Bunnies, Beaches, and Blue Mountains

As the NFL post season marched on this past winter, with every passing week it appeared more and more likely that an inner-household clash was looming between my Seahawks and Brad’s Broncos.  And though I was not all that disappointed that the Seahawks finally experienced a Super Bowl win, the victory was a bit bittersweet knowing that only one of us would enjoy a win.  It was not until this week that we could finally claim a joint victory again and restore harmony to the household.   Fast forward to today, and we are enjoying a very mild (though not repairable) salve to the Super Bowl split.

Since we have arrived in Sydney, we have been watching a fair amount of rugby.  We arrived just as the post season was heating up and since Australians are obsessed with rugby (and sports in general), we felt obligated to check it out.  I must admit that though I initially thought it looked like a ridiculous game of keep away played by oversized men with too-short shorts, I have come to appreciate it and even enjoy watching it.  After figuring out the rules, the game makes quite a bit of sense and is really fun to watch!  To add to the excitement, the flat we moved to a few weeks ago is right next to the South Sydney rugby stadium, so we have been close to the action.

This weekend was essentially Australia’s Super Bowl.  It was the rugby (or “footy”, as they call it) Grand Final.  This year the excitement was especially palpable as “our” team, the Russell Crowe-owned South Sydney Rabbitohs, were in the final.  (On a related note, the Aussies have an inexplicable penchant for rallying behind incredibly un-intimidating mascots … in addition to the Rabbitohs, “the bunnies”, there are the Swans, the Roosters, etc.  Menacing mascots don’t seem to be of much importance, so we figured it was acceptable to be bunnies fans.)  Anyway, the level of Aussie media coverage, hype, player-worship, commercial saturation, and general obsession in the lead up is truly on par with the American Super Bowl hype.  Recent news coverage dissected players, plied every possible special interest story, and stalked team personnel for weeks.  The pubs have all been packed for Grand Final parties and the neighborhoods surrounding us have been decked out in red and green (Rabbitohs colors), potentially leading one to believe Christmas has hit early this year.  Sydney stopped for the day on Sunday to watch the big game, and to make a long story short, our ferocious bunnies won the Grand Final, allowing us to finally enjoy a joint victory once again.

Aside from this excitement, we have had other good things to report as well.  Brad has been working in a contract accounting position for a company called RCG Corporation and he enjoys it quite a bit.  It is a large shoe distributor and wholesaler with several newly acquired shoe brands and he has been doing several reconciliations across these new brands. 

In addition, we have had the chance to continue to explore the Sydney area with weekend trips.  Last weekend we took the ferry across the harbour to a peninsula on the end of the harbor called Manly, a place we had heard a lot about.  The ferry ride was gorgeous and spending time in Manly by the water was beautiful and relaxing.  Manly has a very laid-back vibe which feels far removed from the busyness of the Sydney CBD.  It is a classic beach town with gorgeous coastline where local young people come in droves to hang out and (what else?) barbeque. 

A beautiful day on the ferry in the harbour

Couldn't resist some sunset pics of the Opera House and bridge on the ferry

BBQing with the locals at Shelly Beach

 

This past weekend, we took the train a few hours out to the Blue Mountains.  The Blue Mountains are called as such because they are covered in gum trees, which have a blue tint to them when hit by the sunlight.  We started by traveling to the mountain town of Katoomba and visited Echo Point, which has beautiful views of some of the largest canyons in the Blue Mountains and the iconic rock formations, the Three Sisters.  The views from Katoomba are gorgeous, and we decided to explore them further by hiking down into the canyon, hiking along the Jamison Valley, and then hiking back up near an area called Scenic World.  Scenic World is essentially a tourist attraction built around the old Katoomba mine at the bottom of the valley that used a mining track at a 51 degree grade to cart coal back up to the top!  You can take a gondola ride, glass tram, or rail back up to the top, but we found the hike back up especially rewarding as it offered more great views and some waterfalls to check out.  We then took a bus over to the next mountain town of Leura, wandered around this quaint town for a bit, and then headed home.

 

 

 

The Three Sisters

Yesterday (Monday) Brad and I both had the day off of work due to Australia’s Labour Day, so we did as the Aussies do, and hit the beach.  Just as we suspected, every Aussie had the exact same plan, but it was a beautiful, relaxing day. 

All in all, we’ve enjoyed the variety Sydney has to offer so far.  We (and by we, I mean me especially) love how close we live to the beach and look forward to enjoying this part of the classic laid back Aussie life.  We’ve been grateful for the experiences we’ve been able to have experiencing Sydney and are excited to start venturing around Australia, hopefully in the coming months.   Through Hillsong, we’ve also been able to continue to meet people, including attending a barbecue with our new Connect group this week.  The church continues to feel like the foundation around which our life here is anchored, so we really look forward to our chance to go back each Sunday. 

As always, we have also been thinking about and missing our family and friends in the U.S. and know that we think about you all often.  We will continue to write and hope to hear from you all as well!