We started at the food dome where we could purchase local fare and check out the winners of this years food display competition.

Then moved on to check out some of the K9s who came in to show off fancy furcuts and prancing talent. But most of them seemed pretty bored.

As did their owners.

We sadly missed seeing Noddy, the world’s tallest horse, but there was plenty of other livestock around.

Perhaps the most alarming of these proudly displayed animals were the birds. I’m not sure when, and for what purpose, we started breeding pigeons that looked like this . . .

. . . but apparently that’ s what it takes to win a blue ribbon. The hall of birds was also particularly loud, with the constant crowing, clucking and cooing of all its feathered residents. I’m not sure what all the fuss was about, unless they were all just alarmed by each other appearances.

We also took in some wood chopping competitions, tough sport, appropriate for an Australian audience. At the end of the day I toyed with the idea of getting a show bag. Everyone usually walks away from the Royal Easter Show with at least one of these bags full of sugary food or cheap items likely to contain lead, but this sign convinced me that I need not feed the consumerist leviathan.

I’m also glad I didn’t eat here. Yes, I already know what ” a nachos” is.

To see more from Sydney’s Royal Easter show, check out the rest of my photos on flickr.

Gabe and I have spent the last few weeks playing host to our first round of motivated visitors.  I’ll blame my negligent blogging on the burdens of being a good host and tour guide (never mind pure simple laziness).  But having visitors also comes with it’s benefits, and not simply that they purchase you alcohol in exchange for a bed and shower.  It’s through the eyes of a visitor that you can, once again, see your city for the weird and wonderful place that it is.

In New York, it was always nice to have the excuse of a visitor to force you back to the Met again, or to show all the secret spots in Central Park that none of the other tourists knew about.  Even if it meant playing a real live Tetris game in the apartment in order to get the futon open.  And after a weekend spent introducing them to the local squirrels and eating way too much sushi, my love of the city was always renewed.  I hadn’t really expected the same thing to happen during these past few weeks, because unlike the grumbling New Yorker I had been, out here I’m still a newbie.

So I was super excited to have guests (you would be too if it took over 14 hours for any of your guests to get to you) but even more than usual, because I had a new city and new experiences to share with them.  Putting the amazing trips we took to the Reef and Uluru aside (since they have already been blogged about) our last few weeks have consisted of multiple beach trips, an afternoon on a sailboat, hikes along Sydney’s amazing shoreline, champagne brunches, wine soaked dinners and far too many Tim Tams in between.

We even spent a day in the Hunter Valley (or as Sydneysiders say “went up the Hunter”) one of Australia’s most famous wine regions.  Although I’m not one to get giddy about wine tastings or ever plan any portion of my vacation around them, the Hunter Valley is a beautiful area.  In addition to the wine tastings, which are open all day, free and plentiful, you can also find succulent olives, stinky cheese and no shortage of chocolate and gelato.  Great for the spirit even if it is bad for the waistline.

Guiding friends and family around Sydney, in addition to being a fantastic excuse for fun, has also helped me realize that I’m not such a newbie after all.  We know about the secret beaches tucked into the isolated areas of the shoreline, where to get the best fish and chips, where to shop if you actually want to buy something and where to go if you just want to fantasize about buying things.  And we also know about some of Sydney’s weirder traits.  We can tell our guests what birds are making which crazy comical sounds, show them where the fruit bats roost during the day, take them to the the Local where they can play a Pokey, and introduce them to the popular Aussie ice cream bar the “Golden Gaytime” (no, that’s not joke), and we can top it all off by watching one of Sydney’s surreal sunsets or inexplicable fireworks shows from our roof.

So having guests not only renewed my love of a city I didn’t even need a refreshed perspective of, but it also renewed my belief that everyone should visit this weird wonderful place.  There are simply too many places to experience, too many amazing things to see, and too many cultural oddities you’d never know about if you never set foot on the shores of this sunburnt country.  So, when are you booking those tickets?  We’ll have the air mattress and a pack of Tim Tams waiting for you.