Sydney love: winter

chilling in the sun, with my new bag sitting next to me

footy

my favourite necklace, and the top my mom sent me. thanks mom!

Winter in Sydney is magic, there's just no other way to put it. The days are still fairly long, the sky is cobalt blue, the sun is shining and it's not really that cold. In fact, you can often find me at this time of year sitting in a park somewhere in a tank top with bare feet soaking up some vitamin D. I LOVE it.

On Saturday husband and I took advantage of the wonderful weather and went to the Paddington markets after his footy match. Then we wandered through Paddington where I scored some cute booties that were more than 50% off, yay! I hope that wherever you are, whatever season it is, the sun is shining.

Sydney love: even more confusion

* I posted this on my private blog last year, when I was working at a very Aussie pub. It ties into what I was talking about last Friday, with my Australian glossary...

A funny conversation at work the other day:

Me (behind the bar): What can I get you?

Customer: Just a lemonade please.

Me: So, like, pop or juice?

Customer (with baffled look on face): What?

(Photo via tasted by two)

Me: Pop or juice?

Customer: I don’t know… Just a lemonade please…

My manager (who happens to have overheard this conversation): What are you on about you crazy woman?!?!?

Me (staring at the fountain drink controller in my hand): Ok, so did you want squash (a lemon flavored pop they have in Australia)? Should I push the "Sq" button for squash or the "l" button?

My manager: Just push the friggin "l"!!!!!!

Customer walks away with a "lemonade," whatever that means.

Manager: We don’t say pop in Australia.

Me: Ooh.

Manager: And we certainly don’t sell old-fashioned lemonade, or juice, as you call it. We’d have to charge $15 a glass if you tried to give him lemon juice.

Me: Ooh.

Manager: And while squash is, in fact, lemon flavored, if someone asks for lemonade, you push the "l" button. If they want squash, they’ll ask for squash.

Me: So what is behind the "l" button?

Manager: It’s sprite.

Me: What??? You people call sprite lemonade. I didn’t even know sprite was supposed to be lemon flavored.

Manager: You Canadians are weird.

Me: You think that’s weird, let me tell you about a very popular drink we have called a Caesar…

Sydney love: Do you speak Australian?

Well not to worry, I'm here to help! After nearly 3 years of living down under, I've come to the conclusion that Australian English is very different from North American English. Trust me on this one. When my mom came to visit in November I realized that a) She didn't understand half of what was being said around her and b) My vocabulary has changed spectacularly since living here. I've adapted. So without further ado, here is a short glossary of Aussie terms that I've compiled. And people, this is just the tip of the iceberg...

Aussie North American

Avo = Avocado

Arvo = Afternoon

Bikkie = Cookie

Bloody oath = So true!

Blue = Used as a noun to mean fight. E.g. I got in a blue last night.

Bludger = A lazy person

Bogan = White trash

Boot = The trunk of a car

Bottle-o = Liquor store

Buck's night = Stag party

Bush = The forest

Bushwalk = Hike

Cark it = To die, e.g. He carked it.

Chippy = Carpenter

Chrissy = Christmas

Chook = Chicken

Chuck a sicky = To call in sick for work.

Copper = Police Officer

Cozzies = Swimsuit

Daggy = Tacky

Doona = Duvet

Dunny = Toilet

Esky = Cooler

Fair dinkum = For reals. And I'm not even kidding - Aussies actually say this!

Fairy floss = Cotton candy

Flat white = A kind of coffee which is very similar to a latte, but they still have lattes here

Hen's night = Stagette party

Icy pole = Popsicle

Journo = A journalist

Jumper = Sweater

Lemonade = Sprite

Lollies = Candy

Maccas = McDonald's. As in, the fast food place.

Middy = A quantity of beer (like a pint, but it's not the same quantity as a pint)

Mozzie = Mosquito

Muso = A musician

Nappies = Diapers

Op shop = Thrift store

Pash = To make out. E.g. I pashed this guy last night. (p.s. I LOVE this one, so funny!)

Petrol = Gasoline

Postie = Mail person

Pram = Stroller

Prezzy = Gift

Ripper = Awesome

Sambo = Sandwich

Servo = Gas station

Singlet = Tank top

Snag = Sausage

Spag bol = Spaghetti bolognaise

Sparky = Electrician

Squizz = To have a look at something. E.g. Just taking a squiz.

Sticky beak = To have a look at something. E.g. I'm just having a sticky beak.

