Vacationing with Kathy, part1/4- Noosa

My dear friend Kathy and her lovely daughter Nee have been visiting us from the US. Although I could not take enough time off to spend 2 full weeks with them, as I was sadly tied up with some work-related chores and travel, we managed to get away a couple of times and enjoy the beauty of Queensland.

I always enjoy having visitors, first because it’s fantastic to have your friends around, second because they provide a great excuse to drink  get active and visit places.



Our first trip, almost right off K&N’s plane, took us to mythic Noosa.  We’ve been to this famous beach before, and loved it. Located only 2hrs drive away from Brisbane, Noosa is a little corner of paradise. People judge it harshly around it; stating that it’s not a party town and it’s full of old-people, tourists, surfers, and quiet-nature lovers.

Well, guess what: Nic is a surfer, Kathy is a birder, kids love quiet beaches, and I’d rather spend my vacation in Cape Cod than in Miami.

So Noosa was the perfect destination for us.

A lovely boardwalk takes you from the beach, almost in the center of the city, to Noosa National Park. Wandering in the park, you get nice views of the beach, deserted creeks, and can spot koalas in their natural habitat. The water was nice and warm, although we got stung by unidentified jellyfishes (one fellow swimmer, who admired Kathy's "bathers"suggested it may be a blue jellyfish). Fortunately enough, Nimrod resort where we stayed had a swimming pool and our flat had a jacuzzi on the roof, both stingers-free!

On the way back, we stopped by the Australia Zoo. I’ve been warned before that it’s a mausoleum to Steve Irwin, AKA the Croc hunter. But Crikey! Nothing can prepare you to this level of adoration. His pictures or videos are at every corner.  The Zoo is also a commercial springboard for Bindi and her merchandizing.

The Zoo itself is OK, but you sometimes have to walk for 15 minutes between two areas, with nothing much to be seen in between. For the very high price paid at the door, it’s a little bit disappointing to “arrive in Africa” to see 3 zebras, 4 giraffes, and 1 rhino… The few kangaroos we tried to approach were really aggressive, most likely as a natural reaction against all the tourists chasing them all year round. On the other hand, the shows are AWESOME (yes I know, I’m a sucker for shows).

We saw magnificent birds that are so tamed they fly wherever they're asked to and crazy zookeepers entering the croc's water to demonstrate the ferocity and unexpected nature of crocodiles.
They pretty much make it an educational show: they teach you what not to do near water as a tourist, while demonstrating it to show you how fast the croc will get at you and bite/eat/kill you if you go back drunk to your hotel room at night and decide it's a good idea to take a shortcut through the swamp.
I was very impressed, and decided at this very time to try my best and never experience this first hand.

The Zoo is overall a nice park, and an agreeable place to be on a sunny day. They offer all kind of animal encounters that could be really cool (com'on, of course you want to take a cheetah for a walk or pet a tiger!)

So if you have kids, go ahead and support the Zoo by buying  Bindi's wildlife adventures (for little girls) or by subscribing to Crikey! a very cool kid's magazine.









Next destination: Far North Queensland! Mission: see more crocodiles, but this time in their natural habitat... (secret objective: see and not being eaten)

the 10 things I don't want to do in Australia, or the reverse bucket list

Hubby and I are biologists. The kids are just, well... kids, and thus they are curious. Everyone in our household loves to watch the Smithsonian channel, BBC documentaries, or National Geographic.
So this morning we all ended up glued in front of the screen, watching "deadliest animals: Australia".

After my top 10 of places to go to and see, I now have a top 10 things not to do. Or to be more accurate, mostly 10 things to never meet.
I'm really mad at myself for being such a sucker for documentaries, and for staying there watching what I could meet in the near future. What would be interesting from my couch in Connecticut, USA, scares the s* out of me and makes me look under my chair before I sit here in QLD, Oz. 9 out of 10 of the worse animals can be found in Cairns area, where I'm heading to in a couple of weeks, and most of them could be enjoying my backyard's shade right now anyway.

Like the fangs? Remember Harry Potter, the scary scene? 

