Hemispheric Atmospheric

Sydney looked exactly like it was supposed to. My plane from Seoul descended through a layer of clouds just as the sun was rising and my first view of this continent was the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House sitting on the water in all their iconic splendor. I said to myself "my God, there it is" and the words just popped out of my mouth without any premeditation. It's one of those views that elicit almost a reflexive response of awe.

My hotel, also, elicited a similar reflexive response. In that case, it was "my God, this is it? For eighty dollars a night?" I won't go into too much unpleasant detail, suffice it to say that it features a bunk bed and an Abbey Road poster covering some mysterious stains on the wall. It looks a lot like a dorm room, only not as clean. Sort of like you might picture the dorm at a college that granted degrees in, for example, crack dealing.

Still, after 22 hours on a plane, I was just happy to have access to a flat surface, and I fell quickly asleep. Only later did I wonder if I should have checked first for fleas. I am sure the fleas in Australia can spit paralytic venom over 30 feet. Everything in this country is deadly. Even the cats here are venomous.

After I woke up (thankfully, flea-free) I stumbled out onto the street and walked in ever-widening concentric circles until I located some coffee. I drank two cups of something they call a "tall black", which I later found out was straight espresso served in a cup the size of a washtub. So after that I was able to cross many, many items off my itinerary at high speed, although they were all slightly blurry because my eyes wouldn't stay still. But now, the caffeine has worn off and I'm ready for bed.