Catching the Balmain Bug

Here as promised is the lowdown on my new place (including the kitchen), Australian flushing technology, and my new neighborhood, Balmain. This is particularly appropriate given that my pictures of Balmain, taken my second day here, are the only sunny pictures I have so far.
I'm sitting in the living room watching the news and they're talking about the third big storm that's blowing in right now, bringing with it 100kph (that's kilometers per hour) winds and 10m high waves tonight and tomorrow. Apparently it's "very unusual indeed to get massive storms of this magnitude"-- and there have been three in the last 10 days.

New South Wales residents-- including those of us in Sydney-- are being asked to stay inside tonight. So, my winter experience is going to be completely thorough, I think.

But let's turn to brighter things-- an introduction to Balmain.


I'm not sure what got the name first, the town or the crustacean, but Balmain is one of Sydney's oldest suburbs, having started out as a working class port town. The Balmain bug, on the other hand, is a clawless crustacean that looks like a stubby armless lobster but is supposed to be quite tasty. Here's a link to a recipe using Balmain bugs that I found online while looking for info on the neighborhood before I left the States. I thought it sounded pretty awful but who knows. Maybe bugs in eucalyptus butter are actually tasty.

The upshot of its pedigree is that Balmain is filled with quaint little cottages and scenic winding streets. Here are some of the more memorable places:

As new and clean as this may look, it's actually one of the older buildings in Sydney. The city is known for its sandstone, and most of its older buildings are made from these bright yellow and cream stone blocks. Not surprisingly the beaches are also this nice, well, sandy color.

Another feature characteristic of Sydney buildings is the use of fairly intricate wrought iron gates, fences and railings. Apparently this rose out of a surplus of British iron that was used as ballast in ships coming over from England. It makes the neighborhood look somewhat like New Orleans, particularly given the number of semi-tropical flowering plants found here-- bougainvillea, trumpet vines, and magnolia in particular. Having never been to New Orleans, my first impression of Sydney neighborhoods was of a small English town crossed with a beach town from Brazil.

And the best feature, I think, is the view of the city from the small park and ferry dock at the end of Darling Street, where I can hop on a ferry and be in the CBD (Central Business District-- that's Australian for downtown) in five minutes.




But now for the moment you've all been waiting for: Cooking, sleeping, lazing about and flushing in my new digs...

We'll do a "linear" tour, starting at the front door and moving through our Palmer St residence.

Here's the entrance:

Monday is trash (or perhaps I should say rubbish) day. We put out three bins-- rubbish, plastics and paper. Looks like recycling is common here, but I don't think they have bottle deposits the way we do in some states. Those two tall windows right in front are in my room.

And here it is from the inside. Nice big futon bed, some Zen styling to keep the place restful (and in case you're wondering, Marta, the under-bed is full of wine!-- but I've been told my life is forfeit if I break into it while Fiona's away...).

This is the part that's sure to make Ivan jealous... a walk-in closet.

At least I can walk into it... not sure if it would work for everyone. Fits all my clothes for 2+ months plus my luggage. This is about twice the closet space I have back home.

Continuing down the hall we come to the bathroom. I'm sure by now you're all quite familiar with it. Note the posh dark granite wall tiles.

This brings us, of course, to Australian flushing technology, which I know at least Nate was dying to hear about. Here we are-- the choice to be a "greenie" or a water waster:

Every Australian toilet I've encountered thus far comes with two options-- the half flush and the full flush. The option to have a low flow and regular toilet in one! So far I've never had to use the full flush option (but then I am a lady).

All right, enough of that then-- on to the more important bits of the house. Here is the compact but entirely serviceable kitchen. You can really have only one person working in there at once, but it does come with everything you could possible need: stove, oven, microwave, dishwasher and... drumroll please... a cappucino maker! Makes great espresso and even foams your milk for you. Great for perking you up on a chilly winter morning.

And in case anyone's wondering this is absolutely a coffee culture. Although there are some tea drinkers coffee shops abound and the usual choice is a cappucino or a "flat white" which I think is something like a latte, but everyone tells me is completely different-- it all has to do with the proportion of foam to coffee. I'll figure it out yet. Very few people here drink "drip coffee"-- you pretty much have to go the Starbucks, and people pretty much don't. There's a large immigrant community here, including many Italians that have settled and brought with them great food and drink. I haven't yet tried the pizza but have high hopes as brick oven restaurants are common, particularly in the near west suburbs where I'm living.

And if that weren't enough, there's a nice living room looking out a bank of windows to the backyard where, in better weather, we might even have a barbeque. I'm really hoping some appropriate weather is just around the corner...