We made it! Cec and I caught a plane on Sunday at 6:30am (PDT), and after a long journey we arrived in Sydney on Tuesday at 8:30am (EST). We had 10 hours to kill in LA, most of which was spent finding a battery charger and adapters for our stuff. Even though we've visited pretty much every RadioShack within a 20 mile radius of LAX, we may still need a new adapter yet! After boarding, our flight was generally pleasant, with a brilliant sunrise making up for a two hour delay.
Cec and I are staying with Sebastian, a friend of Tamara's (a friend from Metro Van). Seb works for IBM and lives in a one bedroom apartment above the quaint Cafe Ish in Surry Hills. The seven story building is in a central part of town which is littered with old warehouses converted into chic designer cafes and stores. It feels very much like a crossover of Gastown and Yaletown, and, while the area feels quite safe, Sydney's largest brothel shines red directly across the street.
We've been very fortunate so far to have met some great people. Lisa, Cecily's family friend, spent her last hours in Australia Tuesday night and we found a bit of time to catch up in a pub called Scruffy Murphy's. It was great to see a familiar face on our first evening, and her friend Mitch was very friendly and acted as a perfect tour guide. As of now we've seen the Opera House, The Bridge, Hyde Park, Bondi Beach and St. Mary's Cathedral—not bad for two day's work! The weather has been chilly (7 degrees with wind) and we had a bit of drizzle, but it's definitely bearable with the right clothes (for Cec, this includes long underwear)!
This evening we made dinner for Sebastian at the apartment, after which he introduced us to some of his friends and drove us around to some more of Sydney's renowned sites. We are very lucky to have such a great host.
I'll post some site-seeing pictures in my next update, but for now here are some token in-transit and first moments in Sydney shots. You can click on the pictures to go to my Flickr and view them bigger. I'll try to attach a short description in Flickr as well.
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