Sitting on the Dock of the Bay...

[2009_08_29]
Today I got my Internet up and working in the apartment, woohoo! With it I got a chance to call Anna (via Skype) before heading off to a day of adventure.

The day started off fairly early, I leave the apartment about 11am. I started walking down the hill I'm on toward the bay. I walked toward the Sydney Harbour bridge. Along the way I had some good views of the bay. This picture hardly does the view justice but in it you can see some iconic landmarks. You can see the bridge, behind it you can make out the Sydney Opera House. In the foreground you can see Luna park (an old Coney Island style amusement park).


I continued my stroll and eventually came upon the foot of the bridge. I decided to walk across, what a great experience! Its not often I that I take the time to enjoy a stroll, yet along walk over the Sydney Harbour bridge. The view just kept getting better as I walked along. All the cars rushing past seemingly ignorant of their surroundings, a shame. Walking along the bridge you can see all the iron work hat makes up the bridge, the worlds largest iron arch bridge, As I made it across, the far pylon had a museum and a lookout. I stopped in and learned a lot about the bridge and the area. Quite fascinating. It was completed in 1932.



At the other end of the bridge is an area known as 'The Rocks'. Its one of the oldest parts of the city and still has many old buildings. Its an interesting place to spend time, many shops and cafes. I stopped at the market and bought some German sausage curry. It sounded pretty iffy to me but what the heck, give it a whirl. It was actually quite good! If I had the recipe, I'd try and make it at home. I took my food down the the Circle Quay (pronounces Key). This is where the various public ferried disembark from. While sitting there this strange white birds approached. He didn't stay long, just long enough for me to snap this photo. Have you ever seen a bird like it?


After my late lunch I decided I'd head to the Taronga Zoo. It sits just North East of Circle Quay on the bay and was a 12 minute ferry ride away. It was quite a nice zoo. Its sits on a hill, thankfully they have a 'sky safari' that takes you up to the top of the hill via gondola. It was a very cool ride up to the top, though the view was great, the highlight for me was passing over the Elephant exhibit. It was quite exciting to 'fly' over a bunch of elephants! If you look closely you can see a baby elephant, he was just born here at the zoo a couple of months ago. So cute!


The zoo has a 'Wild Australia' path where you can encounter a variety of Australian animals. I saw many more that I have shown here but here's the highlights. One of the first things I saw was actually an open exhibit called a 'walkabout' where you walk in through double doors (like an aviary) but instead of bird, there are Kangaroos and Wallabies around you. I have a photo of my near them, its really neat that they have it open like this. Soon after I encountered this 'dinosaur' bird. It sure looks goofy! It looks a lot like modern mock-ups of the missing link between dinosaurs and birds. After that Koala bears, they were all high up in a Eucalyptus tree snoozing the day away but I did get to see this guy. Don't you just want to hold him? The next photo is a wombat, I think this one was rather young but I might be mistaken. He a cute little guy too. I'll spare you the rest of the animal photos but if you want to see more, the me know!




Here is another view of the Harbour I stitched together. I just find it spectacular!


On my way home I decided to take a quick walk through Luna Park. I think if I was a kid this entry way would scare me! Just look at those teeth!

New Diggs

[2009_08_28]
I thought some of you may be interested in seeing what my apartment looks like. Here are some photos!

G'Day Mate

[2009_08_27]
G'Day mate! I made it to Sydney this morning. The last leg of the journey was good but long, about 14.5 hours from Los Angles to Sydney. I flew V-Australia, I'd highly recommend them. Business class was exceptional. I had a cranberry juice before we took off. They gave me a pouch with toiletries, a face mask, and ear plugs. Soon after takeoff, dinner was served. While waiting I started a movie , they have on-demand movies right at your seat. I chose to watch 'Watchmen'. Quite an interesting movie, though in hindsight perhaps not the most appropriate to be shown on a flight. It was also 2hr50min long! I was tired so right after my meal I went to sleep. They gave me a pair of pajamas & flip-flops to wear, never had that before. The seat I had was able to lay down flat during flight and I was able to lie down for much of the flight. Very nice but I still have a hard time getting more that an hour or two worth of sleep at a stretch on a flight. All in all I rested for about 8-10 hours I think. Before I knew it, it was time for breakfast, time to finish my movie…

