Everyday Australia: Food

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Micah pointed out two days ago that we've been back in the US for exactly 3 months. I'll be honest, it feels like longer. Adelaide seems far away and long ago, especially as the winter drags on here. As our memories of all the little things we did start to fade slightly, this seems like a good time to share some of the less extravagant, everyday things about our 5 months Down Under.

So. Food. We miss the food.

Let's start with the Aussie staple: Tim Tams! 

(Sorry, I can't figure out how to rotate my pics tonight)

Yes, Tim Tams are available in the US (try Target), and yes, they taste good, but not quite as good as the original Aussie biscuit (their word for cookie). And there are more flavors in AUS than there are here. They kind of taste like a combination of a Twix and an E.L. Fudge cookie. It's basically two chocolate wafers with a thin layer of caramel-ish fudge in the middle, all dipped in chocolate. Wow, they are not healthy. We still have 3 unopened packages that we brought home with us, and typing this has made me want to go rip one open! But I won't. 

Next up: Ginger Beer!

We drank a LOT of this in a five month span. It is a non-alcoholic, spiced-up gingerale. Apparently US people mostly use it in mixed drinks (I should get out more and try a Moscow Mule, apparently), but Aussies drink it straight up. We really let our nutritional rules slide in AUS, and frequently bought liters of this to drink with supper. And at only a dollar per liter (which is actually 71 cents US), why wouldn't ya?

We did eat some healthy things too, like golden kiwi! 

Good news: this is available in the US! Since coming home, I've seen them at Target, Costco, and WalMart! Maybe you all already know about golden kiwi, but it was new for us. They are sweeter and smoother, without that sharp aftertaste of a regular green kiwi. Micah, who doesn't like regular kiwi, totally likes these. They are more expensive, but worth it.

 We found 3 everyday foods that just tasted better in Australia: eggs, yogurt, and carrots (obviously not pictured).

(again, sorry about the lack of picture rotation)

The eggs were just richer and fuller in taste than US eggs, and their yolks were brighter - almost orange in color. Carrots were sweeter and less gritty tasting. . . though they didn't sell unpeeled carrots, so we had to actually peel them. Just like in pioneer times, for crying out loud :) And this particular yogurt (pictured) was great, and I ate it almost every day for breakfast. Unfortunately, it has ruined a lot of the yogurt here for me. I've tried several times to find one here that tastes the same. The closest I've found is Noosa honey flavored.

Speaking of breakfast (brekkie as they call it): another Aussie morning staple is muesli!!

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When I wasn't eating yogurt for breakfast, I was eating muesli. It's kind of like the 'overnight oats' craze here. . . cold oatmeal served with milk, with dried fruit or nuts in it. I need to find a good muesli here - if anyone has one to recommend, please comment! And bonus points to those who know what pawpaw is. . . I'll put the answer in the comments.

I haven't posted many pics of our apartment: here is our kitchen!

It was definitely a one-person-working-at-a time kitchen. Overall, our apartment was larger than we expected (kitchen excluded), but very sterile in its design. But it was a great home-away-from-home for us. 

The best accessory in our kitchen was the electric tea kettle. Aussies love their tea, and I loved this kettle. How had I lived my whole life without one? I was thrilled to get one for Christmas, after having to leave this one behind!

So this post is longer than I expected, and I haven't even talked about eating out yet! That will come next. . .

My last ocean-related post. Which I'm posting on a super snowy day in Iowa, so I may need a moment.

Yes, all the Bardwells are really missing the ocean. Or maybe we're just missing warmth in general. Or sunshine. Or any temperature above freezing. Or being able to see the grass. But I digresss.

After we returned from the Gold Coast, we had only a week and a half before flying home for good. We opted not to put the boys back in school for this time. .. because. . .to quote a phrase we heard on Aussie reality TV. . . 'Why WOULD ya?'

And. . . in an apparent plot to make us ready to return home, the weather turned fairly cold in our final days. So on our last 'hot' day in the country, we took a trip to Port Noralunga.

Kedron and I had been here before (with the Govigs when they visited!), but the boys had not. The water felt great on this warm day! These boys have grown quite fond of the ocean.

I really do love the ocean, but I'll be honest - I do NOT miss the sand that always managed to come home with us afterwards. I can't imagine why so much of it ended up in our bags. . .

Port Noralunga has a long jetty (we'd call it a pier in the US). At the end of a jetty, in low tide, you could see the large sandbar that spanned this area (and could swim out and stand on it in low tide too!). We were there in higher tide, so just a few rocks were visible.

There were lots of fishermen on the dock, and, in our first trip here (again with the Govigs), we saw them catch squid!

"What did you do today, Eli?"

"Oh, I just skipped rocks in the Indian Ocean. Nothing special."

I really hope the boys remember all the little details of this trip for years to come :)

 A rare picture of us!! Micah became a decent cameraman over these last few months.

Oh, we miss this place. Especially on a cold Iowa day like today.

Gold Coast Finale

OK, so there's not a super exciting finale to our Gold Coast trip.

We basically just spent the rest of the time in the water.

And It.  

Was.  

Great. 

Next to the 'regular' pool at our hotel, there was a salt water lagoon, with real fish in it.

The boys were a little creeped out by swimming in a body of water with actual fish in it (I never pointed out that their beloved ocean also contained actual fish), but they liked watching the fish feeding time from the sidelines.

Oh, and a random pic of the foyer in our awesome hotel. Two of the nights we were here, local high schools held their proms here. 

The boys have now seen three oceans: the Atlantic (in Florida a few years ago), the Indian (Adelaide area) and the Pacific! My feet like them all. 

The ocean was about a 5 minute walk from our hotel, so we spent our last day soaking up some sun (which was quite intense, so first we soaked up some sunscreen). 

The lifeguard stand was decorated for Christmas! It was mid-November, but Aussies start celebrating early. They don't have that pesky Thanksgiving holiday getting in the way :) 

Do you notice anything? Like the fact that there aren't 5 million people on the beach? We still don't get it.  . other than Bondi Beach in Sydney, NO beach we visited in Australia was crowded! 

This pic was a lot cooler in my head. . .

One of my favorite pics :)