Tapas Lunch

For lunch, we stopped at a Spanish Tapas place that we’d noticed earlier. We weren’t really sure about it, and the menu seemed a bit confusing. Eventually, the waiter came by and said something along the lines of, “I’ll pick for you; you don’t like it, you don’t pay. What kinda beer you want?”

Probably one of the best meals we’ve had in ages. Started with a sizzling shrimp scampi, accompanied by mushrooms in some kind of sauce and huge hot rolls. He kept coming by and saying something, which we eventually realized was, “your fish will be right out.”

Out came an enormous plate with some type of white fish, with two lumps of steamed potatoes on it and mussels on the top, all in a sauce we finally decided was probably like a paramesean cheese. It was amazing. Really, really amazing. And we paid the bill – it was well worth the money.

www.capitantorres.com.au – 73 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000.

Chinese Gardens

OK, let me start by saying that if I gave any impression whatsoever that I was unhappy with the cloudy / rainy weather, I’d like to retract that. This afternoon, about lunchtime, the sun came out. With a vengeance. It’s now VERY hot and humid out there, much like late July in North Carolina. Suddenly I realize (as EB’s been saying all along) that the clouds were actually a blessing and we were lucky to have had them for most of this time.

Today was low-key to begin with. With a longer vacation time, we don’t feel as rushed to “get out and see everything”, so there’s little need to be up at 5 and out the door by 7ish most mornings. Besides, nothing really opens until after 10 anyhow so there’s not much point.

Today we walked up George Street (actually, a block over from George, just to see some different scenery) to Liverpool Street and then to the Chinese Gardens. As public gardens usually do, it whets my appetite to go home and work in the yard. And, as usual, I have to recognize that these places have an army of full-time gardeners on staff who live for the sole purpose of making the grounds look spectacular.

It’s very formal, very Chinese, but also very calm and relaxing. There are enormous koi in the pond – some are probably 18 inches long – and they’re obviously used to being treated well and fed. If you stood at the water’s edge for long, they came up and expected a snack.

We got the last brief shower of the morning there, which we enjoyed from under a little shelter whilst watching the fish and the water around us. It was amazingly relaxing.

Work Ethic

Our hotel is in the midst of lots of high rise office buildings. We can see into a lot of the offices at night. Although you see some people in there until 8:00 who are obviously working at desks (and not cleaning), the vast majority are cleared out sometime between 5 and 6. Rush hour seems to happen about that same time as well, and in the mornings people ride the train and ferry into this area as well.

A 2 hour lunch doesn’t seem to be unusual, either. Lots of places offer what seems to be a very leisurely lunch, or people tend to exercise. There are lots of downtown joggers / walkers during the lunch period. They’re the ones eating a salad rather than wolfing down a super-sized something or other.

Australian Food

Food here is interesting. It’s really not that different than you’d find in a large American city, and, of course, there are the typical chain restaurants – McDonalds, Subway, Hungry Jack’s (i.e. Burger King), and they’re apparently patronized sufficiently to warrant their frequency.

There are lots of little restaurants, though, that appear to be family owned, non-chain and somewhat unique. We’ve gotten in the habit of going to one immediately next to the hotel every morning for coffee and breakfast. Generally, 2 Flat White Mugs, 2 Long Black Mugs (the former being coffee with lots of steamed milk, to which I’ve become addicted, the latter being simply black coffee, and a “mug” being the word for “large”) and 2 ham and cheese croissants run $18.50 Australian – about $12.50 US. Not far off of typical big city prices that we’re used to.

In Australian restaurants, an “entrée” is what we typically call an “appetizer”, and a “main” is our “entrée”. Another interesting thing is that it tends to all come out at once, especially if you order a salad – it’s brought with the meal, not ahead of time. In Perth we noticed a couple of the restaurants served the salads French style – after the meal.

Portions here, unless the restaurant is geared toward the tourist industry, are slightly smaller than in the US; they’re more in line with what a person actually SHOULD eat, rather than what we can stuff into ourselves. The food tends to be somewhat healthier as well, with more stir fried veggies and fish available. Part of that seems to be the Asian influence here, too.

Australian Dress and Appearances

Australians overall are much trimmer than Americans (and some Europeans). While they naturally “settle” and get a bit bigger as they age, they do so much more slowly than Americans. They appear to stay “fitter” some 10 to 15 years longer than we do, probably in part due to the walking they do. Mass trans is everywhere here, and seems to be used by most everyone. They don’t go to the mall, so shopping for dinner can involve going to several different stores to get everything. The end result is there is a lot of walking, by most everyone. I suspect that traffic and the cost of parking contributes to that as well. If Americans are a “3” on a healthy scale from 1 to 10, Australians are probably a “7” or better, at least until they top the 60ish age range.

The other cultural difference we note is that men here don’t wear pleated pants. While we thought that was just the style in the US, it’s now apparent that it’s to cover a rear end that’s 2 ax handles wide in many cases. The other thing that’s different is that their clothes are tailored very tight. VERY TIGHT. To the point that you could not only read some of their credit card numbers, you quite possibly could read the expiration date on the back of the card.

In Sydney, at least, they also tend to dress up a bit more. Although you see shorts and T’s, you also see lots more tailored shorts (as opposed to cargo shorts) and collared shirts. The dress for work in the central business district appears to be slacks, a long sleeved shirt, with a tie either on or available. Cuff links are much more in use here than in the US, and although ties often come off at lunch, they seem to go back on when they go back to work in the afternoons.

Things on the bridge

One of the funniest stories that Damion told was about things that the workers have found on the bridge, primarily pre-9/11 when enhanced security was installed. In addition to lots and lots of cameras, cell phones, and sunglasses, there have also been clothing (especially underwear for both genders), shoes, and things of that nature. It was apparently something of a rite of passage for graduates to sneak onto the bridge and climb it (without paths, safety rails, etc.).

At the very peak, where we crossed over, there is a tower with a red light on top of it. You climb a ladder about 12 ft. or so from where we were to the crow's nest with the light bulb. It's approximately centered between the two flagpoles you see on top here.

It seems that the workers, shortly after graduation season one year, found a "shopping trolly" (i.e. grocery cart) up there.

Full of empty beer cans.

I wonder if it said "Harris Teeter" on it?

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