San Francisco, New York, Hawaii, and Las Vegas

20080405_Sydney Australia_24.0-105.0 mm (140)
Originally uploaded by ZeeDesertRat

Arriving into Sydney’s airport I was worried about Australia being “like a whole other country”, conversion rates, and customs. After watching a number of James Bond movies I expected to receive an interrogation on what my business was in Australia, was I transporting illegally imported peanuts, and what was my involvement with Steve Irwin. It was not quite the case. Strolled on in, handed the customs agent my passport and then proceeded to the Quarantine area where I gave another attendant my travel card and was waived into the main terminal. That’s in. No searching for saguaro cactus seeds in my bags or even a full cavity search – just waived on through.

Next step was to get to the hotel so I had to find an ATM in order to get a cab. ATM was no problem, although I’ll probably freak when I see what my bank charges me for pulling out of this particular machine. Went outside and the weather hit and it hit hard. It was probably around 55 degrees Fahrenheit, 40-50% humidity, and somewhat breezy. I couldn’t have felt anymore “at home” than when I got outside and felt a beautiful San Francisco day all around me. The sky seemed to be a much deeper blue, obviously from the ozone hole above me, and the cloud formations where something I have never seen before. The clouds made me feel as if I was in the middle of a storm, in the sunshine, and wouldn’t mind having a Pepsi while sitting outside at a local restaurant’s patio. Got in the cab and I was on my way.

I forget the cab driver’s name, but I learned my first bit of Aussie slang English. In short his English was far different than the custom agent’s vernacular and I would guess that is due to education, although that is just a guess. He has a nephew that is a solicitor in Boston, MA who originally studied to be a doctor but dropped out that program after fainting witnessing his first up close surgery. I suppose the citizens of Boston should be grateful for that. Moving on though, the drive into downtown Sydney or the CBD (Central Business District) felt very similar to the drive up 19th into San Francisco. The slightly wet asphalt looked the same as it met the concrete sidewalks, the air felt cool and moist, and the smells in the air were a combination of the ocean, damp grass, and a number of different trees. Then the drive into the CBD.

If you’re from the SF Bay Area imagine this driving being from Daly City or Pacifica directly into the finance area of San Francisco. Buildings are everywhere, streets are annoyingly one-way, and you can hear horns and sirens echo off the skyscrapers. In driving around I felt like I was in New York again, although that might be because my driver got lost. On a Sunday morning there were very little people about, and not too many cars out either. It wasn’t eerie or desolate, but it was completely unexpected. You might ask why I’ve made the comparison to NY even though Sydney screams SF – the reason will come up later in the day with the amount of people walking everywhere.

Checked in, I went up to my room which was slightly larger than my cell was while in NY last year, got online to tell everyone I had survived the 13+ hour flight, tried for a nap, and decided it was time to see what Sydney was all about. I won’t lie to you – this is my first travel anywhere outside of the US so I hesitated quite a bit before making that small first step for Kurt outside of the hotel. I probably took an hour or two trying to memorize some of the main streets from Google Maps, but finally trekked outside.

Within 10 minutes I was to Hyde Park and had already given directions to two couples that were LOCAL. Then in walking through the park I gave directions to a group of guys from somewhere in Europe, and then again to another random person who had got lost while walking their dog. All in all I forgot all about my “never traveled” hesitations and proceeded to the Royal Botanical Gardens where Australia’s first Flugtag was going on. Beautiful gardens – smelled like walking through the SF Zoo in the fall but instead of seeing the birds in cages the birds of the zoo where all around me. The animal I liked the least in the park where the bats – screaming at each other probably because they are all trying to sleep in the trees upside down during the day. Onwards to the Opera House which was barely visible through the trees.

The Opera House however cool was a bit of a let down. First off I should have had my wide-angle lens with me while up close to it. I think it might have had some better framing if I had that lens. Secondly from at the time of the day I was at the Opera House there were clouds all around and the Opera House being white with white clouds in the background does not give it justice. I was surprised that the outside texture of the Opera House is tiled. Most pictures show it from afar gleaming white when in reality it’s actually an off-white stain and in small tiles. Those shots along with those of the Harbour Bridge might need to be manipulated later this week while I have some downtime. I’m thinking black and white with some high contrast. Sepia? Maybe, we’ll see how the week goes.