Sunnies = Sunglasses

Uni = University

Sydney love: internal thermostats

I snapped these two pictures with my iphone this week, and they pretty much sum up the point that I'm about to make. Notice that these two women are wearing long jeans, jackets, and one is wearing boots. On the days that these photos were taken it was about 25 degrees celsius (77 degrees fahrenheit), maybe a bit hotter. These days it is cooler at night and in the morning but we can still get up to 27 degrees during the day, and yet people have pulled out their boots. This is something that I love/think is hilarious about Sydneysiders; once "autumn" hits, they start dressing like they live in Antarctica. Seriously. I see people wearing woolen scarves, down jackets, beanies etc. I suppose it's the opposite of the Vancouver phenomenon, whereby on the first sunny day of spring, even if it's 5 degrees celsius, you will see people wearing shorts and sandals. This Canadian girl, however, is still wearing shorts or summer dresses most days and complaining about how hot I am. I am so not meant for life on this continent.

Sydney love: Bondi Beach

I know, I know... this is a total cliche. But really, Bondi Beach is a pretty nice place. And the Bondi to Bronte walk is even nicer. It's so quintessentially Sydney that it makes me remember why I moved here. And of course, when you finish the walk in Bondi you have to stop at Bondi Icebergs for a beer overlooking their outdoor pool, and the beach of course. Makes for a pretty perfect day.

Sydney love: architecture

One of my favourite things about Sydney is the architecture. And I don't mean the opera house, the QVB etc. I mean the beautiful homes that make up Sydney's suburbs (a.k.a. neighbourhoods). When I first moved here, I fell in love with these homes because they were so different from back home. The sandstone and terrace homes blew my mind. And they still do. In fact, one of my favourite things to do is take my camera and go for a slow meander through Sydney's little neighbourhoods. I never fail to find something that inspires me; it is such a pretty city. Here are some of my favourite shots from various suburbs.

Sydney love: Mudgee

I'm once again going to do a Sydney Love post about a place that's not in Sydney, but I think it still counts as something that I love about living here. Mudgee is a pretty country town a few hours Northwest of Sydney with vineyards galore and spectacular landscapes. I especially love the drive up, which is dotted with old sandstone farmsteads, ugly mining towns and of course, lots and lots of sheep! It's an especially important place for my husband and I since it's where we got married, and we've been up there many times over the last few years. This is a smattering of photos from these various trips, hope you enjoy!

My friend told me that I would look like a model here if I wasn't wearing a down jacket, he he. What can I say? It was cold!

These photos are all from a friend's farm.

This place is so nice and I always make a point of going.

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Sydney love: the zoo!

Nessa and the roo

When you first come to Sydney, everyone will tell you to do 3 things: see the Opera House, go to Bondi Beach, and spend the day at Taronga Zoo. So when my friend and I found ourselves in Sydney for the summer (our summer, Sydney's winter), that's just what we did. Even though these photos are from a while back, I'm so excited to share them as they're some of my favourite Sydney photos to date, especially that first one of my friend with the kangaroo. Next time I go back to the zoo, I want it to be for the Roar & Snore, my husband's been wanting to do it for ages!

photo by Nessa

Sydney love: the Blue Mountains

Top 2 photos from my first trip to Sydney. Photo on the left was taken by my friend, Ness.

I'm afraid you're going to have to bear with me on this edition of "sydney love" as there are going to be a lot of photos because the Blue Mountains are a very special place to me. That's because it's where my husband and I started spending time together, which eventually led to a relationship, a move and a marriage. But first, let me backtrack a bit... The first time I ever went to the Blue Mountains was when my friend and I were living in Sydney for the summer. I had hoped to find someone to rock climb with, but no such luck. We had also hoped to actually see the Blue Mountains, but again, no such luck. It was incredibly drizzly and grey when we were there. Shortly thereafter I met a handsome Aussie at the rock climbing gym in Sydney, and I kind of invited myself up to the mountains with him. He took my friend Vanessa and I, and we all got along so well that the three of us spent all day climbing, and then all night pub hopping. The Aussie and I started climbing together regularly, at the gym and in the mountains, and eventually all of that climbing led to us dating. And then all of that dating led to us thinking that we should get married. So we did. Sydney has been home ever since, although the mister and I love the Blue Mountains so much that we sometimes think of moving up there. I mean, just look at these photos, it's a pretty special place.

photo by husband

Me resting in the sun, in the middle of winter. I love Sydney. Photo by husband.

Photo by husband.

Photo by husband.