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Published: November 21st 2011
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It's really hard to say exactly why I do some of the things I do. I think I get restless without something to look forward to and suddenly I'm jaunting off to parts unknown. Such is the case with this spontaneous trip to Sydney. With a string of days off and nothing to do, (at least nothing that I wanted to do), I found myself searching flights to see where I could go. Oahu was at the top of the list since I've yet to climb the Haiku Stairs and after a years worth of running, this seemed like an excellent time to get to the top without too much trouble. Flights were oversold and so it was on to the land down-under for me.
Sydney out of LAX was wide open in coach with plenty of room to stretch out and the 14+ hour flight was tolerable. The flight left LAX at 10:40 p.m. and arrived in Sydney around 8:00 a.m. two days later. Crossing the International Date Line causes one to skip an entire day and it was my second time this year crossing it, something I actually think is awesome as it feels a bit like time-traveling.
I didn't get much chance to look out the window while flying....we were traveling close to 39,000 feet and it was a bit cloudy most of the way, but thanks to the Delta "moving map" screens I know we flew south of Hawaii and then didn't fly over land again until a string of islands just northeast of Australia. It's hard to believe the Pacific Ocean is so vast and expansive. Land is scarce and I imagine if we got lost and had to land on a deserted island we would never be found. How incredibly optimistic of me....I guess I'll get back on topic and tell you about fabulous Sydney.
After landing and going through customs..."Are you carrying any fruits, vegetables or plants?" "No sir" "Thank you, enjoy Sydney." ...I headed to my hostel and finished off the grapes I purchased in Salt Lake City.
A train ticket from the airport to the city is $15AUD, which at the time of my visit was just a bit over $15USD. A tad pricy for a train ticket for 6 miles, but whatever...
The hostel I stayed at, YHA Central, was across the street from the Central
Train Station. It's a Youth Hostel but that doesn't seem to stop older travelers from staying there, too. There were 5 parents traveling with their just-out-of-high-school kids. Four moms and a dad. My room had 4 bunk beds in it and I shared it with a mom and daughter from China. It was the mom's first trip out of China and she was thrilled to be visiting her daughter who was attending college in Sydney. It was fun talking to her though we needed her daughter to translate for us. That might be the absolute best part of staying in hostels...meeting people from other parts of the world. Not to mention it's much more affordable. My room was only $42AUD a night and though that 's an awesome deal for a bed in Sydney, it's the most I've ever spent for a bed in a hostel.
Once I dropped my luggage off at the hostel I quickly changed and headed out into the city for a tour. I had brought my running clothes/shoes with me as I had planned to run 8-10 miles but had my laptop with me and didn't want to leave it in the hostel so
ended up hauling it around in my bag, which made running out of the question. I still saw a lot of the city and took some great photos...it was a great day to tour Sydney.
Most of the photos explain my walking tour in detail. This city is easy to navigate and just when I thought the scenery couldn't get any better, I would turn down a new street and the view would be even better. Sydney is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. I wish I lived there.
After eight hours touring the city, I ended up back in the hostel in time to hit the nearest bar for a few drinks before the surfing crowd descended and it was too crowded and noisy to even hear myself think.
Around the corner from the YHA is a Columbian restaurant that serves traditional Columbian food and the best coffee in the world. I headed up there for a light dinner and was in bed by 8:00 p.m. I'm pretty sure I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. It had been 26 hours since I had boarded the flight in Los Angeles...I was really
tired.
After a quick breakfast the next morning I got ready and packed for the airport. Twenty eight hours might not seem like enough time to visit someplace as amazing as Sydney but the next direct to LAX didn't leave for another two days and it didn't look good. Sometimes one has to take the flights as they come so I headed back to the airport. I had packed a lot of touring into a short time and even though the amount of activity was taxing, I was glad for the effort. I did everything I wanted to do and got almost everything I wanted, except a rock. Can you believe it?! After all of that I forgot to get a rock from the harbour for the Zen garden! But I guess I'll just have to go back. I bought a new shot-glass and a t-shirt for Hunter with a cartoon shark on it. The t-shirt reads "Bite me!" It's hilarious and though it was supposed to be for Christmas, I've already given it to him. I love my self-control.
The flight home was a bit uncomfortable when I tried to sleep for a few hours before we
landed, but otherwise was okay. Those long-haul flights offer more movies than I possibly have time to watch and while I spent the flight over getting caught up on the latest releases, the flight back to LAX I spent watching Hollywood Classics. Two of my all-time favorite movies were in their selection, From Here To Eternity with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, and Casablanca, one of the greatest love stories ever written. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman are flawless and the movie is heartbreaking. Humphrey Bogart's character is tough "I stick my neck out for nobody!" Except that he does stick his neck out, at least for the lovely Ingrid Bergman, a woman who had such an effect on his life that even hearing a simple song evokes memories of her, and a violent outburst "Sam, I thought I told you never to...!" a second before he sees the love of his life, sitting next to Sam's piano. "I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray. You wore blue." Casablanca is one of those movies that one will never tire watching. It's a movie about sacrifice because sometimes loving someone, really loving them, requires letting them go, which is exactly
what Humphrey Bogart's character does and even though I've already seen the movie countless times, I still always hope she doesn't get on the plane. It's an ending that makes Casablanca the timeless movie classic it is. ..."We'll always have Paris." And poor Bogart drowning his sorrows back at the bar ..."Play it again, Sam." I've never been able to watch it without tearing up.
"Here's looking at you, kid."
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Natalie Race
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