Easy Like Tuesday Morning

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One of the many creative and hand-ons projects I remember Ms. Johnson assigning her 6th grade class was called, "Around the world in 180 school days." For the project I forced my mom into the local Hobby Lobby for me to purchase an actual scrap book with sturdy 12"x12" pages. Other students settled for loose sheets of construction paper stapled together, but I wanted my project to stand out. As our teacher took us around the world studying the different cultures of each continent, we made a scrapbook page with hand-drawn pictures, cut-outs from magazines as well as infomation captions displaying our learning. I took the project home and worked until each page was immaculate. My very first impression of Australia happened in 6th grade through this fun assignemnt. Departing my native land, Colorado, 16 years after the build-up for this trip began was emotional and thrilling!!

Departure

My stand-by ticket with United on the 4th of July made getting out of Denver stressful. United was up to its usual reputation by overbooking and flying in from other places late. So all the flights getting out of Denver were "In the red" as we say in the industry. My very competent boyfriend was able to find a seat on Frontier for $100 to San Fransisco and I purchased the ticket at 3:30pm for the 4:30pm flight. It was a last minute move that made the trip! Waiting in the San Fransisco terminal wore on my nerves too, but the attendants got me a seat in business class and I welcomed the champagne, warm nuts and warm towel. The chair reclined into a bed and after one movie and some dinner I fell asleep without problem. The clatter from being sat next to the work station woke me around 3 or 4am. After another movie and breakfast the plane was landing at sunrise in Sydney. After all that stress and worry from Monday, I arrived here on Wednesday. Tuesday July 5th disappeared from my life, but I stepped off the plane with ease from a restful flight.

Arrival

Landing at the Sydney International airport at 6:30am after a comfortable 14 hours in business class allowed an easy customs experience and baggage claim. Finding my way to the underground train, automated ticket purchase and with a clear understanding of the hotel location I made my way to the city and arrived in the right location at 8:30am with time to kill before my 10 am check-in. It was shocking to me how easy this city is to navigate. Also to my surprise, the Sydney coffee culture took me in and the "Blokes" at The Brewery Espresso Bar were friendly and full of energy.

Each with a different Kubra hat the Blokes quickly gave me a lesson in the appropriate way to order coffee. No drip coffee or cream here! Ordering a long black means 3 shots of espresso topped with hot water, what I would call an Americano. Ordering a short black means 2 shots of espressso with no water. There's also the usual cappuccino, latte and macchiato. The free WiFi and performance of various tunes including "Scrubs" (TLC) and Celion Dion by the quad was a loud and happy first impression of the city. The Ibis is a modern hotel that checked me with amazing punctuality. I set my bags down, pulled out the yoga mat for a nice stretch, then a hot shower and on my way to begin exploring!

Basic First Impressions

Brrr... Sydney is cold and windy in July and standing in the shade means shivering and standing in the sun is pleasant. The city is clean and efficient. Finding my way to purchase a power convertor, then to the apple store for a technology fix was accomplished in an hour. I love how the food is healthy and fresh. My lunch option was pumpkin soup with toasted tuna fish sandwich. Snacks are tasty granola, banana and zucchini bread, nuts, fruit drinks, fruit salad, yogurt and the usual tempting wall of chocolate, chips and coke. I am discovering a potent dislike for diet coke among the Aussies. The people are quick to pick-up on my American accent and generally have an accurate idea of Denver's location. In general, I think the Australian people have a higher standard of politeness and courtesy. Since I was staying in the city near King St. Wharf, a business district, I noticed a lot of black clothing or runners making their way to the Harbor for exercise. Other random observations are the very few amount of smokers, very few dogs, very few bums and the city's combination of British and American features in buildings, culture, language, fashion, etc.

Opera House and The Harbor Bridge

As a schoolgirl and through adulthood, I have looked at pictures of the Opera House and The Harbor Bridge. I have seen pictures from friends, video, TV, movies.... all possible references. The first time seeing the Bridge and the Opera House with my own eyes was simply gratifying. I didn't need to snap a bunch of pictures, its all been done before. I needed to feel immersed in the feeling of pure gratification. I made it! I'm here in front of a dream spanned over 16 years of pen-palship! Proud to be among a site some take for granted might make me seem ignorant. However, this accomplishment has been made possible by me, and me alone, and I've worked on it for the better part of my life time.

Walking along the Harbor brought an incredible realization to me, it overcame me. Suddenly, these famous pieces of architecture were more than their physical make-up. For too long they represented a place on a list, a person I've never met, an adventure I struggled to attain. All I could do was relish the moment and continue the walk around the Harbor. I kept my eyes glued and let the feeling of life rush in. My entire being smiled as I set one foot in front of the other next to these beautiful pieces of artwork. As my deep reflection settled, I revved up with excitement and confidence to conquer my dreams!

Later that evening, me and my Aussie Aunt, who lives in Brisbane, discovered the ferry to be much cheaper ($15 AU) than the tourist Captain Cook cruise that advertises an included beverage ( $35). With a brief stop at the liquor store we enjoyed our wine on the ferry with the same sunset view as the pricey cruise. From the Harbor to Manly, the crossing was a surprising 30-40 minutes. Again, the efficiency of the ferry experience with the whole automated ticket teller made for a simple and unproblematic experience. So, touch and go, we made our way back sitting inside of the ferry to avoid the cold and wind.

It was the final for State of Origin for New South Wales and Queensland on Wednesday night. State of Origin is rugby league players who have left their state to play international and return for sort of an alumni match. Its very competitive and important to these two rivals. So, the same night I flew in, we watched the Maroon (QLD)win against blue (NSW) at a somewhat tame bar near the Harbor. Still, my Aunt Stacey got dirty looks for cheering for Maroon, one try after another. The Blue was poorly supported with few jerseys and representation in the bar and on the streets. Another Maroon fan befriended Stacey and its undecided if he was super drunk or really was deaf and couldn't talk. We briskly walked back to the Ibis for sleep in a warm bed. What an unbelievable first day in Sydney.

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Comments

[Daino]

Yaaaay
So happy you made it, and have started blogging. Proud of you babe. Keep your eyes, ears, and heart open to the experience, and it won't let you down.

[D MJ Binkley]

Isn't it great to see that opera house after thinking about it for a few years.
It is a lovely piece of architecture and I found it to be breathless. Sounds like you are having a marvelous adventure.