So Long Sydney!

Erin and I slept in a little bit today..although she was up before me because she was going up the pylon of the bridge. Since I had already done the climb (yes I am way cooler then her, ha!) I decided I would stay in and pack (since I had to worry about liquids, weight, etc.)

I think this was the first time in my life that I was packed AND ready to go before we had “scheduled” ourselves to leave..it was amazing! We had signed up for the Oz Jet boat in Sydney Harbor, so we left our bags at the hotel and made our way down to the water. I had done some research and found that with this company if you printed off a card online it was buy one get one free (not a bad deal) so that worked out well now that Mamma Wilson left and we are on our own (DEFINITELY not as much fun without her!)

The boat was fun, although I don’t think I would recommend it if you had to pay full price. It goes really fast and does some spins and it’s definitely a different way to see Sydney from the water, but I wasn’t crazy about it. They had these big ugly red jackets for us so while our clothes didn’t get soaked our heads did. It was a bit cooler and cloudy/windy so maybe if it was a warm sunny day it would have been more refreshing!

Since we wanted to do some shopping, we snuck into a hotel to use their nice bathrooms to wash up! We then took the free shuttle bus to the market (which is closed on Mondays) so we headed to their upstairs mall. The place was WEIRD..there’s no other way to describe it. It was a mall, but there would be a Chinese store (since we were in China town) next to an upscale store, next to a food vendor. It just seemed like nothing fit together. We ended up doing the 30 minute walk back and stopped in some stores along the way. It was getting a bit cold and we wanted to have a lunch/dinner meal (we were both going to be on planes during dinner) so we headed back to get some warmer clothes and then found a pub place for lunch where we had some sandwiches.

The whole day was just so relaxed because we had ALL this time..we were early for everything..it was amazing! We stopped in the art museum since we had some time before the airport shuttle was to pick us up at 5pm and then around 430pm we headed back to the hotel to get our bags etc. We got there around 440pm and they couldn’t find our bags (great) but it was because the shuttle was already there and the bellboy had already put our bags in the van! We picked up a few more people and were off to the airport!

I will have you know I weighed in at 21kg (I have 23kg) and since Erin and I were both domestic flights we were able to go through security together!

So a couple things about Australia. Their airport security sucks. Well I mean, I guess it’s kind of nice..until someone gets killed and then not so much. Erin and I went through with our shoes and sweatshirts on. I DID take my laptop out, but water (in my massive bottle) was allowed. I kept waiting for them to pull my bag and tell me I had a 3.1 ounce bottle (which has happened to me in the States before) but there hasn’t been any problems!

The other thing is the signs for traveling are great! In both the Gold Coast and Port Douglas we didn’t have a GPS..just maps and signs! I actually think it worked better as we didn’t have the GPS telling us to continue for a mile (as we pass our destination) and then tell us “recalculating route”.

Anyway Erin and I were able to hang out together for a bit, but then our flights were in different wings so we had to go. Erin I know you read this and I am not just saying this to say it..but I really had SUCH a fun time with her..BOTH weekends! I realize a lot of the time I say, “Oh I am here visiting my brothers girlfriend” but I really think of her as MY friend now (sorry Scott!) so it was really awesome to travel with a friend! Ok enough of the sappy stuff!

As I got to my gate, I saw 4 airport policemen talking to a man about his bag. Never a good sign! So obviously I took a seat close enough to be a part of the situation, but far enough away that I didn’t look like I purposely sat there to get in on the action. I am not sure how it all started, but they said they needed to go through the man’s bag. He was PISSED (yelling all sorts of bad things) and I could tell this guy was DRUNK. Two of the cops stood to the side and it seemed like they were taking an inventory of his bag while the other two stood around him (and took a verbal beating). One cop did most the talking and was actually very nice and kept telling the guy he could get his flight tomorrow after he sobered up and they were just trying to help him and keep him safe, etc. It sounded like they were going to take him back to his house (he was flying to visit his Dad). I was ready for a fight, but the guy seemed to chill out a little bit. Again, I don’t know the whole story, but as much as I joke it was actually kind of sad.

My flight was delayed (every Virgin Blue flight I have had has been delayed) but it was only about 45 minutes before I was on the flight. I obviously fell asleep (and quickly) because when I woke up I thought, “Ugh I can’t believe we haven’t left yet..” as the captain came on and said, “We are now beginning our decent into Melbourne”.

I actually had to RUN to get my bag off the carousel (I guess I could have waited for it to go around again but where’s the fun in that!) and then hopped on the shuttle bus to the main station in Melbourne. I knew I was racing against time because this shuttle also provides free transport to your hotel before 1030pm. It was about 1025pm when I arrived and luckily I was the only one heading off to the hotel..so off I went!

Fortunately I had emailed the hotel saying I was checking in late so they gave me directions on how to get in since they door is locked in the evening. It is NOTHING to write home about (reminds me of something you would find in Hampton Beach?) but the location MORE than makes up for it! It also doesn’t have wifi, which is a little bit tricky as I am STILL planning and researching Melbourne. So, even though it was about 1130pm, I decided to go find some internet AND figure out where my 745am tour was going to be leaving from!

Ahhh Melbourne (pronounced Melbin). For some reason it seemed like EVERYONE was drunk! People on the streets were SO weird (granted it was late) but they were yelling and screaming..some girls were running barefoot with huge stuffed animals and the place seemed dirty and it is MUCH colder than the rest of Australia! After finding internet (and 24 hour McD’s, 7-11’s and internet shops) I also managed to find where my bus is leaving from in the morning!

Hugs and kisses from Melbourne (or Melbin)!