Sydney Part 1

For those of you who are unsure, I would like to assure you that 15+ hours is a long time to be on a plane for a non-stop flight. The fact that this long flight came after we flew from Duluth to Minneapolis and then Minneapolis to L.A. didn't help.

In L.A., Sheila got a little nap in the Delta SkyClub lounge. Just like my failed plan during my trip here in 2006, I had great plans to adjust to the destination time before we left to make the transition easier. I urged the kids to stay up during the first half of the flight and sleep during the second half, but even I couldn't follow my instructions. Still, we got some sleep on the flight despite the incredibly uncomfortable seats. I watched Tower Heist, Due Date, and some episodes of Episodes (excellent) and The Office.

We arrived in Sydney a little after 7 AM local time and were glad to be off the plane. Immigration and customs were quick and painless. We hopped in a cab and got to The Park Hyatt in Sydney - a beautiful 5 star hotel that I was lucky enough to stay in using my accumulated points. When we got here, a little after 8 in the morning, they said the room was not ready yet and would be available by 2 at the latest. We decided to head out and explore despite really wanting a shower and some relaxation. It turned out to be a fun day.

We first took a cab to bill's restaurant (Thanks, Rudy Maxa) in Surry Hills for its famous ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter. We also ordered sour cherry and apple loaf with ricotta and honey. To drink we ordered coffee (great), a hot chocolate made with callebaut (a high-end brand of chocolate) and a sunrise drink of orange joice, yoghurt and berries. We shared the two breakfast items we ordered and it was just fabulous and I have a $50 bill to prove it! If there's one thing that I have already noticed in Sydney is the high prices for everything.

We then decided that the place was not that far from the hotel and decided to try walking back at a casual pace. It was a great walk. We stopped in at stores that looked interesting, walked through a supermarket, bought some candy (yes, my favorite banana candy), bought postcards, and more. Quite quickly, we found ourselves at Hyde Park where there was a NAIDOC festival in progress. There were shows of aboriginal music, art, fashion, dance, and more. A stall by the Australian Museum had a stuffed koala and platypus. We all tried our hand at playing a didgeridoo and petting the stuffed animals. The kids got their faces painted in aboriginal style and we tried out a brilliant "chip on a stick" which was basically a single potato cut in a single curl and deep fried and covered with lemon myrtle and salt seasoning. Delicious (and probably very unhealthy). We all had a good time and learned a lot. Already, we had done a bunch of things in Sydney - and we've been on ground for just a few hours. Given the great progress we were making and the fun we were having, we decided it wasn't much of a walk to the hotel and just kept going.

The hotel is right below the Sydney Harbour Bridge and overlooks Circular Quay. Enjoyed some sidewalk performers at Circular Quay. We stopped at Circular Quay for fish and chips (which served as lunch) and walked to the hotel and got to our room. It's a spectacular and large room with a king bed and a rollaway bed they had brought in on request. We have a balcony that overlooks the quay and can even see the Sydney Opera House if we peek out over the left of our balcony.

We checked in, took showers and got ready to head out to The Rocks for dinner. The concierge recommended a famous hole-in-the-wall called "Sailor's Thai" where we had Pad Thai and the daily special, Hot Thai Basil with Minced Beef. Not being much of a beef fan, I was skeptical, but it was fantastic (and spicy!) Tried hard top stay awake, but was in bed and asleep by 8:30 PM.