A Day in the Vines

Last weekend, I went with my friend Bree to the Hunter Valley (again), since I had been a bad friend and missed her birthday while I was home. Every time I go up there it just gets better and better. We set off at half past 8 in the morning, and for whatever reason, someone had set the nav system in the rental car to the 'go through every toll road possible' setting. Bollocks.

Anyway, the drive up there was beautiful - we couldn't have asked for nicer weather that day. Traffic was nearly nonexistant (as it usually is once you leave Sydney proper), and we made great time. Arriving at around 11, we headed to a few wineries before lunch - Pepper Tree, Blueberry Hill, and one other that I can't recall (we visited 8 wineries during the course of the day - I'm bound to not remember at least one). Oh wait - I just remembered. It was Tatler. Sweet.

Bree in front of our first winery of the day,

Pepper Tree.

Here we see Bree demonstrating the Vim Chatto,

the dance craze that is sweeping a very small

subsection of the nation.

This dog was laying in the path at Tatler, staring

at me. When I walked over to it, it rolled over

and just lay there like this. I naturally provided

belly scratches.

We went to lunch at this place I had been meaning to try called Leaves and Fishes. It looked like a small rustic cabin from the outside, but inside it had beautiful decorations with a sort of quirky touch to it. Half the tables were out on an enclosed patio area. The food was superb.

Entrees - a bread plate with oil and vinegar,

dukkah (spices), and feta with olive oil, and an

iceberg salad with cheese and rocket.

Massive plates of fush and chups. They

were a tempura-battered slice of heaven.

Me conveying my level of fullness after lunch.

After a leisurely lunch, and stuffing ourselves with delicious food, we headed off to some other wineries in the afternoon. Ernest Hill was next, followed by Iron Gate. The latter was by far my favorite winery of the day, and I had to refrain from buying everything that we tasted (I ended up leaving with 3 bottles, out of my total of 9 for the day). Iron Gate was started by a gentleman named Roger who was originally from England. Despite every person we met that day being exceedingly nice, he stood out as being even nicer. I'll definitely be back.

As a side note, Bree (who lived in England for quite some time), asked an Aussie earlier that day if he was British (he wasn't), but couldn't place Roger's accent either. Go figure - heh heh.

Standing in front of the vines at Iron Gate.

I sersiously had to stand like this for 30 seconds

while one of the winery workers took the picture.

The massive hamstring cramp set in at about 8

seconds.

Bon Jovi fan?

We swung by a few other wineries as the afternoon moved toward dusk - Drayton's, McLeish, Audrey Wilkinson, and I believe one more. Audrey Wilkinson was the last for the day, and we had about an hour and a half to kill before dinner.

One of the best views in the Hunter, taken from

Audrey Wilkinson.

The sky turned into a rainbow of colors

as the sun set in the evening.

It started to get a bit breezy and chilly as the sun

went down. My kinda weather.

We got to watch the lights in the houses turn

on as the sun went down, and both agreed

that it would be nice to have a holiday home

out here as an option.

Eventually it was time for dinner, and we drove across to Mojo's on Wilderness, where I had gone the previous visit with my parents. It's another one of the really stellar restaurants in the Hunter, not because of its extravagance, but just because the food, service, and ambiance are on a whole other level compared to most places. My entree was a flaky chicken and mushroom pastry with white truffle oil (I love the smell of truffles). My main was mouth-watering: steak wrapped in bacon. *drooooool* Unlike last time, I managed to save room for dessert - the pear tart I had mentioned in the previous post. It was spectacular.

Stuffed to the brim and tired, we made our way back to Sydney, hitting a couple more toll roads along the way. As a side note, the previous times I have gone, I haven't had to pay a single toll. Ah well. It was such an enjoyable day, that not even $12 worth of tolls could bring me down. Can't wait to go back again.

Home, Part III

I love Disneyland.

There's just something about unflinching perfection that should, in all reason, scare the living crap out of me, but oddly enough, is mystifying.

One of my weekends home, I headed down to the 'Land with my friend Laura, who - like me - is a 12-year-old trapped in the body of someone slightly older. The amount of enjoyment I get out of Disneyland has not changed - if anything, it has increased. I have longer legs, and can therefore get to rides faster. I have my own income with which I can purchase all the cotton candy, churros, and frozen lemonade that my heart desires. I have the patience to wait in line for more than 15 minutes. But not more than 20. That's a bit excessive.

