Fly, Fly Away

Less than two months left until we fly to Tanzania! I'm both excited and nervous and starting to obsess! I can't believe it's so close, having planned this vacation for a year now. For so long it felt so far away. But now it's just around the corner. I've been hiking and doing yoga and TRX and even a little swimming! Hopefully it will be enough to get me to the summit of Africa's tallest mountain!

We managed to get a really good deal on our airfare. A friend from my TRX class mentioned she flies home to Nairobi often and usually pays around $1100 for the flight. I'd been seeing prices around $2200 directly to Kilimanjaro, which seemed outrageous! When I checked the flights to Nairobi, sure enough, they were $1000 cheaper! It's only one country away, why was the price so different?? But then I couldn't find a flight from Nairobi to TZ that worked without having to stay the night in Kenya. This wasn't really a good idea since there would then be complications to get into Tanzania.

After months of looking, hoping prices would drop or times would line up better, it finally dawned on me to check out flying into Dar Es Salaam, the capital city. Jackpot! $1285 on Emirates to Dar Es Salaam! And the flight to Kilimanjaro from Dar Es Salaam was only another $50! I couldn't believe our good fortune. I called Amy and, in a jumble of words, told her about the flights and booked them then and there.

We were also able to finally find a flight from Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar that didn't break the bank, left late enough in the day for us to finish our safari, and didn't have us overnight somewhere else. It's a direct flight and only cost $176. Compared to the $300+ flights I'd been seeing, this was a great deal! In the end, for all flights we spent $1632.40, which is so much better than I ever expected. It really pays off to be vigilant about tracking fares and looking at different cities/times.

Breakout of all flight costs:
Seattle > Dar Es Salaam - $1285
Dar Es Salaam > Kilimanjaro - $48
Kilimanjaro > Zanzibar - $176.64
Zanzibar > Dar Es Salaam - $98.76
Total - $1632.40

Climbing Bridges Down Under

I'm home and finally caught up on both work and sleep. The last week in Sydney was packed! Tuesday night we had dinner with the entire Australian Finance and HR teams which ended up being a late night of eating and drinking. We went to a place called China Doll, a modern Asian food restaurant on a beautiful pier where Russell Crowe lives. It was really good and the wine was free flowing. Every time they came around, they'd ask Tara if she wanted more, but would just pour my glass full. They decided I had that look, apparently. And apparently I didn't mind.

Wednesday night was a big night for our team. After much debating and deliberation, all three of us decided to do the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb. I was on the fence because of the cost, Tara because of the height, and Mary (my boss) had already done it on a previous trip. But once Mary decided she would do it again, I was fully on board. Tara took a bit of coaxing, but finally agreed. It was so worth it! You spend about an hour getting prepped and taught how to climb the ladders, and then you're off onto the bridge, walking out over the water with amazing views of the entire city. Unfortunately you aren't allowed to bring your own camera, but they take a lot of pictures for you. We did the twilight climb, so had amazing views of the sunset along the way. They also tell you some fun stories about the building of the bridge and the founding of the city, and how the bridge really prevented the city from collapsing completely during the Great Depression. It was so much fun and so beautiful. I highly recommend it to anyone who visits Sydney.

 
Thursday night we had our Internal Audit team dinner at Waterfront in the Rocks, overlooking the Opera House. It was so beautiful, and such a nice way to end our trip. After dinner, I rushed over to Oxford St to meet up with Aarron one last time, and even see her brother who had just got in to town that day! We stayed until close at Casoni's, drinking and saying our last goodbyes. It was so much fun hanging out with her. Friday morning I finished the last of my packing and headed to the airport to come home. I would have loved to stay longer, but I missed my puppies and it was time to come home. I'm definitely hoping to go back! There's so much more to see and do!

Bondi Beach

The beach walk

Sydney Harbor Bridge (I stood at the top!)

The Sydney Opera House

Sydney!

Manly Beach

The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains

Terrace View from the Hydro Majestic

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.

Do You Come From The Land Down Under

I don't often travel for work. I've been to Chicago twice for training and that's it. Those trips were both great and I enjoyed them, but I just found out today that I'll be heading to Australia at the end of next month to help with an audit for two weeks!! I'm kind of freaking out! I've never been down under before, but I have a friend who lives there and I've always wanted to visit her! Yet for some reason, it's never been high on my list of "Places I Must See NOW!" (it's on it, there's just a lot of other countries ahead of it). I think as much as I want to go, it's so far and I always seem to gravitate towards cheap, third world countries. But now I finally can make it happen!

