Unless you've done some traveling outside the U.S., you're not accustomed to finding a myriad of savory pies on every street corner. In Australia (as elsewhere), "pies" are not very sweet, they're usually filled with meat and gravy, and often enjoyed on the run, at sporting events, with a cold beer, for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. My mom adores savory pies, so of course we had them for lunch on our first day in Australia. These pies are piping hot, salty on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Sydney is great, but the airport was a nightmare. It's unorganized and their signage is terrible. Still, we somehow made our way to baggage claim and located a shuttle service to take us to the hotel. Sydney's just like any other busy, busting major city. Honestly, it could probably pass for being almost anywhere in the world, until someone opens his or her mouth. I'm trying to learn the Aussie accent but I'm not really succeeding.
So far, I have seen Darling Harbor, the Sydney Opera House, enjoyed a nice harbor cruise, and taken in the sights and sounds. Everything is expensive here (plus, the Aussie $ is about equal to the U.S. $ right now), but the shopping is plentiful. The weather has been mostly sunny and not that cold, even though it is the middle of winter here. I think getting used to the colder temps has actually been a lot easier than adjusting to the shorter days... it starts getting dark at 4pm! Now that's enough to make a person want to eat more pie. Cheers!