We left on a Friday night and returned that Sunday night, giving us essentially 2 full days down there. The weather was, as Laura called it, 'swampy.' 95 degrees and sticky. Thank goodness Disney keeps all their rides at a balmy 50 degrees inside. It's a wonder with all the temperature changes I didn't explode like the alien at the end of Alien3.

Hoping to beat the crowds, we arrived at the front gates each morning at 8, just as they were opening. There were still crowds. And apparently, if you buy a 3-day or more Park Hopper pass, you get an early entry one day, allowing you to enter at 7. Huzzah!

The morning crowds were pretty manageable. We managed to fit in roughly 4 rides / an hour for the first few hours. The afternoons got messy, and we usually made our way to Downtown Disney for a drink.

In terms of a quick summary, it was magical. I love Disneyland, and I can't wait to bring my future kids here as an excuse not to be the creepy old guy wandering around Disneyland by himself. Disney does immersion like nobody else. We were out the first day from 8 am until 10:30 pm, and the second day from 8 until 5. I was exhausted afterward, but it was so worth it. Because we were having so much fun, I mostly forgot to take pictures, but here are a couple.

They replaced the old 20,000 Leagues Under

the Sea submarine ride with a Nemo-themed

one. It wasn't too bad, despite having the

most ridiculous line in the park. The coolest

part were the animatronic seagulls that

intermittently exclaimed "Moine?"

Laura posing with Mr. Toad in line for his wild

ride.

The following night after returning from L.A., I said my farewells and boarded my plane back to Sydney. On the flight back, I was seated next to a woman from Malta and her son, who had Down's Syndrome. They were both very nice, and he was high-function Down's. Content with sleeping and his portable video games, he was also very adamant about offering me some of his candy he had with him. After politely refusing to take a second one (after taking the first offered), he made a game of trying to get me to take the candy every 5 seconds, even going so far as to do a wild flourish of his hands before setting it on my try table. Nice kid - he had his grandmother take a few pictures of the two of us.

The cool Sydney air bit at my face as I stepped out of the airport. It was nice to be back.

Home, Part II

I have never been to Hooters before, to the best of my recollection.

This was the thought that passed through my mind when some of my friends invited me to go with them while I was home. I had seen it in movies and television before, but I had always written it off as some sort of fictitious place, like Jackrabbit Slim's from the movie Pulp Fiction.

Anyway, it was an interesting excursion, to say the least. We were greeted by a hostess who barely looked twelve (the oversized braces did nothing to help this image). After being seated at a large raised table shaped like California, we were eventually greeted by our server. We had around 7 minutes left to take advantage of their happy hour specials, and started ordering drinks to that effect. We realized that appetizers were also half price, and asked her to put those in as well.

Moving with the blinding speed of a sloth on antihistamines, she made her way back to the computer, before returning and informing us that happy hour was over. We all consulted our clocks / watches and informed her that we still had 3 minutes left. Helpless, she let us know that the discount was determined by the clock on their systems. Escalating the issue, the day shift manager informed us that his hands were tied because their times came from Micros. A stunned silence spread across the table as we basked in the inaccurate glow of the idol that was micros. Clearly, clocks synchronized to the internet itself would not be as accurate as the almighty Micros. Long story short, we had to pay full price for our food. Meh.

The food was not terrible, but it was not exactly great either. Chicken wings (my nemesis - the most annoying food to try and eat), fried pickles (interesting), chicken quesadilla, garlic fries, and onion rings. Your standard bar fare. All in all, it was not the transcendant experience I was expecting.

Steff and Christine either before or after Steff

spilled her nearly-full beer all over the place,

not sure which.

About as much Hooters-inspired excitement

as these two could muster.

These two are thrilled because of two little words:

fried pickles.

Not an actual picture - this is the one from

the menu. The actual pickles were all stuck

together in one greasy, battery chunk.

Tasty though.

I wouldn't necessarily say 'addictive.' I haven't

been breaking into cold sweats for lack of

battered dills...

Hooters: Delightfully tacky, yet unrefined.

Somehow I feel like that sentence is not deserving of a 'yet.' Perhaps an 'and.'

