In defense of Oz
Dec. 13th, 2005 12:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcThere's been tons of press about race rioting in Sydney. And it's bad, just awful stuff. But a number of my antipodean pals have been, in my opinion, too hard on themselves. Clearly race relations in Australia are not great...but overall I don't think the mobs in the Shire are representative of all Australians. So I say give 'er and give 'er good--make sure everyone knows that your Australia doesn't stand for racism or xenophobia. Because those of us who know you know better.
10. Snags. In nearly 3 years in Sydney I never once saw "a shrimp on a barbie." I did, however, see--and eat--many snags. Or as they say in my country, sausages. Australian snags rock--beef, pork, lamb, kangaroo, whatever your meat, they season in, cram it into penis-shapes, and you eat 'em. Lots of 'em. I want one right now...
9. 41. Some equations are timeless, like great service, excellent food and sedate but warm ambiance. Add a killer view and you get 41, without a doubt![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
querrelle and my favourite posh resto in Sydney. Guess what? It's on the 41st floor! And while it's not cheap, it doesn't cater to current fashions or trends: it offers a simple, incredible menu. After trying several trendizoid places, we decided to stick with 41for our anniversaries (meeting and marrying) and respective birthdays.
8. Airlie Beach. When we had Canadians visiting in the middle of Oz winter ("oooh, it's only 14C tonight, better get the parka" *snort*), we wanted to show them the Great Barrier Reef. I'd been to Cairns and far north Queensland a number of times and found the Reef a bit over-touristed. A bit of hunting around led us to book a long weekend in Airlie Beach on the Whitsunday coast. Torquoise waters, beautiful islands, great access to Whitsunday's talcum powder beaches (and sea turtles!), and a much healthier coral colony than any I saw around Cairns. There's a greater variety of things to do in the North, but if it's the beach and reef you're after, my $$ is on Airlie.
7. Melbourne. Aside from havingroybear, scream4noreason, and VicBears, it's just a great city....and if I'd had a choice we would have lived there. Sydney's great, but Melbourne's solid. And if you be bearish an' shit, you must hit Southern HiBearnation at least once in your life--it's funstastic!
6.North Bondi Beach. I grew up bodysurfing, and despite a preponderance of muscle mary's (who all look so....tense....on their towels. Ew!), North Bondi had consistent waves with fewer rips (undertows) than many other Eastern beaches around Sydney. For a while I got into a groove where I would scooter over on Saturday mornings, surf a couple of hours, and be home in time for lunch wif mah huzband.
5. I am Australian. During the 2004 Olympics, Australia's telco ran ads featuring this song in a rocked up version. Now and again some folk singer(s) come up with a song that captures the best of a people. I think the Seekers "I am Australian" does just that: Indigenous, convict, migrant, battler, digger, woman, man. We are one, but we are many. And from all the lands on earth we come. We share a dream, and sing with one voice, I am, you are, we are Australian. In-fuckin'-deed.
4. Kylie. She does rock, she is awesome, she is a star, she will beat the cancer and you all should pick up Ultimate Kylie right now.
3. Flat white. Being from Vancouver I assumed I knew all there was to know about great coffee. But I would almost sell my left testicle for a proper flat white. Which probably says more about how cheap I am, but really...excellent cup of coffee. I had at least one, nearly every single day I was in Australia. Wish I knew how to make one so I could enlist a local barista to hook me up. *sob*
2. Midnight Shift on Sunday evenings. There are some disturbing aspects of faux masculine urban gay culture pretty much anywhere. But get a bunch of the bears into a pub with videos playing 70s, 80s and 90s pop music, and the gurl in us all comes out. I love sexy gay men who are guileless! We laughed, we cried, we bonded. And we kept Mel & Kim alive, if only in our hearts...
1. Marko: I went to Australia with one foot firmly planted in Canada. Meetingquerrelle meant reducing that to a couple of toes, but at 40 it's really hard to connect with new friends. At first glance a stylish, plugged in mover-and-shaker on the Sydney scene seemed like nothing of interest to me. But as we each dropped our guards a wee bit, we (luckily) saw in one another a kindred spirit. And I miss him every single fucking day.
So thank you Australia, and Australians. I learned a lot, I had a lot of fun, and my life is better for having been your guest.
