The Opposite Side: First Impressions

Trip Start Jan 10, 2007
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Trip End Mar 08, 2007

Flag of Australia  ,
Sunday, January 13, 2008

I left Montreal on January 9th...flew down to JFK where I took a SUPER SHUTTLE to Brod's house and awaited the delivery of my SLR Nikon D80 that I bought on EBAY and had sent to Heather's to avoid paying Duty. We partied till wee hours in the night - ok, we just ate a late dinner, had two drinks at a local bar in the meat packing district and then walked 40 blocks before hopping into a taxi back to her place - apartment G9. I just called it "Heather's Gspot"

I took the Super Shuttle back to the airport. BIG MISTAKE. I got picked up at the Gspot for 10:30 (premeditated time to catch 1:55 flight) We were circling west end manhattan picking up passengers up until 12:15!! We arrived at the airport for 12:55pm. I was crapping bricks, thinking that I was going to miss my flight. Finally, when we arrived at the airport, I discovered that I needed a Visa for Australia. Luckily I was able to buy one at Cathay Pacific's ticketing office.

I'll skip over all the flight details but just to say it was FREAKING long. In total - 34 hours traveling! Brutal but worth the trip. I always just think of the many days where I wake up at noon hungover and the rest of the day is a write off just lazing in bed all day. Well, in that time - I flew across the world.

I arrived in Sydney at around 12:30 pm...first thing I noticed is that the men are rediculously hot. We are so deprived of good looking rugged men in Montreal. They're just big here and have that dangerous appeal to them.
Took the bus to meet JP at the Sheraton hotel in Darling Harbour...wow what amazing views from the room. We went for a quick bite to eat, had some ice cream and then came back to the room. Suprisingly, I was full of energy after a 36 hour trip however and as expected JP needed a nap. I ended up falling asleep for the evening and woke up at 6:30 am.

Today is officially day 1. We went for a jog around the opera House and botannical gards. What a beautiful city however I'm really surprised at how expensive this city is. Here are some examples:
1. Banana (1 unit) sold in 7/11 - $1.50
2. Bottle of Water (500 ML) 3.00
3. Lonely Planet Book = $48.99 (however the US price on the back of the book is $29.99)
4. Continental breakfast at hotel: $28.00

We ventured out into Bondi Beach, which was completely STACKED! Sunday afternoon - go figure! There is an awesome coastal boardwalk that you can walk along for miles and miles to discover the many different beaches of the area. Bondi Beach is evidently the largest and most populated - filled with a pretty young, affluent surfing crowd in their 20's
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