Sydney Week 1 - look right

I left Austin on Monday evening for a smooth flight to LAX, where I was in the very last row of the plane. Foolishly, I left my ipod and bluetooth headphones in the seatback pocket in front of me so I definitely appreciate some good vibes sent toward AA to resolve my missing item case.

LAX's international terminal is pretty freakin' fancy. But unfortunately I couldn't use my priority pass membership to get into the KAL lounge after 20:00 so whomp whomp, I was left to wander around the duty free shops sampling fancy perfume. I boarded that 14 hour flight smelling mighty nice.

Quantas flys a double-decker plane to Sydney and my premium economy seat was on level two so I got to go up an escalator before boarding. I thought it was pretty neat and I guess I was expecting something cooler, but being on level two didn't affect the in-flight experience at all. The premium economy seat was really nice though, I had plenty of legroom and fell asleep for almost half the flight. I kept dozing off during the movies (Lego Batman, The Circle, and Gone Girl) and would wake up during the credits, so I'd rewind the movie and try it again. The food on board was decent, but nothing special. I chose salmon for dinner with delicious Australian wine, and some tasty scrambled eggs for breakfast. Nothing fancy like flying to Asia; I definitely got spoiled on Japan Airlines.

And then, on Wednesday morning, I arrived in Sydney! Security was a piece of cake, so I gathered my bags, stopping to buy an Aussie Sim card to get back on the grid, then caught a cab to the CBD, my home for the next few weeks. My heart was set on taking a shower, but unfortunately my plan was stalled because I couldn't check into my room for another 4 hours. So, I rearranged my things and set out to explore the city and pretend I wasn't tired.

First stop, the Sydney Opera House!

Second stop, Australia style coffee at Jo's recommendation, Cabrito. Holy cow, is it ever strong. Esheldunk would love it.

Next I just wandered around, found a grocery store to knock out that errand, then stopped for lunch at Noodle Story in the MetCentre, a common food court, loads better than the American-mall style. After circling the numerous options 2-3 times I finally settled on a Chinese noodle soup with shrimp (prawns, they call it here, woman had no idea what I was saying), greens, and beef. Finally settling on a lunch option reminded me so much of traveling SE Asia. In every city I visited I'd wander for blocks trying to pick where to dine. Such a struggle that hasn't gotten any easier.

After skirting the Botanical Gardens and capturing the Opera House up close, I meandered back to my hotel for check-in time. I unpacked, showered, and napped before a brief 6pm walkabout and back to bed by 8pm.

Sydneysiders lunchtime yoga in Martin Pl

sunset from the 23rd floor of my building, night 1

The next two days were fairly normal doing the whole work thing. The Syd office view is just gorgeous and all the office peeps are friendly. We have way fancier free snacks down here too. Sweet Tooth Sanchez would be in heaven.

view from my temp desk space

Friday after work I gathered up my courage and set out for the Australian Beer Festival. The hotel hosting the fest is ridiculously close to my Sydney home, so I had little to lose by swinging by. Making conversation with locals became gradually easier because I sincerely wanted to learn which beers were not to miss.

my notes

#4 on that list, the Watermelon Pilsner was my favorite from the event. I learned that most Australian craft breweries are owned by larger conglomerates. Similar to Goose Island or Karbach.

On Saturday, I did a little Christmas shopping at the Rocks Market, played tourist as I wandered through the Discovery Museum and stopped for brekkie at Jo's recommendation, The Fine Foods Store. That afternoon I caught the ferry to Mosman, where her parents toured me around their neighborhood (precinct) ending the night with a wonderful home-cooked meal and a little surfing on the telly. I was also exposed to the utter chaos of the AFL.

Sunday I again caught the ferry, but this time out to Manly. I rented (hired) a bike for the day and explored North Head, the beaches, and almost made it to the spit before my stomach and legs told my brain they'd had enough. Google photos put together this nice little slideshow from my day. It was great.

watch the slideshow for more Manly photos