the National and home....

The final week of the tour started with some routine one nighters with us returning to Melbourne, flying to Sydney, driving to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and then on to Camberra and the National Folk Festival.  I was looking forward to Katoomba to check out the Blue Mountains and maybe see some wild life.  For the first time in Australia I was a bit disappointed.    The mountains were nice, but nothing special despite all the tourism hype about it.  We have prettier mountain views in Western Mass!

    The drive to Canberra was full of empty farmland and long vistas. We passed ‘Lake” George, a huge expanse that was completely without water.  Apparently it’s only a lake in the rainy season.    Canberra is Australia’s capitol  (who knew?) and doesn’t feel much like a city at all. The story goes that the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne was so intense that when it came to creating a capitol they chose to build a city in the sheep farming country equidistant between the two.   They built to impress.  Canberra is all wide leafy boulevards and beautiful parks.     The city has a mall of museums and government buildings ringing a large man-made lake (hmm, where did they get that idea?)

The National Folk Fest is a five-day event held over Easter weekend at a horse race track on the outskirts of town.   It is a much bigger deal than it looks like on paper.   The festival draws over 12,000 a day for a line-up of mostly Australian performers and a handful of international acts.   I was proud of the fact that the two biggest names on the bill were Signature Sounds artists (Chris and Patty Larkin).    The festival has 20 different performance spaces from big indoors stages for 2-3 thousand with video screens to small tents for workshops.   Many of the stages seemed to have themes; my favorite was an outdoor stage that hosted lots of belly dance and other forms of traditional costumed dances.

This is sweetest festival I’ve ever attended   There were street performers, parades, buskers and kids performers in Kangaroo and bird costumes.  There were lots of goofy morris dancers and even a labyrinth.  The food and crafts were fabulous.   The whole thing was very much a family event with several generations together having a blast.   The music was secondary to a fantastic scene. 

Chris performed three sets during the festival and killed each time.   The first set was on the main stage Saturday night.  Neither of us was prepared for the incredible reception he received.    The minute his set was over the merch table was swamped with buyers.  I sold all 100 CD’s that we had brought within 5 minutes.  I could have easily sold another 100.   The same scene followed each of his other sets.   We sold every last disc we had, a perfect way to end the tour.

We took off after our last set Monday for the drive back to Sydney and the long (20+ hours) flight home.   It was a great tour, but we’re both ready to head back home to our families and the springtime   As we were waiting for the plane Men At Work’s old hit “Down Under” came on the airport muzak……..perfect!

10 things I love about Australia

1)  The People    Australians are lovely people.   Friendly, polite, laid-back and funny,  they're wonderful hosts.   They love Americans and are endlessly inquisitive about our world.  I've met Aussies who know more about US current events than our own citizens.   They speak with charming british accents,  but also have their own fabulous slang.     When you factor in the warm and dry climate,   it's as if England moved to Southern California and took the best of both worlds.  

2)  Coffee    This is a cafe society.  Every neighborhood has at least a couple of nice indie cafes, often with outdoor seating and a case of tempting baked goods.   A good cup of coffee is always easy to find.  How good?   Starbucks hasn't even tried to move into this country.  I've visited the 3 most populated cities and have seen exactly 2 Starbucks.    I've become addicted to  the "Flat White".......something akin to a latte with less milk and more strong coffee.  I've been studying the baristas  to see how I can concoct this when I return. 

3) Sports scene    Aussies love their sports and it's a completely different scene than the US.   They're crazy about cricket, rugby, soccer, surfing and especially "footy" or Australian rules football.   It's a sport that's kind of a combination  of rugby andf American football that  is played without pads.  Even though Footy isn't in season right now, rerun games are on TV all the time.   These are a gambling people.  The morning papers are full of betting grids on all sports.    And it's not isolated to games.  The Sydney  morning paper recently gave betting odds on the likelihood that the pope would resign over the latest crisis.

4) Universal health care   They have it and they love it  Everything is covered....everything.   I spoke with a breast cancer survivor who told me of her treatments in great detail with several rounds of chemo, surgery, aftercare and more.  Total cost?  Nothing....not a dime.  Not one co-pay.    She received first class treatment through the entire process.   Every Aussie I spoke with couldn't understand the US healthcare debate.  How could anyone be opposed to universal health care?  What are these people protesting against?   I had no answers to these questions.   The Australians pay for their health care system with a small income tax (1.5% of income) and hefty sin taxes .  A six pack of beer costs almost $20.  A gallon of gas $6.  Don't even consider smoking cigarettes.  

5)   Landscape    The entire country of Australia has a population of 22 million people and ninety percent of those live in the five largest cities and suburbs.   It's a country roughly the size of the US with small fraction of the population.  It makes for a lot of open space.  Much of the interior is desert or jungle, but  what I've seen is ever changing and gorgeous.  Lot's of exotic wildlife, too.

6)  Food  It's been said that Australians have no cuisine of their own and while that might be true, I've eaten very well here.   The proximity to Asia makes for many choices of ethnic food and we've enjoyed them all.   Mr. Smither is quite the foodie, which makes him an excellent travel partner.    Since all the cities are on the coast there's great seafood.   I'd never heard of Barramundi before this trip, but it's quickly become my favorite fish.   Australians love their "brekky"  and we've indulged in some pretty big morning meals such as this breakfast stack.....fabulous!   They do serve Kangaroo, but I'm not going there.  

7) TV   There's nothing on.....ever.    Each time we check into a hotel I'll flip on the TV and turn after 5 minutes and a couple of spins around the channels I turn it off.   At seems that half the channels are devoted to sports.  Cricket is always on.  Chris explained the fine points of the game so I almost understand it, but it''s still the most boring TV sport ever.    The rest of the channels are devoted to bad movies and the worst of American television.   The TV news is pathetic.   The only bright spot is they seem to show Flight Of The Conchords a lot.    This must be why they hang out in cafes and attend concerts...nothing on telly.

8) Public Transportation   This country has great public transport.   Every city has  a tram or bus system and it's always clean and easy to navigate.   Melbourne has no less than 4 different rail systems including a free tram in the downtown.   Even flying within the country is pleasant.    It's as if 9/11 never happened as the security check is a breeze.  No taking off your shoes,   showing  ID or boarding pass,  no toiletries in little bags and you can even bring your water bottle.   It's so nice to see people greeting loved ones at the gate just like the old days. 

9) Goofy town names   Wee Wa, Wollloomooloo, Tumbarumba, Wagga Wagga, Coober Pedy, Mullindolingong, Buddabaddah.....I could go on and on.

10)   Being called "mate" by total strangers