Welcome to tomorrow.. Stupid Americans...

(First sight of Sydney Australia from the plane)

Good anya!

Well, we have made it to Cairns already but without our internet access in Sydney, not to mention laziness due to lack of sleep, it is here that I will relate the fun of entering this beautiful country.

We finally touched down yesterday, which in your case, is today... Wait.. I am getting so confused by this whole International Date Line thing... I can't even tell you what day it is :( Anyhoo, we made it to the airport safely and followed the signs to Customs. Now, any normal person would follow our lead by following the signs to the long, roped line of Customs. As we stood there in line awaiting our turn, everyone else decided on a free for all, chaotic way of approaching the counters, completely bypassing our line -- ignoring us in the process. Well, I stepped up and busted my way to the counter finally after being cut by 3 or 4 different people. Yay! A stamp in the passports! This is Risa's first stamp so she's pretty ecstatic.

(Walk through the park in Sydney)

We decided to be honest and claim what food we had, because let's face it, we are the Fat Kids who like to eat and must therefore have plenty of snacks to hold us over on a 10 hour and 40 minute plane ride... The Quarantine Officer stopped us to check our Claims Form and doubted our claims, asking what it is we have. I replied with an honest "Goldfish crackers, M&Ms and cookies." (Like I said, the Fat Kids must have our snacks!) He didn't even ask to see our snacks and let us through.

We finally made it out to the phone where we proceeded to call our hostel for shuttle pick up. Now when I say 'we,' I mean 'me.' Risa was taught well by her parents and does not talk to strangers, but gives me the information, or her questions, to discuss with the appropriate people. After receiving the pick info from the concierge (do you call someone at a hostel a concierge?), we decided to ask an Info dude where this wall we were told called "The Meeting Place" is. He looked at me like I was a moron, and pointed to the HUGE blue wall not 10 yards away... Stupid Americans... It is true though for all nationalities: When one goes on vacation, the brain simply shuts down and does not work properly.

After a short wait, we were picked up and went on the ride of our life throughout Sydney. Now Risa and I are not ones to get motion sickness these days. Perhaps a little seasick (Risa) every now and then, but not in the car. I'll tell you what, by the time we got to our room at the City Resort Hostel, we were doing our best to keep our Fat Kid snacks in our bellies! That drive was worse than any roller coaster, carnival ride, or boat ride we've ever been on!

(It's not Burger King, it's Hungry Jacks, and it was one of the only places open for dinner that late.)

By the time we showered and were ready to go out, we were exhausted and starving. We deiced to take a stroll towards town, through a couple of parks and find some grub. We found several places that looked decent but by this time, we were so hungry, we decided on a familiar place that looked exactly like Burger King: Hungry Jack's. It was so nice to get an adult meal that was the size of a kid's meal! AND about the same price! It's amazing how much bigger American fast food meals are! Neither of us even finished our food and by the time we were done eating, it was back to the hostel and off to bed. After all, we had to wake up at 4:30am the next morning to make our next flight to Cairns!

(Both of our first hostel ever!)

So, here we are now in Cairns, in a wonderful hostel called Calypso (thanks again Kevin!). The staff has been very accommodating and we already have tomorrow's adventures planned out, including cuddling with koalas, a sky gondola ride and train ride throughout the Kurunda.

(One of my favorite signs in Cairns along the esplanade.)

Hope all is well wherever you are! And don't be too jealous, for this is a much needed vacation for the both of us! Until next time!

Xoxo!