I guess that's not totally true, I do have one date to make. The girl sitting next to me on the plane invited me out for drinks with her friends on Friday. I hope I can find the place alright and it all goes well cause it'd be nice to spend some quality time with Aussies in their natural habitat.
But yes, the journey here. Leaving Paris was a piece of cake despite the wind storm that had blown in the night before. I had a casual walk to the train station, train ride to the airport and check in was nothing to fret over. Airports are far easier to navigate than train stations in my opinion; it really was uneventful.
Things got a bit more exciting when I got to London, at least after the three hours of zoning out by the gates. I realized something was wrong when I didn't see my flight number on the Departures screen and I found out I was in the wrong terminal. Thank goodness I had four hours to spare because it was a forty-five minute train ride there and then when I tried to check in the machine wouldn't let me! I was a bit miffed until I was told that I was being denied at check-in because I didn't have a visa for Australia. Yikes, that scared me a bit and I had a few nightmares flash through my head of missing my flight to New Zealand and not being able to go to school and the like. I was pushed off to see the customer service desk where they set up me up properly, then to the ticket sales desk to pay for it, then finally back to the check-in counter. Blah, I hate running around like that but at that point I was mostly glad I had a seat on the airplane that was going to Sydney. I sat down after dropping my backpack and enjoyed a blissful moment with my chocolate mousse.
The flight was fine. It was pleasant and kind of boring but I suppose that is the best that a flight from London to Sydney can be. The food was good, though I was skeptical of the English breakfast. I shouldn't have been surprised since it was British Airways; of course they'd have decent sausages and tomatoes. I was sitting in a middle seat on the side of the plane between an older man and a woman a bit older than me. The man turned out to be a marine biologist who had been studying sea turtles in Italy and Greece for the last eight years. Listening to him talk about the tiny islands he had been living on and the many more he planned on visiting in the South Pacific made me want to start over again with a Marine Science degree. I did get his card though and I plan on contacting him in the future for collaboration or connections, or something. Gosh, anything that will get me to the South Pacific.
Michael, the Marine Biologist, left us at our stopover in Singapore. I had enough time to get a few postcards posted then it was back on the plane again with Mel. She spent some time outlining the sights I should definitely see in Sydney then tried to do some work on her laptop. I say "tried" because the turbulence was so bad that she couldn't type. I passed the time by watching my third movie of the night, then putting on my neat little complimentary eye cover and sleeping in whatever position was least uncomfortable. I've never slept on a flight and woken up feeling better, but both legs of this trip that happened. I was grateful for it though and now I don't feel too bad at all. Even the time difference doesn't seem different at all, as long as I don't think about it too much.
Bats coming out at dusk in the botanical gardens next to the hostel
Sydney skyline
Syndey Operahouse and Harbour Bridge, woot, I'm really in Sydney!
So yep, I'm here at the Wood Duck Inn for the next three days which sounds quite lovely to me. The rooftop is great because it has the kitchen up here as well as couches and tables n such. I think I'll enjoy my time here, thoroughly.
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