Dingo ate me Tuesday

This is where my blog returns to its first purpose - a travel journal. I write this from Sydney, Australia, where I am teaching classes, reading from The Inheritor, and meeting charming people who probably have no idea how much I am a sucker for their accents.

And, I am still on the hunt for good coffee. Nescafe is again, everywhere! It's like a worldwide conspiracy to deprive people of decent caffeine. Luckily, I am staying in Leichhardt, the Little Italy of Sydney. Espresso EVERYWHERE. Glee!

Of course, I must note that my hosts have graciously given me free rein with the use of their cute espresso maker, the French press and I remembered that Australia, with its connection with Great Britain, has excellent access to cheap, great tea.

I will survive, after all.

But somewhere between leaving NY at 8:30am on Monday, I arrived here at 8:30AM on Wednesday...and Tuesday is just gone. (Thus - no Glee. Heehee.) Of course, in all that time I managed to visit Toronto and Vancouver, watch two movies and episode of True Blood, two cooking shows and about an hour of the CBC, read two entire books, 4 newspapers, 3 magazines and an inflight catalog. I enjoyed the temporary hospitality of a premium lounge at the Toronto airport by purchasing a day pass and highly recommend this for extended layovers or those times when you get to the airport hours before you get to actually leave it.

Tomorrow my hosts and I will move from this comfy home into the Mercure hotel, home of The Gathering for this weekend. I've posted my schedule before, just scroll down if you really want to see it again.  This is where I am grateful that I flew in early and lost that Tuesday, because I have had the time to sleep and wake at the local time, walk around in the sunshine, and generally acclimate.

File under:
Things that remind me I am on another continent - trees and birds I have never seen before.
Things that are the same - pigeons and Subway.
Something I didn't think I wanted but now looks useful - a Kindle. Or, an iPad. But probably a Kindle.
Cheap souvenir of the day - Port Wine Jello