Down Under Diary - Pt 5

When you think of sports in Australia, what do you think of, if anything?  (Yes, snarky Jack is in the house!)  Now, I conferred with my authoritative (?) source "Bitter" Shawn for background information.  According to him, the NRL (like the rugby version of NFL) is the most popular sport in the country.  There is also Australian Rules Football, popular mainly in the Victoria region of the country.  Then, there is rugby union, often referred to as "ping pong".  Whatever.

Cricket.  The country is crazy for it.  Use the word "crazy" in whatever context you wish.  There are 3 versions of the game.  There is the traditional 5-day "Test" version, a much more popular 1-day version, and now, 20/20!!  20/20 is a made-for-the-MTV-generation.  In short, in baseball terms, each team gets 120 pitches to score as many runs as possible.  Shawn and I went the historic Sydney Cricket Grounds.  Cricket has been played at the site since 1848.  The oldest still-standing structure dates to 1886 (at first the members' pavilion, now for the ladies).  The current members' pavilion dates to 1883.  The two stands combined might hold a couple thousand people, at the very most.  The modified stadium holds about 44,000.  It is really cool (if you're a sports/history geek like me) to see the old kept within the new.

I bought a general admission ticket to see the undefeated Sydney Sixers host the defending champion Perth Scorchers.  Given my fashion sense, it is a bit surprising to some that I did not buy Sixers gear, predominantly fluorescent pink (they say magenta - I disagree).  I did, though, place a legal sports bet on-site.  YES!  5 Australian dollars straight up on the home team!  After the opposition did their thing and put up a very unimpressive score, Shawn informed me that my bet was a cinch.  The Sixers did their very best to imitate their Philadelphia NBA brethren.  Seriously.  They put up a score that had Shawn earnestly looking up historic low totals for 20/20 matches.  If you know anything about this version, Sydney was bowled out in 17 overs, scoring 99 runs.  Really?!

I had the opportunity to teach some American football to my Aussie "nephew" Kaylan and his younger cousin Layla.  This was a much more satisfying sports experience.  We also enjoyed some quality time outdoors, including to the Royal Botanic Gardens down by the harbour (there's that pesky "u" again!)

My trek home begins later this afternoon.  An all-photos, all-the-time diary entry will be coming in the near future.  Hoops snakes, drop-bears and kangawallafoxes, oh my!  G'day!!!

Down Under Diary - Pt 4

At long last, it was time to go into the city for the day - Shawn and Jack took the train into the Sydney Harbour area (note the pretentious use of the "u" in harbor!  I thought it fit the occasion, being in Australia and all that!)  The harbor (forget the "u"!) is an active, important part of life in Sydney.  The historic area surrounding it is very well-preserved, and the bars and restaurants are awfully cool.  It is very touristy, but not cheesy, and not as expensive as would be expected for such an otherwise very expensive city.  Lots of fun to wander around.
I did not pay to have my photo taken of an Aboriginal fellow playing and dancing to a didgeridoo.  I did pay to climb a pylon at the famed Harbour Bridge.  It of course was across from the iconic Opera House.  If you're an Aussie, wait till I complete this thought!  I was pretty thoroughly unimpressed with the two sites during the day.  At night, when I cruised the harbor (a must-do) they looked amazing.
If you like Baltimore's Inner Harbor (wish Philly would take notes!), you'll love Sydney Harbor...

Down Under Diary - Pt 3

2014 is the third year in a row that I spent Christmas outside of the U.S. (in different countries, even: Italy, Austria/Czech Republic, Australia).  I met up with some colleagues on Christmas night in Rome 2 years ago, but this year was very special as I was in Oz with close friends.  Mom surprised me with a gift sent to (Bitter) Shawn's home, where I enjoyed the company of his (better) half, Arwen, and their their 2 lovely children.  The Alabama swag from Stateside was delivered with absolutely no time to spare.  We all spent the day at Arwen's sister's nearby home with a bunch of her relatives in town for the occasion.  We played French cricket (think "pepper" in baseball) and I (barely) defeated a (very cool) 89 year-old in ping-pong.  Adult beverages may have been consumed.

Now, when you think of Australia, what do you think of, in terms of climate and geography?  Sun - that would be my first thought, whether it be tempered by cool breezes at the ocean, or blazing in the Outback.  What would not have crossed my mind was rainforest.  The land of Oz actually has a good bit of it.  Shawn and I drove (on what I would call the wrong side of the road) to the Illawarra escarpment subtropical rainforest, where we bought tix to the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk.  It was as cool as it sounds.  At one point as I walked across the sky, I was 710 meters above sea level, looking at cliffs that eventually rolled down to the ocean in the distance.

The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day.  So, of course, we went to a baseball game!  What else do you do in December?  The Sydney Blue Sox play in the fledgling Australian Baseball League, and on Boxing Day they hosted the Brisbane Bandits at what was the baseball venue for the 2000 Olympic games.  We root, root, rooted for the home team, but they didn't win, and it was a shame.  I got to take some swings in the batting cage (I fared better than in cricket).  Syd, the mascot, may have regretted being friendly to me...

Down Under Diary - Pt 2

For better or worse, I'll try almost anything.  I needed absolutely no encouragement whatsoever to drive go-carts!  Someone who shall remain nameless (ok, me) easily won all 3 heats against someone who shall also remain nameless (one Shawn Edward O'Keefe, who had zero chance at remaining anonymous in this space).  I only wrecked once (the left side of my rib cage thanks me).  Ton of fun.

The second activity on the day before Christmas was cricket.  Yes, cricket.  I thought I escaped sports, in foreign countries, that I have no knowledge of (soccer, in Morocco).  Alas, I traveled halfway around the globe to put on cricket gear, pick up a bat, and face my (now, former) friend.  I fared about as well as expected (poorly) before he gained a (small) measure of revenge and bowled me out.  I somehow (when I wasn't inexplicably throwing the ball over the cage) managed to do the same to Shawn's game nephew.  Due to technical difficulties (or human stupidity) pictures will not be posted now, but (unfortunately) photos will eventually be uploaded for the entertainment of all.

Down Under Diary - Pt 1

After a 24 hour period that included about 22 hours of flight, I finally made it from London through Beijing to Sydney about 6:30 a.m. local time Tuesday.  Almost 16 hours later I am remarkably still awake, and it was quite a day!  The highlight was a trip to the Symbio Zoo.  I saw up close and personal uniquely Aussie animals such as koalas, wombats, echidnas, Tasmanian devils (real ones, not the cartoon variety) and kangaroos.  I fed the latter and stood among them in a field while they bounded about - a magical time - then I ate one for dinner.  Yup, kangaroo burgers - and they were delicious!


That's all folks!