This entry we can make quick. Australia is so much like the United States that there just isn’t much to say about it.
Sure, everyone is nice. Of course, Sydney is pleasant. Yep, it is summer and sunny. Okay, white tennis shoes are back in style. Yup, food is foo-foo pacific rim with arugula in a wine bar bistro setting. Overall, an good version of utopia.
And that’s Australia.
We had serious jet lag in Sydney (9 hours again). So we didn’t do much but wander the city, eat some fantastic dim sum from Marigold’s (120 different dim sum dishes), drink some good ale from Lord Nelson Brewery, catch a Space Station 3D movie at the IMAX, and watch tons of families happily wandering the quays.
We headed over to Perth and decided the 1 million person city was small, but the beaches were expansive yet slightly deserted. From our view, it looked there was a Japanese travel lull that struck Perth, similar to the one seen in Hawaii in the late 90s. Lots of closed and barred-up tourist cafes and shops. This caused us to look up the full population of Australia… 19 million people. Geesh, Cairo itself is bridging on 17 million. No wonder everything seems so mellow and slow down under.
From Perth, we headed to Melbourne. Found some great Greek food and oogled over the trams running everywhich way in town. We are just about restocked and ready to head up to Asia. As I look out the window from the Internet cafe, the weather is clearing and the sky is going blue again. And everyone is wandering around saying ‘no worries, mate’.
That’s Australia for you.
The only real flaw we’ve spotted, other than the horrid jeans fashion this summer, is that the grocery stores are missing an essential item that we did not realize was so specific to the US: smoked bacon. That Farmer John’s or Oscar Myers bacon is a true American specialty. Oh sure, we’ve been teased by menus stating that bacon exists, but it doesn’t. It is just some weird big slice of ham in disguise looking soggy on your plate. We wondered if it was just being cooked incorrectly… but alas, the stuff looks the same in the grocery stores.
Pitiful, mate.
