The Hochmuth Adventures 2018 - CAFE - California, Australia, Florida and Europe: February 2018

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Trip to Australia - Day One - February 1, 2018 - Sacramento to LAX to Tom Bradley International

Today is our airport day. We took an Uber to Sacramento International Airport and got through security no problem. Although we were delayed in leaving a bit we still got to LAX earlier than stated. It is just a short plane ride - up and down. We retrieved our luggage and then found Terminal 2 to check into our flight with Virgin Australia. We checked our bags in and then had a short walk over to Tom Bradley International Terminal. We went through security again no problem - but they did not do TSA Pre-check so we had to take off shoes, take out computers etc. From there we went and got something to eat since we didn't yet have a gate assignment. We are here for quite a long time because I booked our flight to LAX based on the flight times we had originally and of course they have since changed and we leave two hours later. (I don't know what it is with all the changes in flight times. We have already been notified of flight changes for our trip in October.) We are supposed to leave at 11:20. Our flight is 15 hours long so I'll let you know how it goes.

Trip to Australia - Day Two - February 2, 2018 - The flight

The flight on Virgin Australia was not as bad as I feared. First of all they started you off with everything you’d need to be comfortable. There was a blanket, pillow, water, headphones, sleep mask and ear plugs all waiting for you on your seat when you arrived. The seats were a decent size and were comfy. There was a wide selection of movies, tv, music and reading material on the screen in the seat back in front of you. Shortly after takeoff they served a full meal with dessert and wine if desired - we desired. The choices were beef, chicken teriyaki, or pasta. We had the chicken and it was good. After dinner I watched Three Billboards Outside Ebbing. We’ve seen more movies in the last month than we have in years. I started Battle of the Sexes but fell asleep which was a good thing. Usually I can’t sleep on planes but I’ve had many more early mornings than usual so it wasn’t a problem. I went back and finished the rest of the movie after my sleep. The plane was rather large after 1st class and business there were 32 rows of seats in a 3 x 3 x 3 configuration. Ron and I each had aisle seats next to each other so it worked out great. There was a couple next to me so no one ever had to crawl out over me! With about 41/2 hours of the flight remaining they brought us a chicken Stromboli for a snack. There was water available all during the flight. I watched a documentary on Zac Posen which will make me see him differently when I watch Project Runway. With 2 hours left in the flight they served us breakfast. While eating breakfast I watched Bad Moms - something light. I had seen part of it on another flight but missed the end of the movie. Breakfast was an omelette with ham, asparagus and tomatoes along with yogurt and a muffin. We arrived right on time at 9:20 but it did take a while for our luggage to arrive and to get our shuttle to the hotel. We knew, but had forgotten, about the driving on the other side of the road until our shuttle driver got in the front seat of what for us is the passenger side of the van. I'm glad that we don't need to do any driving this trip. Can't get my head around it.

All in all I think we fared better on this 15 hour flight than expected. It wasn't half bad.

Trip to Australia - Day Three - February 3, 2018 - Sydney

We arrived at our hotel, Vibe, about 11:30 and thankfully we were able to get into our room right away. We took our bags up and freshened up a bit before we took off for our first exploration of Sydney. We decided to head down to the harbor to see how long it will take to walk from the hotel since we have a 10:00 Harbor Tour tomorrow and we have to check in by 9:30. We walked down along Pitt Street, a virtual shoppers Nirvana and enjoyed the sights. Sydney has many lovely sculptures and it is interesting to see the modern with the historic clock towers and buildings together. We made it to The Circular Quay #6 and walked along the waterfront. There was a huge cruise ship that had docked. From there we walked to an area called The Rocks by the Sydney Harbour Bridge. On the weekends they close some of the streets in this area and have market tents with art, jewelry, foods etc. but most of it high end. We checked out some of the stores and made our way back to the hotel. Ron took a nap while I blogged. Since we are still a little jetlagged we found a restaurant close and made it an early evening. Sydney isn't cheap. It was $42 for 2 burgers, (no "chips") a beer, and a glass of wine but really only $34 US. We'll have three full days to uncover more of Sydney.

First glimpse of the Opera House- will get better pix tomorrow

Modern Sculpture along Pitt St.