Home, Part I

I took a trip home a few weeks back. 3 weeks to see friends, family, and to work from the Mountain View office to learn how to lead a few new classes. Yeah, exciting stuff. I made the most of my weekends and evenings there, and took the time to ensure that my visit was not strictly business.

One of the weekends back, I went canoeing up on the Russian River. It was a beautiful day - the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze; prime conditions for working on a wicked farmer's tan.

I drove up north to Santa Rosa early one morning to meet the rest of the crew. We took a couple of cars over to the river, picked out some wicked $8 sunglasses from the gift shop, and were on our way. I had a blast - definitely good people.

From left to right: Stephanie, Kathy, Steff, Caleb,

Nancy, and Brandi. Quite the motley crew.

Steff apparently suffering from a very acute

(not cute) form of seasickness caused by

the...waves?

This was Stephanie's first time ever being in a

non-commercial boat (certainly a canoe). She

performed admirably, even when I started

rocking the canoe a tad. Okay, excessively.

We found a little island about halfway down the

river and chowed through the rest of our

afternoon. Cheese, dips, sausage, bread, beer -

everything the body needs.

My totally awesome 80s glasses. Yes, they

matched my shirt.

The brave among us decided to go for a swim.

Brandi somehow managed to spot that inner

tube hidden in some heavy growth over a hill.

Some parts of the river weren't exactly what

you would call deep. Stephanie and I used this

opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery,

accompanied by the gentle trill of the metal

canoe scraping over river rocks.

After a half-day of paddling, and several intense water fights, we made it to the landing point and headed back to Nancy's house, where we played a rousing game of Apples to Apples (my new favorite game), and had one hell of a BBQ. Good food + good company + good fun = good times.

Google Sports Day!

Here at Google Australia, we recently had our first (hopefully) annual Google Sports Day. Those who participated were divided into four teams, or 'houses,' and were each assigned a color - red, blue, green, or yellow. There were close to a dozen events (soccer, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, giant chess, tug-o-war, sack race, egg-and-spoon race, a relay, etc), and tons of team spirit. All in all, it was an incredible event, even when the sky split and it started raining harder than I had ever seen. Everyone just kept playing.

Our new office is right across from Fairfax, who publishes the Sydney Morning Herald among other things. While we were outside, we could see many of them pressed up against their windows watching. They even published an article about us. You can see me wearing a red shirt and khaki shorts in the top picture (far right) and the bottom picture (in the middle under the tent).

Here are some highlights from the day before the weather got ridiculous:

The day started with an awesome BBQ outside.

Jasper, the team captain from the Blue

House, showing some team spirit.

Mike (left) struggles a bit at giant chess...

...but fortunately has a group of 10 people

helping out with suggestions.

The Red House volleyball team warms up before

their match against the Blue House.

Adam shows his Yellow House pride with stickers

and an ethernet cable tied around his head.

Disaster strikes! And is quickly remedied.

Part of the Red House, in all of its red glory.

A portion of the Blue house, chock full of

blue-y goodness.

Tensions are high during the football (soccer)

match. Note the field beginning to get muddy.

Now this is team spirit - a shaved head

and painted blue.

The sacks lined up for the sack race. Many

of these events ended up happening in the

pouring rain, adding an exciting new variable

to the competition.

By the end of the day, we were soaked, muddy, sore, and exhausted, but these things do wonders for morale, and we all finished the day in incredibly high spirits.

Parents Stop By

A couple of months ago (yes, I'm a bit behind), my parents stopped over as part of a 'visit their sons in the southern hemisphere' tour. Shortly before coming down under, they had gone to visit my brother in Brazil, who - consequently - has been working at an orphanage deep in the jungle (literally), developing a nutritional plan, teaching English, and other such things.

I had a blast with them while they were here - they stayed at a hotel about a 5 minute walk from my place, so it was really easy to meet up with them. We packed in quite a few things while they were here.

The first weekend, we had a trip up to the Hunter Valley, one of Australia's major wine-growing regions. I had been there before, and it's just beautiful, so I wanted to take my parents up there as well. It was a gorgeous day, with a really strong wind, and just a great way to unwind. Did I mention that wine-tasting in Australia is free? As a result, you basically drive up from Sydney in the morning (under 2-hour drive), start tasting at 10:30 / 11, and just hit as many wineries as you can before 5 when most of them start closing. It's rarely very crowded, and the people are just incredibly personable.

