Days 3 & 4 Sydney

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Saturday October 29, 2011 - Day 3

G'day Mates!

The big day finally arrived, the Australian Beer festival was our only plan for the day. But since the festival did not open until noon we decided to take a walk from Circular Quay to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The gardens are on a small peninsula east of the Opera House and have a lot of footpaths that allow great views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. We also came across many different types of birds and plants that we have never seen before and the grounds are beautiful. However, the biggest surprise was seeing what are called Flying Foxes in Australia, very large bats hanging in the trees about the size of a small cat. The government is trying to encourage the bats to go somewhere else but so far no luck. Maybe the bats cannot cash the checks. The rest of the gardens were very well kept and worth our time. We are interested in returning when it gets darker to see the bats in action.

It was getting close to 11 AM so Jim was getting antsy to get over to the beer festival. Along our way we decided to stop at a pie shop and grab a meat pie to hold us over until we got to the fest. Throughout Sydney pie shops are prevalent and pies range from $3 to $4 each and most are very good. This is the only good deal in Sydney for food but the fat content is probably higher than one would like.

We arrived at the beer festival about 11:45AM but we were able to pick up our glasses and tasting tickets. Jim was able to meet a few of the brewers and chat about brewing but was especially excited to meet Alex who is one of the brewers at Little Creatures Brewing who make a special brew called Big Dipper. Jim was able to find out most of the hops used in the beer are familiar to the US beer scene, Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo, Simcoe, and one Australian hop called Galaxy. According the Alex the Australian craft beer market is about 10 years behind the US but is growing. Alex happened to have some Galaxy hops with him and let Jim take a whiff, that are described as having a pineapple flavor profile and that is exactly what they smelled like. Jim also met brewers from Vale Brewing Co., Mountain Goat Brewing, Murray's Brewing Co., and a few others. In fact he was able to get us samples before the fest opened.

Once the fest opened at noon the crowd was small so it was easy to get a sample pour and go from booth to booth. There were a lot of what the locals call "Yellow Fizzy Beer" which is either a light lager or a very pale ale with little or no character, more like an Australian Budweiser. But there were quite a few of tasty brews with lots of character like a true craft beer. The use or over use of hops like we do in the US is still working its way into the Australian palate but according to the brewers has not really caught on for the mass market.

The organizers had a thong competition. They refer to flip flops as thongs and are pretty adamant about it. Three or four people line up and toss the thongs into their designated bucket. The person with the most thongs in their bucket wins a prize. However, there is a danger if you step over the line trying to gain an advantage by being closer to the bucket. You are brought to the center of the activity area and a bikini is placed on you which you must wear around the festival. It is funny but only the men are called on going over the line. Most men put the bikini top over their own clothes but one man that played after we did decided he would take off his shirt and wear the bikini. Maybe he had too many beer samples.

As the day progressed so did the size of the crowd and the number of characters among the crowd. There was one chap who must have been out for one of his last benders as a single man as his friends were carrying signs asking the crowd to sign a petition so he could get his manhood back from his prospective bride. We both signed his shirt and wished him the best. There was another guy dressed in a fairy outfit but we could not figure out why, maybe that is how he regularly dresses. After about two hours of tasting we decided to just drink the Big Dipper as it was our favorite beer. The brewers working the booth knew it was our favorite so they were generous with their pours, good news. The bad news is the beer is about 8.5% alcohol so we decided to use up our tickets and head to another spot with less people and someplace to sit down before we fell down.

So what do you do after drinking beer for a few hours? Head to the German Beer Garden about a 10 minute walk away and find a spot at a table and order a half liter of German beer. After a few minutes we noticed a young couple looking for a place to sit so we invited them to sit at our table. We soon stuck up a conversation with them - Carin and Sarah. It turns out he was from New Zealand and she was from Sweden but they both now live in Australia in Kings Cross which is a suburb of Sydney. The area is considered "shady". Carin invited us to their place tomorrow (Sunday) so he and Jim could fish. When Jim asked him what type of fish he caught, he responded that he did not catch anything but that he had fun for the day. Carin provided some information on where to go in New Zealand but with a "beer brain" Jim may not remember his recommendations. Even so we had a great time over a couple of hours chatting with them and when they mentioned they might be traveling to California in the future we asked them to give us a call. Another great experience with new friends we met on a chance. It was getting late so we decided to grab dinner close to the hotel and call it a night.

