No Worries." Rosemary got a picture -
The architecture in Sydney is fantastic, a mix of big stone houses and ornate government buildings, mixed with houses with tile roofs that look like southern Florida.
More racing on the schedule for today.
Friday, September 21, 2007
I am no longer a tourist!!!
This is so exciting, it warranted a separate posting---
Yesterday, at the train station an Aussie asked me for directions and I was able to give him correct directions!!!! Yup, I am no longer a tourist!!!
Yippee!!!!
Yesterday, at the train station an Aussie asked me for directions and I was able to give him correct directions!!!! Yup, I am no longer a tourist!!!
Yippee!!!!
Rugby update
Yesterday Rachel, Sis, Linda Brach, JW and I took the shuttle from the race site to Penrith train station. The shuttle was driven by this wild woman who kept stripping the gears and talking a mile a minute. I was dressed entirely in my uniform and carrying a paddle so it was obvious that I wasn't a local. I was sitting between two men from New Zealand. They were happy to tell me (between comments about how this woman was going to kill us all) that the USA Rugby team was doing well.
There was a detailed discussion about how lost I had gotten while trying to get to Chinatown. We didn't have a good map and didn't know what we were doing but on Tuesday night we took the train into Central station and wandered around looking for a China gate or a line of Chinese stores or anything to make it clear that this was Chinatown. We found nothing and ended up at a Thai joint that had curry which cleaned out both Jen L and me (to be somewhat discrete.)
Anyway, I was telling this story (not the curry part) to the man next to me and the bus driver shouts back, "But it easy to find Chinatown!" To which I respond, "Not if you're me." She then proceeds to tell me exactly how to get there.
She dropped us off at Penrith station to take the train back to Parramatta. The trains here are nice. Each platform has a monitor that shows when the next train is coming (8 minutes out or 2 minutes out, etc.) shows the last stop in bold and then has a rolling list of every station on that line. It makes it easy to count how many stations 'til your stop and make sure you are on the right train.
The trains themselves are very large and multi-leveled. You enter on the middle and you can turn left or right and go up to a viewing level or down to a below platform level. The lower level lets you check out people's shoes.
The one bad part about the trains is the distance between the train car and the station platform. You know how in Britain the famous line is "Mind the Gap?" Here is should be "Mind the Really Big Gap and that First Step" because not only do you have to jump over but you have to jump up or down.
There was a detailed discussion about how lost I had gotten while trying to get to Chinatown. We didn't have a good map and didn't know what we were doing but on Tuesday night we took the train into Central station and wandered around looking for a China gate or a line of Chinese stores or anything to make it clear that this was Chinatown. We found nothing and ended up at a Thai joint that had curry which cleaned out both Jen L and me (to be somewhat discrete.)
Anyway, I was telling this story (not the curry part) to the man next to me and the bus driver shouts back, "But it easy to find Chinatown!" To which I respond, "Not if you're me." She then proceeds to tell me exactly how to get there.
She dropped us off at Penrith station to take the train back to Parramatta. The trains here are nice. Each platform has a monitor that shows when the next train is coming (8 minutes out or 2 minutes out, etc.) shows the last stop in bold and then has a rolling list of every station on that line. It makes it easy to count how many stations 'til your stop and make sure you are on the right train.
The trains themselves are very large and multi-leveled. You enter on the middle and you can turn left or right and go up to a viewing level or down to a below platform level. The lower level lets you check out people's shoes.
The one bad part about the trains is the distance between the train car and the station platform. You know how in Britain the famous line is "Mind the Gap?" Here is should be "Mind the Really Big Gap and that First Step" because not only do you have to jump over but you have to jump up or down.
Little creatures
I find that you can learn a lot about a new culture from their advertisements and TV shows. So far I have learned:
1. Australians embrace the fact that nearly 90+% of the worlds deadliest flora and fauna are in their country by creating more scary creatures in their ads. Cereal commercials for Cocoa Puffs have little brown buggy looking creatures, one wearing a beret---disease related commercials have more little blue and red guys and it goes on and on--so if you don't bite it from the 90+% you have plenty of other opportunties. eek
2. Their advertisements are also somewhat macabre. There is a transit safety poster in practically every train station featuring a double amputee (arm and leg) warning you not to step in front of trains or you could end up like him! We saw a mouth cancer commercial that wow I can't even begin to explain here.
3. On a more pleasant note, yesterday I saw Australian wildlife---3 mini goats with horns---very cute and right next to the fire museum--could have been wild, I am not sure but oh so exciting. There are also lots of really interesting birds everywhere. No sign of roos or koalas yet, but maybe when we head to the outback the beginning of next week.
Ahh the creatures of Australia
1. Australians embrace the fact that nearly 90+% of the worlds deadliest flora and fauna are in their country by creating more scary creatures in their ads. Cereal commercials for Cocoa Puffs have little brown buggy looking creatures, one wearing a beret---disease related commercials have more little blue and red guys and it goes on and on--so if you don't bite it from the 90+% you have plenty of other opportunties. eek
2. Their advertisements are also somewhat macabre. There is a transit safety poster in practically every train station featuring a double amputee (arm and leg) warning you not to step in front of trains or you could end up like him! We saw a mouth cancer commercial that wow I can't even begin to explain here.
3. On a more pleasant note, yesterday I saw Australian wildlife---3 mini goats with horns---very cute and right next to the fire museum--could have been wild, I am not sure but oh so exciting. There are also lots of really interesting birds everywhere. No sign of roos or koalas yet, but maybe when we head to the outback the beginning of next week.
Ahh the creatures of Australia
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