Once I arrived at Sydney, I had to fill out an entry form. The forms asks all sorts of questions regarding quarantined items. The last few times I went through customs I got into a bit of trouble so I am now quite conservative when it comes to what I declare. You fill out the form by checking 'yes' or 'no' to certain declarations. I made three declarations. I declared peanut granola bars as both a potentially quarantined food (all food products are subject to quarantine) as well as natural products (nuts, wood products, etc). You show the form to the first customs agent, he gives you your passport stamp, checks your VISA, etc. The guy gave a good chuckle but thanked me for declaring. I also declared anti-histamine medication as a potentially controlled substance because 'medicine' was listed in the 'may' be controlled list. Again he had a chuckle but he said sometimes people get into trouble because what's over the counter in one country isn’t legal in another. For example in Australia and New Zealand their ibroprofin typically also has codeine in it where in the US you need a prescription for it.

Once I made it through customs (what a breeze!) I went to pick-up my baggage. I was quite nervous (and I though for sure) that my checked luggage did not make it to Sydney with me. My first flight (out of Appleton) was over an hour late and I did a mad dash in Minneapolis to just get onto the next plane before it took-off. As it turns out, somehow my luggage made it on the flight too. . It turns out that my luggage was the second bag off of a full 777 flight! What are the odds of that?

After getting my baggage, I had to have my bags screened to check for quarantine items, etc. Good thing I made the declarations I did as the screening found the items in my baggage. I told them what it was their sensors had found and I was one my way.

I made it to Sydney, converted $200 US into ~$207.85 AUS. That was a bit of a rip-off but I needed Aussie cash. I tried to use my new calling card from work, no luck. After a while I did manage to get a hold of my hotel but being 8am, they didn’t have any rooms open yet. I desperately needed a shower and found a free shower at the airport. No towels or anything provided though. I shopped at the convenience store at the airport but they wanted $12 for a small towel. No way to that! I ended up using the pajamas they gave me on the flight as my towel, they worked well enough. I guess Ford Prefect was right, you should always bring a towel with you when traveling around the Universe. (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy reference for those that missed that one)

Then onto work, I took a Taxi to work. It was a whopping ~$65 ride! Yikes! We drove under the Sydney Harbour via tunnel, interesting tunnel. Most tunnels you drive through are flat, this one dives down then back up as it goes under the harbour.

Work was good, I got pretty tired by the end of the day.

I was going to stay at a hotel for the first 3 days then switch to an apartment for the rest of my 4x weeks here. It turns out the apartment was available straight away so I was able to move in there. It’s a nice place. Its like a hotel room, a bit bigger. It has a small kitchenette, a washer/dryer unit, etc. No phone or internet though! ;( That’s going to make it challenging to stay in contact with everyone!

I walked around the neighborhood a bit, there is a small underground mall down the road attached to the train station. I bought some groceries. Whoa, are they expensive here! To give an idea:
~20oz bottle of Coke - $3.50,
Quart of skim mile - $4.80

I hope all is well with everyone!

Leaving on a jet plane

8/25/2009
Long time, no update! I plan to change that soon!

Today I leave for an assignment in Australia! I'll be there for ~ 4weeks. Its a long time, I know. Poor Anna, I just had gotten back from a 2 week vacation without her and now I'm gone for another 4 weeks!

Once I get to Australia, I'll be in Sydney. For those that have asked, I've already looked for 42 Wallaby Lane, Sydney. No dice. I should be arriving at ~7am Thursday 8/27 Sydney time.

The first few nights I'll be in a hotel but after that I'll be in a short stay apartment. Its pretty exciting, I'll share pictures once I can (though I think I forgot my camera cable, we'll see what I can pull together).

The start of my travels was rough. My first flight (from Appleton to Minneapolis) departed about 1h15min late due to congestion in MPLS. Apparently one of the runways in MPLS is closed due to construction. It sure was a mad dash from B-terminal to G-terminal! Even after the tram, there was quite a bit of hiking to make it. My second leg was running about 10minutes late, good thing too because I needed every minute of it. I made it onbaord, whew! Needless to say, no time to grab any food ;( Just peanuts on the flight.

Now I'm in the V-Australia lounge at LAX, its 12:30pm at home, 10:30pm local. They've got drinks and some veggies, hopefully there is a meal on the flight ;) The next flight is ~14.5 hrs long, should be exciting. I'm hoping to catch some Zzzs but I have a poor track record of that on flights.

Talk to you all later! Have a great day!
-Terry