Livin' in a land down under

Last Wednesday evening, I flew, for the second time ever, to Sydney. Having done it once before, I had prepared myself for 15 ½ hours in coach. I hadn't even bothered to ask Delta to upgrade my seat because I knew that it was impossible because my ticket wasn’t purchased in the right “class.” As I was waiting in the Delta Crown Room in Los Angeles I head the most beautiful words ever: “Will Sydney passenger *me* please check in at the front desk?” My heart started beating a little bit faster… I had dared hope that something like this would happen, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up only to get them dashed. So, I checked in at the front desk. Joy of all joy, the lady handed me another boarding pass telling me that coach was overbooked and so the folks at the gate upgraded my seat. Business Class, baby – for 15 ½ hours! I couldn’t believe it. We even had the cool seats that reclined flat – like a bed. Granted, the flight was still 15 ½ hours, but it was SOOOO much nicer. Have I mentioned how much I love Delta right now?

Business class seats

So, I arrived in Sydney Friday morning, met up with my colleague to get some work done later in the day, and generally just lazed about.

My hotel is right on the edge of Chinatown, so there are dozens upon dozens upon dozens of Asian restaurants near me. The only difficulty is figuring out which restaurants are good and which restaurants should be avoided. And, of course, there are the restaurants where the menus aren't in English, so I wouldn't even know what to order. On Friday night, down one of the streets in Chinatown, there were several street vendors out selling food, so I bought some dinner from a little Dim Sum place. So yummy! However, since I can’t eat Asian food every night, I’ll have to expand my wanderings.

On Saturday I spent the morning trying to find a swimsuit. I have a weekend activity planned, and it requires a bathing suit – I thought I had packed mine, but alas… I went to a Target and a Kmart (yup, they have Target and Kmart here), however, I couldn’t find one. My colleague is going to help me look later this week. I’m hoping for the best.

Water Fountain near Darling Harbour

A guy playing drums and bottles on a street corner

Also on Saturday, I visited the Chinese Friendship Gardens near Darling Harbour. It’s quite a beautiful little place in the middle of a bustling city.






Found a church on Sunday – there were all of 50 people in Sacrament Meeting (if that), and four of the 50 were missionaries, and one of the 50 was me. After church I had to hike a mile or so to catch the train back to Sydney – good thing I took a cab TO church or I would have been all sweaty for church – icky! I didn’t realize how hilly the Sydney area would be. The walk was beautiful, though.


More to come…