Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Bucket Lists? It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..........





Kerri looks forward to the New Year by looking back at a favourite New Year’s Eve



Unfortunately I am approaching one of those ages when it is tradition to set yourself a “bucket list”; those must do things before you die. Quick poll around the office has revealed our top bucket list:
1. African safari
2. Walking in Tuscany
3. Greek Islands cruise
4. Christmas in New York
5. Scandinavia in winter
6. Rio Carnival
7. Snowboard Japan/Canada/Europe
8. Milan Fashion Week
9. Sail the Caribbean
10. Trek Nepal/Himalayas
11. Visit the Colosseum


I haven’t made a bucket list yet, but thinking back, New Year’s Eve in New York would have been on there. Tick. Done. Best New Year’s of my life!

Imagine standing shoulder to shoulder, in a series of what look like cattle pens, eyes glued forward just watching for hours on end for that little ball to drop signalling the New Year in. It’s freezing cold. There are no toilets. Once you are in – you are in. We were told people bring plastic bags – the mind boggles what for!!! There is no food. No alcohol.

We were staying just a block from Times Square and our hotel had given us a special letter for us to be able to walk around the City after midday – New Yorkers start to gather in their little pens from 2pm in the afternoon. As each pen is filled up, new pens are opened further down the street and block after block it goes. Crossing the streets to get food for dinner requires said hotel letter to say that we are “locals” and where we should be, and able to walk where we want.
I have never seen so many police and weapons in my life.



Thankfully as a member of the worldwide police family, we didn’t have to line up from 2pm just to get a great view of the ball, we stayed warm in our hotel room until 11:30pm and then wandered with my son out to find a friendly policeman who ushered us up to the front of a pen for a fantastic view of the whole party. As everyone chants down and the ball starts to make its descent, it is really hard not to be completely caught up in the excitement. Tickertape falls all around you. Complete euphoria that I will never forget –nor the sight of my 8 year old screaming his lungs out with the best of them.



New York at Christmas and New Year is really spectacular. Fifth Avenue dressed up to the nines, the Christmas decorations adorning every building and corner, the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, toy shopping at FAO Schwartz, ice skating in Central Park, coffee at Dean & Deluca, the post-Christmas sales! Battling extreme winds and frostbite atop Empire State Building, visiting the Natural History Museum – you know the one that Night at the Museum is based on, and then watching Night at the Museum at your hotel that night! There really is a sense of magic and romance about New York at this time of year that is hard to beat. Bah Humbug to our cab driver who told us on our arrival in New York, that all the terrible traffic at 9pm that night was to do with “some stupid tree”.


Everything about New York at New Year’s is lines – lineups to get into every attraction, all the major stores, and the funniest line was the unfortunate crowds shivering outside Grimaldi’s famous pizzeria whilst our pizza tour was ushered into the warmth to gorge ourselves on the best Neapolitan type “pie” I have ever had. But it’s just all part of the experience.


I’m a Christmas tragic if you haven’t worked that out, so on that note, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at Urban Economics, and one day you will find me wishing you a Merry Christmas from New York as I tick Christmas Day in NYC off my bucket list. One day.
I’d love to hear your bucket lists!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Supermarkets a "World" Tour

Supermarkets of the World!

This month Anthony takes us global grocery shopping, to sample some of the differences and tastes of supermarkets around the world.

Ok, so “of the world” might be a bit of an exaggeration, rather these are some of my lazy observations from previous international travel. My most recent trip was to the United Kingdom so those supermarkets are most fresh in the memory. But Europe and the Americas also feature.

Brand Choice

Being used to the effective duopoly in supermarkets in Australia, I have noted a wider variety of choice in supermarket brands in Europe and the Americas. For instance, in the UK, the dominant four are Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrison, however there are a range of other brands competing for market position, such as Aldi, Booths, Iceland, Farmfoods, Waitrose and Lidl. Some of these players have adopted a particular market niche, such as Booths positioning itself in the North West of England. Its store signage promotes this regional point of difference and its sourcing of local produce. I have been reliably informed by the locals that Booths used to be a small, down-market store, far inferior to the likes of Tesco. But it has repositioned itself as an up-market store with high quality fresh produce.

Iceland and Farmfoods have also positioned themselves in a particular sector, namely frozen goods. Neither of these would be described as full-line supermarkets, rather they are more comparable to a small Aldi size. The Iceland I visited had five aisles, four of which were banks of freezers offering a full range of frozen goods such as vegetables, desserts, pre-prepared meals, pizzas, chips, etc. The remaining aisle, incidentally the busiest when I visited, had a limited range of dry groceries, crisps and confectionery.

Size

The thing that most people associate with shopping in the United States is “big”. I certainly observed the bigness of supermarkets in terms of building size, car parking and product size. But what I recall most about supermarkets in South America (namely Chile, Peru and Argentina) is “small”. Small store sizes, small aisle-ways, small product sizes. I observed this in major cities like Lima and Santiago and also in the regional towns. However, this may be a skewed observation as I did not have a car to explore the cities’ suburbs.

Deli

Oh, the delis, oh my! We have a pretty good range of deli produce in our supermarkets in Australia, but the French and Italian delis (I know I am shamelessly place name dropping here) in supermarkets are a step up again. The cheeses, cured meats and prepared meals were in abundance. The seafood range was good, though obviously different to what we are used to. The prepared meals were my favourite. Even in small towns, the supermarket delis contained a wide variety of prepared meals, and several times while visiting our dinner ritual consisted of rolling up to a supermarket, salivating over the deli, randomly selecting a meal, then reheating and eating. Bourguignon! Bouillabaisse! Blanquette! Bon appétit!

Extras

Given the level of competition, it is unsurprising that supermarkets have been trying to differentiate themselves with extra facilities and services. In the UK, store types such as Tesco Extra or Sainsbury’s Superstore offer a broader array of products than a typical supermarket. But a range of non-core services were also evident in a more typical supermarket. Extra services such as cafes, travel agents, currency exchange, pharmacy, optician, banking and insurance were evident and on-line grocery ordering and delivery appeared to be more established and widespread than in Australia. Cafes in supermarkets appear to be standard in the UK and popular as an easy and cheap meal alternative. The larger format stores also have a wide variety of products we might not typically consider as supermarket lines, such as electronics, white goods, clothing and alcohol.

And one final note on grocery shopping in the UK, I have been told for years by ex-pats that Cadbury UK chocolate tastes different to and better than Australian Cadbury, and I have to agree. But Galaxy beats them both hands down. I pledge to diligently continue this research and keep you informed.