Sydney Debriefing

So, in 2 ½ days, it appears that we have managed to cover a lot of ground and in our estimation, we have walked 13 miles. In other words, if we walked this distance in NYC, we would have covered over half of its square mileage (23 sq. miles). However, walking 13 miles in Sydney means covering less than 2% of Sydney’s 678 square miles. Though it doesn’t seem like we’ve covered much now that we think of it, we have managed to walk around the Sydney Opera House, boat out to and walk the cliffs of Watson’s bay , stroll down Oxford Street (Sydney’s answer to NYC’s West 3rd St. – more adult shops than I can count on both hands), scaled the Harbour Bridge , recoiled watching eels swim in the ponds in the Royal Botanic Gardens, dine on the water in Darling Harbor, salivate watching the surfers in Bondi Beach
, and pub crawl throughout the Rocks. Sydney has something for everyone and has been well worth the jet lag and shin splints.

Beyond giving us a lot to satiate our thirst for travel, it has also given us the following observations:
1) They need to stop saying sorry, especially because I’ve yet to find something that they should be sorry about. They are not sorry for any shortcomings of their own, they are sorry because I mumble, because we can’t make up our minds at restaurants, and because we hop into cabs without knowing where we want to go. The fact that they feel sorry for everything, however, explains why....
2) Imperfection is embraced. Though we have been going crazy with trying to see every square inch of this city, we've also taken some time to relax in our hotel room and watch some TV. One show that happens to be on repeat is "X-factor", Australia's answer to the US's "American Idol". Whereas the US version highlights singers as polished as the platinum artists that rake in millions each year, the contestants on the Australian version are about as polished as a pop warner football team in its first game of the season (I had to revert back to sports because I didn't have a "polished" analogy for singing because I'm a terrible singer). These contestants will forgot the lines to a worldwide hit 5 times during one audition and still move on to the 2nd round. Watching "X-factor" has been highly entertaining because they are such train wrecks, but it can also be highly endearing because it's easier to relate to these imperfect contestants. A great TV show overall, although probably not the best TV show they have because they have a show called....
3) "The Farmer wants a wife". This show looks to be Australia's answer to the US's "Bachelor"/"Bachelorette" series. Like "X-factor" this shows highlights people that we can relate with -- regular ole Farmer Joe's -- rather than narcissistic, semi-beautiful people obsessed with the spotlight. If only I had enough time to watch...
4) They make really good beer here. I'm going to write a post on this on www.halffullbrewery.com, but just to give you a quick rundown, they make many of the same styles we enjoy in the states, only their beers are made my ex-convicts such as James Squire, can be served in various sizes such as a midi, a schooner, a half-pint, and a pint, and can be found mostly in hotels because of old liquor laws that required any establishment that served beer to also provide accommodation (which I assume was to prevent drunks from roaming the streets). Thus, we've had a great time expanding our palates with beers we have never had at establishments of and with great character(s) such as the Hero of Waterloo Hotel and the Lord Nelson Brewery .
5) A correction to our last post -- we have not yet seen Wombats. What we saw in the Royal Botanical Gardens was actually a fruit bat known as grey-headed flying fox. Every Australian in Sydney is sorry for our mistake.

That's all for now, onward to Coogee Beach, Lindsay's former home!