Our Down Under Adventures Begin

Our Down Under Adventure Begins

Nov 19,

Howdy Mates!  Okay, I got that out of my system and can now begin recording our journey to Australia and points beyond.

Our flight from Phoenix to LAX was uneventful.  We allowed a super abundance of time between flights given that Christine, with a four hour scheduled layover, still missed her Costa Rica flight due to delays beyond her control.  We were not going to miss the daily flight to Sydney so we planned to hang out at the LAX Bradley International Terminal.  

What a surprise that was.  The terminal has been renovated, adding a high ceilinged, technically advanced upper floor.  Seating is spacious and comfortable, the food court boasts the usual healthy options as well as three high end full service restaurants.  Shops were plentiful but limited to designer boutiques including Gucci, Armani, Michael Kors, Bvlgari, and others.  After a fast paced walk through the central, north and south concourses I did feel like I’d been excluded.  Could I be the only one?  Is traveling only about the very wealthy?  Where was shopping for the middle class, or upper middle class who didn’t spend $800 for a purse, or $600 for a bottle of blended malt liquor?  

This feeling continued when we boarded our flight.  Economy is not inexpensive, but it is cheap.  Seats are close with ten abreast in each row, and much to our surprise, only two bathrooms for two hundred passengers flying economy class.  I don’t know how many more international flights are in my future.  But enough, it was time to enjoy our adventure, one that is not available to many, and one that already makes us among the most privileged.  

Our 14 hour flight brought us to Sydney at 9:30 local time.  We had all rested on the flight, Norman and Harriet, Stu and I, so we were ready for the trek to our hotel in central Sydney, The Central Station Hotel.  Well located near the city center we could travel easily from this lovely, recently remodeled hotel.  Small, immaculate rooms, would make our ship cabins feel spacious when we board the Osterdam later today.

Hop on, Hop off took us all over Sydney, which is a much smaller city than we realized.  Our first trip was to Bondi Beach, a beautiful view of the Pacific.  Sydney is a peninsula with multiple fingers jutting into the sea so a beautiful ocean view is available from multiple vistas.  Our first Australian meal, why fresh fish and chips take away from a beach front eatery eaten picnic-style amidst the seagulls and ibis, which abound.

From Bondi we Hopped on for a ride out of the suburbs and back into the city center.  Although we rode for another 90 minutes, the city is actually quite small and perfect for walking tours, which I would recommend.  Due to our multiple limitations, Stu’s back was very troublesome, Harriet walks slowly, but is quite the trouper, we relied on the bus with a few walks in between.  Although we had planned to spend two days in Sydney before boarding our ship, we weren’t very interested in the city and didn’t visit the museums--which are plentiful including art, contemporary art, history, archeological, scientific.  For a small Sydney, there are plenty of cultural venues, we just didn’t avail ourselves of them this trip.   

One of the highlights of the second day was a tour of the Great Synagogue across from Sydney’s Hyde Park--it’s Central Park equivalent.  The Synagogue is open for tours twice a week, under security, a necessity everywhere Jews gather.  It is a magnificent edifice on the Heritage registry and restored to its original grandeur through a grant from the Australian government.  Australia has a thriving, but small Jewish population, about 1/2%.  There have been Jewish Mayors, Governors, a knighted military general, merchants, philanthropists, musicians, and others of note.  The Synagogue has three families which can trace their Australian lineage to the first convict ship in the 1800’s, when 16 Jews, 15 convicts and a free Jew, arrived in Australian courtesy of the British government.

So many reminders of Great Britain I was reminded of how far reaching the British Empire had been in its hay day.  Whether it be Bangkok, Hong Kong, or Sydney, the British made their mark.  Stu and I love the Pub scene.  In the evening the Pubs, of which there are plenty, are packed, even during the week.  There are many young professionals in Sydney and they come out to the street to congregate.  Apts and condos are small, so entertaining Pub style is welcomed.  Stu and I did our usual people watching, which we enjoyed very much.  We even enjoyed a late pub lunch of minute steak, mash, and peas, with a beer, of course.  In a city of high prices compared to the US, our Pub lunch was reasonable.

Thursday evening we headed to China town, an 8 block walk, where we enjoyed a quiet meal, much smaller portions (the reason why Americans are so much ‘larger’), and more people watching.  We didn’t know about the tipping custom so I asked a group of four men standing nearby whose Australian accents identified them.