My favorite things about living in Oz (so far)

Bacon. 

As an American who served 5 years time in the UK, I've been drawn into more than one streaky bacon (good) vs. back bacon (less good) debate. Australia has a rather elegant (and obvious) solution to this problem: just serve both together in a single, delicious, meaty, fatty strip about two feet long (very good).

Happy people.

Australians are so good-natured and cheerful that you'd be excused for wondering if they were all accustomed to a good morning slug of gin just to get the day off to the right start. Seriously, these people are friendly and happy to the point of suspicion. Australia is known as the Lucky Country - and with good reason - there's the great weather, a booming economy, fabulous food, drink and some of the best cities, beaches and scenery in the world. What's not to be happy about?

Wine.

While some wine aficionados might lament the lack of availability of Old World wines (or in my case the odd California Zinfandel), but I'm having a terrific time working my way through a cache of fabulous Antipodean vintages. I'm partial to Margaret River reds, Tassie pinots and of course Kiwi sauvignon blancs, but we've still got lots of sampling to do.

Roadtrips.

 

Australia has several world-class cities, but for me it is the long, lonely stretches in between that make Australia so alluring. This map shows all the major paved roads in a country the size of the continental USA. There are huge swathes inaccessible by anything but 4WD and dirt tracks - even the vast majority of the paved roads are single lane.

If you are thinking of hitting the tracks, just make sure you're properly stocked with water, petrol, satellite phone and that someone knows where you are. Also, don't watch the film Wolf Creek before you set off; bad things can happen out there.

Coffee culture.

Australians may love The Queen and playing cricket, but happily for me they've traded in tea for the good stuff. Try and get a bad cup of coffee in urban Australia - I dare you. Want to know exactly what's going on behind the cafe counter? Day-long barista courses are a popular past-time and come with an official certificate. Even McDonald's boasts 'barista' made coffee. Stroll down the high street of any trendy suburb and every second shop will be a cafe offering an overwhelming selection of beans and brews to choose from. Just make sure you study up before your order, asking for a filter coffee will get you a look of pity and despair - flat white and long black are the order of the day.

Aboriginal Art 

 

I could fill a house with this stuff - if only I could afford it. There's an almost unlimited amount of fantastic art out there, from modern Rothko-inspired paintings to traditional fine arts of paintings on bark with natural pigments.

The more you know about a particular piece, the more interesting it becomes. Aboriginal art is highly secretive - some paintings are desert maps of watering holes decipherable only to a particular community. Other paintings reflect aboriginal knowledge of local plants and animals.  It's fascinating and beautiful stuff - now we just need to save up.