Australia Items - 2015-2016 - Part 5

For the last 3 years I have assiduously avoided the big New Year's Eve show in Sydney...
This year needed to be different since The Woman was in town.
YOLO and all that.

We had access to the Royal Botanic Garden for the New Year's Eve fireworks show... The problem is that you have to get your spot early, and stay in it through the evening. It's first come, first served, and if you snooze, you lose (your spot).


Lots of folks on their blankets as we wait for sundown and the early fireworks at 9:00.


The fired up the projectors on the bridge pylons as the harbour darkened.


If you look in the foreground you can see the crowds along the shore near the Opera House.


No one can convert money into smoke and noise like Sydney - $7 Million in fireworks blown off in 12 minutes.

It's pretty impressive.

I shot a little video of the finale...

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Australia Items 2015-2016 - Part 4

Australia with The Woman Who Knows Most Things - 2015-2016

We headed back down to Darlington Harbour and the downtown area-
Lord Nelson's was our fisrt stop after a quick walkaround of the Barangaroo Reserve.



A Three Sheets ale for The Woman, and a nice cider for me, then we walked around downtown for a bit, doing a recon for New Year's Eve, then headed to yet another microbrewery-

Young Henry Brewery.



The Woman picking out her flight of beers...




Mmmm. Tasty ales!

They had some great artwork on the walls of the brewery and tasting room.


I like a good skull-motif mural.

Next - a visit with some locals- a mob of gray 'roos enjoying a lazy afternoon...



We walked around Taronga Zoo to wile away the afternoon, enjoying some of the local fauna.



A pensive wallaby and some uninterested quokkas just hanging out...

After the Zoo we headed to Manly to check out the beach and (quelle surprise) another brewery-
4 Pines.



Jen and her flight...

...And a ginger beer for The Big Guy.



-more-

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Australia Items 2015-2016 - Part 3

Continuing our excursion around Sydney...

We headed out to the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
Our first stop was near Wentworth Falls near Katoomba.

The walk we took was amazing- the trails were lots of fun...
We stuck to the cliffs... Much better than hiking down to the bottom of the falls, then back up again.


Thanks Captain Obvious-


The Woman really had fun on this hike-


Waiting out the rain under the cliffs.


There were several spots where modern-day aboriginals (other hikers) did some finger-painting...


Other hikers would get their hands in the white clay along the trail and make their mark.


Next stop was out at Echo Point, a rock formation called Three Sisters...


We were a little famished on our way back.
The Woman had asked about native Australian cuisine and it took me a bit of imagination to
come up with a proper Aussie meal. I took her to Harry's Cafe de Wheels-a local landmark for
pies and mushy peas...


In the evening we had been enjoying the Australia vs West Indies cricket test on the TV.
The KFC Big Bash  T-20 cricket was playing in the Sydney Olympic Park, so we got tickets to go see a match in person...
The Big Bash is Short Attention Span Cricket- 20 overs (6 legal deliveries per over), and plays in about 3 to 4 hours. Much better than the 5-full day regular matches.

It's a fun time for the spectators- lots of pyro, easy to follow play, cheerleaders, lots of noise and music.
And- as this is Australia- don't even think about trying to get a beer in a reasonable amount of time.
The lines for beer were the longest wait- food & snacks were relatively short- took me 35 minutes to get some refreshing beverages for The Woman and I.

-More-

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Australia Items 2015-2016 - Part 2

Continuing - The Woman and I spent several lovely days in and around Sydney...


We spent a day downtown enjoying the sights near The Rocks and Circular Quay.


Up in the Royal Botanic Park, the views are pretty amazing.

We also took a walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
We didn't do the walk over the upper steel. Just the regular bridge deck was high enough.

Plenty high.

One of The Woman's favorite things in indulging in craft beers, so I made it a point to know the locations of several microbreweries around Sydney.


We hit this one kind of by accident, and it was one of the best. If you visit Sydney and like beers-
make sure you go to Wayward Brewing Co.



Seize the beer, indeed!

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Australia Items 2015-2016 - Part 1

Yeah- I know - It's been quiet. Too quiet.
Time for a photo review review from my stint Down Under.
2015-2016 was my fourth year spending the holidays in Sydney.
Due to the way the holidays fell, I basically had the week between Christmas and New Year's Day off...
So THIS year I was able to plan ahead and got The Woman a ticket to Sydney on points.
(After missing Christmas at home for three years, I needed to do something to assure Domestic Tranquility-
-And let me tell you, a rewards ticket over the Christmas and New Years holiday was really expensive, points-wise.)

