Our first couple of days in Oz land!  Yay!  We aren’t in Kansas anymore Toto. I mean Juju. I mean Julia!  We checked into our hotel and by ‘checked in” I mean left our luggage at the front desk because it was 2pm yet.  Being jet-lagged and unable to get into your hotel in a new city is always an interesting experience, isn’t it?  It’s like a cross between the TV shows The Walking Dead and Amazing Race.  You’re running around seeing all these awesome sights but are essentially a zombie.

But what choice did we have? We were in Sydney!  There is no time for sleep! We set out walking around the city to see the sights.  I immediately liked Sydney! Why does this place seem familiar? Why does this place feel a bit like San Diego?  Yes, it’s true!  Situated right on the water with a beautiful harbor and a great downtown, Sydney has a San Diego vibe to it.  Sure the accents are better and the beer is more expensive but I definitely had the feeling I was in “America’s Finest City.”  (Oh, hey non-San Diegans!  You didn’t know San Diego makes this somewhat snooty but also kinda accurate claim to fame about itself?  Yup they sure do. Apparently, San Diego=America’s Finest City.  Sorry rest of America.)

The next few days we saw it all! The Opera House, Circular Quey (the main harbour of the city), Darling Harbour, the Harbour bridge, Watson’s Bay, Bondi Beach and so much more! We spent one afternoon eating lunch under the  Harbour bridge watching a fierce game of football, rugby and/or soccer.  I’m not positive what was being played but we sure enjoyed spying on the match at hand.

We also met up with my friends Jackie and Jamie in Sydney.  These are the same friends with whom I went to Patagonia. Now, I was now meeting them in Australia! Random I know!  Jamie lived in New Zealand for nearly 30 years before meeting Jackie and moving to California.  They still go back to New Zealand nearly every year to check in on their house, visit friends, and live a Kiwi lifestyle for a month or so.  Because both are retired they decided to extend their trip to Australia this year.  I was headed in the same direction, so we planned to meet up for this leg of the trip.  Lucky me!

In another 6-degrees of separation “Round the World” edition, all of us had dinner with an Australian couple living in Sydney who we had first met on our W-trek in Chile.  You remember that right? Freezing hut accommodations? Rare Andean deer sightings? Blizzard like conditions? It was fabulous to meet up with this couple and reunite on a different continent. This is such a perk of traveling.  Meeting people from around the world, learning about their culture, and having the opportunity to visit them in their home country. What a treat!