1- meet a red back or a funnel web or any other nasty spider. 
High priority on the funnel spider, "which likes to wander in houses and is very aggressive when spotted or disturbed. Fangs are so long and strong that you may have to take it out from the bitten limb where it stays attached". Seriously? I'm SO calling the exterminator on Monday to come and check our basement.

that's right, I'm on a wall. Inside.

2- have a snake in my house. According to the tele and the internet, brown snakes are shy, but if they feel threatened, they will attack and strike. Several time. Like 8 times in a row. Again: seriously, wild life? And they're known as one of Australia’s most deadly creatures. Now, that's reassuring. They usually come after mice or rats, so I hope that's an incentive that the kids will understand when I tell them not to leave crumbs and cookies behind them in the playroom.

Brown snake wondering if he would like to get out of
 his way and kill you, or not

tiger snake

3- meet a snake in my backyard. Too late since I've already met a tree snake, but let say it doesn't count since if it would bite us, that would be painful but harmless (although I may die from a heart attack, or collapse from a combination of panic attack + my brain exploding from fear at the same time).

4- meet a snake in the wild while camping or hiking. Enough with the local competition, let's enter the olympics of disgusting creatures. The tiger snake is known as one of the deadliest snakes in the world. If you don't get anti venom within 6hrs, or if you're weak, your chances of survival are 50%. Hum, let me think about it, 1 in 2, feeling lucky today, wanna bet? Just to be clear, the specie is protected and if you hurt them in any way, you'll get fined. $4,000 that is.

5- get a skin cancer (did you know that here in QLD we kinda have a world record for skin cancer?). You never know, while I'm out in the bushes, looking for reptiles,...

6- get caught in a fire storm (like #5, nothing related to the documentary, but I thought I'd throw it here because I don't really feel inclined to go there).

7- step on a stone fish while on the GBR. Let's be clear. I am paying good money to share one (happy) day of Nemo's life (that's right, the little guy from finding Nemo). Not to visit Cairn's ER. Apparently, the stone fish spines has no trouble piercing neoprene shoes. Again, a precious piece of info to bear in mind. NO need to spend money on ugly protections that will not save you. Same goes with box jelly fishes. As much as I enjoyed the jelly fishes' special exhibit at Mystic Aquarium, this is as close as I want to get from a stinger.

You can't see me!

8- have an unexpected encounter with a shark. Not a bull shark like those who enjoy swimming in the Brisbane river, I'm talking great white. Knowing that I don't ever plan to go shark feeding, I think it's safe to say that any shark encounter while in the water will be considered unexpected and thus not acceptable.
New studies have shown that the great white have a different strategy when attacking a seal or a surfer. MEANING, wait for it, that the myth of them attacking humans by accident is BS! Let's just not try and test the theory, I really have no interest in proof-of-principle.

this awkward moment when you wonder why
you put yourself in this situation

I believe I can fly

9- meet with a crocodile, a gator, or any reptile other than a gecko or a lizard and other than in the zoo. Again, nice record for Oz, with the biggest crocodiles in the world. Affectionally called salties (Aww, so cute).

the only way I like my 'gator (Missiessy)

the most feared Taipan! 

10- did I forget to mention something about snakes? Because here, "we" have the record of the most poisonous snake in the world, that's right! The Taipan, that leaves in central Australia (THANKS GOD, I'M SO NEVER GOING THERE!) reaches 2 meters in length and the venom injected in a single bite is enough to kill 100 adult humans. Good to know.






If you'd like to know more, talk to the expert.
Their "did you know" section is kinda cute, almost gives you the exact chemical composition of what will kill you...

Following up on the bucket list.

When we arrived, I swore not to reproduce my american mistakes, being working too much and not traveling around the country enough.

At this time, I made a bucket list with only my top 10 fav's:

1. Go to the great barrier reef (and dive, and sail, and enjoy)
2. Go to New Zealand and meet my family
3. Visit Tasmania
4. Take a cruise to some of the 74 QLD islands
5. Camp in the bush and teach the kids silly campfire songs
6. Visit Angela in Melbourne, Catherine in Perth, and Pierre in NZ (to redeem myself for not visiting Julia in Boston, Carly, Drew and Meredith in Philadelphia)
7. Make friends and organize Halloween Party, BBQs and camping trips
8. Buy a house and have tropical furniture on the deck, a mango tree in the garden and a pool in the yard.
9. Go to Asia: Bali, Thailand, Japan, anywhere we can think of and all want to go
10. Tour the Kakadu National Park and go to Alice Springs

In the past 6 months, we've been hiking, met some wildlife, went to various local QLD beaches, spent a long weekend in Noosa. I've been to Sydney, I'll go to Newcastle soon, but we didn't really get started on the bucket itself.

