Happy New Year from Sydney!

Happy New year to you all. Hard to believe we are finally here. What a crazy couple of weeks. Christmas was good. Jonathan was home on the 19th and we had several crazy days of running around and buying last minute stuff (that we later learned we had NO room for in our suitcases.)

We had Gabby with us this year from the 22nd through the 28th, and the visit went pretty smoothly. We arrived in the Soo late on the 22nd and stayed through the morning of the 28th. Somewhere in there I came down with a bad cold and sinus infection, which I am not so happy to report, has followed me to the Land Down Under.

On our way north to drop off Gabby on the 28th, the rear wheel bearing went on the car, which made for a not-so-fun day and caused us to arrive back in TO around 3 am on the day we were to fly out. Oh, and did I mention we also were enjoying a huge snowstorm that day? Ugh. However, we managed to get packed and to the airport on time. (Thanks Mr. DiMarco!)

The flight to LAX was not so fun. The stewards and stewardesses were former Nazis who refused to let anyone use the washroom for 4.5 hours. Note to self, avoid American Airlines. Once we were in LAX though, we had relaxed and finally realized "hey, we are on our way to Australia!" That euphoria almost helped us ignore the price of a sandwich in LAX.

The flight from LA to Sydney was great. Seriously, I have never enjoyed a flight more. For those of you who swear they'll never visit us because the flight is too long, I have to say, your loss. It's not bad at all. Big shout out to Qantas Airlines, you guys rock. We settled into our comfy seats, turned on the video on demand movies, and were served dinner, snacks, hot cocoa before bed, and had comfy pillows and blankets. They even give you socks for the plane. Nice. In the morning, we got a hot breakfast, hot towels, and a gorgeous view of Sydney harbour as the sun came up on New Years Eve.

As a recap, we left TO on Saturday evening, and arrived in Sydney 21 hours later - on Monday morning. Sunday was pretty much lost. That is a bit of a weird feeling.

Arriving in Sydney was a surreal experience. It was HOT. And sunny. And there are plam trees everywhere. I was a bit shellshocked and tired. Anxious for a shower and a change of clothes. We took a cab to our apartment (which is great - well done Jonathan!) and dumped all our stuff on the floor. Four days later, it's pretty much still there. LOL

After doing a bit of grocery shopping and taking a nap, we were off to meet some friends from Jon's office for the NYE fireworks. We had a great view from the naval base, and it was amazing to sit and look at the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House and think "we are really here!" The fireworks were the best in the world. Absolutely amazing. What a show. What a fun night.

On Jan 1st we went up to Manly Beach and stood with our toes in the waves while we watched the surfers. Amazing. What an experience to stand on one of the world's BEST beaches on the first day of the year. Unforgettable. Manly is so beautiful, it instantly inspires you to sell everything you own and live the rest of your life as a beach bum. Ok, maybe that is just how it inspired me, but I promise, you have to see it for yourself. It's amazing.

Jan 2nd Jonathan was back to work, so I spent the day finding my way around on foot. It's about a 25 minute walk to Jon's office from home and pretty much anything you could ever need is within walking distance. I am hoping to find a job I can walk to or at least get to easily by bus. Shouldn't be too hard. I got a bit of a sunburn on my walk and need to be more diligent about the sunblock, hat and sunglasses. It's VERY sunny here.

Today is my catch up day and I'm starting to seriously look for a job. We have a bit of shopping to do yet for the apartment (some furniture might be nice, eventually) but otherwise, I am anxious to get back into a routine.

I promise to post more pictures soon!