Tuesday, January 17, 2012
While watching sports replays aren't everyone's cup of tea, there are definitely advantages. Some general, and some specific to the given game.
Having followed the Tomic vs Verdasco Australian Open game online while at work (and now with Optus I can get it on the road for free, yew!), it was good to wind down with watching the last two sets.
Even if I knew how it ended.
Because you find out things. You're not watching for the score as much as the other elements. Tennis is a particularly interesting example.
People still call tweets twitters.
Jim Courier trying to correct Bruce McAvaney was hilarious while still very subtle. People today were tweeting from set three that Tomic could come back...
The tweeters are always right.
They weren't wrong were they? I particularly liked one tweet (sorry for the lack of source) that wrote they were loving the tequila sunrise outfits of Verdasco and his Spanish ensemble. Great comment. Power to the tweeter.
Things about the players' outfits become more noticeable.
While I saw the outfit first as a Spanish summer as opposed to the drink (bright with their flag colours), Verdasco's wearing a hat now. Whether he did before I cannot recall, I was always too busy appreciating his face. Which is harder when a cap attempts to cover it.
You appreciate faces in the crowd.
Many a time there's someone famous in the crowd, or a mysterious partner/friend/relative in a player's box that isn't revealed as a significant person for much longer than you would like. Or just general people in the crowd like in this game, where who I think was an extremely good looking guy was sitting behind Pascal Maria. On a side note, that's a name I appreciate. The coolest name for an umpire ever.
Realising the ad quality has seriously declined = dampener.
While the Australian Open is back (which is awesome and something I ALWAYS hang out for), I miss the awesome American Express ads with Andy Roddick in his heyday. Nothing could ever top those for this tournament I don't think, too good. We lost out when Amex pulled their major sponsorship.
Jim Courier would have to have the best US accent ever.
I've been on the Courier bandwagon for some time now with some help from my besties, but listening to his voice without having to reeeeally pay attention to the commentary is very manageable. It's not nasal, doesn't have a twang, and he doesn't stutter. Plus he's totally charming so that always works in someone's favour.
I never took advantage when it was closest.
I lived in Adelaide. It can cost you $49 one-way to Melbourne with hand luggage. WHY I never organised to take the time off I don't know. And then when I looked at ticket prices for 2012 (thinking of finally getting there) I moved halfway across the country.
But regardless, I will be going in 2013. I've waited far too long and next year it will be well deserved.
FLASHBACK: this is the last tennis action I saw live (besides the mens Wimbledon final last year, but that was on a screen so technically doesn't count), the inaugural World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide in 2009. We saw Jim Courier in the flesh and watching the oldies play was a lot of fun.
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| Djokovic with his trophy just by the door there... |
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
I have three posts waiting to go. But I refuse to reveal them to you without photos and there's currently a glitch in the Blogger system, so I frustratingly have this post sans visuals as my only vice.
However, I'm watching the tennis and STOKED it's finally Australian Open time next week. Only this time watching the day sessions will never be possible because of work, which is a total shame. I miss the summers where I would veg out every day I could. It's becoming less and less of a reality.
That's why I'm taking time off for the 2013 event.
I've said I would go for years but I think I have to really get my act together and do it. First week action would be the name of my game, although a final would be nice too...
I have photos from my venture to Wimbledon for the mens' final in 2011, where I sat in Court 2(?) and watched it eating strawberries and cream under a strong English sun. But I can't show you those either, CAN I? How stupid.
Monday, September 05, 2011
Backstory: in 2010 my bff Penny came up with the idea of eating McDonald's in every country across Europe (because she had a fleeting thought the food o/s wouldn't be up to standard) - but we got there and she changed her mind. No-one else in our group was game so I carried it through. For most of these samplings I was on a Topdeck tour.
I first felt like Morgan Spurlock in Super Size Me because I was eating it so regularly - at least every second day while on the tour - and hoped it wouldn't affect my health too much. Actually... that was a slight lie. I wasn't too concerned.
I should add, I went on this odyssey only to discover the specialties - the 'limited time only' specials, or something unique to the country. No Big Macs for me. So now to the photos.
After six months of not having a bite (okay so I had a hash brown at Athens Airport when I first got over there) I had my first 'McDo' meal, as they call it in France, in the restaurant that's part of the Louvre complex. I discovered that the French don't eat small and I was forced to buy a medium meal. To be blunt, the chips weren't great (however they were less salty than ours) and the burger appears rather plain. The bread was interesting, but the filling was merely beef, cheese, tomato and actual slivers of onion (not the tiny chopped up things in a lump). For its similarity to a cheeseburger, I give it (and the meal) 5/10. Good to taste the familiar beef again but an average start.