Lots of people were traveling on Christmas Eve-

I did manage to get spotted easily (duh) and we were on our way-
The Woman had been traveling for 20+ hours, so the only thing she wanted to do after arriving was to relax and recover from the flight.

Christmas morning over Olympic Park-

She was up at 4am (as most US travelers are on the first day or so...)

We headed out to Royal National Park and went on a nice hike out in the Wattamolla area.


Last year I about killed myself out here by overestimating my stamina.
(Read the tale HERE)

I saw great locations during my hike last year but the clock was running so I didn't have time to stop. This year we were able to take our time out at Wattamolla Falls.
We were the first ones into the park that morning, and took advantage of the peace and quiet...

Beautiful place. We really enjoyed it...

- More -

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Guilty Pleasure: BEERunch & Cards Against Humanity

The Woman Who Knows Most Things, the Perfect Child and Yours Truly have enjoyed playing Cards Against Humanity while having brunch, or really BEERunch at World of Beers on Sunday mornings...
(Bottomless mimosas, beermosas, or bloody Marys, and a breakfast entree for $20. #Winning!)

Cards Against Humanity is warped and twisted... Playing it with the Wife and Daughter is an eye-opening experience.

For instance:
I had to define (gently) the term 'bukakke' to keep the PC from doing a Google search on it...

Wow. Interesting game...

New Orleans - Part III (Final)

6:30am rolled around and we were up and moving... Amazing for a Saturday in New Orleans...
I made the girls get up and moving on a perfectly selfish motive, because I wanted to share my favorite breakfast spot with them...
We braved the 38 degree temps- fortunately the rain had stopped- and walked over to Poydras St, and got in line at Mother's Restaurant.
"Why so early?" an astute Constant Reader might ask...
Answer:Because they only have a limited amount of black ham.

They bake nice crusty hams all night long, and in the morning they trim off the outside crusts of the ham and set that aside. This crispy savory-sweet ham trimming is amazing.
And it only lasts a little while, so you've gotta be there early.


The black ham biscuit. I'll take 6, please.

Their entire menu is awesome old-school New Orleans diner fare...
If you don't make the cut-off for the black ham, get a biscuit with debris (the dregs from bottom of the roast beef tank) or if you go for lunch, get the Ferdi's Special Po' Boy - Ham, roast beef, debris and au jus... Amazing.
Highly recommended!

After a sumptuous brekky, we trundled back to the hotel to check out and head off to some daytime activities...
We saw a few interesting things along the way back to the hotel...

An endangered species- sadly, this one is deceased and will no longer roam freely the streets and alleys, providing help and succor to hookers, pimps and drug dealers. RIP.

I love graffiti... This was great.
Damn, Caitlyn. Can't you stay out of trouble?


This was a headscratcher- people build little fences around trees to protect them as they grow...
Like this:


But this...
C'mon circular tree guard railing- you had one job...
Ouch.
So we got checked out then headed off to enjoy the sunny day (finally).

We needed something to fortify us as we started the walkabout, so we found our way to the French Market-

The PC had her Mimosa, I had a Hot Cider and Rum, and The Woman had a Bloody Mary.

The PC and The Woman opined that they'd like to see one of the many graveyards that dot the New Orleans area, so I took them to St. Louis Cemetery #1 on Basin St.

They (the City of New Orleans) are changing the rules on touring the cemeteries- soon you will only be able to visit if you are part of a bona-fide and licensed tour.
No more individuals going walk-up, walk in because of the vandalism of the crypts.
Two cases in particular:
Marie Laveau's tomb...
Local legend says if you do any of a number of rituals - draw X's on the tomb in chalk, knocking three times, rubbing your foot on the tomb or lighting candles and shouting your desire, you might get your wish...
More likely, if you get caught these days, you'll get a charge of vandalism and pay a hefty fine...

The girls checking out a tomb- this may or may not be Marie Laveau's (Or Marie Compte's, or Marie Phhilome Galpion... Who knows?) final resting place, but it seems like a large number of people think it's worth damaging someone else's resting place in order to participate in dubious urban legends.
Morons.

Speaking of morons...
The last empty space in St. Louis #1 was recently (in 2010) purchased (for an undisclosed but reportedly huge sum) and a crypt built to await the owner's final demise...

This is/will be Nick Cage's final resting place...
The Latin reads Omnia Ab Uno (everything from one)...
Nick isn't the moron in question- it's the idjit women that make pilgrimages here to leave lipstick prints on the marble plaque... (Click the pic and you'll see them.)
As for the pyramid- National Treasure anyone?

