Finally, the moment has now arrived when you shall all see pictures of our glorious new Manly Beach digs. Please try not to soil yourselves with envy. Truly, Veronica and I almost feel a bit like the Beverly Hillbillies having moved into such a posh new stratosphere of luxury and refinement!
The best part of these pictures is that you all are getting to see our room now that it is finally furnished. Before Sunday we only had the single bed, the fan, the hanging rack, and a solitary chair in our room. But yesterday was the day Veronica and I hit the lotto here at the Manly Beach Resort. Our next-door neighbors, a young traveling German couple (yes, they are German, not Swiss), left to go back to Germany after 2 months here in Australia. We raided their room in the same fashion as a pair of homeless people would raid a dumpster. So that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but we scored ourselves another chair, a table, and a double bed. We are in heaven now!
Have we mentioned yet that practically every Australian smokes cigarettes? Seriously, it seems that everyone smokes here. Veronica and I have felt that we are almost smoking a pack a day from all the 2nd hand smoke that we inhale just by being around friends and walking down the street. The best part about it is that all of the cigarette packs have a big black label warning people of how many deaths cigarettes cause compared to car accidents, murder, and something else that I now seem to forget. Reminded me a bit of my favorite movie of last year, “Thank You For Smoking”. Obviously with all of the warnings on the pack people still smoke regardless. Oh, and packs of cigarettes cost almost $9 here.
Going out to eat here in Oz has been interesting as well. First, no one tips. Waiters actually make a living wage. You can tell by the price on the menu that it is more expensive because of that very fact. But the biggest surprise has been the portion size here in Australia. Unlike America, things here are much smaller. But it is a good thing because at the end of the meal here you don’t feel like a stuffed pig. The one bummer I must admit to is the fact if you order a Coke you don’t get any free refills, which really stinks because a lot of times you are only served a tiny glass of the delightfully refreshing sugar water. BUT, the people here seem to be in much better shape than Americans. The amount of obese people down under at least from what I can see has to be a very small percentage of the population.
Yesterday and today I went surfing with our flatmates. The water was crystal clear out there and it was a bit weird looking down and not seeing any reef. There were actually some good waves out at Freshwater, and I caught a head high left that lined up quite nicely for a solid little ride. However, the water was PACKED! It reminded me of Canoes in Waikiki. Surfers everywhere. Granted, it is the weekend but I can already see that I will have to venture out of the city in order to find some uncrowded waves to enjoy. Today we surfed at Dee Why Beach and I must say, I miss Hawaii. Surfing beach breaks is much more exhausting since there are no channels. Plus I am extremely out of shape. Oh well.
Meanwhile, Veronica has been enjoying running along the beach. After the cold weather and the inactivity of our stay in Dallas, it feels nice to be active again. There is a great running path all along the beach here in Manly, and Veronica has enjoyed it immensely.
Well, we are back to the job search. Cheers.
1 comment:
Hey don't diss the D. Not everyone gets to live in paradise! Also let's try not to play up the "obesity" here in the U.S. of A. It already embarasses me and now ya'll have to remind me! Ok seriously I love ya'lls place! U got a place for me to blow up an air mattress? Haha! Really it's too damn cold here and I sooo wish I was there with u guys! Good luck on the job search! Oh yeah...I got a new job lead...we'll see how that goes! Love ya'll! Talk to ya soon!
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