Travel with MC to Australia - WebLog

[mbeezie]

Glad the talk went well. Now go enjoy some gluten free Tim Tams and some of that delicious Aussie wine.

Mary Beth

[Gabes-Apg]

Mary Beth

they have GF/DF tim tams (leda brand) in the supermarket that is how important tim tams are to the Aussies!

i think joe is ok with Yeast - so he will be able to partake in some of the aussie wine.

the rain has gone, the wind is settling down and we are back to beautiful sunny brisbane winter weather, just in time for the weekend

[Joefnh]

Linda the trip sounds nice even if it did rain. Sometimes the rain is just nice to listen to and relax. I used to live at 10,000 feet in Colorado and I know what you mean by the animals living so high up.

Ok Gabes and Mary Beth, I need a translator - what is a tim /tam??? I know what the Aussie wine is, I am sipping on a glass as I write this, but a tim / tam??

Gabes your right on the weather, today was probably the most perfect day one could experience. I had lunch with a local friend, and then spent the afternoon at Lone Pine Koala Reserve. It was a wonderful park and I have over 200 pictures to sort through. It's nice to be done 'work' and be a tourist.

I have amassed quite a collection of postcards for Barbara.

Here is one of the images from the koala park today









...More to follow


--Joe

[mbeezie]

A Tim Tam is a biscuit (a cookie to us Yanks) that is kind of like a chocolate covered graham cracker, only much better.

When I visited my friend there a few years ago (pre-illness) she gave me a lesson in Aussie food. We had sticky date pudding, meat pies (at the footie), a burger with the lot (that means fried egg and beets), lamingtons, fairy bread, and a few other things I can't remember. I do remember they take their coffee seriously (macchiato, flat white??) - needed help in ordering.

What other tourist-y things do you have planned?

Mary Beth

[tex]

Joe,

I can't believe you've been to Australia before, and you don't even know what a Tim Tam is, let alone never eaten any of them. Your agenda must have been strictly business, in your prior visits.

You haven't lived, man.

I've never been there, but Lyn and Gabes took pity on me a while back, and sent me a care package, which included a box of GF Tim Tams. Trust me, if I ever set foot on Aussie soil, my very first errand will be to locate a good source of GF Tim Tams.

You can get some imitation Tim Tams in this country, but I'm not aware of any GF versions, over here.

Tex

[Joefnh]

Tex & Mary Beth

I know I should have bought a American English to Australian dictionary...

Yeah Tex my last trips here were mostly for business and the one Aussie I worked with did not have a sweet tooth, although he loved the meat pies that you find down here, there are places selling them everywhere. During my trips here I did try several types and they were quite good.

I guess I am a deprived Yank when it comes to the other Aussie delicacies

This trip with my digestion working so well, I have not been adventurous at all. That may have to change a bit.

I'll have to ask Gabes where I can get some of these ambrosia" Tim Tam" biscuits for the plane ride back

I'll let you know if I get a chance to try one.

--Joe

[tex]

I'll let you know if I get a chance to try one.

Like Lay's Potato Chips, you can't eat just one.

With any luck at all, you'll learn how to do the "Tim Tam Slam" like a native, before you have to return home.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

Joe
Coles supermarkets sell teh leda brand 'tim tam' equivalents in the health food isle (there is a coles near shauno and there is one not too far from you in newmarket opposite the organic store i sent you the details for)

i can get a pack and bring it in when we meet up for coffee tomorrow so you can try one

unfortunately for me they are based on soy and i dont tolerate them that well

[Gabes-Apg]

Mary Beth
one food item/meal that i have been really thinking about and missing of late is my 'home made hamburgers with the lot'
pre MC i used to ahve them at least once or a month or they were dinner when we were camping

home made meat patties (based on beef, lamb, and pork) home made caramalised onion, cooked pineapple ring with melted cheese on top, egg, avocado and salad.

[Joefnh]

Thanks Gabes for the info. the burger with the lot sounds like quite a mouth-full, if not tasty. I have made a similar burger with the pineapple and cheese, but no avocado and egg. I remember my friend down here (Graeme) talking about the burger with the 'lot' and I believe he had one or 2 while I was here but I did not try one at the time.

Gabes this certainly is a beautiful part of the world I went down to the Gold Coast and spent about 5 hours enjoying the coast. To say the least incredibly picturesque.





--Joe

[Polly]

Hi Joe!

Your photos are breath-taking! The koalas are awesome! So happy all is well and that your talk went well. I don't know how you did it, with the jet lag, delays, etc. Just to be absolutely safe, I'd recommend waiting until you get home to eat the Tim Tams! LOL!

Love,

Polly

[JLH]

I'm glad everything has gone so well for you and that you are enjoying your trip. Thanks for the terrific photos. I hope there will be many more.......

[Joefnh]

Polly I am not sure how I did it either; it really was a combination of all the planning, the input and help from our local PP member (Gabes) and all the others on this site and good old fashioned luck. I have been having a good couple of weeks of CC / Crohns symptoms, I hope this continues. This really does highlight how important the dietary aspect of managing this disease is. Even surrounded by all these great GF restaurants I have been cooking and preparing 80% of my meals in the hotel just to be on the safe side.

I am not sure about waiting on a Tim Tam though... That ones going to be tough.

Joan I have taken over 600 pictures so far, I will sort out a few of the better ones and post them after I get home.

--Joe

[Rosie]

It's so nice to hear that your planning has paid off and you are enjoying a trouble-free and relaxing trip (now that your lecture was successfully given). I'm looking forward to more pictures. From the ones I've seen, you have a real talent!

Rosie

[Gloria]

Beautiful pictures! Gabes, do you see the ocean view a lot? Joe, I'm relieved that you are doing OK and your presentation went well. You can join Gabes in being a real trouper!

Even surrounded by all these great GF restaurants I have been cooking and preparing 80% of my meals in the hotel just to be on the safe side.

I'm curious. Gabes also was able to cook in her first hotel in France. Did you both ask for a hotel with a kitchenette, or did you bring hot plates (portable burners)? Are refrigerators standard in overseas hotels? Are kitchenettes rare or easy to get? I think having a kitchenette would make a world of difference in being able to visit foreign locations.

Gloria