Although we couldn't really do that much in Vienna because it was a Sunday (aaargh), I still only found little time to find myself a Maccas lunch because everyone else had already eaten. Although I only picked a snack as such, what a snack it was - Cheesy Broccoli Nuggets. The pack gave me six bites of gooey goodness - warm and indeed cheesy on the inside. Never seen anything like it before. Perfect snack, but six wasn't enough! 8/10.
Bratislava was only a day-stop; we only spent 60-90 minutes there - and 3/4 of that was in rain. But it cleared up by the time we ventured from coffee to continue my quest, and it was so worth it. Complete with delivery to your table, this Maccas offered a taste of Greece (the food I missed so much at this point) with a Beef Tzatziki burger (and crinkle-cut herbed wedges). This is my style. With the usual culprits as well as fetta cheese, tzatziki and a herbed bun, this was unbelievably tasty even after having eaten a decent amount of the stuff over the past week and a half. With the mouth-watering wedges, I'm going to say this was perfect, if a bit messy. 10/10.
By the time I got to Budapest I'd seen these on a few menus, with different meats. And heaps of the tour peeps had seen my photos and were aware of my quest... which made me more persistent to explore the menus. I went with the beef McWrap, and although small it had a lot of flavour. The tangy yellow sauce went well with the beef and the strange mix of stuff (is that mango in the picture? It's been a while, I don't remember that...) packed a punch. On the run this worked easily, 7/10.
We stopped through on the way to Prague at this McDrive (although we sadly didn't fit through the thing being on a bus and all - but to be fair the seats inside were fairly accommodating). Notable for its similarity to the Slovakian menu (Beef Tzatziki burger and all) - I wonder why... oh and according to Irishman Chris it was the first along his travels to have Double Cheeseburgers. Well spotted. I went for prawns and their 'special sauce.' Point lost for having to pay extra for the sauce, and another for the prawn itself being miniscule in relation to all the (badly amazing) crumbing around it. But the sauce was between tartare and aioli and suited, and the prawns tasted fine from what was there. Fine as a really light snack but fair average. 5/10.
The most fun I've had at McDonald's in a long time. Probably since I used to play 'the pickle game' with my brother and cousin, trying to see who'd step and possibly slip on our dropped cheeseburger pickle... ah those were the days. ANY-way, after 3:30am we found this open on our way home... and the menu was SO impressive. I settled on a two snack burgers; the first an Italian-style chicken burger, crumbed and with Napoli sauce. Something similar was once released at home as a proper burger and this was just as tasty. Then... the Nurnburger. Three small sausages and mustard in a flour-dusted bun, a likely homage to their apparently famous currywurst. Definitely an acquired taste, but good quality meat. I managed to polish off 1.5 of these. Italian: 9/10. Nurnburger: extra point for most patriotic, fun item I've ever seen. 8.5/10.
After being in Athens for five days I manage to come around full circle and try something which I thought was completely crazy at their airport. The picture above shows a burger. This particular burger contained a prawn pattie. Yes, a prawn pattie. It didn't have an overpowering fishy taste but with the regular fillings and sauces eating it still had a strange feel. Was neither here or there. 5/10.
***
I ended up having Maccas brekky back in Melbourne Airport on the final stopover with one of their wraps (new for the time, seems the local menu shook things up too). Lament the missed op of trying a pork, a breakfast and a UK option. And I should probably go a Big Mac too on my next run. But the quest in 2010 was a lot of fun. I can only imagine the possibilities of what I'd do next.
2011
Walking down Orchard Road for the first time, even at night the humidity was getting to me. There's a LOT of McDonalds stops along the shopping mecca, and I was rather intrigued by one of their dessert cafes just off the main strip. I've still never seen anything like it! First treat of the trip (and definitely not the last) was a Supreme Milo McFlurry. An explosion of chocolate goodness, Milo and ice-cream have always gone together. Perfect mix, and the last time I would see Milo for a fair while. 9/10.
My meals in Belfast had no room for McDonalds so I settled for a Drifter McFlurry. Now, I'd never heard of the chocolate before so thought it sounded safe enough. Turned out to be too safe for my liking - wafer pieces and a 'toffee' sauce (*cough* caramel) didn't do enough to make a strong flavour for the ice-cream. Bored. 3/10.
Gosh I loved Galway. First stop there was McDonalds as I still hung out with tour-mates before they continued back to Dublin without me. The UK had the wraps you see here, but while Scotland and England had them as daily specials, in Ireland you could pick what you wanted whenever. Win! Vegetarian wrap with chickpea pattie was my healthiest McDonalds meal so far. Sweet chilli sauce complimented the packed flavour of the pattie while cucumbers evened out the spice factor. Rather full, I was happy as Larry. 8/10.
