We leave Sydney and start our stay in Kiwi Land

Right now I am sitting in the kitchen of the house we are staying at in Plimmerton, a suburb of Wellington.  The view from here is unbelievable--but more about that later.

Our last few days in Sydney were, I would say, less than strenuous.  On Sunday, we spent most of it lying on the beach in Bondi.  The weather was just right--warm with a nice cooling breeze, and we were able to rent a couple of chairs and an umbrella.  We tore ourselves from the beach around 4 because we promised ourselves that we would have a drink at the Opera Bar at the Opera House down town.  We had tried before but it was so crowded that it was impossible to relax.  So back we went.

It was still pretty crowded, but there was live music and really good people watching.  And the views are just fabulous.

We stayed for a while, making sure we had the obligatory pictures in front of the Opera Bar sign.

then had dinner at our favorite restaurant on the Quay and got home about 11--really late for us.

Monday it rained most of the day, which was OK with us.  We lazed around on the couches watching the first round of the Australian Open.  And we packed, and worried that our bags would be too heavy.  I tried to check in for our flight the next morning but couldn't because our reservations said--for some inexplicable reason--Aliceteresa Riehl and Meredithann Patterson.  That did not match our passports, of course.  And we did not get seats for the flight either because they were $25 each if you picked them in advance of getting to the airport.  I was tempted to tell the airline that we would stand.

And when I called to book a taxi for the next day, the operator said he would try to get a cab to our place as close to 6:45 as he could.  That sounded kind of iffy to me.  He also said to call 15 minutes in advance to check.

Anyway, we decided to go to dinner at this local place with a great view of the beach--the North Bondi RSL.  Apparently the RSL denoted some veterans organization.  But they also catered to "non-members" like ourselves.  We ordered some wine and dinner and waited for it to be ready, at which point we noticed a couple a few tables away that were so into their PDA that we had trouble keeping our meals down.

The next morning our internet was again gone--the internet at that apartment was intermittent and expensive (pay as you go).  So we had to walk in the rain to the corner coffee shop, which wasn't even open yet and use their Wifi, which we had used the one time we actually sat down there,  It was 6:30AM.  I got on the phone to the taxi service and just as they answered--a taxi drove by!  And it was not the one we called for.  So, sorry taxi service, but that's what you get for being able to send a cab 6:45ish.

At the airport, we were greeted by some really nice ladies working for Quantas, the airline that charged for seats.  They really erased our bad feeling about the company.  And our bags passed muster in the weight department--though Meredith's bags had to sport the ignominious tag "heavy bag."  That was OK because we did not have to pay for any extra weight.

The flight seemed short compared to some we had been on recently--and there was entertainment: TV shows, movies, music.  That made us ashamed again for the US Airways flight across the USA which could not muster even music for its passengers.

We were greeted at the airport by Brett, the fellow whose house we are staying in.  He was so nice and friendly.  Outside were his wife and kids.  They handed over their car to us--a stick shift car with the steering wheel on the right side--with no hesitation.  I think I would have felt more concern--in fact I did.  But after a bit of getting to know the car, we were on our way to the house in Plimmerton,  When you get here there is one thing that grabs your attention and won't let go--the view.

From the living room

And the second story deck.

Meredith and I were sure we saw fins of either sharks or whales, but the house did not have a pair of binoculars, so we were left to speculate.

We went to the local market, picked up some provisions, like a bottle of wine, and settled on the deck to watch the sunset.  How spoiled are we that we wished we could have speakers on the deck.

On the other hand, we were able to connect my computer with the TV via slingbox and watch American TV from New Zealand.  Ironically, we were watching the Australian Open from Melbourne, telecast by USA's ESPN2 and beamed to us in New Zealand. We find it to be very luxurious to have such good Wifi here after the debacle in Sydney.

Yes, we have a very tough life.

Tomorrow we are off to Wellington to check out what it has to offer.