Crossing over and my time in Sydney

As I am leaving Sydney in the morning I figured it would be a good time to update you all on what I've done and experienced so far. The flights were mediocre to bad. My flight leaving Edmonton was delayed and so when we landed in San Francisco I had a whopping
9 minutes to get to the next gate. In Los Angeles, they didn't send my bags along like they were suppose to, so I had to wait in the baggage claim for the next flight to come and then haul my backpack across LAX to wait near the end of a ridiculously long check-in line.


Once we cramped our way into the massive 747 I was ready to pass out from a migraine. I think it takes a special type of person to get a solid sleep on an overseas flight, and unfortunately for me, I am not one of those special people. I did however, meet a lovely fellow from Australia during one of my back-of-the-plane yoga sessions, who owns a safari type company in the Outback. He offered me a job or a place to stay if I'm ever in the area, for which I will surely take him up on.


We landed in Fiji (which was absolutely beautiful, if you ever have the chance to go you should do it) and waited 3 hours in the check in line. The flight from Fiji to Sydney was quite good, I met a few people and had a window seat that provided me with an amazingly beautiful view of the Fijian islands and my first viewing of Australia.




When I landed, the weather was absolutely disgustingly hot and humid. Coming from a dry -37°C to a very humid +42°C was definitely not easy! Swollen, painful tonsils ensued, accompanied by a severe case of jet lag. Needless to say my first few days were very rough. Once I started feeling better though, I was able to do some more things.

I encountered my first Jellyfish in Woolloomooloo Bay about a foot away from my foot. Odd creatures they are, and friendly too; the little guy kept wanting to cuddle up next to me. I went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and saw some really old and massive paintings there; very epic! Walked through about half of the Botanical Gardens (the spiders really are as big as they say) and went to Darling Harbor a few times. Some friends and I went to Bondi beach (my first beach!) and I got a lovely tour provided by a friend of a friend of my mother's who took me to the Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay, Manly Beach and and a bunch of other beautiful beaches I can't remember the names of. Did I forget something? Like maybe...the Sydney Opera House? I've only managed to see it from afar, but am hoping to see a show there before I leave this vast country.

 

Next stop: the Blue Mountains, located West of Sydney and containing the famous Three Sisters. I am quite excited to get out of the city and be surrounded be nature. I definitely feel ready to move on from the hustle and bustle and tourist traps of Sydney