Soccer Saturday

We went to another Sydney FC game on Saturday. It was a cool, overcast day and perfect for soccer! (It was so weird to be cold after burning up the day before.)
We caught the bus to the stadium. It was packed with fans...

Including us!

The crowd at the game wasn't too big, but everyone was excited to be there and had great energy!

T was really happy to be there too.

It was a good game, if not exactly an even match. Sydney won 7-1.

We had a great time!

Disregard T's face - he really is happy!

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114 degrees in the shade

While my friends and family were sending me pictures of snow and ice, Friday was the hottest day ever on record in Sydney. And IT FELT LIKE IT!

I knew it was going to be a warm day, but I didn't realize how warm. So when I went outside at lunchtime to call Holly, I was surprised that I was sweating so much just sitting in the shade. There was even a breeze blowing! I decided I must be getting soft, but I thought for the sake of my co-workers, I should move indoors to a less sweat-inducing environment.

It wasn't until I got back to my desk and looked at the temperature that I realized why I'd been so hot. I checked it about an hour and a half later - definitely not talking on the phone outdoors weather!

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of my adventures in the heat. When I left work at around 5:30, I'd been warned that the trains were running on a delay because of the heat. I assumed this wouldn't affect me since I take a train from one stop to the next at a very central station. This was not the case! When I got to the station, I walked in just in time to hear an announcement on the intercom that my platform was being closed due to over-crowding. Once a few of the delayed trains made it to the station, they would re-open the platform. So instead of waiting in a packed crowd in the stifling station, I decided to make the 40-minute walk home. I joined the sweaty trudging masses resigned to walking and headed out. Actually, though, once I got onto the bridge, there was a very nice breeze and it wasn't as grueling as I'd feared.

When I got home, I read that trains were delayed because steel in the system was buckling and hoses were melting. Melting! 

So that was my adventure in the Sydney heat! All in all, it wasn't as chaotic as it could have been. I'm so lucky that I can walk home if I need to. AND I'm so grateful we have air conditioning. =)

On a side note, I've signed up for a mailing list that lets you know about upcoming activities and events in Sydney. I was just thinking the other day about how I've adapted so much to our new life, and how so many things that once would have been a novelty have become commonplace. Then my mailing list sent me this article about food to make on Australia Day next weekend. When I could only understand about half of what I read, I realized I still have a lot to discover about Australia culture!

Cute utes

So the ute car style is very popular here. The first time I saw one I thought it was so weird and such a novelty! Now we know that they're everywhere and pretty run-of-the-mill. I snapped a couple pics of some in our neighborhood in case, like me, this car style is unfamiliar to you.

 

 

 

I looked it up, and you can own your very own 2013 ute for $35,000. What a deal!

 

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A great birthday

I had a wonderful birthday in the land Down Under!
I woke up to some happy birthday emails and texts from some loving friends & family. These folks have mastered the time difference and remembered A WHOLE DAY before my U.S. birthday to wish me a happy one! Now that's some talent!
Since I haven't yet started my own company where everyone gets their birthday off, I had to go into work. Luckily, though, I work with really nice people. My manager brought in cupcakes in honor of my birthday, which was so sweet! Also, it's hard to have a bad day when you get cupcakes as a second breakfast!
I also got the honor of wearing the virtual birthday hat during our Google Hangout with the San Francisco team. Here's a super flattering screengrab to prove it.

For my birthday dinner, I ate at my favorite spot in Sydney, Toby's kitchen. It's quite exclusive!

Chef Toby

What an amazing dinner!

I also made a Nutella Cheesecake for my bday dessert.

If you're thinking that these two things seem like a bad pre-cursor to going out in a bathing suit the next day, you'd be right. But that didn't stop us!!!
One of the great sadnesses of my life is that it's always cold on my birthday. Which means when I was little I could never have a pool or lake party for my birthday. Since it was going to be about 100 degrees on my birthday this year, I decided it was a perfect opportunity to have a beach birthday!

We decided to go to Cronulla Beach, which is about 50 minutes south on the train. Cronulla is a huge beach (it's actually made up of 3 separate beaches which are collectively called Cronulla).

Got our beach faces on!

Cronulla beach

Our beach day was pretty low-key, as you might expect. There was lots of reading and snacks, and a walk on the beach. There might have been a nap thrown in too. We didn't get in the water though - it was freezing cold!
After a while, we headed up to the beach village for some lunch. We found a burger place with great veggie burgers, which was a perfect lunch.

After refueling, we decided to walk down the south side of the beach. This area was less beachy, but really beautiful with rock pools and a cliff-side walk.

This walk provided us with lots of sights.

Then we headed back to the city: tired, sweaty, and sandy, just as you should be after a day at the beach!

We took some time to clean up and rest, then we headed out for a late evening snack. We caught the ferry over to Cockle Bay Wharf and found a rooftop bar where we got some tapas and wine.

The sun was setting while we waited for our ferry

It was a perfect end to a wonderful birthday! A big thank you to all my loved ones that made time to remember my birthday and make it so special, even from far away. I have had an incredibly wonderful, blessed 29 years because of you.

And for the record, here's how being warm on my birthday makes me feel:

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