THE SYDNEY BOTANIC GARDENS AND OPERA HOUSE ARE NOT UNATTRACTIVE, ACTUALLY KINDA HOT

"You know what, family?" I righteously ask the family one Sunday morning. "It's already the new year, we've been in Sydney for two months, it's been summer school break for weeks now, and we've still not walked around the Botanic Gardens or the Opera House. That's just shameful neglect on our part. Let's head right over there after mass."

(family attends morning mass, steps out and realizes it's 40 degrees and climbing)

"You know what, family?" I righteously ask the family after morning mass. "It's already the new year, we've been in Sydney for two months, it's been summer school break for weeks now, and we've still not seen 'The Last Jedi'. That's just shameful neglect on our part. Let's head right over to an air-conditioned movie theater now, and then walk around the Botanic Gardens and Opera House in, oh I don't know, the fall.

(family actually heads over to the Botanic Gardens and Opera House the following Sunday when it was a nippy 35 degrees and climbing)

(it was still quite lovely)

(like 'Last Jedi' lovely)

She's either using the Force or the hot air is lifting her up

A MARRIAGE MADE IN MANLY

As luck would have it, a nephew of mine was getting married in Sydney soon after our arrival in the city. Happiest day of the couple's lives, for sure, but also a giddily exciting occasion for me for several reasons: First, the wedding was held on the school grounds in Manly where the couple studied and whose chapel was where Nicole and Keith got hitched and whose building served as the mansion of the Great Gatsby himself... 

so the ranking of hottest guys who've ever set foot on the grounds now goes: 1) groom 2) Keith 3) me 4) Leo

....Second, it was a chance to meet up with some relatives I haven't seen since before the LLDD-Baby was born... 

some of whom are actually cheekier than the LLDD-Baby

...And Third but not the Least, this is the first wedding I've ever been invited to that had it's own hashtag (shout out #theonlyjuanformarj) and a social media game where guests could participate and send their best pics of the wedding to said hashtag.   

I felt like a millennial with all the hashtags, is what I'm saying. This bodes well.

#happyeverafter

MGA PAMBANSANG PISNGI NG PILIPINAS

From the LLDD-Hyphen-L's facebook:

"Alden visits Consulate, Husband immediately tries to get dimples too."

From my facebook: "dear @alden, ba't ang dami nating bashers? dahil lang ba talented at millenials tayo? buti na lang pagkabait natin 'sing lalim ng dimples mo (at ko). Basta stay strong, keep real." #baebrotherhood

UNCANNY VALLEY

There's hope for this old fogie yet! I actually helped organize, moderate and draft a report on an IT event at the Consulate that involved modern jargon like "accelerator", "start-up", "disrupt" and other quintessentially techie names.  Here look.

Did Consulate people even figure out how to have a real-time Q & A with google and other silicon valley execs during the event? You bet they did. 

Do I now know how to properly embed the PR of the event onto a blog? Reader, I do not.   

disruption?

BEACHWATCH: YOU GO, CURL!

It's Sydney's metropolitan mic-drop on London: on any given day, at any time of the year, you're just a few minutes away from the sun and sand of Sydney's spectacular beaches. I mean, who needs gray castles when you've got golden coastlines, or magpa-fashionista when you can rock flip-flops, or watch the West End when you can ride righteous waves instead. And there are so many beautiful beaches around, the surf life comes to you. It's inescapable, really. Gloriously so. 

Anyway, our beach bisita Australia began at a place on the Northern Shore called Curl Curl, which locals call Curly, which in turn is divided into a North Curly and a South Curly, which is because Australia is awesome at nicknames. From what I could tell (having no prior reference), Curly was a mid-size beach that catered more to nearby residents than to foreign tourists. It seemed more accessible by car than by bus, wasn't too crowded, and didn't have that many seaside shopping or dining options. But, oh, that cool water and warm sand! And a manageable surf, even I could boogie board! Simply stated, Curly gave a great first-impression of the Sydney beach experience, and you can tell from our faces below that we look forward to all subsequent visits.

  who needs palace guards when you have dad-bods

HAPPY ZOO YEAR

No better way to work out any lingering New Year's Eve hangover than to walk the steep hills of Sydney's Taronga Zoo on a sunny, sweaty day. It was in fact quite de-stressing to see animals in Australia that can't kill me from my backyard.

 some animals looked pretty hungover too, but otherwise quite harmless

SYDNEY BOOMERS

On the flip side of Sydney's counter-intuitive Christmas-in-Summer season is the great outdoor weather and views during the New Year's Eve fireworks shows. No need for the standing or huddling or shivering along the freezing Thames or a jammed Times Square. You can just find yourself a Sydney hillside, park or - what we got - a rooftop of a co-worker's apartment building, and then wine, dine and chill the year away.     

We actually shared the roof with some local 20-30 somethings, and if you think there was party-envy on our end, let me tell you, it was them millennials who kept on coming over to our to side and twangily yelling "you're food smells a-MAAY-zingggh!!"

Mismo, mates. Now on with the show.

 a-MAAY-zingggh