But things are going to change as I'm getting ready to cross #1 down, the great barrier reef! There is much more than diving and snorkeling awaiting behind #1... My great friend Kathy and her lovely teenage daughter Jahrnee are visiting from the US. Unfortunately Nic has no time off, having just started a new job, but we all decided that it should not stop us, and we're making it a girl's trip! After 8 days in Brisbane and surroundings (hopefully we'll cross #4 and 5 during this week), we (Tiare, Kathy, Nee, and I) are going to spend 3 full days together in Port Douglas. Because it's such a short trip, we have a serious plan. And OMG OMG OMG I'm SO excited that I have to share!!!!

- Day one: Daintree rain forest trip and Cape tribulation

- Day two: Snorkeling on the great barrier reef.

- Day three: Kurunda skyrail and train.

I already wish I had more time to spend there with my friends, but I have a business trip to plan and I have save some vacation and exciting plans for when Nic gets vacations, and for when Caroline and Jean Christophe are coming in January!

Maybe we'll have a combo of 7 and 9, then?! Or a 3? And a 4?

To be continued...

A few things you need to know before you work in my buildings

I haven't blogged in a long time for many reasons.

The main ones being that 1- novelty wore off and somehow I don't have enough exciting stuff happening in my life to share it twice a day with you, 2- I'm super lazy, so I come up with blog ideas that never translate into actual blog entries, 3- It's grant's season in the lab and I'm mostly working around and against the clock.

Research at UQ is very controlled, and the finance department as well as the OH&S (the office for safety regulations) rule our world. Fortunately for us, the health and safety notices are made into cartoons and stickers, printed and pasted everywhere you look at (obviously they're not working for the office of being green and environment friendly). Here are a couple of things that make me smile while on campus: I thought I'd spread the joy!

First of all, if you cannot ride a normal bike, feel free to park your motorized tricycle anywhere in the bushes.
Then walk casually to your building, but with shoes on. It sounds trivial, but Aussies do like to walk barefoot. On campus, in the street, at the market place, and (I've heard) in certain offices of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnologies (giggle, sorry guys, private joke)...
After you've complied and put shoes on, you can enter the elevator (provided you have a swipe card that grants you access to it). Buckle up and remember that this is a non-smoking ride.


After you've reached your floor and spent a couple of minutes or hours in the lab, you may find yourself in a dangerous situation. In case of serious spill that requires immediate washing, or if you're on fire (literally) keep calm, walk to the security shower, and seriously: JUMP FOR YOUR LIFE!
I may make it, but I'm not sure my undergrad student will...

There are plenty of complex diagrams all around the place to remind you at all time all kind of procedures. I'm clueless wether people actually read and understand them. One of my colleagues mentioned one day that they are very similar to another infamous diagram (Sorry James, but it SO true that I had to steal it):

And the last panel of the composite image speaks for itself: when going to the bathroom, if you don't know what to do, just read the notice... 

Last but not least: we gear up to enter in the animal facility, and breathing my own germs for 2 hours straight transformed my level-1 cold into a dramatic flu-like one (but it's the only way to protect the cute brown mice that work for us, so I'm glad for the masks. For real.)

Going to the moon with Gurveen!

What Pilates can and cannot do for you.

As a pilates instructor, people expect me to be the iron man in shape. They don’t know, or tend to forget, that I’m also a full-time researcher.

This makes me spend 4+ hours a day in front of my computer: reading and writing papers, planing my next scientific move, trying to locate and beg for raise money for the lab. I enjoy dipping a high sugar treat in my coffee while doing this, since I cannot smoke in my office (!) and I figured out a long time ago that only chocolate and tobacco can fuel my brain better than anything when I intend to reach full intellectual speed.

The rest of the time, I seat at my bench, using my very confortable faux-leather chair to wheel myself between the bench and the incubator, or the fume hood and the laminar flow one. Not your best fitness instructor routine.

