Back to Work ... Food for Thought ...

Well, I wish I could tell you that today, January 2nd I went off on a wild adventure somewhere in Sydney but alas -- I was working most of this day. While you were all still celebrating New Year's Day, I was sleeping. When I finally woke this morning I realized that it was time to go back to the real world -- well, as real as it can be when you're 9,000+ miles away from home.

Nevertheless, emails still come, bills still need paying, there's work to do on clients' projects, writing press releases and thinking out media strategies -- it all still goes on no matter where in the world you are these days -- technology has made real life inescapable.

Now, you're asleep and I'm about to end my work day -- it's already 7:25 pm Tuesday evening here -- I've plenty more to do -- mostly reading and preparing for tomorrow. My hope is to work in the morning tomorrow, while you all are still awake, and then in the early afternoon, go back into Sydney again and play some more so I can tell you about some of the fun places that you'll find downtown.

This weekend we're probably going to take a trip either to the Blue Mountains or Canberra, the Australian capital that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's colleagues Walter Burley Griffin and his wife, Marion Mahoney. Even though the final design was not built to Griffin and Mahoney's original plans -- as they were long out of the picture by the time the city was actually built -- Bill Bryson in his book, "In a Sunburned Country" says that it loosely has the look and feel of the Griffin/Mahoney design though not quite the continuity and vision that they had. It will be interesting to see how it turned out.

David's son, Julian, who turned 16 on Christmas Eve, has joined us for the next few weeks. Like most teenagers, he's a bit quiet though very polite and I can tell he's very smart. He likes to play games on the computer and he's quite good at it. He's interested in playing the piano and violin.

For Julian's birthday/Christmas present, I brought two CDs by American violinist and bluegrass fiddler -- Mark O'Connor. Many of you may remember Mark from the movie, "Music of the Heart" with Meryl Streep -- he was the fiddler who wore the hat. I was lucky enough to meet him at the University of Southeastern Louisiana Arts & Humanities Festival a number of years ago -- he's so down to earth -- I was already a big fan before I met him and an even bigger one after!

We're going to have dinner here soon -- David has turned out to be a pretty good cook -- nothing fancy, mind you ... but good basic stuff. Agriculture is a big part of the economy here --so there's plenty of Australian beef and lamb, loads of fresh veggies and fruits and wonderful homemade breads.

The hardest thing is not eating all the yummy sweets they have here -- bakeries and chocolate shops are everywhere. There were three chocolatiers in the QVB when I was there the other day -- I couldn't resist and did sneak a few -- but who can resist hand rolled truffles dipped in fresh cocoa powder???? Not me -- and you couldn't either.

Now, let's talk lamb for a minute -- I know not everybody likes lamb -- but I love it! I remember on my first trip to Chicago when I was 8 years old I ate my way across the town on lamb chops -- from the Empire Room at the Palmer House to the Walnut Room at Fields -- it was always lamb chops, except on the days I ate the chicken pot pie at Fields. Even as an adult, and still a visitor to Chicago, it was lamb chops from Cite to Everest and every restaurant in between for all those years. Yes, I love lamb.

Well, let me tell you, I'm in hog heaven here when it comes to lamb, because it is a staple of the Australian diet. Yes, indeed -- I have now had lamb at least 5 or 6 times since I've been here and I expect to eat a lot more before I leave. From chops, to roast to sausages -- you can have it anyway you like and then some ... hmmmmmm good!

Now most people think because Australia was founded by the British that the food here is well ... British! Not exactly -- besides the Brits are still getting a bad rap -- they've gotten very continental in the United Kingdom since so many international chefs decided it was easier to make a name for themselves in London rather than in Paris or Rome.

Anyway, there is a ton of good food here in Sydney because it is such an international city -- you can get just about any cuisine you can think of and then some. Oh, you can find some traditional British pub food and I saw "bangers and mash" on a few menus -- but if you can think of it -- it's here. Obviously, seafood of all kinds is plentiful, and for all you sushi lovers -- well, this is the place to be -- it is sushi heaven here and it is so fresh ... hmmmmm!

Lest you think that everyone here is chefs -- don't be carried away -- for those who can't cook to save their life - there is the usual assortment of American fast food. Mc Donald's, of course, is the winner -- they are everywhere -- followed closely by KFC and all its sister foods. Coke and Pepsi are here slugging it out as usual. Yes, they have Krispy Kreme and their own, Donut King, which looks a lot like Dunkin' Donuts.

They have Red Rooster and Hungry Jacks, which used to be a Burger King franchisee but is no longer -- though they do seemed to have borrowed some old BK graphics. Starbucks is here but lots of local places give them a run for their money -- Gloria Jean's is big here also for coffee. But this is a country where TEA is still the main hot beverage and coffee is yet to be the phenomenom that it is in the US.

Even without all the US fast food chains -- life here is a lot like in the US -- just a bit more civilized -- stores close by 6 pm except on Thursdays, most are not open on Sundays -- families still eat dinner together ... like we just did. David cooked tonight and didn't do too bad -- small steaks with "chips" read 'fries' -- and sauteed mushrooms and zucchini with fresh lettuce. Simple, but tasty and all the main food groups covered for the most part.

Well, enough about food for tonight -- I brought some of those hand-made truffles home the other night and we've yet to devour them -- so I'm going to sit with my glass of Australian red wine, my coffee and my truffles and watch Garfield 2 with Julian and David. Sounds terribly civilized, doesn't it?

Bon appetit, mes amis!