Sydney Recap

Photo Courtesy: The Internet

Whenever Lia's cousin Tammi gets to the end of a week at the Minnesota cabin she always needs a few minutes at the campfire for vacation recap. I do too. Except I'm not making a fire. And we didn't go to Minnesota.

Lia and I flew out to Sydney, Australia to meet Tara and Justin who got there the day before. We flew from here the 26th. Which means we didn't even experience the 27th. It's a day that just didn't happen for us. That day probably would have sucked anyway.

Qantas, by the way, needs to take over all Western domestic air travel in the US. Our trip to Denmark proved that SAS can have the East coast. The two of them can fight over the middle, and I'll gladly take a layover to switch between them in Kansas City on transcontinental flights if it means no more United or USAir.

Anyways, our flight over was 15 hours but it's no problem when the service, food, and entertainment options are all awesome. The seats weren't any bigger, but they leaned back a little more than usual. And the flight attendants weren't bitchy. That's a plus.

We landed on the 28th at 8am all fresh as daisies, to the train to our hotel, dropped off the luggage, and started taking the first of many steps of walking for that week.

Dec 28: Land, walk around downtown and Harbor, meet T & J at the Irish pub, L & T see Picasso, J & R walk Darling harbor, double up on dinner with sushi and Home Thai.

Dec 29: Boat cruise across Harbor to Taronga Zoo, beers at Bar 100 and a grill your own steak dinner at Phillips Foote in the Rocks.


Dec 30: Wine tour in Hunter Valley with Boris the Optimist. Sushi in The Rocks.

Dec 31: Tara to the Blue Mtns, J & R to Maritime museum, J, R & L to Paddy's market, fish market, New Year's Eve at Bar 100 (BOOM!)

Jan 1: Terrigol Beach thanks to Sam Powess, Korean BBQ, Roark illicitly acquires lamp post souvenir from city workers, is sworn to secrecy.

Jan 2: J & T fly out, L & R meet Craig Coverdale for a tour of Balgowlah Heights, Manly Beach, and dinner at Craig's house.

Jan 3: Bondi Beach, a billion prawns, and again with the Home Thai (yum).

Jan 4: Fly out, photo op with Moby. Icing on the cake.  Totally made up for losing my cologne at security.

France gave us the Statue of Liberty.  Australia got one of these.

Lia pets the Wallaby (in the parlance of our times)

Pictures like this abound on the internet but the temptation to take one yourself is irresistible since it's such a weird sight.

These things are huge.  This is folded to about half its actual length.  

View of the Sydney Harbor/Spit area from Bagowlah Heights.  New Zealand is straight out there somewhere.

ELLLL CAMINOOOO! Australians love them - as long as they're repackaged as the slightly less redneck Holden Ute Series II.  Also note the delicious and  ubiquitous Pie Face restaurant in the back left. MMMMMmmm Piiiie Faaaace.

Wait, is that Moby? Let me check a picture on the internet...yep, that's Moby.  

All of the pictures here have a larger version at the Google+ album. Plus there are others.

It was a little touch and go at every step along the way through the airports coming back.  First there was the  questionable contents of my baggage, then there was the huge pile-up after customs in LAX, barely missing the sniffer dog, then there was the rest of the crap at LAX, then the Brasilia we flew to YUM sounded like it might vibrate its way out of its useful service life mid-flight.  But we were glad to make it home.

The most important thing to say is that this trip would not have been possible in the slightest without my awesome family in Yuma: Mom, Laura, Ernesto, Alyosha, Tito, Noah, and Eden, you guys are all awesome for taking Reia for the week.  Some people gave us crap for not going for more than a week, if we were going to Australia at all.  But to simply say we were grateful for the time we had would be an understatement.  Neither of us can even imagine being able to squeeze any more time out of what we got, since we figured a week away from Mom and Dad is probably an eternity for a two year old. Plus we kind of missed her, even with the web cams (I know, we're single child parents and need to let go a little, but still).

THANK YOU. WE LOVE YOU.