The Weekly Web: Aussie’s in New York, Snowboarding, Photo of The Day

The Weekly Web is a collection of odd little pieces of information with a focus on items from around the world.

Australians in New York City 

I am a great believer in the old travel adage: When in Rome do as the Romans do. However, there are times when you can’t help hankering for the tastes of home. While I am happy to eat pretty much anything whenever and wherever I travel, the one thing I often find myself wishing for is a hot cappuccino made the way only Australian barista’s seem to be able to make them—that is with plenty of froth, hot milk, and a sprinkling of cocoa or chocolate powder.

I have encountered many a barista who has had a good stab at making cappuccino’s the Australian way, but they a generally pale comparisons to what I would call the real thing. Thankfully, when it comes to visiting New York City, this situation is beginning to change. There is a new kid in town—in fact there are several new kids in town—and they seem to be young, Australian, and keen to make their mark on the city’s coffee culture. 

Two Hands Café, New York City

One of those new ‘kids’ is the fast growing Café Grumpy chain, which, as of this moment, now has eight outlets in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and one in Miami! Locations include Greenpoint and Park Slope, Chelsea, the Lower East Side, and Grand Central Terminal.

The Aussie invasion continues with Bluestone Lane, Two Hands Café, Dudley’s, Ruby’s, and Flinders Lane, with more infiltrating the city’s coffee culture faster than you can say, “Starbucks? What Starbucks?” Just Google ‘australian cafes in new york’ to get a sense of where these cafés and restaurants are springing up. For a dedicated caffeine addict like myself, this makes the prospects of finding cappuccino’s just the way I like them during my upcoming trip to New York City that much more enjoyable.

As for all those Australian’s setting up new businesses in the city, I’ll let Gothamist explain:

They’re on the subway, in the beer line at PS1 Warm Up, and holding the elevator for you at your office. Sometimes it feels like Australians are becoming as common in New York as bank branches. You aren't imagining things. In 2005, an American Community Survey taken for the U.S. Census estimated that only 5,537 Australians were residents of New York City. In 2011, the Australian Consulate pegged the number at 20,000, suggesting that the rapid influx of Australians to the city is very real.

Read the full article here… 

My Travel
No, not a film about my own personal travel, but a short film featuring three very accomplished snowboarders, Elias Elhardt, Jason Robison and Victor Daviet; competing in various events at locations as diverse as Mt. Baker, Innsbruck, and the Dolomites.

The Mt. Baker Ski Area is a resort in the northwest United States, located in Whatcom County, Washington, at the end of State Route 542. The base elevation is at 3,500 feet, while the peak of the resort is at 5,089 feet. 

Innsbruck, capital of Austria’s western state of Tyrol, is a city in the Alps that's long been a destination for winter sports. Innsbruck is also known for its Imperial and modern architecture. The Nordkette funicular, with futuristic stations designed by architect Zaha Hadid, climbs up to 2,256m from the city center for skiing in winter and hiking or mountaineering in warmer months.

The Dolomites are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form a part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east.

• Directed by JULIEN MAZARD 
• Aerial Camera: Christoph Thoresen
• Music in order of appearance 
• Midnight / Infinite
• Scientific / Somniac
• Shiloh / Morning
• Araatan / Nymph

Online: http://www.dakine.com | Facebook: facebook.com/dakine

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Photo of The Day

[Above: A release of water containing high amounts of sediment from the Xiaolangdi Dam in China in July 2012.]

This amazing photo from Getty Images, illustrates an article in the New York Times, A New Formula to Help Tame China’s Yellow River, which, which examines China’s attempts to harness the destructive power of the one river that has as much cultural significance to the Chinese as the Mississippi has to the United States, or the Ganges has to India.