I'm officially in Sydney! After only a 24 hour door to door trip. 12 1/2 hours to New Zealand, plus layover, nearly 4 hours to Sydney, customs, etc. And then I made the mistake of taking a shuttle from the airport to my hotel. I was walking out to look for a cab when I was overcome by someone selling shuttle tickets, and I've never been good at backing out of those situations. Must learn not to get conned! Since I know what a shuttle is, I asked the guy, "Alright - is this going to take me straight away to my hotel?" "Oh, yeah, sure." An hour and 13 smelly European backpackers later, we were finally on the road, where he managed to drop nearly everyone off before he found his way to my place. At least I saved $25 Au because it looks like the exchange rate is much worse than it was when I budgeted this trip out.

At any rate, I did get to sleep almost 8 hours on the plane, though not all at once, of course. It did help that I took some Valium, I'm sure. I've just been to the hotel, checked in, and taken a shower and now I'm off. I have no real plans for now, though I have been pointed toward the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge which is supposed to be a 30 minute walk from here. We shall see. Also, this internet cafe is SLOOOW and no connection for my camera, so no promises of any photos for now. :(

Madeline - give Wally a big belly rub!