I enjoy walking around cemeteries, looking at the architecture and stonework and ironmongery of the crypts. I also get a kick out of seeing other minutiae in the cities of the dead...

As I mentioned on twitter regarding this crypt- These are nice shiny chains, but if whatever is inside that box wants out, them chains ain't gonna stop 'em.



Lunch found us at Acme Oyster House in Metarie for, you guessed it... More charbroiled oysters! Yay!

That night we wound up down on Frenchman Street, going to a couple clubs (The Spotted Cat, Blue Nile) and enjoyed a streetcorner performance by what looked like a high school band.
We also wound up having a great dinner later in the evening at 13... Great food, if you get a chance- go. The Srirachos (Sriracha-tater tot-nacho hybrid) are awesome.

Back to the hotel by 1am, and back on the road to Jax at 9:00 the next morning...
We could only take so much fun...

On the way to New Orleans we were full of energy and potential...
And the way home, not so much...
Back to reality...

Update: the Girls are already planning their next trip to New Orleans... Koeschi help us.


TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

New Orleans - Part the First

As noted last week, the Woman Who Knows Most Things and the Perfect Child and Yours Truly made a little sojourn to New Orleans for some celebratory activities...
Figured I'd share a few more pics with y'all...


Good eats and drinks started early-
We hit the Original Oyster House on Mobile Bay for lunch...
My favorite- the fried crab claws!

About 3 hours later we were in The Big Easy...
We decided on a quick libation before checking into the hotel.

First stop- Pierre Maspero's on Chartres and St. Louis.
The girls had a Canebrake wheat ale by Parrish Beers- YT enjoyed a Hendricks Gin & Tonic... Ambrosia. (They enjoyed the Canebrake so much we had to stop and find a couple sixes to bring home with us.)

We checked into the hotel (using Hotel Tonight app - I talked about it before.. Did you get it yet? You should...) and then headed out for food and an evening of touristy fun on Rue de Bourbon.

We enjoyed a tasty repast at one of my favorites, Napoleon House. (H/t to Pete, who introduced me to this joint back in '94 or '95)
A plate of jambalaya and a muffuletta later we were on to Bourbon St. and the skies opened up... The rain was coming down in sheets which kept the crowds at a minimum.
First stop - Huge Ass Beer.

Several huge ass beers for the girls- and a half-assed cider or two for me, and we were feeling good... The place had a couple guitar players playing some nice bluesy music-
My man Rooster (above) had a good time with the very small crowd in the bar.

But- as much fun Huge Ass Beer was, we had to move on- Rooster was flirting a little too much with the PC. We hauled anchor and headed up the sidewalk to Maison Bourbon.

Good music was pouring out of the place- the girls gave a thumbs up.

I was intrigued by the sign on the wall... (I love hot buttered rum!)

Sadly, I was lured in by a canard... They were out of HBR mix.
Damn.
I had to make due with my current favored drink- Apple Cider and Fireball.
(And this is where the wheels began to fall off)
The girls, feeling bad that there was no Buttered Rum, hot or otherwise, decided we needed shots.
So...
Tequila? No.
Jägermeister? No.
Something different... Something...evil.
Pickleback Shots.
Jameson & a pickle brine chaser.
So apparently this is a thing now...

A couple shots and beers later and we were feeling fine...


The jazz quintet played 4 or 5 songs then took a break,so we moved on from there...

We had passed Saints & Sinners on the way to Maison Bourbon, and
they were cooking crawfish on the front porch- I was a bit peckish, and
know I needed more fuel to burn the alcohol- so on the way back we stopped in
and I had a pound of mudbugs. More beer for the girls- And another round of pickleback shots for everyone.
The PC had a few of the crawfish but I had the lions share...

The rain was still coming down, so we stopped to take shelter in a daiquiri & pizza joint-
The ladies tried to tamp down the beer & shots with a couple slices...

The rain slacked off so we headed back for the hotel, stopping only
to mug for the camera as I was trying to get a shot of a architecturally
pleasing building...



Due to an iron constitution and a body mass index pushing maximum density,
my blood-alcohol ratio was just perfect for inducing sleep without having to
keep one foot on the floor to keep the bed from spinning.
The girls- not so much.

I will spare you the details of later that night- Suffice to say that
the pizza and a good bit of the beer made a reappearance in a
very messy manner...
Stay Tuned - Part 2 is on the way.

TBG