Holy Bushfire

As summer quickly approaches, the dry air combined with the extreme heat results in many bushfires around the Sydney area.  If you recall, I wrote about a bushfire in Palm Beach preventing me from walking the trails a few weeks ago - well now that it is getting even hotter, the fires are becoming more frequent and more of a vicious hazard.  Last week, the temperature rose to over 33 degrees Celsius (around 100 degrees Fahrenheit for those who never learned the simple estimation converter for C to F), which resulted in the first intense bushfire frenzy of the summer.  I’m not sure if it was covered in international news in America, but per usual, trustworthy Buzzfeed was on top of their current events. Check out the link here.

It’s hard to write a witty post about such a tragic situation – but I can’t lie, the skies were wicked and extremely hard not to look at in amazement.  For example, if you threw a filter on the typically mediocre sky picture... BOOM! Instagram masterpiece. 

St. Mary's Cathedral

Kings Cross Fountain

They say that this has been the worst bushfire crisis in over a decade, which makes everyone nervous because it is only the beginning of bushfire season...   

Proud to be a Queenslander

This entire post is dedicated to this guy (see below), because he is DAMN proud to be a Queenslander! [Note: his hat proves this fact]

The following images are of beautiful sightings around the wonderful city of Brisbane.  For those of you that do not know, I studied abroad in Brisbane for 5 months in 2012, so there will always be a piece of my heart in this beautifully bogan city in Queensland. [Just kidding about the bogan thing - it's just something us New South Welshmen like to joke about from time to time]

Beautiful Jacaranda tree

Home Sweet South Bank

Lastly, below is a local Aussie band trying to make it big by playing in Queen Street Mall. If you read my previous posts about how Verena and I got caught up listening to a great band on the walk home from Southbank - this is them. They are folk/bluegrass family band called The Perch Creek Family Jugband and they are actually so amazing! Click the link to check them out! 

"Big Things Calling" is their new single - give them a listen!

The Chocolate Coffee Scuffle

When I was younger and my parents left me at home to fend for myself and make meals on my own, I would often pretend to be a master chef and essentially 'host' my own 'cooking show'. I would pretend I was Rachael Ray [except I would not say the acroynm - "E.V.O.O." - and then immediately define it - "Extra Virgin Olive Oil" - every. single. time.] and would talk to my empty kitchen in an ever-so-enthusiastic tone about making a simple grilled cheese sammie. Because on MY show, that grilled cheese was gourmet and EVERYONE in my audience HAD to know the recipe.  

Well, last weekend in Brisbane, me and my friend Verena (whom I introduced in an earlier post...) had the inspiration to make a brilliant dessert for a dinner party we attended one evening. We decided upon making chocolate coffee truffles, mainly because V already had most of the ingredients, and because who doesn't like a chocolate/coffee combination to top off a yummy meal? So, we had perfectly round truffle balls in our minds (and on the recipe's website) and swore that our execution would prevail. Well, we kinda stayed at the Southbank Lagoon too long, andddd maybe we pit stopped to watch a local band play for 30 minutes, andddd maybe we stopped again to eat some sushi... Therefore, we didn't have much time to whip up the perfect truffle. I know, I know. Excuses... Excuses... 

Anyways, introducing the Chocolate Coffee Truffle - Expectation vs. Reality: 

My childhood inner-Rachael Ray is shaking her head in disapproval. Well, it may not look like it, but they tasted magnificent! 

[Editor's note: It was during my early teen years that my parents would leave me to fend for myself, not when I was an infant. Please do not call child services.] 

She's Gone [Aussie] Country!

Before my long weekend in Brisbane, I was offered the opportunity to see American country singers, Alan Jackson and Sara Evans, in concert at the Sydney Olympic Park Auditorium.  Doesn't matter if you love country music, or if the twangy tunes grind your g(ears), you have to admit that country concerts are a guaranteed good time.  In the states, country concerts consist of cowboy boots, cowboy hats, and many refills of beer.  In Australia, it is surprisingly the same atmosphere, except the hats are called "akubra", and the Australian cowboy is called a "jackaroo". 

[Side note: I also did not know Alan Jackson was still relevant to the country music genre - I couldn't even think of three songs when I was first offered the ticket! But a concert is a concert, and I sure love to hear live music, so I accepted the ticket, and was pleasantly surprised to know majority of the songs Alan performed.]

Typical jackaroo sightings

I originally thought there wouldn't be a large presence of American country enthusiasts in Australia, but boy was I wrong! This is probably because I tend to associate myself with the city-folk rather than the jackaroos that populate the rural parts of the country, or "the bush" as Australians call it.  There isn't much authentic Australian music that comes out of the bush, other than Indigenous-inspired melodies, so I really shouldn't have been surprised to find that majority of the country fans had traveled hundreds of kilometers from rural Australia to see Alan Jackson.  I'm not kidding - there are some DIEHARD country fans out here in Australia! The venue was packed - granted it only holds 4500 people... [Compare that to Williams Brice Stadium, which holds over 80,000 people - BUT STILL!] 

Anyways, I want to express how great it is to witness an American performer play in a foreign country. Not only does it feel like you are home because you have an American voice serenading your eardrums, but also the entertainer tends to only play his/her greatest hits! It is very rare for an American artist - who traveled across the Pacific to play for such a niche audience (i.e., Alan Jackson is no Justin Beiber) - to bust out new songs from an upcoming album. Instead, he plays what the audience wants to hear - which are basically all the songs that were overplayed on my father's car radio when I was growing up. Gone Country, When Daddy Let Me Drive, Summertime Blues, Don't Rock the Jukebox, Livin' on Love, etc... 

I will end on this extremely corny note: It was a special moment when Alan Jackson played Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning because he gave a warm thanks to the Australian forces that have consistently been allies with the United States for many decades. Also, at that moment, I realized I was still so proud to be an American even though I am hundred of thousands of miles away.

Actually, I'm going to end on this note: Lets be real - we all know the real reason that the U.S. Federal Government is shut down is because I left the country and everyone is FREAKING out. Sorry guys, you need to cool your jets - I'll be back before you know it.