Still feel like I have unfinished business with this place. Trying one of the other wraps was purely for mealtime, but the Chicken Caesar Wrap was pretty good. Crispy chicken, decent bits of bacon. Well prepared. 8.5/10.
***
5/12/2011
Not so long after all... turns out Maccas celebrated 40 years in Australia earlier this year with some celebratory returns to mark the big occasion.
My big move to Dubbo meant I was eating a bit more junk than desired as I settled in and found a place. But what I ate was nothing short of substantial. It's been a while since these came and went but the memory forever lingers...
Monday, August 15, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
So I'm sitting in my hostel room in Istanbul post-ANZAC tour, head bent at a very awkward angle but loving the view over the Bosphorus. It's chilly today as it has been all week, and waking up with a sore throat that's gotten worse all day cannot be good. Incase you were wondering, nooo I was not drinking heavily last night!
What a beautiful city Istanbul has been... have one more day here but I've seen and done so much. Except Macca's - that's either tonight or tomorrow. Came back from the Hagia Sofya just before, luckily got a local tour guide who got us in pretty quickly and told us all the intricate details about its wonderful history. I've cruised across the Bosphorus River, been repeatedly told I'm one of (millions of) angels from paradise, relaxed in Turkish baths that are over 500 years old, tried to be set up with the guy whose family owns the shop across from the tour hotel and sampled what's said to be the best Turkish Delight, honeycomb and nut delicacies in the Egyptian Bazaar (Spice Market) – check it out!
Then there was Gallipoli. What an absolute privilege to be a part of. Such a fun and sombre experience... the ride was long, we were told no pre-tours of the sites would be allowed, killed time in the next town over, went back to wait only to see buses moving through (must be mentioned our local driver was a gun – craziest ten-point-turn I've seen in my life, let three of the group back in as we were moving, got through past half the other buses and we were some of the first to get into the site...). Had a great vantage point snuggled in my sleeping bag, spent the night slowly getting colder and colder, but got through on cold bread and dips, chocolate and chips... sooooo many chips. Thanks to a drunk Katie the day before ;D Oh yeah, and we may have been on Turkish TV flicking through the program... have to look that up.
The Dawn Service itself was the most moving for me. The Last Post is incredibly haunting and it moved me to tears. Australian service was professional but nice – but apparently the NZ version was much more laidback. The stands were minimal so my small group missed out on that one. We were blessed with dry weather and little wind through the night. And less people than previous years too apparently – we didn't have to move at all.
A shipping ferry's just passing called the Euronav – Nav, I went to Food Republic in Singapore! But there were two along Orchard Rd so I hope it was the right one. But amazing and cheap. Walked/Metroed around Singapore City for about 12 hours straight – took Sentosa Island in, had the spiciest chicken tikka masala of my life in Little India, and promised myself I'd be back to Haji Lane to stock up on some wicked clothes before hitting home.
The Royal Wedding's coming up on Friday, very keen on trying to discover what the weirdest souvenir is. But I think tomorrow calls for a relaxed (and cheap) last full day in Turkey. Just wish I could've discovered more of this inviting country.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I hate my laptop at home for not being able to publish a post so I'm going to do a quickie here at the public institution that is my local library. Lots happening in my life if you were wondering at all. The countdown to Europe 2011 is definitely on the home stretch with only three weeks to go before I'm outies. It started to hit me a few days ago when I was completely stressed about getting Eurail passes before the agent I had in charge of that went to Europe himself for five weeks. Before that I'd waited three hours for him and not gotten anywhere on that particular day so I'm glad things did sort out on his last day. That (last) week, I worked 47 hours between my two jobs. Unprecedented and badly-timed, but I won't be sorry when the payslip comes through. It's kicked me into gear and today as the only entire day off I've had in a week or two at least has come as a huge relief. Except for the pain in my lower back. Damn exercise. Got my new camera in express post today, v.v.excited. Only bought it on Monday night so quite impressed. It's the exact same model as my old one, but I love it too much to let it go just yet and it's still a top camera features-wise (for a point-and-shoot anyway). And this time it's pink! Lol I'm such a girl... Transport for me is all organised, waiting on info to book one flight for the family and it's taking FOREVER. I just want it over and done with - Mercury turns retrograde today so I'm worried about miscommunications if I leave it too much longer. Aaaaaahhhhh. One final thought: I miss driving my car. Although the last words to blast from the radio speakers were 'ohhhh, Mona Lisa'. Seriously. From that new Panic! At The Disco song. That's got to be a good omen right? It's been playing on my mind and I just keep thinking how surreal it'll be standing in front of the masterpiece once more.
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