Hunter Valley
Australia. The land of good weather, right? Not lately! Actually the weather is going to be amazing soon, but it has been raining for days (it's spring here, remember) and it was starting to get a little bit depressing. Though it's easy to cheer up when I think about summer just around the corner! Sort of strange since I was just in summer, but I have no complaints.
Last weekend my friend Irene and I went to Hunter Valley, which is Australia's equivilent of California's Napa Valley. We did a wine tasting tour and had a greeaaat time. We visit four vineyards and by the end I could hardly sip without feeling like it was going to take me overboard. Maybe I have low wine-tolerance, but I sure was sleepy on the bus ride home. One Australian guy on our tour (there were only about 8 of us which was really nice) was definitely there for the free wine, and he was really funny by the end. But everyone was polite and honest about the wines we liked vs the wines that didn't suit our taste buds. I always thought I liked reds better than whites, but the whites are really good here. I really took to Semillon, and Verdehlo is really nice, too. The red Shiraz wines are really good here, too, but some of the reds tasted too "oakey" for me. Very bold. I was surprised that we didn't try any Merlots or Pino Noirs or Pino Gritios (spelling?), but Hunter Valley really doesn't do much of those, if any. We only had one Riesling and it was very good but also not a big wine of the area. Some of the wineries were big on port wine and other fermented wines, and that was kind of cool. We had some Musket stuff and all sorts of fancy ports and the desert wines are amazingly sweet. Almost too sweet. One tasted just like maple syrup.
On the way to the vineyards we stopped at a reptile park, which was a pretty nice little park with a crocodile and a koala you could pet and all that good stuff.. but the biggest draw (at least for Irene and I) were the kangaroos. I mean... who doesn't love kangaroos?! And you could just walk right in there and they'll just walk up to you and (in my case) take a bite out of your paper map or whatever else you might have in your hand. These ones were very friendly and despite the rain, they made my trip worthwhile.
I've had some time to walk around Sydney, itself, also. There are some really beautiful parts of the city. Today I went to this place called "The Rocks, " which is just an area around the harbor filled with shops and restaurants and culture, and I walked into a fantastic aboriginal art store that I had been told about. The artwork was quite beautiful and extraordinary and I felt strangely safe and familiar there. Not in that "I wish I was one of the tribe" way, but in that "the connection and respect for the earth is so evident and powerful" way. It is in that aspect, I think, that I find connection to anything remotely tribal. There is really nothing else I can even begin to relate to, as I have come to understand.
I tried kangaroo pizza. It was crazy. It was gourmet pizza, so it was equivilent to thinly-sliced steak over tomato sauce and a thin crust... flavored with native berries and peppers. It tastes like a sweet steak, and it's quite good, but I don't have a need to eat it again. I felt really guilty eating something so cute and friendly, but it was something I am glad I did. If the Aboriginals can eat a kangaroo and respect it at the same time, so can I.
The Rocks is a very beautiful part of the city, next to the harbor, and it's nothing like I expected it would be. It's quite European, but not really at the same time. There are parts of it that reminded me of the wild west in America, parts that reminded me of Spanish homes with beautifully designed balconies, and parts that seemed to have Irish influence and charm. It seems to be the epitome of "eclectic" and I was really taken by it. It was so beautiful and cute all at the same time. I think that if I ever travel to Sydney again in the future, I'd like to stay in one of the many very quaint hotels there.
Last weekend my friend Irene and I went to Hunter Valley, which is Australia's equivilent of California's Napa Valley. We did a wine tasting tour and had a greeaaat time. We visit four vineyards and by the end I could hardly sip without feeling like it was going to take me overboard. Maybe I have low wine-tolerance, but I sure was sleepy on the bus ride home. One Australian guy on our tour (there were only about 8 of us which was really nice) was definitely there for the free wine, and he was really funny by the end. But everyone was polite and honest about the wines we liked vs the wines that didn't suit our taste buds. I always thought I liked reds better than whites, but the whites are really good here. I really took to Semillon, and Verdehlo is really nice, too. The red Shiraz wines are really good here, too, but some of the reds tasted too "oakey" for me. Very bold. I was surprised that we didn't try any Merlots or Pino Noirs or Pino Gritios (spelling?), but Hunter Valley really doesn't do much of those, if any. We only had one Riesling and it was very good but also not a big wine of the area. Some of the wineries were big on port wine and other fermented wines, and that was kind of cool. We had some Musket stuff and all sorts of fancy ports and the desert wines are amazingly sweet. Almost too sweet. One tasted just like maple syrup.
On the way to the vineyards we stopped at a reptile park, which was a pretty nice little park with a crocodile and a koala you could pet and all that good stuff.. but the biggest draw (at least for Irene and I) were the kangaroos. I mean... who doesn't love kangaroos?! And you could just walk right in there and they'll just walk up to you and (in my case) take a bite out of your paper map or whatever else you might have in your hand. These ones were very friendly and despite the rain, they made my trip worthwhile.
I've had some time to walk around Sydney, itself, also. There are some really beautiful parts of the city. Today I went to this place called "The Rocks, " which is just an area around the harbor filled with shops and restaurants and culture, and I walked into a fantastic aboriginal art store that I had been told about. The artwork was quite beautiful and extraordinary and I felt strangely safe and familiar there. Not in that "I wish I was one of the tribe" way, but in that "the connection and respect for the earth is so evident and powerful" way. It is in that aspect, I think, that I find connection to anything remotely tribal. There is really nothing else I can even begin to relate to, as I have come to understand.
I tried kangaroo pizza. It was crazy. It was gourmet pizza, so it was equivilent to thinly-sliced steak over tomato sauce and a thin crust... flavored with native berries and peppers. It tastes like a sweet steak, and it's quite good, but I don't have a need to eat it again. I felt really guilty eating something so cute and friendly, but it was something I am glad I did. If the Aboriginals can eat a kangaroo and respect it at the same time, so can I.
The Rocks is a very beautiful part of the city, next to the harbor, and it's nothing like I expected it would be. It's quite European, but not really at the same time. There are parts of it that reminded me of the wild west in America, parts that reminded me of Spanish homes with beautifully designed balconies, and parts that seemed to have Irish influence and charm. It seems to be the epitome of "eclectic" and I was really taken by it. It was so beautiful and cute all at the same time. I think that if I ever travel to Sydney again in the future, I'd like to stay in one of the many very quaint hotels there.
posted by C Killian at 6:50 PM
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