Second Impressions (Day 2)

So I had hand written my initial impression of Sydney upon arrival, but I forgot to take it with me to Elizabeth's* Internet Cafe (AKA Elizabeth's house). I will have to retro post "First Impressions". At any rate, I now can empathize Travis' need for a fix while we were in Europe as we passed each cyber cafe. Internet access out here is scarce! Even in the apartment/hotel lobby I had to pay $0.55 per minute for access. I later found the fancy McD's by work has a cyber cafe in the basement replete with gamers, but their rate was only $2.50 per hour. I had paid nearly four times that for a quarter of the amount of time.

I tried Vegemite this morning, the package label read "concentrated yeast extract." It tasted true to description but saltier than I expected. I imagined the sludgey stuff at the bottom of wine barrels as I ate it. I tried it with butter, it didn't help. I don't think I'll be trying it again.

A quick list of what I've seen thus far:
Chinatown
Hyde Park (One-man Thunder from Down Under show)
Darling Harbor
Queen Victoria Building
St. Mary's Cathedral
Sydney Tower
University of Sydney
The Rocks
Sydney Opera House
Sydney Harbor Bridge

The last three is within 3 blocks of my temporary housing. I intend to explore it thoroughly this weekend and take lots of pictures. I think I'm adjusting to the new time zone rather well. Although it is 6pm, and I already feel a bit tired... probably from all the walking.

One thing I already miss...coffee. They do not sell traditional drip coffee at cafes or anywhere. They only use espresso grounds and serve it highly concentrated. Alternatives are cappucino, latte, or an in between they call "flat white" which is like a cappucino latte. I don't know why I have such a problem with the style of coffee here because I do like my coffee strong, but I suppose it is too strong. I will have to brew my own soon.

*Elizabeth is someone my friend Ty put me in touch with in Australia. I am so glad I know someone here. Elizabeth is responsible for the whirlwind tour I have had in the past two days. Without her I'd probably be hating it here.