I'll have two weekends there that I don't have to work, so I'm hoping to get a bunch of site seeing in. I've already found a free walking tour of Sydney and messaged my friend to see if she's free to play tour guide for a day or two. Still trying to figure out if there's a way I can dive the Barrier Reef one day, too! But I suppose this is more unlikely.

I really can't believe I actually get to go, and in just a few weeks, too! Just trying to keep calm, but I probably won't be able to sleep tonight! I'll be sure to write about my experiences and post pictures while I'm there!

Heartbreak Hotel

It's taken a few days to process, but I think I can finally talk about it without crying. That Super Bowl. What a way to go. I don't want to get into all the shoulda, coulda, woulda. I just want to talk about how great the experience was otherwise. I mean, I went to the freaking Super Bowl!! It was a major bucket list item and I can't believe I actually got to go! The whole weekend was like being a celebrity! Our house had 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, a pool and a hot tub. Swank-EE! Then, THEN! We were able to get club level seats for FACE VALUE!! Seriously, tickets were going for upwards of $10k! I couldn't believe it when my dad told me we had real tickets and didn't have to pay that much for them. Well, they were still unbelievably expensive, but not that expensive.

We got down to the stadium about 4 hours early to enjoy the whole experience. There was live music, opportunities to throw the football around, gear to buy. It was very festive. My brother and I walked around the entire stadium, saw all the different analysts giving their pre-game predictions, and bought some Super Bowl gear. When we got to our seats, they were amazing! More leg room than my 6'4" brother and dad needed, with great views of the field! And to perpetuate the celebrity theme, we were two sections over from Chris Pratt and Anna Faris! 

The game itself was 59 minutes of pure excitement and 1 minute of the world ending. Even when the Seahawks were down earlier, the game was absolutely thrilling. We were yelling and screaming our heads off and just having a wonderful time! And there were easily three Seahawks fans for every Patriots fan. It was undeniably one of the most amazing things I've gotten to be a part of.

On Monday, my brother went home early, my dad and his friend went golfing and my mom and I drove out to the Superstition Mountains. It was really beautiful and the saguaro cacti that dot the landscape are so cool! It was a good distraction, no sports involved at all! I flew home that night with a 5 hour layover in Denver. Slept on the floor to pass the time with about 15 other Seahawks fans heading home as well. We were a sober group, especially in the middle of the night!

 

Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz

Obligatory Left Shark photo

Now that I've had a few days separation, I can appreciate what a great experience it was. So few people ever get to do something like this and I feel so lucky that I got to be a part of it. And even though we lost in such a heartbreaking fashion, I love my team and I love how much the city gets behind them, how it brings us together. In the end, Pete Carroll knows more about football than I do, and while I don't understand the call, I have to believe there was a reason for it. I think we're just at the start of several years of great runs for us, and I really look forward to the next season. And I hear the Mariners and Sounders should be pretty good this year, too!

(Apologies for the weird photo setup. Blogger doesn't let you arrange them very well!)

Off To Arizona and Super Bowl 49!

It's happening! I'm going to Arizona for the Super Bowl! I'm so excited and SO NERVOUS! My beloved Seahawks are back in SB49 and I'm determined to go this time! My dad and brother went last year, this year the whole family is making the trip! But we don't have tickets to the actual game yet. My parents fly down today so hopefully they'll have some time to figure something out!

Buying my airline ticket was a lesson in both being patient and not dawdling. I had the perfect, direct round trip flight from Seattle in my cart and was in the process of checking out. But I wanted to see if there was a way to use my my air miles and save some money. Unfortunately, that 15 minute delay caused me to lose the flight I was in the middle of purchasing. So frustrating! I decided to give it time, check prices every day until I found one that worked. I was pretty much out of luck on direct flights, but hopefully I could find something that didn't take all day.

Finally, a week later, I found a flight that was in my budget, but had a long travel time home through Denver. 5 and a half hour layover! Oh well, I'll bring stuff to entertain myself. It's worth it to go and for a price that's not unreasonable. And even if we don't get tickets to the game, we will have a great time just being in that environment with everyone else! Now if only they can pull off the repeat!

As Russell Wilson always says, "Go Hawks!"