Sydney and what it's like to come home after 3 weeks

By the time we got out of Launceston and into our room in Sydney (don't ask, it was really annoying, in fact the hotel we stayed at in Sydney which shall remain nameless  but which was a total waste of money), it was too late to go to Bondi Beach, and the weather was kinda crappy anyway.

We wandered over to the rocks and to the observatory. It was kinda neat.

You can take the tree-hugger out of Portland, but...

For dinner, we wandered down to Chinatown again, but this time over toward the Haymarket area, where we found an izakaya. This wasn't the best food we'd ever had, but the ordering system fucking rocked. It was all touch-screen. No waiter required. Of course this led to us ordering too much food, but who cared? It was SO FUN. And so, so efficient! It was amazing. I WANT ONE ALWAYS.

Don't believe me? Here:

I want one of these everywhere I go.

Thought about having this for dessert, but opted for bubble tea instead:

Weird bird!

The next morning, I was able to get in a run (on the dreadmill. a subterranean one, non-ventilated area. ugh.), and off to the airport we went for our 13 hour flight to San Francisco. We had the luxury of a 6 hour layover, and got to see a friend of ours who picked us up and whisked us downtown to the Ferry Building. It was a delightful mini break within a big break--and made me realize we're due a propoer visit all too soon.

All in all? It was a great trip. We had a great time. Was it life-changing? No. Do I want to move to Australia? Probably not. Do I want to retire there? Not if I want to eat people food into my old age. Was it needed? Yes. Do I feel refreshed? Sure. I also feel really fucking broke. The next trip we go on will be on sale. The last vacation we took that was this long was in 2000, when we went to Brazil. (That was also a lot cheaper. Of course it was 13 years ago!)

But the luxury of taking three weeks off? We're lucky. It feels a little bit like we time traveled. And I guess we kind of did. Wednesday, Feb. 13 was the longest day ever.

It was worth it, though. But it was also worth it to come home and sleep in our own bed. And to also see these guys (who fucked up my favorite chair while I was gone but let's not digress any more than we already have:

So, that's Australia. This recap won't win any awards, but it's done and that's all that matters. It's more for my own posterity purposes, but it's always fun to look at pretty and silly pics!