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.
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.