10. Snags. In nearly 3 years in Sydney I never once saw "a shrimp on a barbie." I did, however, see--and eat--many snags. Or as they say in my country, sausages. Australian snags rock--beef, pork, lamb, kangaroo, whatever your meat, they season in, cram it into penis-shapes, and you eat 'em. Lots of 'em. I want one right now...
9. 41. Some equations are timeless, like great service, excellent food and sedate but warm ambiance. Add a killer view and you get 41, without a doubt
querrelle and my favourite posh resto in Sydney. Guess what? It's on the 41st floor! And while it's not cheap, it doesn't cater to current fashions or trends: it offers a simple, incredible menu. After trying several trendizoid places, we decided to stick with 41for our anniversaries (meeting and marrying) and respective birthdays. 8. Airlie Beach. When we had Canadians visiting in the middle of Oz winter ("oooh, it's only 14C tonight, better get the parka" *snort*), we wanted to show them the Great Barrier Reef. I'd been to Cairns and far north Queensland a number of times and found the Reef a bit over-touristed. A bit of hunting around led us to book a long weekend in Airlie Beach on the Whitsunday coast. Torquoise waters, beautiful islands, great access to Whitsunday's talcum powder beaches (and sea turtles!), and a much healthier coral colony than any I saw around Cairns. There's a greater variety of things to do in the North, but if it's the beach and reef you're after, my $$ is on Airlie.
7. Melbourne. Aside from having
roybear, scream4noreason, and VicBears, it's just a great city....and if I'd had a choice we would have lived there. Sydney's great, but Melbourne's solid. And if you be bearish an' shit, you must hit Southern HiBearnation at least once in your life--it's funstastic!6.North Bondi Beach. I grew up bodysurfing, and despite a preponderance of muscle mary's (who all look so....tense....on their towels. Ew!), North Bondi had consistent waves with fewer rips (undertows) than many other Eastern beaches around Sydney. For a while I got into a groove where I would scooter over on Saturday mornings, surf a couple of hours, and be home in time for lunch wif mah huzband.
5. I am Australian. During the 2004 Olympics, Australia's telco ran ads featuring this song in a rocked up version. Now and again some folk singer(s) come up with a song that captures the best of a people. I think the Seekers "I am Australian" does just that: Indigenous, convict, migrant, battler, digger, woman, man. We are one, but we are many. And from all the lands on earth we come. We share a dream, and sing with one voice, I am, you are, we are Australian. In-fuckin'-deed.
4. Kylie. She does rock, she is awesome, she is a star, she will beat the cancer and you all should pick up Ultimate Kylie right now.
3. Flat white. Being from Vancouver I assumed I knew all there was to know about great coffee. But I would almost sell my left testicle for a proper flat white. Which probably says more about how cheap I am, but really...excellent cup of coffee. I had at least one, nearly every single day I was in Australia. Wish I knew how to make one so I could enlist a local barista to hook me up. *sob*
2. Midnight Shift on Sunday evenings. There are some disturbing aspects of faux masculine urban gay culture pretty much anywhere. But get a bunch of the bears into a pub with videos playing 70s, 80s and 90s pop music, and the gurl in us all comes out. I love sexy gay men who are guileless! We laughed, we cried, we bonded. And we kept Mel & Kim alive, if only in our hearts...
1. Marko: I went to Australia with one foot firmly planted in Canada. Meeting
querrelle meant reducing that to a couple of toes, but at 40 it's really hard to connect with new friends. At first glance a stylish, plugged in mover-and-shaker on the Sydney scene seemed like nothing of interest to me. But as we each dropped our guards a wee bit, we (luckily) saw in one another a kindred spirit. And I miss him every single fucking day. So thank you Australia, and Australians. I learned a lot, I had a lot of fun, and my life is better for having been your guest.
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-13 08:06 pm (UTC)I feel the same way, and I was there for only three weeks in September.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-13 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-13 10:08 pm (UTC)snags--yep, mighty tasty. but not as good as passion fruit!
i'd add slit magazine, a fabulous dyke sex/porn mag. go girlies go!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-14 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-13 11:48 pm (UTC)However, my personal favorite is Ampersand in Darling Harbour. Less stuffy, better food, but obviously not quite such a spectacular view. Bit difficult to judge consistency with only two visits to 41 and one to Ampersand though :-)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-14 02:26 am (UTC);)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-14 04:50 am (UTC)I've probably lost my reserved seat in heaven for using the microwave and for running more that two shots of water through the espresso machine with only two shots worth of coffee, but it works for me.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-14 12:11 pm (UTC)