Monday, November 1, 2010

Australian Memories

- Australia seemed to be a very "fit" country,
clearly their eating habits differ from the US.

- Sydney was one of the safest big-cities I've ever been.

- Staff members worked seemingly harder than Americans, and they weren't incentivized with tips except for higher end restaurants.

- Australia was a cash driven country,
and I felt like we had tourist written all over us using our debit card.

- We heard lots of "No worries" and "Me and me mates ...."     :)

- Australia Rules Football and League Rugby are the two sports of choice, watched hours and hours in AUS, fascinating sports!

- They don't keep up with Curtis Stone ( an Australian) and a popular chef on The Biggest Loser in the States!

- My understanding is that all students (public or private) wear uniform.  Gabe and I got a kick out of them decked out in one color.

We like to refer to them as the red kids!

The blue kids!

The green kids!

The teal kids!

Etc, etc!

I believe middle school and higher wears full suits.

- Tim Tams are the greatest biscuit ever! AKA chocolate cookie!

- Australian cheddar cheese is white not yellow

- Australia has one of the highest alcohol taxes in the world! 
That's 6pack pricing.  *And you'd be shock to know they don't serve Fosters in their country, and majority of Australians haven't even tried it!

- Light beer is not fewer calories, but instead less amount of alcohol.
*Very confusing!!!!

- And, LAST but not LEAST .... the button on the left is for "half flush" and the other is for a "full flush" as my readers called it!
We finally learned how to be environmentally friendly on day 10.

That's all I could think of 
off the top of my head!!

19 comments:

Lauren @ Dreams Take Flight said...

It looks like you guys had such an amazing time...what a once in a lifetime experience! Tim Tams are absolutely delicious...I can occasionally find them over there in 'the States' :)

Caroline said...

How interesting! Glad you had such a fun cultural experience! Welcome back to America! :)

Mother in law Robin said...

As a little girl in Australia I had to wear a uniform every day to school. I also had to use my right hand as they did not appreciate my left-handedness.

So did you eat any vegemite?

Unknown said...

Ok my take on this list: (haha)
- You know how you mentioned all the drinks are smaller earlier? Thus we are not as obese as many Americans (though unfortunately it appears we are headed that way).
- Most of us know who Curtis Stone is, in fact if you were to go into a Coles Supermarket you would of seen his face EVERYWHERE, he used to host a TV Show here called 'My Restaurant Rules' (i loved it!).
- Yes most of us wear uniforms. My primary uniform was light and navy blue, my highschool was dark blue and white. The full suits most probably belong to a private exclusive school, must our uniforms arent that strict :)
- Tims Tams = AMAZING :)
- And oh the toilet, see how environmentally friendly we are here: America could learn a thing or too haha.

:)
xx

Anonymous said...

I still remember my trip to Australia. I was 18 and so excited to legally order beer that I went up to the bar and in my best Aussie accent asked for a Fosters. The bartender laughed at me and said "you know why we export that right? Because it tastes like shit!" I'll never forget it (and can say I've never had a Fosters because of his opinion). Loved your recaps!

Tiffany said...

I was curious about the toilet thing, how interesting...half flush..hm! lol

Natasha said...

some crazy facts my dear... that toilet is freaky weird and i cannot believe that about the beer--that's why they are so fit...they can't afford to drink!!

Jordan from Food, Fitness, Fashion, and Frivolity said...

Hey there! I found your blog because a friend of mine does Wishful Wednesdays, and I've really enjoyed it! I only just entered the blogging world a couple of weeks ago, and it's so fun to see other people's originality and creativity shine! Your trip to Australia looked like a blast! My husband and I are avid travelers (we just spent time on the island of St. Martin/St. Maarten in the Caribbean a couple of months ago) and Australia is definitely on our list of places to hit, so I really enjoyed reading your posts. :)

Lauren said...

Can we please take a moment to visit my love affair with Tim Tams??? I fell in love when I studied abroad, then my husband fell in love on our honeymoon, and then...

Wait for it.



Still waiting?


We found out they sell them at World Market (or Cost Plus World Market depending on your region) under the name "Arnotts" biscuits!!! Oh my goodness, was THAT the best day ever. Don't worry, the package looks EXACTLY the same so you'll notice them instantly. They carry the chocolate and the caramel, but I think the chocolate ones are the best. Drool.

Lindsay @ la vita dolce said...

your trip looks/sounds amazing!!!

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

I love learning all these little tid bits!!!

Meghan said...

Wow! Things definitely are very different! I remember noticing the same thing about tipping when I was in Europe - that, and the toilets:)

Jenny DB said...

Oh I learned the "light beer" is fewer calories RIGHT away hehe my favorite is Carlton and Tooheys. Sidney is a really safe city but when we were there I remember there was a really scary trend of the aboriginal homeless robbing people in the parks not with gun or knives but with needles of their blood!!!!! SO GROSS AND SCARY. Can you imagine? We definnitely avoided the parks at night, though that should be standard for any city. Anyway, I LOVED reading your australia posts. They totally take me back to australia and I LOVE IT!

Carol {Everyday Delights} said...

Wow - what a wonderful and amazing trip!!! So glad you posted all these, its definetly on my to-travel list! Now onto planning the next vacay! :)

LaVonne said...

A lot of that reminds me of when we went to London. I like that half flush :) I still often used the full flush.

What a fun time. We want to go to Australia or New Zealand sometime in the near future. (Hubby loves to surf.)

Thanks for sharing some of your memories and pics.

Blessings and Happy Weekend!

Heather @ Simple Wives said...

The chocolate biscuits sounds delicious!! :)

Frances said...

SO glad I found your blog! :) your Australia trip looked amazing...I need to go there!

Jamie Pickle said...

I really enjoyed reading your Australian recaps. Makes me want to visit there even more now. We have a friend who lives there for work for a year or two and is begging us to come visit. Too bad the plane tickets cost too much for us right now.

Luray va accommodations said...

When I came back at home from Australia I pretty much upset next couple of months. It always remain in mind that when I visited, eat and stay. Your post is really good it reminds me my tour.

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