Beaches And Mountains And All Things Touristy

Another weekend in Sydney is in the books. And sadly, it's my last weekend. I leave on Friday, but not before a long (and by long, I mean short) week of work, and a bunch of fun activities planned for the evenings. But I'll update you on those after they happen. This weekend I got one of the worst sunburns I can remember having. I know the hole in the O Zone down here makes the sun so much more intense, but I didn't think I was out that long! I'm still in pain on my shoulders, which is conveniently the spot I carry all my bags. I really hope it's better by tomorrow.

Friday night after work, I met up with Aarron to do a bit of shopping. I got a few souvenirs for friends and myself, then we walked through Chinatown and had dinner at The Old Town Hong Kong which was quite good! I even tried duck for the first time! It was tasty, though the skin could have been crisper. We also had salt and pepper shrimp, fried noodles, seafood spring rolls and roast pork belly. A veritable feast! After dinner, we went to a sort of speakeasy for drinks and to watch the North Sydney kids train wreck themselves nearly out of the bar. It was really entertaining, but Aarron had to be up early to go to work in the morning, so we didn't stay long.

Saturday morning dawned cold and sunny. The perfect day for site seeing. My coworker Tara and I walked down to Circular Quay to catch the ferry to Manly Beach. We were starving when we got there, and since we didn't really know where we were going or where all the shops were, we got stuck eating McDonalds for breakfast. But once we found our way, the day got so much better! We walked along the street leading to the beach, got some coffee and juice, checked out the little market, and finally ended up walking on the beach. It was SO NICE! It wasn't too hot, the breeze was blowing, and the water was refreshing. We sat on the beach for about an hour, then Tara decided she wanted to do more site seeing in the city and headed back. I stayed another 45 minutes or so to finish my book, then meandered back to the ferry myself, stopping to buy a few more souvenirs on the way. On the ferry, I got a spot up front outside with amazing views of the harbor, bridge and Opera House. Finally I got the pictures I've been wanting to take! But they came at a price. By the time I made it back to my hotel, my shoulders were so hot and painful, I knew it was a bad burn. Instead of walking around more, I decided to relax, do some more reading, and rest up for the next day. But first, Aarron had to take me to Mary's Burgers for dinner, Sydney's equivalent to Dick's in Seattle. It was delish.

Tara, Aarron and I woke up really early Sunday morning to catch the train out to the Blue Mountains. Aarron had planned a great day for us, seeing the Three Sisters, riding cable cars, and having high tea at the Hydro Majestic hotel. When we arrived in Katoomba, we let the backpackers get on the first tour bus while we got coffee. Then we caught the next bus out to Scenic World, where we rode the Skyway across a ravine that had a see-through floor, took the cablecar down to the floor, walked around the temperate rain forest, then rode the steepest incline railway in the world back up. It was like a roller coaster at Disneyland, except real!! I took a million pictures of the Three Sisters, and at least one of every tree and plant we passed. It was great. We had to hurry back to the bus to finish the trip around the park to get back to the train for high tea in Medlow Bath. The views from the hotel were amazing overlooking the Megalong valley. And while we were waiting, Bob Geldof decided to wander around the restaurant. As Aarron and I were trying to decide if it was him or not, his handler informed us that it was Sir Bob Geldof. Right. He was a bit spacey, but it was entertaining. The tea and sandwiches were good, but the champagne! Pol Roger! That's seriously my kind of tea.

I can't believe how fast this trip has gone. I have 3 more days of working, and one more tourist activity left. Sydney is such a cool city, and a very easy city to be in. It would be an fun place to live, with its cultural diversity, endless beaches and laid back attitude. Too bad it's such a long trip from Seattle. I would come here all the time! Anyway, I'm sure I'll have one more post to end this Australia trilogy because I have to tell you about the last, possibly coolest thing we have left to do! And I have to post pictures, too!

I Think I Need A Vegemite Sandwich

Don't worry, this isn't a post about Vegemite. I've only even seen one commercial for it! Sydney has to be the most American foreign city I've ever been to. It's like a cross between Seattle and San Diego, with a bunch of London culture thrown in to keep it interesting. I've only been here a few days but it feels like years. It's a very different and fun experience.

