(I swear that's the last time I say that. Probably.)
After a FOURTEEN AND A HALF HOUR long flight from LAX to Sydney, I have arrived in the Land Down Unda. The flight was, actually, not half bad. After the last week of visa induced ulcers and packing craziness, I managed to pass out for nine whole hours. This has to be a record for coach-based sleeping. I'm partially giving credit to my new Kuhi travel pillow (um, BUY ONE), but pure exhaustion (mixed with 2 mini-bottles of free red wine) probably played a role as well.
I filled the other five hours with People magazine junk reading (Awesome), two highly intellectual movies (The Internship and This is the End), and making conversation with the Syrian-born Australian woman sitting next to me. She was seriously Awesome--and she had been EVERYWHERE. Talk about a single woman who loves her some travel. I can only hope to be that cool thirty years from now.
We arrived in Sydney at 8 a.m. two days after we had left the good US of A. Time travel via the International Date Line gets me every time. As a result, I have no idea what day it is--or time, for that matter--and have to constantly refer to my phone for guidance.
Okay, so here's the kicker guys. I'm staying at the FOUR SEASONS this entire trip. Yep, if you do the math, that's four different Four Seasons in four different countries (it's a sponsorship deal with the non-profit I'm working for here--so, really, hats off Four Seasons). Life. Is. Rough. And while this is not how I have ever traveled in my life usually (sleeping on the floor in Damascus, anyone?), I gotta tell you: walking into the Four Seasons, jetlagged, hungry, and confused is like coming home during college to a home cooked meal after months of microwaved ramen, then curling up in your non-dormitory bed and having your laundry done for you.
It just feels so nice.
That said, the Four Seasons here in Sydney is (as always) impressively out of my personal affordability. For one thing, I constantly have to resist the urge to be waiting on the tables, not dining at them. In my usual 20-something bartender lifestyle, five star amenities don't come around often. So what do I do? I soak it allllll in.
Cucumber infused water? Yes, please. A quick steam in the steam room? Yes, please. Turn down service? Yes, please. A man casually and happily playing the piano in a tux at 9 a.m.? Yes, please. Unlimited breakfast buffet with a whole table of ridiculously Awesome pastries? Yes, please. A TV programmed with my name on the screen? Yes, yes, yes please.
Oh, and also, the view from my...er...suite:
Major yes please.
(Fun fact: Every Four Seasons is required to keep a certain number of fresh blooms in the lobby every day. It's pretty Awesome.)
And if I haven't done a good enough job convincing all of you that I don't actually "work" when I come on these trips (I do, I promise, just you wait...), Day One was spent--for the first time ever in my time on location--doing whatever I wanted. Yep. I had a free afternoon.
Well, not really, because we (that's me, and our assistant producer, Berna) had to pick up some press passes on the other side of the harbor. But that errand brought us on a nice walk through the botanical gardens--and it was a gorgeous day. While it's possible that I spent a little too much of the walk quoting Finding Nemo (P.Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney), it was still way fun.
Neither of us were aware that our trip was taking us ultimately to a Naval office with a strict dress code to get inside. We showed up, jetlagged, ragged, typical-stupid-American-looking. Whoops. Apparently cutoff shorts, tie dye shirts, and flip flops are frowned upon in the Navy. Luckily they were super cool about it, pulled us aside (not inside, mind you), and still gave us the passes. Oh, the places you find yourself sometimes.
The rest of the day was filled with exploration, a couple of Aussie beers, some chips shared with seagulls--oh, and a gracious amount of bird poop. I hear getting pooped on by a bird is good luck, though, and I'm looking for all the good luck I can get right now. Three weeks to circumnavigate the globe is cray and something tells me it would be pretty Awesome to have luck on my side....
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