It is now Tuesday evening, and I feel like I am just beginning to recover from the long weekend that was afforded by it being Australia Day on Saturday. Friday Veronica and I attended Big Day Out, an all day music festival out at Sydney Olympic Park. There were at least 50,000 people there, not exactly my cup of mass humanity flavored tea, but it was the only way I was getting to see one of the greatest bands ever, reformed Rage Against the Machine. Plus Spoon, a great band from Austin, Texas, was also playing the festival. Despite the insane number of people swarming around the hot grounds the day was glorious. Spoon played an incredible set, and seeing RATM was something of a religious experience. Even 4 days after the concert I get chicken skinned just thinking about the encore the band played. The crowd went absolutely mental when they started playing ‘Killing in the Name’ with 30,000 plus bobbing up and down like a living sea. Tom Morello is an absolute guitar god, and the sounds that emanated from his axe was the heaviest, funk induced, reverb heavy rock-hop. I can safely say that if I never went to another concert I could die a happy man, because Rage’s set was the end all be all.
Saturday morning saw Veronica and I waking up late at noon, because we were fried after the long day before. We headed down to Barefoot for a flat white and waffle and then ran some errands. After a light lunch we headed to Manly Beach for an afternoon of sun. The day was perfect with not a cloud in the sky and a subtle breeze cooling things down. Of course, the beach was packed since it was Australia Day, however, we found a nice little place in the sand and vegged out from 3 to 5. That night we ambled over the hill to Freshwater to enjoy a Barbie with our friends Jase and Brenda. Delicious sausage sandwiches were a tasty Aussie treat, and later that night we watched ‘No Country for Old Men’ which was a tour de force. See it, study it, and worship at the altar of the Coen Brother’s cinematic splendor.
Sunday I woke early to go for a surf with Smitty. We hit Narrabeen, where 3-foot closeouts were detonating on the sand bar. I had a pathetic surf, which bummed me out considerably. I pushed it from my mind though and Veronica and I went and enjoyed our favorite meal at the Bavarian Café, the Roast Mediterranean vegetable linguine. The dish is so good I could almost consider becoming a vegetarian. Afterwards we headed to the mall to go see ‘Juno’, another great film, although much cheerier and light in nature than the Coen Brother’s film. Adding to the great film experience was our partaking in popcorn and pickles. After going a year with no pickles, we were finally clued in that they do indeed carry pickles that aren’t sweet here in Australia. The rub, they are called Dill Cucumbers. Don’t I feel like a jackass! Later that afternoon I went for another surf with my buddy Morgan at a place called Little Narrabeen. It is a pretty little place and we had a great session practically alone. My faith in surfing was restored. After some pizza Veronica and I watched the final of the Australian Open, which was an outstanding display of tennis by an unseeded Frenchman and a #3 seeded Serbian. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so captivated watching a tennis match, but these dudes were truly gladiators.
Monday we slept in late again. On our way down to a few loads of laundry we picked up a coffee to help ease the boredom. For lunch we went to try a new burger joint that had recently opened in Manly. It was good, but probably a tad overpriced like everything else here in Doucheville. You would think that after having such an exciting weekend we would have a ton of photos to choose from, however, we took practically no photos the entire time. Veronica and I finally took a photo of us eating one of our favorite treats in Oz, the Cyclone Popsicle. Made with all natural fruit this delicious treat should be exported to the rest of the World as it is an absolute triumph. We hit the beach again after having a massive cleaning spree at our casa. The thorough cleaning was long overdue, but now it is done and we feel much better with ourselves. For dinner we cooked a stir-fry for our first home cooked meal in over 4 days.
No doubt this was one of the most memorable weekends that we have spent here in Sydney. Good times.
