Welcome to OZ!!!!

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I managed to sneak a video of my landing in Sydney! We landed at about 8:50a.m.,and the view was gorgeous as we were landing! Since there were probably only about 100 people total on the flight,disembarking the plane took about 15 minutes.Immigration was also pretty quiet-I was at baggage claim less than a half an hour after landing. Unfortunately,it took awhile for the bags to appear...I began to worry that my layover in SFO HAD been too short.To add to the atmosphere,there was a big,burly guy walking around,asking to see everyone's landing cards and asking if anyone brought any food into the country with them. One guy was gnawing on a granola bar when he replied "No," to the officer."Well,ehere did you get that?" the officer growled. "I brought it on the plane as a snack," the guy stated. "Well,that's food! You have to declare that," the officer snapped. The poor guy's face paled,and i could tell he was wondering if he was going to be deported for a measly granola bar. Luckily for him,the officer gave him a stern lecture about what to declare,and let him be.

Luckily for ME,my suitcase made an appearance,and I scampered off to find the train to the city.I stopped at an ANZ ATM to withdraw $100 cash,to have some walking around money(will be important later),and had no trouble withdrawing the cash. I made a few quick calls to let people know that my plane did not go the way of LOST,and I had arrived safely. Then I headed for the train station,where I easily purchased my MyMulti1(weekly train/ferry/bus pass) and RT airport train tickets. There were wide ecalators,so getting to the platform was quite easy(unlike in NYC).The train arrived about 5 minues later,and other than a HUGE gap between the train and the platform(really,Aussies should be using the Brit's "Mind the Gap" lecture),I made it on without problem.The trains are double decker,much like the RER in Paris.



My station,Town Hall, was the last one on the line,but it only took about 25 minutes to get there. Originally,I had had hesitancy about using the train to get to the hotel with luggae,but everyone on tripAdvisor kept reassuring me that it was the easiest method. They were right,folks! The station was very wide,and escalators/elevators are everywhere. The only place I ran into an issue was the stairwell to George St,but I managed to lug the suitcase halfway up before a friendly Aussie helped me the rest of the way😊

My hotel,Hotel Coronation,was literally about 50 steps from the entrance to the station,and right next to a HUGE grocery/convenience store,Woolworths. Across the street was a huge shopping complex,the Galleries Victoria,nd a two-story McDonald's(free WIFI).There were also other various stores along the street. Catticorner from the block was the QVB(another indoor shopping mall). There were many people on the street-I could tell it was going to be an ideal location(minus the harbor views,of course)!

Upon my arrival,it was too early to check in,although Jen,the recptionist,was apologetic,saying that they had a room that they were holding for me to check in to early,but someone had reserved it the night before.I wasn't expecting one at that hor,so i just dropped my bags off. i asked if I should check in now,but jen told me to take care of itwhen i returned(this would be a mistake)!

it was 10:30 on the dot,and I thought I had just missed the I'm Free walking tour,leaving from Town hall,so i decided to just starting heading to Circular Quay on my own. As i was crossing the street,I saw a large group of people following a guy in a bright green shirt. I ran up to the guide and asked if it was too late to join in on the tour. "No worries,we'd be happy to have you!" he cheerfully replied.

Great! This would occupy me and keep me awake for 3 hrs until my room was ready,and I would get a brief tour of Sydney.Theguide(I never did get name) was energetic,telling a lot of stories about Sydney's history,legends,and budget tips as we made our way around town. We headed first through the QVB,to an underground shopping mall,up to the Pitt Street Mall(outdoor shops on a closed off street. So,that made 4 shoppping malls/markets within 2 minutes of my hotel??? i was glad Giles hadn't known that before,otherwise I'm sure he would have had me find another location!!

Then we headed to Hyde Park(about 5 min from hotel)which resembled the style of parks from London,followed by the Sydney Hospital,up to Market St another shopping complex-gee,these Sydneysiders sure love their shopping!!-and then up to Circular Quay and the Rocks.By the time we reached our final stop at the Overseas Passenger Terminal,I was running on fumes. However,the view of the harbor made a greatending point!

As I was getting ready to depart, a girl who I had asked to take a picture of me approached. She was with a group of 2 other girls,and i had assumed that they were friends traveling together,She asked if I knew where I was going,and I told her that I was heading back for my hotel. She then invited me to go with them to get hot dogs at some well known hot dog place. I deicded o go along-it would be nice to meet some people,and I wanted to do as much as possible before crashing at the hotel.

The girl,Anita, was from Netherlands,and she told me that she and the other two girls,gabby from Switzerland,and Nicole from germany,were from different hostels and had just met. So we all were essentiallystranges! Of course,I'm sure i was older than all of them by a decade,but it was fun to have people to potentially hang out with from time to time. We all started following Nicole through the Royal Botanical Gardens into Wooloomooloo,until we found the hot dog stand.We all began discussing the differences in hot dogs in our respective countries-apparently a hot dog is not a hot dog everywhere-who knew?

Once we found the place-the name escapes me at the moment-we settled down and chatted about our flights out and lenth of stay. The hot dogs were about 3x the size of the "American" version,and I had to stop after a few bites.

Upon leaving we all headed back towards the Botanical gardens,where Anita deprted for her hostel,gabby headed to the Opera House,and Nicol followed me back towrds my hotel to do some shopping. we all exchanged numbers and talked about meeting up later that night.

At my hotel,I said goodbye to Nicole,and went to check in.This is where the disasterous part of my trip began. I'm actually going to post a link to the story,as it emcompasses in greater detail how I spent the next 18 hours. I ask that you please take a moment to read it,as I want to spread the word about how poorly I was treated by Bank of America. Please pass along the link to anyone you know,whether they are America,a B of A customer,travler, or none of the above.

www.bewareboa.blogspot.com

To summarize,my debit card was declined multiple times,and and also wasn't able to withdraw any cash at different ATM's. It was the middle of the night in the U.S.,so I couldn't reach the bank. Giles couldnt pay with his card over the phone,and was trying to find a way to wire me some money. The hotel receptionist,Natalia,took pity on me and allowed me to check in for one night,seeing my exhaustion.

Upon entering my room,I found it to be bigger than my room in London,small but certainly adequate with a mini-fridge,TV,closet,queen size bed,and small bathroom. It had a window overlooking the Galleries Victoria.

I was pretty distraught over the banking issue,and didnt have much in the way of cash on me after buying my train passes,lunch and tipping the tour guide,so I disobeyed all of the advice about jet lagged and crashed on my bed until midnight.

At this time,the story continues in the link above-again,to summarize,I spent the next 13 hrs on many.many expensive calls to BOA on hold,unable to get my card working,all b/c of the "suspicious transcation" checking into my hotel.And yes, I had told the bank MULTIPLE TIMES of my trip plans in the last month.

My first day in Sydney had ended in a catastrophic meltdown. Was the trip I had spent so many months planning and dreaming about destined to be a disaster?

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Photos

Welcome to Sydney!!
Arrival at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport

Walking Tour of Sydney
Customs House(?)

Royal Botanical Gardens
fruit bats...