Sydney

So, to continue. We arrived at the Sydney airport at around 6 AM. First thing noticed off the plane was that the place was very cold. I have always thought of Australia as a warm place, but I guess we are here during their "worst Winter in a long time," which isn't saying too much. It gets to be between 60 and 70 F, but during the morning it can be a bit chilly. The main problem though is that they don't seem to heat their buildings, including the airport and the hostel we stayed in. Restaurants are almost always open, with no doors and no inside heating, and plenty of outdoor seating. First thing I did after freezing all morning of the 9th was to head to Sydney's Chinatown in search of a coat. Unable to find any store in Chinatown that sold clothing for men, I bought a touristy coat at a shop where a taped voice on a loudspeaker announced exciting deals over and over. Also, there's no central heating in the hostel so after the first night of trying to make due with the flimsy wool blanket they gave me, I started using my sleeping bag which I fortunately brought along.

The city is gorgeous, with all of the major sights in walkable distance from the hostel.


The fountain in Hyde Park. Stone turtles spit water, Brenda on bottom right. Hyde Park is basically the center of the downtown area, and we ended up walking through it every night on our way back to the hostel.


A restaurant menu sign in Sydney's Chinatown. "Pig's Trotters & Jelly Fish," "Cuttle Fish & Jelly Fish," "Chicken Feet In Black Bean Sauce" and other delicious treats.



The entrance to Sydney's Chinatown. Things were a lot more expensive in Sydney's Chinatown compared to L.A.'s Chinatown. Seems like the Aussie Chinese have sold out! I really like visiting Chinatown's though, so I'll probably check out others in major cities we visit.


We stopped in a McDonald's (before we were brave enough to start eating unfamiliar food) and found a strange item on the menu, the McOz. Oz is the name of either Sydney or this area of the country. Anyway, I ordered it and it turned out to be a quarter pounder w/ cheese + a long slice of beet. It was weird.


Since the McDonald's was "open" like most places in Sydney, birds kept flying in and hopping around the place, trying to eat food people had dropped. Until the workers would get up and chase them away.

Another thing: having been addicted to caffeine before I came here, I was saddened when the oriental lady behind the counter said "re fill?" after I asked for one. Apparently they don't know what those are here! Plus, when you order a coke it is almost always bottled and between $3-$4 (about $2.50-$3 american). The food we have had at Australian restaurants has been very good, however, and reasonably priced. Plus, one of the desserts we had recently was amazing. It was called "Rocky Road," and was some squishy pink marshmallow thing wrapped in dark chocolate. Hard to describe, but much better than it sounds.