One could think that having kids is the secret of youth and fit (others know better). Many moms told me before that they stopped eating when they had their second child, because they could not find time to cook and sit for their own lunch or dinner. They were skinnier after having their children than prior to preggo-days.

I’m not. I specialize in multi-tasking. This is my hallmark and even a moderate source of pride. I paint my toe nails or cook dinner or answer my emails while over the phone, I plan 5 experiments a day in the lab (and on a good day 4 to 5 will work), I scream at my kids while combing their hair or discuss homework while dressing them up. I sing (and swear) while driving, I mentally write grants and grocery shopping lists when biking or showering.  I teach Pilates and present my work in lab meeting the same day.  You get it.

So, while other moms cannot find time to feed themselves, I gobble French fries and a nugget while undressing the kid’s table (for some reason broccolis always find their way to the garbage can), I find time to bake pancakes in the morning and cookies at night, and I try the dough then the final product straight out of the oven; I lick the jam spoon or Nutella spreader before placing one or the other in the dishwasher… Preparing our moving when in the US, and now settling in our new life here certainly reinforced my bad habits.

I doubt that this dear old Joseph (Pilate) would be super proud having me as an ambassador of his art…

As every good thing eventually comes to an end, I decided to break the unfit circle. My new life includes 3 essential resolutions:

1-get the carbs under control, 2- stop eating anything that was not prepared by myself, 3-keep my body going (while not seated on a chair, rolling).  

And that brings me to the point of this post. People think that as a Pilates instructor, I can solve all my weight problems by practicing on my own.

While Pilates shapes your body, makes it longer, leaner, and gives you a seriously strong core and a good posture, it is not the best fitness option for who needs to quickly burn some fat. Pilates help you correct bad positioning of your body and restore proper alignment of the spine (to a certain extend!).

To me, it helped readjusting my shoulders, which kept coming in front of my body instead of forming a nice line on top of my upper body (think chimp versus ballerina) after so many years of folding toward an assay tube or a computer screen. 

It gave me toned arms, nicely defined and much stronger. It got rid of my lower back issues, due to years of gymnastic and series of heavy falls onto the beam that twisted my hips and pelvis, giving me a long leg. Pilates resolved my knees problems that appeared after the repeated shocks of French kickboxing. It brings me calm after a long day, and peace of mind in troubled times. If I was not that flexible to start with, it would be another bonus point to add to the already long list of benefits of practicing Pilates. I am looking forward to starting a new pregnancy now that my core has got so strong, and I think it will make it easier on my body.

For all these reasons, most of the Pilates instructor here in Australia are also physiotherapists, and use this movement technics as a tool to work around an injury and reinforce some muscle groups.

But when some (a lot) of my friends and most of my clients talk to me about getting into Pilates to lose weight, what I think is that they are wrong. And Pilates instructors who jump on board with that idea are worse, because they know better.

Pilates does not count calories for you (Myfitnesspal does). It does not tell you when to do the healthy choices. To a certain extend it can be a cardio workout, especially if you are an experienced student working out on a piece of equipment such as the reformer, and going at a fast pace on a choreography that you know well. 

But for the average beginner client, Pilates is no cardio. You will be sore, yes. And some exercises can be painful (in a good way, because your muscles are working so much). But don’t expect a spinning class or 1h of intense weight lifting, because you would be disappointed. Pilates work at your body’s level, and sometimes, especially if you took your time to acknowledge that it’s time for you to start exercising and watching your weight, you’re just not there yet. You will have to accept that you are in bad shape, build some strength, awareness and flexibility, then work your way to the highest levels. To some, it will take 2 weeks, to others 2 years. Some will never be able to execute some of the more advanced exercises. But it doesn't matter, because you will progress and feel better in every way.


What Pilates teaches you is that it is fine: being able to move your body at its full potential should be your goal.

So yes, Pilates is good exercise (look at Joe, doesn't he look great?!), and a way to health (kinda saved my body, and I have plethora of great examples in my 50+ Pilates class to show it does wonder!), but this is not the faster way to your bikini in size 2. Try and remember that next time you walk in a studio, and be suspicious when an instructor is full of promise.

Pilates is your way to a balanced mind and body, and he/she should be telling you this. Now, stop taking this bus/car and start walking! And sign up for Pilates as well to walk with grace and balance, and a flat belly!

