We ordered a large van from Maxi Cab to arrive at 8:00 am to accommodate ourselves and luggage to get to the airport for the 10:45 flight to Sydney. When the van comes, Brian says there is no way it will accommodate us. But the cabbie does it in style. We are not sure how he managed to fit all that luggage in, but he did it!
We are only a few blocks from the apartment when my phone pings with a message from Heather who just received a message from Virgin that our flight is cancelled and replaced with one at 2:00 pm. (Heather made these domestic air bookings for us, so she also gets the messages.) Before I can answer her, my phone pings with a message from Virgin with the same information. It is disappointing, but there is nothing to be done now except continue to the airport,
There are no attendants at the Virgin counters, so our hope of some assistance in finding an earlier flight is moot. We have to deal with the machines to get boarding passes and luggage tags. It is Good Friday; perhaps the holiday makes a difference. There are crowds of people, and many families with children. We have breakfast and coffee, and go to the assigned gate to wait. I cannot get a connection to the internet on my iPad either by using my phone as a hot spot or using the free airport service. It is frustrating.
This trip is proving that electronic systems are not always reliable. Not only should you carry backup paper documentation, a backup paperback might be helpful too.
We land in Sydney at 3:25 not the 12:10 as planned, so we feel as if we have lost a half-day of sightseeing. Carol ZZ and I booked all the hotels on a weekend in January when they were in Edmonton, and I have either forgotten that this is a high-rise or I didn’t pay attention in the first place. We are on the 27th floor of Meriton Suites on Pitt Street. This seems to be a building with residents, some commercial, and hotel rooms. Our two-bedroom apartment is spacious with a long balcony which gives us a view of more buildings. I doubt that we will use the kitchen facilities, but the laundry will be helpful.
Carol and I are amused at the samples in our bathroom. We have shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion. All have the description “Repair Me”. We hope it works.
We go out to get something to eat and hopefully to find a grocery to get some items for breakfast. We appear to be in an ethnic restaurant area, and settle on Korean food. There seems to not be any possibility for food purchases other than a convenience store, but it has yogurt, marginal fruit, and commercially-packaged muffins. As we circle the block going back to the hotel, we pass a sign for IGA. It is on the lower level, and it’s unclear if it is still open. In any event, we no longer need it.
Carol ZZ has done more research about Sydney than the rest of us, and has a few suggestions for tomorrow.
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