One of the many spectacular views of the

Hunter Valley. This one is one of my favorites,

from the Audrey Wilkinson winery, one of the

oldest in the area.

Every time I go to the Hunter, I find more and more wine that I like. I'm not sure if it's that my palate adjusting to Aussie wines, or if I just happen to be stumbling upon more and more wineries that make great wine. Case in point - last time I came home with only 3 bottles; this time, I brought home six. The Hunter region is well-known for their Semillon varietal (a dry, fruity white wine). I've made a serious effort to try it each time I go, and just can't get myself to like it. I've found it just dies too quickly in the mouth. Fortunately there are dozens of different varietals grown in the Hunter, so we had options.

We fit in a couple of wineries before lunch, before making our way to The Verandah Restaurant. Like most places in the Hunter, it was in the middle of a beautiful green field surrounded by vines. We sat out on - you guessed it - the veranda, and enjoyed a series of tapas.

This was Hannah, one of the dogs running around

the property during lunch. Apparently she doesn't

like having her picture taken.

Mom sits under a tree with Hannah after playing

a bit of fetch.

We managed to stop by 4 or 5 more wineries after lunch, including one that specialized in Port and other fortified wines. I had never had much exposure to Port in the past, but I've found that I absolutely love it (probably thanks in part to my ridiculous sweet tooth).

With most of the wineries closing by 5:15 or so, we had some time to kill before dinner reservations at 6:30. We used the opportunity to cruise around some of the outer roads of the Hunter, as well as some of the inner ones that didn't really lead anywhere. That's when we discovered one of the many things that makes this amazing country unlike any other.

A large herd of at least a dozen kangaroos (which

is called a mob, a herd, or a troop) were sitting on

the side of the road. We slowed down and they

started hopping one by one across the street.

Here is another group sitting on the side of the road.

Just before dinner, we caught an amazing sunset.

This really is a beautiful place.

Dinner was at a place called Mojo's on Wilderness. It was small, intimate, and warm - really one of the best little restaurants I've found since moving here. Dinner was fantastic, and I actually didn't have room for dessert at the end (I know - I'll give you a moment to collect yourselves). At that point, I was very nearly rolling out the door. I made a mental note to come back, because the service was stellar, and the food was to die for (which would have happened, had I tried to cram down the caramelized pear tart tatin with ice cream and rum butterscotch sauce).

A few days later, we went out to dinner at a place over in Watsons Bay back in Sydney for dinner. The restaurant was called Doyle's, and they're famous for their seafood, specifically their fish and chips. It was a very lovely dinner, and I found out after I had finished my heaping portion that since I got through it all, I could actually have a half-serving of fish and chips for free. I had really wished they had mentioned this at the beginning so I could have paced myself. Dinner was delicious, though.

The harbor at Watsons Bay. So many parts of

Australia remind me of Italy.

The view of the Sydney skyline from Watsons

Bay, the last bay of the harbor before you hit

ocean.

I love it when you can see the moon

as the sun is setting.

Fajah, Majah, and me just before dinner. No,

that's not a corduroy jacket I'm wearing - why

do you ask?

Doyle's by night.

We fit in many more meals while they were there, as well as a fantastic classical concert at the opera house. I've found that I absolutely adore classical music since moving here (I liked it before, but the prevalence of it has escalated that like to lust).

Naturally, I had to show them Featherdale while they were here as well - the wildlife park that I frequent so often. Here are a few pictures from that little venture.

Wallabies are unflinchingly cruel. This one

beat me up and stole my ice cream.

No, this image does not need to be rotated. This

furry little guy was just having an exceptionally

lazy day.

The most sinister-looking koala you

will ever meet.

A close-up of a kookaburra - one of my

favorite birds here. This one was not

in a laughing mood. Even my jokes

did not get him to crack a smile.

Disapproving owl disapproves.

A wombat - roughly the size of an ottoman, and

exceedingly chunky, they are putty in your

hands if you scratch their backs.

A black-necked stork. These guys stand about

5 feet tall. This was the last photo taken before

my unfortunate demise.

Just kidding. Here's an albino peahen

who has my haircut.

I believe this is a black kite, a large bird of prey.

It was really a treat to have my parents visit - we had some great times, ate some fantastic food, and I'm quite glad they made the time to swing by.