10 reasons why we love Australians, and also why we don’t…

We love them ‘cause:

1- They have an awesome wildlife (fur seen everywhere, unfortunately including on quite a few human female legs), and they announce it with cool signs (not the legs, although you wished you'd be warned)

The beauties and the creepies... I've decided I've shown enough cute koalas and kangaroos. Time to get real ;)

2- Walking anywhere in Queensland, you always feel like a million bucks

3- Kids wear uniforms, some of them really cute.

4- There are 10 public holiday in a year, plus 4-5 weeks vacation, and if the holidays happens to be on a Sunday, then Monday is off to compensate.

5- They paint on their electrical street-cabinets (is there an official name for these boxes, people?), and it is fun.

6- They have crazy taste and you should always ask your Australian friends before picking the color of your new car, as long as you believe that owning a purple, pink, yellow or neon green car would make your life happier.

7- they make my cookies fancy by calling them "lovely biscuits"

8- It’s hot for Christmas

9- They speak good English

10- They have pubs (and food pub, and good beer)

We don’t (we still do, but we think they’re weirdos) ‘cause:

After 3months in hipster-land, even your kids lived in the 70s

1-   It’s hipster land. All guys are “metro” but from the 80s because vintage is best. As a result, and even if we can appreciate a well groomed man, they allow crazy stuff such as jeans shorts (skinny type) and overalls…. Hum…



2-   They don’t have any taste. As a grown-up female, you are supposed to dress like an old lady, or may I say an other-century lady. Or a w*. Or both (I forgot to say, they like mismatch).

No need to say that the leggings that you REALLY want to take a picture of are always to fast. Such a shame that I cannot share more real life with you... The middle pic doesn't make justice to the leather bat-part of the outfit...

3-   Adults don’t wear uniforms, and after you’ve read 1 and 2, you get it.

4-   They have trouble working

5-   It’s because they don’t learn s* at school

6-   Because of them, nobody knows anymore that I can make just plain-yummy cookies.

7-   They just invented the internet (like yesterday. Or tomorrow) => no online shopping

8-   They don’t have H&M

9-   They haven’t heard yet of free shipping. Or coupons code you can steal online and use at checkout. But it doesn’t matter because see #7, you don’t really want/can shop online.

10- I got downgraded from the “cute-french-accent girl” to “the girl I don’t understand”.

I easily return the favor on this point: having a normal conversation with a 72 years old lady (2 teeth left only) from Georgia or a crazy Cajun/ Voodoo sorcerer from the Bayou seems more reasonable (and feasible) than talking to some of the locals (just know that being called Far North Queenslander is considered as an insult here). I already said in 2 different occasions that I don’t speak English, using my best French accent; only to get rid of people I knew it would be a challenge to understand.

11-  Now that it’s finally summer in CT, I want to go to the pool with my friends. But I cannot because a- it’s wintertime; b- it’s 12k miles away.


Now, a little bit of mathematics (don’t worry, Australian level) so that you don’t draw the wrong conclusions.

There are 10 pro-points and 11 con-points, BUT: in the con-list, 1-3 get fused under general bad taste, 4 and 5 fall under the same umbrella of too much sun, and 6-11 are just a few examples (and reasons why) I miss the US so much.
So as usual, everything is mostly fine! Pfew! I thought we’d have to pack again :) Btw, we may hit the road sooner rather than later, but that’s a different story...

First trip to Sydney

You cannot stay put very long in science; there is always a travelling excuse around the corner (meetings, conferences, experiments) waiting for you to leave the bench and hit the road. My first Australian job-related journey took me to Sydney, to visit collaborators.
I don’t enjoy so much traveling for work anymore, or at least not as much as I used to. If it’s not an official vacation, I’d rather work in the comfort of my lab and office, then go back to my family at night. For this reason, I decided to jam my Sydney sightseeing into one full day (Sunday), while I’d be working on Monday, Tuesday, and be back in Brisbane Tuesday night, on time for the Easter weekend.
 
Sydney is a big city, but it CAN be done in one day if you really want or have to- although I’d suggest spending 2-3 days in Sydney itself, and some (a lot) more time to visit the beautiful NSW surroundings. So here is the plan, or how I did it.