My flight down here was probably one of the worst I've ever had. I knew I had over packed a bit, not knowing exactly how to pack for a 2 week work trip abroad, but figured I'd pay the $25 or $50 excess baggage fee and be good. Except it was $200! I didn't know whether to laugh in their faces or burst into tears! I was floored. Does anyone actually pay that much? I managed to pull out enough stuff to get it below the limit, but I was really annoyed. Once I got on the flight from SFO to SYD, we were told that beer and wine were only available for purchase. As surprised as I was about that, I guess it's on par with a $200 excess baggage fee, but wow. That puts a crimp in my normal "knock myself out on the plane" plan. They also ran out of options for food so just threw what was left at those of us at the back of the plane. About 6 hours into the flight, I got up to get some more water. I had been mostly sleeping (with my mouth open) and was very parched. When I got to the flight attendant, she yelled, yelled at me to return to my seat as the fasten seat belt sign was on. I couldn't believe the rudeness! I felt like I was a prisoner to my seat. I'm never flying United again.

After 15 hours of flying, longer than it takes to get to space, I landed in Sydney at 730am Saturday morning and headed straight to my friend Aarron's salon to drop my bag off. I've known her all my life, her mom and my mom went to beauty school together, but she moved to Australia when I was 4 so I've only seen her when she's come to Seattle to visit her family. She recommended a quick bite for breakfast at Kawa across the street, then I headed into the city to do some site seeing. I walked from her salon in Surrey Hills down Pitt St (the 7th most expensive street in the world) to the waterfront where I hopped on the double decker tourist bus. It was nice to sit down and relax for awhile, listening to all the interesting history of the city. I got off in The Rocks, walked through the markets and then back through the city to meet up with Aarron at her salon from which we went and had an amazing sushi dinner before passing out. It was a long day after a lot of flying.

Sunday we took the bus over to Bondi Beach and ate breakfast at a crowded little beach side cafe. I had eggs benedict which was delicious, both different and the same as home. We then walked the Bondi to Bronte Beach walk along the shoreline, stopping to take as many pictures as possible. The scenery is so ruggedly beautiful, with rocks carved by the ocean and the flowers in full bloom. At Bronte Beach, we hopped back on the bus to catch the train to see an NRL rugby match. We went out to Olympic Park Stadium to watch the South Sydney Rabbitohs aka the Russell Crowes (because they're owned by Russell Crowe) take on the West Sydney Tigers. I had been promised a lot of redneck entertainment, but it turned out to be far more family friendly than expected. I still got to see some rednecks (bogans in Australian) though, and it was still fun! I ate a very Australian dinner of beef pie and chips and had no clue what was happening for most of the game. I would definitely do it all again! And the Rabbitohs won so woohoo for that!

Monday morning, I packed all my crap up and hauled it down the street to eat breakfast at the Paramount Cafe Project, aka the Portlandia Cafe with Aarron before she went to work. It was so hipster I could have sworn I was in the Pacific North West! Just like home. I was highly amused by all the hipsters with their greasy hair, vintage cameras and tight jeans, sampling the coffees like they were fine wine. After breakfast, I jumped in a cab and checked into my hotel to relax and check email for awhile before meeting the work team for afternoon tea. How English! Aarron told me about a place for dinner that served a steak and chips special on Monday nights for $10AUD, so I walked over to King's Cross after tea and met up with her. It was really good!

Tuesday and Wednesday I've been in the office working, meeting the Australia team and learning about the job I'm supposed to be doing. It's pretty surreal. Figuring out how to order a coffee has been the most difficult thing I've had to learn (I'll take a flat white with sugar please), outside of the actual work I'm performing. I've also noticed most places close down really early here, between 5 and 7pm every night! How am I supposed to get any shopping done?! It also makes finding dinner a bit tricky when we don't get back to the hotel until 6 or so. But we've managed so far and I think things stay open late on Thursdays, so I'll hopefully have time to shop then. We have two more days of working, then some fun activities planned for the weekend. I'll try to write another update next week, since work isn't really worth relating.