Ok-it's been over 2 weeks since our great Oz trip ended and no updates. Sorry about that. It was such a great trip and we covered so much territory! The jet lag took about a week to get over: one day to recover for each time zone crossed. We took 10 flights in 27 days and logged over 12, 000 miles. Qantas was a great airline to fly: on time, serving food on every flight (!), efficient and relatively comfortable.
Some interesting things about Australia that we experienced:
1. Taxis:in the big cities, one person getting into a taxi will get in the front seat with the driver.
2. Paying by credit card: Every cashier will look at the signature on the back of the credit card as it is signed. Each cashier will also ask how it is to be debited: debit or credit; signature or PIN. They are much more careful about checking signatures than in the states.
3. Coffee: Long Black, Short Black, Flat White. I never really got the hang of this. Short Black is espresso, served in the small cup; long black is espresson with water added, served in a larger cup. Flat White is milk added to coffee, as opposed to cappucino, which has the foamed milk added. (Correct me if I'm wrong, all the Aussie readers out there!)
4. Driving on the "wrong" side of the road is hard to get used to, especially if one is a passenger in the front seat.
5. Restaurants again: "entrees" are smaller portions than "mains", and if your table has a number on it, chances are you pay at the counter, telling the cashier your table number.
6.People are generally friendly in Australia, but I didn't find them more or less friendly than in most places in the United States.
If I think of more things, I'll add to the list.
Uluru at sunsetWe loved all the variety in the climate and geography; also the habitats and ecology are extremely interesting.
The desert of Central Australia, the tropical rainforest of Northern Queensland, and the temperate rainforests of Tasmania are all
great places to go!
We got excited about seeing wildlife-Tasmania had the most v
ariety of animals that we saw outside of zoos or animal parks.Echidna-small anteater that looks like a porcupine
Bennett's Wallaby
The next post will have the delicious recipe for Elaine's Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel-Toffee Sauce!
Stay tuned!
