It's officially Tuesday night, which means I have time to write about the weekend! It absolutely poured here which was been great for my productivity - I didn't left the house, or want to, at all. Today the sun came out again so I went out to run a few errands (read: get a smoothie. And then run some errands. Sample errand: buy tape)
The Jewish day of atonement, Yom Kippur, occurred on Friday night and Saturday, so I had a relatively low key weekend. I'd been introduced to some extended family friends who graciously hosted me for services on Saturday and the break fast that evening, and I ended up spending quite a bit of time with them over the weekend.
Saturday consisted mainly of temple, although we did get to sit outside in the sunshine by the pool during the break between morning and evening services. The family history is very interesting - the wife is Swiss, the husband originally from the UK, but he emigrated to Australia as a boy. They thus have different perspectives on Australia, and have two sons in their late 20s and early 30s who also bring their own views. The conversation on Saturday afternoon was a welcome distraction from fasting, but interesting in its own right since we discussed how certain people get to be ambassadors, Australian fashion and designers, and the rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney. People seem to take it pretty seriously, but on the other hand I was told, "It's Australia. No one takes anything too seriously."
The evening service was pretty interesting - we got there a little early and their two rabbis (one originally from California) answered the congregation's questions about anything and everything having to do with Judaism. Then we finished up, and all in all it was a painless fast.
We went back to the house for break fast, where I got quizzed about moral philosophy and ethics. At least I provided the entertainment for the lovely dinner.
Sunday I was invited back over to the house to go for a scenic walk. Loving scenic walks, I accepted, but our plans were thwarted by drizzle that turned into a heavy rain all morning. Instead, we ended up driving around to where we would have walked (I got out of the car to see the path, confirm that the clouds were too thick to see the ocean or the cliffs, and make a mental note to come back in good weather) and through some of the nicer neighborhoods of Sydney that are on the south side of the harbor (so the wind is good) and have a view of the city. That was really fun because I got to see a bunch of great views of the opera house and the bridge. All the houses in these neighborhoods are set up so you can only see the back of the house from the street - the front of the houses look out onto the water, so you can see the facade only from a boat.
Then we went to 21 for lunch. The restaurant happened to be celebrating its 55th birthday, and also happens to make delicious matzo ball soup. I had some, and then some cheesecake, in celebration. The cheesecake was only alright - neither the cheesecake nor the bagels are New York style, although I do have a few leads on where to go to get New York bagels "with New York prices," so I'm excited to try that! Particularly because I went grocery shopping Sunday evening and spent $80 on very basic food items. Ouch.
The bright spot in spending that much? I felt good about buying kiwi fruit, since they were the cheapest fruit I could find. 10 kiwi fruit for $2.50!
The Jewish day of atonement, Yom Kippur, occurred on Friday night and Saturday, so I had a relatively low key weekend. I'd been introduced to some extended family friends who graciously hosted me for services on Saturday and the break fast that evening, and I ended up spending quite a bit of time with them over the weekend.
Saturday consisted mainly of temple, although we did get to sit outside in the sunshine by the pool during the break between morning and evening services. The family history is very interesting - the wife is Swiss, the husband originally from the UK, but he emigrated to Australia as a boy. They thus have different perspectives on Australia, and have two sons in their late 20s and early 30s who also bring their own views. The conversation on Saturday afternoon was a welcome distraction from fasting, but interesting in its own right since we discussed how certain people get to be ambassadors, Australian fashion and designers, and the rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney. People seem to take it pretty seriously, but on the other hand I was told, "It's Australia. No one takes anything too seriously."
The evening service was pretty interesting - we got there a little early and their two rabbis (one originally from California) answered the congregation's questions about anything and everything having to do with Judaism. Then we finished up, and all in all it was a painless fast.
We went back to the house for break fast, where I got quizzed about moral philosophy and ethics. At least I provided the entertainment for the lovely dinner.
Sunday I was invited back over to the house to go for a scenic walk. Loving scenic walks, I accepted, but our plans were thwarted by drizzle that turned into a heavy rain all morning. Instead, we ended up driving around to where we would have walked (I got out of the car to see the path, confirm that the clouds were too thick to see the ocean or the cliffs, and make a mental note to come back in good weather) and through some of the nicer neighborhoods of Sydney that are on the south side of the harbor (so the wind is good) and have a view of the city. That was really fun because I got to see a bunch of great views of the opera house and the bridge. All the houses in these neighborhoods are set up so you can only see the back of the house from the street - the front of the houses look out onto the water, so you can see the facade only from a boat.
Then we went to 21 for lunch. The restaurant happened to be celebrating its 55th birthday, and also happens to make delicious matzo ball soup. I had some, and then some cheesecake, in celebration. The cheesecake was only alright - neither the cheesecake nor the bagels are New York style, although I do have a few leads on where to go to get New York bagels "with New York prices," so I'm excited to try that! Particularly because I went grocery shopping Sunday evening and spent $80 on very basic food items. Ouch.
The bright spot in spending that much? I felt good about buying kiwi fruit, since they were the cheapest fruit I could find. 10 kiwi fruit for $2.50!
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