Day 1: Sydney

I am tired. I don’t sleep well on planes, even if I have the full lie flat experience. This was not that. I was in Economy Plus which was OK. The couple in my row were very nice but large people, so the wife (middle seat) spilled into my seat quite a bit. But she was super friendly about it. The flight from Los Angeles to Sydney takes about 15 hours. It’s just a long time to be sitting.

I watched a few random movies – Shaft 2 (the reviews are pretty bad, but for a flight movie it was entertaining, and paid homage to many current American social quirks), John Wick 3 (again a good flight movie, you know what it’s going to be, and yes it set up the sequel nicely), Bohemian Rhapsody (I know most of the Queen songs, and saw snippets of the story when the movie was released, but didn’t know much. This movie was incredibly acted. Rami Malek earned his academy award. The rest of the cast was of equal caliber in terms of quality), and I closed out with Stars Wars VIII – The Last Jedi (this was OK. The bar was set for me starting in 1977 in the theater, with the original trilogy and those first three remain my favorites.) A lot of people near me watched the Art of Racing in the Rain which without sound looked like a real tear jerker of a dog movie. Just the imagery that I caught had me tearing up.

All of my flights were on time, early even. Customs in Sydney was fairly automated. I’d gotten an electronic visa before my trip. I scanned my passport at a kiosk. I had my photo taken at another kiosk. I took the certificate from the kiosks to the custom agent at the exit door, and that was it. The whole thing took 10 -15 minutes from getting off the plane. It might take a few minutes longer with checked bags, but overall it was very efficient.

Sydney is supposed to have great public transportation, so this trip I did not rent a car. I was nervous about this, but it only took me a few minutes to buy an Opal card (good for trains, busses and ferries) and find the train to take me near my hotel. The train ride took perhaps 20 minutes with a 5 minute walk to my hotel. Easy.

Check in was scheduled for 2 p.m. but I figured it was worth asking at about 10 a.m. if a room happened to be ready. It wasn’t, but the staff here, Skye Suites Sydney (most floors are apartments with a few as rental studio apartments – with laundry & kitchen in the room) were fantastic. The clerk gave me towel and shower amenities, and let me freshen up in the fitness center locker room before checking my bag and sending me out to explore.

I walked through the chaos of the “the Rocks” on a weekend; and the chaos around the Circular Quay and Opera House with a monster cruise ship in town. I found a bit of respite in the Royal Botanic Gardens. I didn’t expect them to be free. I will definitely be going back. It was incredibly lush and peaceful in there. There were quite a few people, but it felt isolated, and quiet, even though it was literally minutes and a short walk from the Opera House.

Quick first impressions of Sydney: There are cranes (construction/redevelop) everywhere along the waterfront and in the central business district. There are also a lot of homeless people. Many seem to have semi-permanent set-ups with mattresses, semi-secure looking storage, and detailed signs.

I had a satisfying lunch at Caffe Dante, stocked up with some groceries, and suspect I will be sleeping before the sun fully sets here this evening. I have a long day planned for tomorrow and need to refill my sleep coffers.

Links to all Sydney Trip Updates:

Day 7, #BlogPals19

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