And I'm back in the land of wifi...

at an airport McDonald's in Sydney. Speaking of Sydney, that's where we've been for the past 5 days. We had high hopes for our hostel upon arriving in the city, but alas, they were quickly dashed when we entered the room to find Randy sleeping and a whole lot of grossness all around us. We contemplated not showering the entire time we were there, but we all sucked it up and used the facilities. The good thing about staying in a gross hostel is that we really didn't want to spend any more time than we had to so we got up early and came in late.

We got to Sydney on Saturday morning on an early morning flight from Cairns. We checked in and walked down to the harbor to pick up our "venture cards" and transit pass that were already booked. We then figured out (or I should say that Laurie figured out) how to get to a bus pick up point that would take us to Hillsong for a worship service that evening. Their Saturday night service isn't huge (the Sunday night is the one with 3500 people) but it was a good time--excellent worship band and energetic speaker. By the time we got back to the train station that would take us back to harbor, it was rather late and we were all very tired and cold. I couldn't keep my eyes open and fell asleep waiting at the train station and on the train itself. Amy took a picture--she said I looked homeless.

We packed our first full day in Sydney by touring the Opera House, walking over to the Harbor Bridge (we didn't do the bridge climb but got the view from the pylon), going to the observatory (we got to see the sun through a telescope), and walked through the botanical gardens before going to dinner. We also got our tickets to see an opera at the opera house. When we went up to the ticket booth, we were still undecided about what we wanted to see. When the lady helping us realized that we could get a great deal ($208 seats for $50) to see "The Marriage of Figaro" she said, "Even if you HATE opera, you HAVE to buy these tickets." We couldn't say no.

On Monday we saw some more around Sydney--went to Wildworld and then took an extra long whale watching tour. It was extra long because one of our engines broke on the way back so we came back in really really slowly. We didn't have time to do anything else that day except go back to the hostel to change for the opera (no, kathy, you would not have approved of our attire), went to dinner, and saw the opera. We all managed to keep our eyes open most of the time. It really was an amazing experience--almost athletic with how they're singing. It was definitely a highlight of our time here.

On Tuesday we started out at the Powerhouse museum (which wasn't that impressive--it was their science and history/invention museum). It did, however, have an impressive 80's exhibition. It made us feel slightly old to see stuff that was in our lifetime in a museum. We were like, "Look at that cabbage patch kid! There are some tapes and a walkman!" It was a little ridiculous. We then met Nicole (a friend from camp who happens to be in the Sydney for the month volunteering at a camp) and she joined us for a trip out to the Olympic Park and a harbor cruise. We had dinner in the "Rocks" at a place that had kangaroo, emu, and crocodile meat. Laurie and I ate a pepper kangaroo pizza. Australia is an odd country in that it eats its national symbol. After dinner, and saying goodbye to Nicole, we went out to the aquarium to see the sharks. They certainly know how to do their animal exhibits here. It was amazing. We finished off the evening by getting dessert and coffee at a harbor side cafe and taking the ferry back to our train station.

Today went to Manly--another ferry ride across the harbor. We took a scenic walk that took us along beaches, up on cliffs, through an old military training post, and back into town. We had great views of the ocean and harbor. We definitely racked up the mileage today and are quite content to spend the evening in an actual hotel with clean sheets and towels and a shower and no roommates who like to make chicken and rice at 3am.

Thanks for reading this installment of "where in the world is erin (and friends)". I'll post a link to way too many pictures after we're home.