We also stored a few suitcases at the airport so we wouldn't have to ship them back to the US or take them with us to Sydney.
We hoped that Brandon would sleep most/all of the 8 hour, overnight, flight to Sydney. When we got on the plane, though, Brandon was wound up. They also didn't turn off the overhead lights in the airplane for almost the first three hours. Steven was then finally able to rock and sing Brandon to sleep. He slept for about an hour in the bassinet, but then he woke up and wouldn't sleep unless we held him. While Brandon slept most of the rest of the flight, we sure didn't get much sleep.
We arrived in Sydney very early in the morning. We walked outside to get a cab to our hotel, and wow! It was so chilly outside (60's), and it felt GREAT! It had been months since I had felt cool, outside air. Sooooo refreshing! I had forgotten what cool natural air felt like!
We arrived at our hotel way before check-in. We also had a few hours before Ryan and Brittney arrived from New Zealand.
Since our hotel was in the Darling Harbour area of Sydney, we were able to walk to the aquarium. What a great way to start our vacation! Fishies!
Brandon was a little hesitant to "walk on water".
Ryan and Brittney arrived at the hotel right after we returned from the aquarium. Soooooo great to see Ryan! It had been eight months since we last saw him, although it didn't feel like that long. Very surreal, though, to meet up with Ryan on the other side of the world. Really neat that we were able to make timing and the meetup work.
We were all so exhausted from traveling, so we napped off and on during the day.
In the early evening, we all had enough energy to take a bus down to the Circular Quay area of Sydney. There, we got our first breathtaking look at the Sydney Opera House. Beautiful city. Beautiful icon.
It felt so nice to be on a vacation and on another adventure, especially with Ryan!
