I'm on day 6 (technically) of my trip, and I'm beginning to calm down from the absolute wonder and awe of just being here. I'm feeling much better physically, and I've been starting to get out and about, exploring the city. This is a marvelous place for exploration, I've found. There's so much to take in and see!
Some brief observations that I've experienced:
- The place is gorgeous - lots to see and do, and everything that you could possibly want or need is contained just in the CBD - never mind the rest of the city! I went on a short tour of the music/book/DVD stores here in the central district yesterday, and I was more than impressed. There's literally something here for everyone. I've actually so far only explored a tiny fraction of this place, and I'm already well satisfied with what I've found.
- The people here seem to fall into two categories - either they're beyond nice and can't do enough to see that you're happy and well satisfied... or they're rude as fuck and just have some nasty attitudes toward life in general. Example of this? I was at a small takeaway yesterday in a food court (I'll get to that) and there were a lot of people at the tables, we had to wait for a table. Well, a table finally emptied out, but this dumb bitch just.. left her trash on the table - the takeout bag, the half-empty soda can, all of it. I'm sorry, but to me, that's fucking rude. Especially when you know there's people waiting to sit down right where you were - how hard is it to walk all of 30 feet and throw your refuse away? I mean, really, that goes beyond rude. I wish I'd have said something, and I would have if she hadn't just disappeared that fast. Fucking rude, nasty bitch. If she does that shit out in public, I can't imagine what her house looks like.
Anyway. Where was I, lol.
- The food. I must say something about the food here in Sydney - it's much more healthy in my opinion than in America. I mean, you can get more or less the same shit here as there, but... there seems to be a lot more things infused with flavor, know what I mean? Everything in America seems so bland by comparison. Example: the same restaurant as referenced above, they have something called a Bondi Burger (for those of you who want to know, it's Oporto's and it's fucking awesome) - it's a grilled chicken filet, lettuce, a little mayo, cheese and chili sauce. Now... this chili sauce nearly blew me away - seriously. It was hot, spicy, flavorful, and absolutely fucking wonderful. In America, you're not even going to get this. Our idea of 'flavorful' is minced onion, heh. And unbelievably, Oporto's here is considered 'fast food'! Jesus. If the people in Sydney got a hold of what we considered 'fast food', they'd quite rightly laugh at us....
Things are very, very, very expensive here. A 24 ounce bottle of diet Coke here can range anywhere from 2 to 4 Australian dollars - which is STILL a huge markup from American prices. It really depends on what you buy here, I think. My last grocery bill was all of 10 dollars AUD. Produce and vegetables are very expensive. Meat is cheap, especially steak and lamb. Chicken is expensive. Bread, it depends. Dairy is very expensive - you'll pay dearly for yogurt and milk. And things are labeled here quite differently from things in America. Ketchup here isn't "ketchup" - it's "tomato sauce". Diapers aren't called diapers, they're "nappies". And you'll have to really study the labels on the shelves to know what you're buying!
- Television here is quite interesting. They seem to love recycled American shows, oddly - but there are also some very great choices here for individualized, culturally significant programming. The SBS network here seems to be the best option for people such as myself. I will say that I've watched more television here in the nearly 6 days I've been here than I have in the last three years, hah.
- Women do not seem to wear anything approaching tennis shoes here. I've seen all of two women wearing sneakers - one of them being myself. It seems mainly to be very high heeled boots or dress shoes, nothing else. Actually, the men don't seem to either for all of that - they seem to like loafers or dress shoes. This city, from what I've noticed, seems to be very fashion-conscious, although that could just be because I'm in the downtown district and therefore I'd be exposed to it. I'm sure I stick out like a sore thumb here.
- People drive to the left here, which I had expected to see, but at the same time it's a bit of a shock to actually watch put into practice. It's strange, but I'm actually used to it now and I even can see some of the benefits of it. Every street has "Look Left/Right" painted on the corners to assist us ignorant Americans so that we don't get gobsmacked by a Holden running down the road. :D Also, it's strange, but the pedestrians here seem to do the same thing - you stick to "your side" of the sidewalk, and they do not take it kindly if you just walk "all over the place".
- I've seen all of 3 black (African-descent) people since arriving in Sydney. I've been assured that they do live here, but you would not know it by looking in the streets. There are, however, a LOT of Asian people here. Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean - you name the Asian country, they're here. The cuisine also reflects that - I've never seen so many restaurants in my life with Oriental food. I'm in heaven :D I keep forgetting that I'm technically in the Asia-Pacific Rim, really, and when I do remember, it hits me as to just how far away I really am!
- The weather is mercurial, to say the least, at least at this time of year. It was raining pretty heavily for the first few days I was here, it's started to even out about now. I can definitely see it being VERY hot here in the summertime, as I haven't needed anything more than a hoodie to keep myself warm (it's wintertime here right now, unbelievably). There have been some points where I've had to leave the balcony door open because it's been too hot in here!
I haven't seen much of the 'touristy' type places as most would, but then this isn't my style anyway, as most whom know me are aware. I've been to the Sydney Aquarium (I highly recommend it, by the way), and I'm going to the Taronga Zoo sometime this week. Also, I'll be attending the Tricky concert on the 30th here, as well as a fabulous jazz show at the Basement the night before. I'm so looking forward to it!
Today I'm probably going to do a bit of cleaning up, as I need to do laundry and tidy up in here. It hasn't even been a week here yet! This vacation is going a little slower than I expected, but I'm glad of that. I'm really enjoying myself.
For those of you who have access to my Facebook profile (and most of you do), I've posted some of the pictures into a new album there temporarily. I know that some of them need cleaning up and I will do just that when I get home, as I don't have a photo manip program with me here. But do enjoy them. I wish that I had the ability to be more descriptive, but truly, Sydney's one of these places that you just have to see for yourself. :D
I'm having so much fun. I really am!
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