We boarded the plane on time and were off on time, which means we arrived in Sydney on time. Keep in mind that "on time" meant more than 14 hours in the air on a packed airplane with about 75 very loud and somewhat unsupervised kids on their way to World Youth Day in Sydney. FYI: Day 3 (July 15) didn't exist for us because we crossed the international date line. I'll make up for it by living August 7 twice on the way back to the U.S.
While standing in line for the restroom on the plane, I had a flashback to a high-seas day on a boat from Ft. Lauderdale to Freeport. Motion sickness got the best of a marked majority of passenger, and the results of that sickness were sitting in bags and ground into the carpet everywhere. Yuck. Day 4 witnessed its fair share of illness. Some in the form that spatters at your feet unexpectedly. I felt the effects of air travel in my ankles. I did my in-flight exercises as instructed, but I awoke from a restful sleep with ankles significantly larger and more squishy than when I feel asleep. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I was dehydrated before I left, I didn't drink much on the flight, I was taking allegra for my newly-found allergies, and I was also taking benedryl for a recent attack of poison ivy, courtesy of the path to my weekend platform, which I was not supposed to let slip as I entered the country because people have been kept out for lesser reasons. KP and Ashley have since inherited that lovely platform and its plants. And I am humbled after taunting that I haven't gotten poison ivy in more than 20 years! Those words tasted quite good with a little salt and a smothering of ranch dressing.
A short flight from Sydney to Surfers Paradise, with an aerial view of the Sydney Opera House in sight over the wing of the plane, and we had arrived at our first destination.
We arrived in drizzling rain, gathered our bags in pouring rain, and attempted to board our shuttle in pounding rain. The shuttle to the hotel was nice but somewhat uneventful, other than the fact that a couple of students really thought we were driving on the "wrong" side of the road. I guess they didn't notice that note in the fine print during trip prep.
The hotel is absolutely gorgeous. Large lobby with bambo fans waving back and forth from 25-foot ceilings. The staff are incredibly helpful and courteous, in fact putting southern hospitality to shame, and most of them had learned our names and responsibilities on the trip by the end of our first day there. And we knew them also: Katie at the front desk, Vanessa in activities, Michael the concierge.
The trip was made, in my mind at least, when I arrived at my 21st floor room to a breathtaking view of the Surfers Paradise coast. And it was solidified when I opened what I expected to be the door to an average-sized bathroom only to find the ultimate luxury bathroom, complete with heated mirrors, glass shower, and very much oversized bathtub in the middle of the room. Absolute heaven!
About 4:00pm I hit the bed for a quick nap before dinner. Right. I woke up at 4:00am the next morning and watched the sun come up.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment