Gourmet Friday!

When we first started thinking of our trip to Australia I truly thought that we would be moving to paradise. Now, I didn’t necessarily think that the city or the city life would be paradise itself, but in the back of my mind I always dreamed or hoped that we would find a contact or opportunity to start a pearl farm on a tropical atoll or start a niche, ecotourism resort on a tropical island, and that might yet happen. I’m not sure if that would be my dream job or my career destiny, but I think we could all agree that it wouldn’t be a bad way to spend a couple of years.

Today is a great Friday because it’s sunny, warm, and weekend looks to be more of the same. Uncle Errik has invited us over to dinner again tonight, it’s become sort of a weekly ritual (luck for us!) and I’m sure we’ll be treated to another gourmet meal. He’s starting to teach Andrea how to make bread, and last week they made baguettes. Very tasty, but I fear for my waistline.

I mention the sun because it’s been a bit cloudy here for the past week. It tends to be a bit wet here in the winter, and this winter is supposed to be abnormally wet. This isn’t too much of a problem for Queenslanders as they have been mired in a decade long drought and it looks like they’re finally getting out of it. They actually just completed a massive desalination plant to supply water to Southeast Queensland, but now they don’t need it because the reservoirs are full again. Go figure. There are actually kids here that are shocked to see the plains around them green and full of water because for their whole life they’ve only experienced the dusty and cracked red earth.

Just a little tidbit for you, if you ever wanted to move or visit Australia with your pet, you might want to reconsider. Because of the fragility of the country, your pet will have to sit in quarantine for 3 to 6 months before it’s allowed into the country. I’m not even sure if you get to visit it during that time, but surely that would be the most cruel thing you could do to your animal.

Everywhere we go we are somewhat of a novelty because of our accents. Apparently they think the way we speak is very funny here, and you always get a look when you talk to someone for the first time. Usually the first thing they ask you is ‘Where are you from?’ and they always seem relieved when you say 'Canada.' They even have some Canadian TV shows down here like Heartland and Being Erika, but I think they think they are American. That’s all for now. Enjoy your weekend!