Safely in Sydney

Sitting in Jimmy’s (a friend of Jason's from BU who now works at the University of Sydney) flat relaxing a bit in the breeze of a fan. If you were to ask me what time it was I would be bound to say well past 6:00 in the evening. The morning started early and has been productive. I have seen the opera house and the bridge and it still hasn’t entirely settled in that I am in Sydney for the long-haul.

The trip was pleasant, and did not seem as long as it was. My flight from ATL to LA was delayed a bit, so I had a nice run around LAX to get from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 – but I can now say I have been to California (it counts since I went outside, right?). When I checked in at the V Australia desk I found out I had been moved out of my window seat. When I enquired about being moved back to one, I was told there was only one left “near the back of the plane,”but was assured that the plane was not full and that in the back there were whole rows empty. With that I was put in 52K – and when I boarded discovered I was in the very last row, but did get the row to myself, so I wasn’t too torn up about the placement. The dinner and breakfast were good, and I got to watch The Help and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as well as get a few hours of sporadic sleep.

Finally, on the approach to Sydney, I got to watch sunrise (in the northern sky, no less) over the Pacific. It was one of the most beautiful sunrises I have seen, with vibrant reds and blues un-capturable by my camera. I think this is just the first of many, many beautiful sites in store during my time down here that will be more incredible than an image can do justice. As we cut south to land at the airport, I caught a glimpse of the Bridge and Opera House in the still dark city – I was in Sydney!

We landed and deplaned. Border control was a cinch. When I went to go collect my luggage, I had a bad feeling as all the luggage came out and the crowd thinned out. I was left standing, with about a dozen others, at an empty carousel. We descended upon the V Australia help desk (as the three men behind the desk tried their best to hide). We determined that all of us had come from ATL, and after a bunch of typing and radioing, the person in charge of the desk determined the bags never made it out of LA. With that I filled out the forms to the best of my abilities, passed through customs, and enjoyed my good fortune of not having to schlep two fifty-pound bags on the train.

I caught Sydney City Rail from the airport to Central and transferred to the Eastern Suburbs line toward Bondi, emerging at Edgecliff to find Jimmy (one of Jason’s roommates from senior year at BU). We met up at 8:00 and walked into Paddington to his flat where I dropped my stuff and cleaned up a bit before we went out for some exploration and errand running. What struck me the most on our walk from the train to his studio was the hilliness and humidity (one lacking in NOLA, one not).

After the time at his place, we walked up toward Oxford Street and grabbed a bite to eat for breakfast (to supplement my French toast at 3:00 AM on the plane). I had grilled chorizo and eggs with rocket (arugula – just like in the UK) and tomatoes. Mom, you will be proud to hear that I cleaned the plate, tomatoes and all! Afterwards we caught the bus into the CBD and wandered for a few hours, seeing the harbor with bridge and Opera House, before stopping at an in-town mall to do some errands for Jimmy and get my cell phone set up. We walked back to his studio and are now taking a bit of a siesta (seems like Jimmy had a late night) before more adventuring this afternoon and evening.