8 AM: Departing Brisbane. Note that I went through security check with food, water, and shampoo in my carry on, and that nobody asked to see my ID before I checked into my hotel 10 hours later. It was as easy as catching a flight in the 80s.

9:30 AM: Landing in Sydney is very similar to landing in La Guardia for the 1st time, when you think that this damn pilot missed the turn and now you have to keep flying above the ocean for 20 minutes and no good reason.

10:30 AM: The airport train took me to Central Quay, after 30 minutes of waiting, one train change due to station remodeling and for AU$16. I chose Central Quay where I wandered on the piers, and from there I walked my way to the opera. Where I did take some lovely cliché- pictures, as expected of any good tourist in Sydney.

getting ready for a british wedding

11:30 AM: Entering the Royal Botanical Garden. This place is an ode to the British art of gardening. Luxurious, gigantic, peaceful: perfect.

Government house

The large areas of grass where you are invited by official signs to step and lie on, although you have to share it with birds; the hidden thematic gardens (the Asiatic one is so quiet and precious); the little kiosks and the garden's shop. From there, you also get a nice view on the harbor and the bridge. The garden is the nest of the government house, which you can visit for free (if you arrive on time; I didn’t). On the front porch, you can see the steps that helped the governor wives get in and out their carriage without effort. Now, how cool is that?

I also spent a good 15 minutes looking at the amazing bats flying around in the daylight.

1PM: stop for lunch in one of the numerous cafes of the garden, to enjoy a delicious shepherd pie and a diet coke (very hot day).

1:30PM: Heading toward the NSW art gallery. It’s free, except for the temporary exhibits, and I got to leave my heavy backpack at the coat rack (thanks god!!!). The collection is eclectic to say the least, and covers a broad range of French and British 18th-20th century classics, some interesting Aboriginal art, and some more recent acquisitions such as a Gilbert and George... I got lucky enough to see the art of 12th graders. I know exactly what you’re thinking now, so I dig up the website where you can read about the concept and about this year's winners.
I couldn’t take any picture since I had only my cell phone, flashlight of which I cannot deactivate, but go see for yourself: walkthrough the exhibit and let me know if they're good or what. The creativity and the talent of these 17 years-old kids totally deserve a spot in National Museum. 

From up there you see all Sydney

3PM: Taking detours through the city, I walked my way through crowded streets full of performers (from the gipsy/spanish guitar player to the acrobats) to the Observation tower. The view is nice from up there, but I was disappointed not to be able to go outside on the roof.

3:30PM: Walking my way back to Darling harbor through the city, and across the shopping strip. Darling harbor deserve its name, it's cute as can be and did remind me of SF or Montreal piers to a certain extend. Maybe because of the big war vessel, or is it the aquarium and the shops? Anyway, touristy, crowded, and yet cute. I did look for the Chinese garden that is supposed to be close-by but could not locate it.

5:50 PM: It started to get dark and I decided to head toward Darlinghurst before the rain would start. I arrived to a sweet little hotel (l'otel, very original name?!), where I got upgraded to a bigger room with a nice-size deck and free Internet; you have to appreciate a good surprise when you see one. 

7PM: applying lotion on my sunburns while writing my grants and my new blog entry.

7:30PM: out for early diner. I ended up in a small Japanese restaurant. Tiny and packed, it looked like a canteen, and I was the only non-Japanese face here, but for another girl with her Japanese boyfriend and a older guy with his Japanese family. The food there was cheap and delicious, and I regretted to be alone because I would have loved to share some rolls and sashimis. You know this memory of taste and smell, when you eat a candy that tastes like childhood? Well, this place tasted exactly like London 15 years ago, when I discovered Udons with Nico and Alex.

I’ve heard that you can dance your ass off all night in King's Cross, but I also read online that it can be very dangerous to do so. My danger tolerance considerably decreased about 20 years ago or so and has plateaued around -5% since then, so I decided against verifying myself whether the Internet reviewers are cowards or wise people. I have to say, I did hear from my opened windows the cops driving through the lively night till morning hours, and some people seemed to be having a good time out there. That being said, the Cross is quieter on a week night, and on Monday it looked more like Brooklyn than Harlem already.