Category Archives: Experience Australia

Big Bloggy Meet and Greet!

Posted on by
4

Want to know what I did today?  Besides watch Pandemic the greatest most terrible made-for-TV-movie since that really crap one about locusts while I was trying to do homework … I HAD A BLOGGY MEET AND GREET!  YAY!  Oh and I made a very important decision that will result in my voluntarily instigating a DTR – WHAT?? Later – you’ll hear about that later.

RIGHT NOW it’s time to hear about the Big Bloggy Meet and Greet!  YAY!!!  First I met AussieErin, LMCHugh and her friend Emily for lunch.

a

Then Erin had to go back to work and we caught up with Elsja.

b

We walked around the Botanical Gardens where TONS AND TONS of orange hairy bats live and squawk.

f

And trees like this drop branches without warning (that’s what the sign said.)

d

c

e

And I’m tired and going to bed so I won’t tell you about how some weirdo guy stopped us and asked if we would step on his back so he could take a picture of travelers stepping on him.  Yeah.  You can read about it on Elsja’s Blog HERE.

Good night!  I’ll come up with something more tomorrow.  :)

Experience Australia – The Little Things – Fancy Dress Parties

Posted on by
3

What do you think of when you hear the phrase “Fancy Dress Party” ??  Do you think of long gowns and tuxedos?  Maybe you think of cocktail dresses and suits?  In AUSTRALIA a fancy dress party is a fancy way of saying HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY.  Oh yeah!  It’s Halloween any day, any month, any time of the year.  Australians LUV their fancy dress parties.

To mention just a few of the Fancy Dress Parties I’ve been invited to since arriving… there was a “Country Party” which wasn’t like hickville no-no you were supposed to dress up AS a country.  A “Carnivale Party” where I attached sequins to my jungle green bra, glued pearls and beads all over my body and TA DA! I was ready, set, GO!  An “Anything goes” party which really truly was no different than Halloween.  And then of course I was invited to an actual Halloween party which was ALSO no different than Halloween.  In addition there have been James Bond parties, Disco parties, Beach parties, Santa’s Naughty Helper parties – you get the picture.  This past weekend’s fancy dress party was a “Uniform Party.”  I went as a school girl.  :) YAY!  That’s because I AM a school girl.  :)

Anyway … here’s a little video of the party – enjoy!!

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/4457048[/vimeo]

Experience Australia – The Little Things – A Little Bit of Bondi Beach

Posted on by
9

Have you heard of Bondi Beach?   I hope you said YES because it’s where I live. And if you’ve been reading this blog – you should know that.  ;) But Bondi Schmondi right?  Who cares?  I DO! Wikipedia has this to say about it:

“Bondi Beach is a popular beach.”

[roll my eyes]  No really?  Wikipedia failed this time. So I’ll just spout off some stuff I know. It’s the most popular beach in Sydney (and probably all of Australia) – it gets super crowded in the Summer – we had a shark attack this past month – the water is UNBELIEVABLY CLEAR and blue and pretty :) :) oh and it’s also where they hosted some of the Summer Olympic Games.  AND OMGOSH!!! I almost forgot – Bondi is home to the television series Bondi Vet AND Bondi Rescue.  I can’t stand to watch either show but hey – at least we have them! ;)

I think I should also tell you I have a baby crush on the dude from Bondi Vet.  He lives down the road from us and only seems to go to the beach on the days I’m not there.  My FM makes sure to rub it in every time.  “Guess who we were laying out next to at the beach?”  RUDE!

Well anyway – I loaded tons of pics of Bondi into the following video.  Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVCMZ6w_O1U[/youtube]

Experience Australia – The Little Things #1 – Tim Tams and The Tim Tam Slam Video

Posted on by
9

Experience Australia – The Little Things

This Week’s “Experience Australia – The Little Things” (oh btw – did I mention this is going to be a new weekend segment on my blog? :)) is probably the reason why Australia is a more obese than the U.S.  [gasp!  Daisy - you didn't just say that!!!  Oh yes I did.  :) Snap!]  ;) What am I talking about?  The Tim Tam.

tim-tams-original

Tim Tams, an Australian iconic “biscuit” (aka cookie) is a little fattening devil which is absolutely delightful.  And I believe it’s safe to say you absolutely cannot have an TRUE Australian Experience unless you learn about and TASTE a Tim Tam.  Mmmm.  They even have their own aisle in the supermarket.  No seriously – they do. But they have to!  There are like a bazillion different flavors and each flavor is in high demand.  Who wouldn’t want a Tim Tam?

tim-tam-crush

My favorite flavor is the Tim Tam Crush Toffee Nut flavor.  I Heart 2 them the best. :) And as you can see in the picture above, the Tim Tam Crush biscuits are a little different.  Instead of having creamy goodness sandwiched between two chocolate biscuits, the crush only has its indulgent taste of heaven on top of ONE biscuit.  Darn my gluten intolerance!  I could have set a world record for gaining the most weight due to a Tim Tam Crush addiction.  ;)

NOW ONTO THE SLAM!!! It’s like WHAT YOU DO with Tim Tams if you’re cool.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jTqf_6u6xU]

Australians feel it is their duty to tell all foreigners about the Tim Tam Slam. From the clerk in the grocery store, to the attendant at the airport who sees you’re taking home Tim Tam souvenirs – EVERYONE stops to tell you about the Tim Tam Slam. Which is why I posted a HOW TO DO THE TIM TAM SLAM video.  :) And lol on the video – can you tell this was taken REALLY seriously?? ;) And no he wasn’t trying to sound Australian – that’s his “This is dumb and I can’t believe you’re making me do this” voice. :)