After traveling through time zones, I’ve been told the best way to acclimate oneself is to “power on” and immediately merge into the eating and sleeping patterns of the locals. What better way to adjust than to go on a walking tour of Sydney’s most acclaimed building? Yes, we joined an hour-long walking tour of the Opera House. Little did I know that there is more than one auditorium. Actually, there’s a concert hall, a large theatre, a smaller drama theatre, a playhouse, a studio theatre, a reception hall, and even a restaurant. Our tour group witnessed a ballet rehearsal. I’ll share some of the many photos taken today before an early evening bedtime. I’m bushed.

Two plane trips and a lost day later, we finally arrived in Australia. Other than occasional turbulence and difficulty sleeping in an upright position, the long ride (almost 15 hours) from Los Angeles to Sydney turned out to be quite uneventful. I sat between my hubby and an Aussie grandmother who must have a bladder of steel–she only got out of her seat once during the entire flight. The first photo I took was in the airport/train station. I’m tired.

We landed in Los Angeles after a sporadically bumpy flight. Other than dealing with nasty toilets and breaking out in a mild case of unexplained hives (a. Stress? b. Ginger drink? c. Homeopathic jet lag spray?), the trip has been fairly uneventful thus far. I laughed when we walked off the plane at gate 56 to see that our Sydney flight will be leaving from gate 57. The waiting game continues….

As we wait at the Atlanta Airport for our first flight to LA, I’m grateful that my screwed-up visa was finally fixed. We stood at the ticket counter for almost 30 minutes as the agent made phone calls. Evidently John’s company travel agent had initially listed me as a “M” instead of a “F”…and even though I caught the error a few weeks ago, it had never been “officially” changed. Sigh. While waiting, I made a comment that perhaps I shouldn’t have pointed out the error a few weeks ago, but the agent assured me that a BIG delay could have occurred in Australian customs. It’s better to take care of issues at the outset. Sigh. One keystroke matters!