Cultural Musings...

I don't know how much of this is characteristic of the country or just the Gold Coast, but here are some random observations that crossed my mind while enjoying Australia.

• Australia is more of an ethnic "melting pot" than America. The lady in the information booth at the airport was from Japan. The hotel receptionist was from New Zealand. The maid was from Indonesia. The restaurant waiter was from India. The Gold Coast is a mecca for tourists from around Australia, India, Japan, SE Asia, as well as England and the United States, but it's hard to tell the locals from the tourists.
  
  
• Paper money comes in different sizes for different denominations.
  
  
• Australians don't have pennies.
  
  
• Australian coins are easy to get used to. Dollar and two-dollar coins are gold-colored. Lesser coins are silver-colored, with size relative to value (larger coins are more cents). Which is a whole lot easier than trying to figure out England's oddball denominations, or for foreigners trying to sort out American coins.
  
  
• Don't go into a sports bar unless you want to sing. They seem to do a lot of that.
  
  
  ... continue reading

  Posted by Dan 09/18/2009

2009 Triathlon World Championships

Great weather, great venue, great race--what a way to finish the 2009 triathlon season! We're on Australia's Gold Coast to support Kim as she competed for Team USA in the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships.

Australia has been good -- the weather is sunny, 23 degrees (or 73 degrees for the folks back home), and just a light breeze. For the benefit of spectators, the course is entirely on city streets and parks (even the 40K bike leg) and folds back and forth several times past the spectator area.

Kim completed the Olympic distance course 40th overall against 635 women from 42 countries! She was USA's third overall finisher.

Of the 84 competitors in the Women's 25-29 Age Group, she finished 16th, and was number 1 for Team USA!

Team USA's top finisher in the 25-29 age group

Posted by Dan 09/12/2009, revised 09/19/2009

Sightseeing around the Gold Coast

Moved from Brisbane to the Gold Coast a few days ago -- miles and miles of one long, straight, sandy beach along Australia's eastern coastline. The map says there are about a dozen resort towns along this long stretch of sandy beachfront, but they seem to be merged into one long maze of high-rise hotels about 4 blocks wide and 15 miles long. And we're talking high-rise -- our hotel is a mere 22 stories, but the tallest one here is 78 stories!

Posted by Dan 09/09/2009, revised 09/23/2009

South Bank: Brisbane's Fine Arts center

We spent Saturday exploring some museums and art galleries. South Bank Parkland is just across the Brisbane River from "CBD" (the local lingo for City Business District). Museums, art galleries, restaurants, outdoor cafes, performing arts theaters, even a small beach -- all connected by a meandering, picturesque "Arbor Walk" promenade. You can easily spend a day here ... and we did.

The Gallery of Modern Art had some intriguing sculpture.

Posted by Dan 09/05/2009, revised 09/23/2009