Sunday October 30, 2011 - Day 4

Our plan was to take the train to the Blue Mountains for the day but once we got to the train station the attendant told us there was maintenance work on one of the track sections so we would have to take a bus for part of the trip. There was Australian mumbling when giving directions on what we needed to do for the transfers so we decided to change our plans and take a bus ride over to Bondi Beach. The weather forecast was calling for a chance of rain so we figured we would just visit the area and head back to central Sydney. We got off the bus on the wrong stop and had to walk about a mile to get to the beach but we were able to see small shops, homes, and experience the character of the area. The beach area is very nice with lots of restaurants, shops, and a great beach. A group was forming the "largest mustache" out of sand on the beach. The sky was getting cloudy and then it started to rain so we ducked under an overhang and waited out the rain. Once the rain stopped we decided to catch the bus back to Circular Quay to change into shorts as the weather warmed up. Later in the day, we saw the finished "moustache" on the news.

South of our hotel is the Pitt Street mall which is most likely the largest shopping complex either of us has ever been to. It consists of about four city blocks long and two wide with multiple levels reaching 6 stories at some points. Top designers from around the world all have shops here and prices are very high but the whole complex was packed with shoppers. This must be why the Australian dollar is doing so well. We cannot begin to count the number of shoes we have seen in this one area. They must wear their shoes only one time.

We were getting hungry so we found a food court that blew us away. It is not a typical food court that is at the corner of the mall. It is the entire 6th floor and part of the 7th floor. As we rode the escalator to the "food court" we thought we were entering a high-end night club. Food from around the word are available, no fast food here, strictly gourmet and pricey. We found a pizza place which was good but not as good as we make at home. Australians like pizza as there are shops all over but the quality leaves a lot to be desired at least from what we have experienced so far.

We thought we would head out to the Sydney Aquarium. However, when we came into Darling Harbor, we had to take a walk around. This is a pretty place. On this day there were Dragon Boat races and we appeared just in time for the finals. There were hundreds and hundreds of racers. We did see the final race for the social category. We are thinking this might be considered the amateur rank. It was fun to watch. After the final, we headed out for more walking (read: aching feet). We came across Paddy's Market. It is a strange combination of flea market and farmer's market. It is about 3 city blocks but maybe more. It is open Thursday through Sunday and the prices vary greatly depending on what you are wanting to purchase. There were many languages being used throughout by all the vendors. Some of the hocking voices reminded us of Pike's Place in Seattle.

We head back to home base to check on the airline issue with Quantas. We are flying out of Sydney on Quantas on Tuesday but they are grounded at the moment. As of yesterday, there were still flights to Cairns through other airlines so we expected that we should be OK. However, we checked this afternoon and everything is booked. We are not sure what will happen but we will do our best to make sure this does not ruin our vacation.

Australian language conversion

Car hire = car rental
Latte = Flat White
Brekkey = breakfast

You can check out all of our photos at:

http://fortes.smugmug.com/Travel/Australia/19759354_TBXNBd#1552043865_WCRX37h

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Photos

Sugar Thief
These colorful parrots steal sugar packets off cafe tables.

Flying Foxes
One of the hundreds of bats in the trees of the Botanical Gardens

Fun at the beer festival
Working for his mate to help get his manhood back

Beer Fest Crowd
With the fest in full swing it was difficult to get to the booths to get a beer

Loser
This guy lost a game of thong toss by crossing the boundry line and had to weak a woman's bikini

Success!
Two more beers after battling the crowd

New Friends
Carin and Sarah at teh German beer gardern.

Paddy's Market
Veggie section of Paddy's market

Portable Tap
Enjoying a Sangria at a sidewalk cafe in Darling Harbor.

Comments

[John and Max]

Thongs
Not to be showing my age here, but when I was a kid and rubber "flip flops" were first, yes, first, introduced, they were called thongs. There is a brief period in my memory when I could not tell if people were talking about their feet or their nether regions. Sounds like you are having a wonderful time and you both deserve it! OXX (European for hug and two cheek kiss) Max

[Jbrewco]

Thongs and then some...
Max, loved the response! We cannot wait to share more. We will have to arrange a dinner to swap travel stories.