Rain, rain, go away! It has been raining pretty well every day since I arrived in Sydney. It is putting a real damper (pun intended) on my sightseeing.

Going stir-crazy from sitting in with all the rain, I was looking for something to do. Paul (from the Pythian Group Australia office) suggested either shopping in Chatswood or going to Crows Nest. It cleared up a little and I managed to walk to Crows Nest from where I am staying. I wasn’t sure I would recognize it, but when I saw the Crows Nest Hotel right on the corner of Pacific Highway, I knew I was in the right place.

Crows Nest is a lovely area of town with lots and lots of shops and restaurants. They have a natural food store that serves organic coffee. Have I mentioned how big coffee is in Australia? You have to go to McDonald’s to get regular drip coffee like I am used to from Tim Horton’s. I have heard that Sydney has a very large Greek and Italian population and I suspect that contributes to the excellent coffee shops here. I am still learning how to order among terms such as “long”, “flat”, “short”, “cappuccino” (okay, that one I have seen before), and the list goes on.

A few other things I have noticed since arriving here:

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