The Land of Oz, Aus, Aaahs -- Wed., Nov. 7

Our flight to Australia was long, bumpy (pilot had to avoid lots of storms by the equator), and exciting (because we're excited to be on the way).

We made it! Customs was a breeze. We had to go through the K9 line with lots of other people to have our bags sniffed by a canine. The dog was totally bored by our bags. Fun to watch him work, though.

I am so confused by the whole International Date Line thing. I'm writing to you on Wednesday, but it's only Tuesday in the U.S. We're awaiting results of the elections.

We took a shuttle bus from the airport to the Y Hotel right in the heart of downtown Sydney. We can walk to all the downtown sights from here. Our room is very basic with a shared bathroom across the hall. But really all we're doing is sleeping here...the rest of our time we will be out exploring. Free continental breakfast is included. This morning I had orange juice, corn flakes with soy milk and a croissant with peanut butter. If you want, for $5.00 you can upgrade to a full breakfast with eggs and hash browns.

Our timeshare starts Friday about 65 miles south of Sydney or two hours north of Canberra, the Australian Capital (similar to our Washington, D.C.).

This morning we plan to take a free (tips are encouraged), three-hour walking tour of downtown Sydney. We can already tell that trying to explore Sydney in a few days will be like trying to explore New York City in three to four days (impossible). So we will hit the highlights and a few unexpected places as well. I can already tell the Royal Botanic Gardens are HIGH on my list of must sees.

Welcome to our newest follower, Rosemary B. of Escape2aus, who writes a blog about traveling in Australia! How relevant is that?  

Here's our final photo from Hawaii: the two of us with our rented red Chevy Camaro (Budget upgraded our compact car to this!) in front of our "resort" during our stay.

Susan and Bob at Iain and Tess's house.

Travel Bug and Bob off to explore Sydney on foot.