It's really difficult to choose only one subject for today's post...people, places, or food so I guess I will touch on all 3. That 3 thing keeps coming up...

This week we're living in the heart of Chinatown so we're seeing a grand mixture of Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, Caucasian Australians and others I cannot determine are present in this great melting pot. It's a great eclectic mixture of sounds and style - most everyone is very casual and friendly. We have great hotel staff who have thus far made very favorable recommendations for "brekkie" and "dinnies". We were directed to Single Origin http://singleoriginroasters.com.au Wednesday morning. On our way, with map in hand and general directions from Alexandar at the hotel Meriton, we must have looked a bit lost as a total stranger stopped to guide us straight to the restaurant. Once I realized that she was very genuine and really there to assist and not pick our pockets we knew this is a different city. In addition to great coffee, the breakfast choices were very unusual but tasty. Bob chose a tried and true standby of a poached egg and bacon. The bacon was very meaty and thick. He, of course said: " this is possibly the best bacon I've ever had."  I had (which if you know me well will surprise you) a corn, greens and egg dish with a Miso sauce.  Though I'm not usually one to eat corn (except Carroll's popcorn) this was very tasty and seemed rather healthy. Billy, the host gave us a coffee lesson - if you order black, it's espresso - tasty not bitter, but quite strong. One cup is all I needed. And in this great big world, Billy shared that he had just returned from a trip with his girlfriend's family which included a drive from Sioux Falls, SD  to the Badlands. He seemed very well versed on U.S. geography. We also met Nena there, a 10 month old miniature grey hound who joined her parents for brekkie.  She was adorable and a bit skittery just like Skitter. 

 

It was turning out to be a very cool day so we headed back to the hotel to grab jackets and then onto Sydney Harbor via the city bus system. The bus system changed all its major routes on Sunday so many local people were confused by the buses. But, what makes Sydney one of the most livable cities in the world, they had planned ahead and staffed major stops with people wearing bright pink t-shirts who were there to guide passengers to the correct bus for their destination. Very helpful! 

 

Ah, Sydney Harbor...busy and much to soak in visually and sensually - the realization that we were standing in a place we had only seen in photos was quite overwhelming. The area is quite lovely with a spacious walkway, many restaurants and shops, live music, the Harbor Bridge and then you round the corner and there it is...the famous Sydney Opera house.  I'm not certain what material I thought made up the opera house, but was surprised to see that it's a concrete base with tiles, similar to what we would see in bathrooms and kitchens, imbedded in the concrete. Since the weather was quite cool and we happened to be walking in the doors of the Opera House close to show time we saw Cole Porter's "Anything Goes". We had great seats center upper main floor and the performers were spectacular. The lead female is a 3 time Helpmann Award winner (Australia's equivalent to the Tony Award). 

 

We headed back to the neighborhood for dinner at the Palace Hotel because they had an advertised steak special. After waiting for service for 15 minutes - it was a pub - we asked and were told that you have to place your own orders at the bar because it was a pub so we missed the "special". The service left a bit to be desired but the food was great. We considered it all part of our overall experience.  Billy (Single Origin Coffee) had given us a lesson in tipping - it's not expected because wait staff are fairly well compensated starting at about $17.00 per hour. They also receive 4 weeks of vacation  and health benefits. In Billy's case he went above and beyond because he truly enjoyed what he was doing - in the case of the pub wait staff, they must have felt adequately compensated and saw no need to go beyond the basics of taking your order and your money. So our take away: tipping can be an incentive as well as a disincentive!

 

My advise for travelers - don't under estimate jet lag...sleep is necessary to be ready for all the discoveries tomorrow will bring.  We love the Meriton location and accommodations. Very quiet and enough space to rest, relax, and plan the next adventure. It's only fitting today to close with advise from the travel author Bill Bryson: "To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” –