Sunbird21

Sydney Day 4-March 9,2012 I woke up early to make my 7:40 pickup time for the Blue Mountain tour. It was supposed to be “partly cloudy” that day, so I chanced it and decided to wear shorts. I headed for McDonalds with about ½ hr to spare, to use the free Wi-Fi for a few. Unfortunately, it was also VERY slow.Finally, I gave up and was walking to my meet up point when I received a call. It was the tour company, asking where I was. It was 7:30-I still had 10 minutes. I told them that I was around the corner from the hotel where they were to pick me up, and the woman became frustrated. “We are here WAITING for you! Don’t you know where the Hilton is?” she demanded. I told her that ... read more

Some of today’s blog overlaps with yesterday’s,as I spent the first art of the day dealing with Bank of America,trying like hell to get my card to work. Again,not trying to solicit,but if you haven’t already, please visit Bewareboa.blogspot.com To read/pass along the story. I want as many people as possible to hold Bank of America accountable for abandoning their customers while traveling overseas. Now that that’s’s out of the way,on to Day 2 in Sydney… Once I finally had access to my funds,albeit I had $1300 in cash to keep track of,my first order of business was to make sure that I didn’t lose it. I walked over to the Citibank on the corner near my hotel,and attempted to purchase travelers checks,to no avail. I was directed to the Travelex store in the QVB across ... read more

Pt Two-On the way to OZ. Gogo Inflight WiFi is a beautiful thing. I used the Internet during the whole flight to SFO. My new companion turned out to be all right-we chatted a little bit then went back to our respective activities. The flight landed at SFO on time,and even though I flew from Terminal 3 to the International terminal,I still had plenty of time. I waited in line to recheck in (had to do this for London),only to find out it wasn’t needed.Bye-bye, ten mminutes of my life! So I headed upstairs to this Mexican restaurant that looked appetizing-turns out it was basically fast food.However,the enchilada was pretty good,and came out quickJ Soon it was time to board,and I could tell that my odds of having my two seats to myself were pretty high ... read more

The Adventure begins! Hi to all who are reading this...yes,I am taking another journet across our globe,this time all the way to the land Down Under!! This first part is mainly travel details,so for those looking for Aussie specific info,skip ahead... Day 1-Buses,Trains,Planes, and Their Wonderful Companions I began my travels yesterday,actually,with a ride on the Megabus from Hartford-NYC. First time I experienced that,and I have to rank it better than Greyhound but not quite as good as Amtrak. It was comfortable,had WIFI,and a couple behind me who seemed enamored with the capabilities of their cell phone to play drawing games. No,unfortunately,it wasn't a parent trying to entertain a 5 year old-it was two 20 somethings squealing over the discovery that yellow +green=purple. Don't ask. Good points about Megabus? The driver got us from downtown ... read more

Day Ten-May 18,2010 For the first time ever,I awoke to the sound of the Tube roaring beneath my floor.At least,thats how it sounded and felt. I had read reviews on the hotel complaining of this very event,but since it had not occurred for me,I thought that some of the reviewers were simply light sleepers. (Or mass complainers,as I tend to view most reviewers...seriously, WHO examines the carpet for wear and tear)? Anyway,since it was our final morning in London,I didn't mind getting up,since I had a battle to conquer with my luggage. Our flights did not leave until that afternoon,so we had time to fit in one last activity in the morning.Jen and Ashley decided to forgo any more sightseeing (Jen had hurt her foot the night before),so I was on my own. I still ... read more

Day Eight-May 16, 2010 The sounds of Parisians on the streets below woke me up the next morning. I think the three of us put off waking up until the last minute,but since Ashley and Jen wanted to avoid the Eiffel Tower lines,we got up. Surprisingly,we managed to get ready and packed easily, despite the three of us in one average sized room. Once we checked out and stored our bags,we walked over to Rue Cler,a pedestrian street market about a block away. The street was filled with cafes,patisseries,boulangeries, and other various food counters. We stopped at a patisserie take out counter,where Jen and Ashley bought quiches to eat in line at the Tower. Then we parted ways for the next couple of hours,as I planned to visit the L'Orangerie museum and possibly climb the ... read more