Spending Some Time and Money in Sydney

---

Spending some time and money in Sydney

We were originally planning to take our time and a day or two going from Canberra to Sydney but I realized that we could go straight on the highway and get there in about 3 hours. Mike, having done his fill of twisty windy back roads, was all for it. We missed any scenic vistas that were between the two, but we were ready to get back and get prepared for our trip to New Zealand.

We headed back to the Pancake Parlor for breakfast in Canberra before hitting the road and it was great. Good American-ish food always sets us up full and happy for the day. We rolled into Sydney in the early afternoon after an uneventful drive (tres boring for Mike - I read my book so I was entertained). Last time we stayed in the CBD (Central Business District) of Sydney, per the guidebook’s recommendation but found that it wasn’t the best location for exploring and enjoying. I booked us a room this time in The Rocks, the artistic older section of Sydney under the main bridge that looks across the harbour to the Sydney Opera House. Our room looked directly over the harbour and the Opera House, very nice view!

Our purpose in Sydney was to do some shopping that we had wanted to do while we were still in Australia and catch our flight to Auckland, New Zealand. The last time we were here we saw a great photography gallery that featured beautiful scenery of Australia. We went back to it and the framed photographs were as beautiful as we remembered, but the decision on choosing which ones to buy was tough. I loved a boat and water scene and Mike really loved more of a Outback scene which has some unusual camera stylings (his photography interest has educated his choice, I just like what I think is pretty and cool =) . . .so we got both! We’ve collected artwork from each major trip we’ve taken since we’ve been together, so these will be a great addition to the crowd. Art is great because you can enjoy it for so long and every time you see it in a room it makes you remember a little bit what it was like to buy it and be in that place. Sydney - and Australia - is definitely a place we want to remember!

We poked around in a bunch of stores beyond that but didn’t buy that much. I grabbed a couple of t-shirts (mine are getting a little ragged after 5 months consistent wear) and we enjoyed seeing the gems and things that are found in Australia. Mike and I split for a few hours on our second day so he could take pictures and I could shop at girl speed - slow and without any defined purpose, just plain fun!

Our second night there we ate at an unusual restaurant but we both loved it. Essentially, it was a steak restaurant where you grilled your own meat. They had a meat counter where you picked your meat (beef, lamb, chicken) and two tables of bread, salad fixings and roasted potatoes. Then you could season it or marinate it and off to the grill you went. They had two huge outdoor grills going with probably 3 ft x 7 ft of grill space and it was HOT! The steaks were really good, the beer was cold and the side dishes yummy. We sat outside under the stars and enjoyed immensely. Cool model for a restaurant, huh?

Our flight to Auckland was at the fine hour of 7.15am which necessitated a departure of 5.30am - not our best hour at all. Waking up at 4.30pm, yuck. To make it feasible, we made an early night of it the night before and tried to get some sleep.

As if the 4.30am morning wasn’t enough? Fun at the Sydney Airport

We were troopers and got up and packed and ready for our 5.30am taxi with plenty of time to spare. When under pressure, we get it done! We loaded up the packs and hopped in the taxi to go to the airport, about a 20 min drive away.

When we got there, we were really surprised to see how many people had early flights on a Sunday. Once again, we forgot it’s the end of school holidays (spring break) here and all the happy families were heading home. Oops. We were glad we got there with plenty of time to spare and headed through the check-in line, which was already wound around in a line of Disneyworld proportions.

We got to the Quantas Airlines check-in desk and the lady asked us “May I have your ticket out of New Zealand, please?” Huh!?!? We weren’t leaving NZ for another month so why would we need it to get into the country?!? Oops, we’re wrong. NZ immigration has cracked down seriously on people incoming because it’s so nice that people keep coming over for a brief vacation and then end up bumming around the country and not leaving. They require you to prove you’ve got a way to get out before you come in. No exceptions. The airlines, in turn, require to see the ticket because if NZ immigration won’t let you in, they have to fly you back to Australia on their dollar. Airlines don’t like to waste money, so no return ticket, no go ticket.

So, we were stuck. We didn’t have a ticket in hand and it’s an e-ticket so no way to get it. Our return flight is on a different airline and there’s no internet café or printing capability in the airport. While the lady at the check-in desk was nice, all she could do was let Mike “hold” our place in line while I tracked down an agent from the other airline and get our return ticket confirmation in print. Should be easy, we’re in an airport, right? Wrong.

While Qantas had an early flight that day and was open for business, Air New Zealand was closed and empty. No ticket people, service people, nothing. I ran upstairs to the airline offices to find someone and nothing. Went back downstairs and hooray, there was a lady at the Air NZ desk! Spoke too soon, she “couldn’t” print the ticket and advised me to try upstairs again. Went back up the stairs and found the office lady who also said she “couldn’t” print the ticket and that I had to wait for the sales desk downstairs. As it was only 5.45am, my flight was leaving at 7.15am and the sign downstairs said the sales desk opened at 6.30am, I protested that wasn’t a good option. She would have none of it, said they’d be there any minute (hah, yeah right) and closed the door on me. Boo, boo, boo!

Dubious and not all that impressed, I went back downstairs to the sales desk and prepared to wait the “any minute” until 6am that she’d promised me for getting my ticket. At this point I was joined by 2 other American college students who also got kicked out of line for the same reason, even though they had an approved student visa in their passports. Craziness! 6am went by, 6.10am, 6.15am, and finally at 6.25am the “sales desk” (one sleepy looking airline lady) showed up for work. She said she’d be glad to help once the computer warmed up - 10 minutes - and the printer did the same - about 5 more. Keep in mind that Mike’s been waiting for me back at the check in line for the last hour with no idea of where I am or if I’m (a) getting something printed, (b) been kidnapped with both our passports or (c) found an Australian circus and ran away to be a lion tamer. His stress level was consistently rising and my frustration level was also on the ascendancy. Grrr!

Finally the lady gave me my ticket and I was off and running to find Mike and finish check in. The flight had already closed for passenger check in but the Qantas lady wasn’t going to let that stop her getting us on the plane - luckily the plane got delayed 30 minutes and she could get it done. First (and probably last) time we’ve been super glad a plane got delayed!

After more fun times at immigration and security we were finally at the gate and ready to go. Next stop, New Zealand!

Hope everyone’s doing great! Love and hugs to all!

---