The historic and modern side by side

Sculpture in Herald Square - donated on the 150th anniversary of the Herald Newspaper

Checking out the bridge

Sydneys oldest Pub - we haven't tried it out yet

Scene in the Rocks

Another Sculpture in the Rocks

Carole we scouted out your Irish Pub with Guinness

This seemed familiar

We thought we were in Watertown during the Paddock Arcade's heyday

Animal cruelty demonstration

The beautiful Queen Victoria Building

Another view of the QVB

Thought we were back in Chaumont with the Duck In(n)/Duck Out

Didn't think they still had Woolworths

Friday, February 2, 2018

Trip to Australia - Day Four - February 4, 2018 - Sydney

Woke up this morning after a wonderful night's sleep feeling great and ready to take on Sydney. Decided on just tea and Belvita for breakfast. We'll get something more substantial later in the day. The temps are perfect - 65 in the morning and up to high 70s in the afternoon. We had a few sprinkles as we walked past Hyde Park. Loving this summer weather. We walked to Circular Quay #6 for the Harbour Story Cruise which lasted 2 hours. Our guide Judy pointed out all the different sites and history of the Harbour. Of course we saw the Opera House which was completed in 1973. It was supposed to cost $7 million but ended up costing $102 million. To pay for it they started an Opera House Lottery which made up the difference in a mere 18 months. Our guide said the Aussies really like to gamble. She also offered stories of Australia's stars such as Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Greg Norman and Mariah Carey's ex - James Packer. Judy gave us the names of many of the harbor bays but since there are 66 different bays, I won't even try to start naming them. We saw the area that had one of the 10 most expensive streets in the world. Sydney, a city of 5 million people, isn't cheap and the median house price is $1.6 million. It was raining during the cruise so some of my pictures might not be the best but the skies cleared after we finished and we had a beautiful afternoon for our walk. We grabbed a quick bite for lunch and then walked the Quay to take a closer look at the Opera House. From there we walked along the harbor to Mrs. MacQuaries' Point and her chair. We enjoyed seeing all the beautiful vegetation in the the Royal Botanical Gardens, The Domain and Hyde Park. We made a stop at St. Mary's Cathedral before heading back to the hotel. It's so hard to do justice to the beauty of this city and the lovely weather is just an added bonus.

Views on our walk to the Harbour

Views of Sydney Harbour

Can't believe how big the cruise ships are!

Snake Island

Views of the Royal Botanical Gardens

Mrs. MacQuories Chair

The Succulent Garden

St. Mary's Cathedral

Came home and did some blogging before we headed out to dinner. Our destination was Darling Harbour since this was one area of Sydney that we hadn't explored yet. It is quite close to our hotel and a really nice area. There were numerous wading pools, splash ponds, and playground grounds along with the I-Max theater and of course more shops and restaurants. We checked all the restaurants around the harbor and then decided on Blue Fish which had been recommended by our hotel staff. I had the seafood paella and Ron the mussels. Our meals were delicious. My paella had chicken, chorizo, mussels, clams, calamari and prawns while Ron had almost 3 dozen mussels in a scrumptious tomato broth. The food, wine, beer, setting, and company made for a perfect evening. We crossed the Pyrmont Pedestrian Bridge to take a different route home. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Views of Darling Harbour

Trip to Australia - Day Five - February 5, 2018 - Sydney

Super Bowl Monday here is Sydney!

Today our tour doesn’t start until 1:00 so we explored the neighborhood around our hotel. We were able to find an optician to put my sunglasses back together and did some souvenir shopping. Close to our hotel we happened upon a bar with a Super Bowl party. We stopped and had a bite to eat and watched some of the game. We left at halftime but were happy to hear the game results while on our tour. Our guide Paul was excellent in filling us in on Australia's history, updating us on current issues and highlighting the different areas in and around Sydney. We started in The Rocks and went by the Opera House and Mrs. Macquaries Chair. We learned about Macquarie's husband who was responsible for planning the many parks, gardens and reserved harbor land that now grace the Sydney landscape. We drove through The Royal Botanic Garden, The Domain, and Hyde Park. We saw the outside of St. Mary's Cathedral - we went in yesterday. We learned some of the background on the Harbour Bridge and how the harbor has come to be in it's current pristine condition. Paul also name dropped and told some tales of Russell Crowe and when his wife ate lunch with Hugh Jackman and his wife and pointed out the church, St. Marks, where Elton John got married. We went to the areas of Double Bay, Rose Bay, Watson Bay, Paddington, and Bondi Beach. At Bondi Beach we had a short time just long enough to stick our toes in the water and walk the beach for 10 minutes. I have pages and pages of notes from our tour today but I'll try to sprinkle in the facts as we continue on our trip.

Today's facts on Sydney:

-there is no snow in winter - low temperature 42 degrees

-their economy is robust - they didn't suffer during the global down turn - there is no unemployment in Sydney

-80% of their taxes go to social programs

-they have only about 50,000 in their military including administrators

After our tour we got dropped off in The Rocks and walked to Circular Quay and took the fast ferry to Manly Wharf. There we had a beer and a Rose slushie at the jetty bar. For dinner we had fish and chips from the Manly Wharf Hotel. We had delicious fish and chip, a salad and a beer or wine for $16. Definitely our cheapest meal in Sydney. After dinner we got back on the ferry - it is a 20 minute ride and they run usually every 20 minutes. Walked back to the hotel and started on the blog. Tomorrow is our last day in Sydney and we have lots planned so until tomorrow.