Day 04 - New Year’s Eve (NYE)

Location: Sydney
Weather: Hot and Sunny!
I woke up a little early this morning, but managed to go back to sleep until 9:00! This jet-lag hasn’t affected me too much. We got dressed for summer and headed down to Bills (a nice little breakfast place) and ordered ricotta pancakes! They were very fluffy and rich … yummmm … pancakes. We also ordered creamy scrambled eggs with cheese and tomato. It took us 40 minutes to get seated because there were so many people there.
After that, we tried to walk off the pancakes by going to the harbor by foot! We made it and saw where Nemo was found… Sydney Harbor!




We walked up the pylon lookout and saw another angle of the whole harbor.



I started feeling adventurous and tried to climb the bridge (just kidding).


This year for New Year’s, they added a New Years ball (8 tons) to the fireworks display. We saw this close-up when we walked across Sydney Harbor Bridge. Or rather … we walked half-way across and then headed back to save time. Plus, our legs didn’t know what to expect. One day we barely move on a plane for 28 hours, and the next, we’re walking miles and miles everywhere we go!
While walking around the city, we found a Christmas tree, which is odd to us because if feels like Summer.
We also walked through Hyde Park and saw beautiful trees and fountains.




We walked back to our hotel to change for our New Years Eve dinner cruise on the harbor! On the way back, at 4 PM, the harbor area was packed!





 Some were a little crazier than others, too.

We got changed and headed to the wharf where our boat was to pick us up. Well, we were nervous because it was 7:45 and the boat was nowhere to be seen! (Departure was at 8:00). Luckily, the boat was just running a little late, so we got on without a hitch.
The cruise was great! It was a little cramped and we were sitting across from two strange, older men from the Netherlands, but it was fun just the same. We drank Australian wine, beer, Champaign and there was a dance floor and DJ set up on the first floor.
The boat was in the parade of lit ships, so we were in the best area (the “fireworks exclusion zone”) going back and forth under the Sydney Harbor Bridge and by the Opera House.
The 9:00 fireworks started and were not that impressive. They lasted 8 minutes and were not very loud or extravagant. But the 12:00 fireworks were massive! Fireworks were shooting out of the top of the bridge! And they were synchronized all up and down the harbor!
While we were in-between fireworks, though, we met up with two very nice Australian natives, Craig and Shimi! Craig was telling us all about the local history and traditions of Australia and he even witnessed my first true” Australian beer experience (“Victoria Bitter”) and bought me a Jack Daniels. They were a very nice couple and the cruise was that much more enjoyable with them being there. We were so tired by the time the boat was returning to the wharf that I was ready fall over … or perhaps that was all the alcohol … :)
We settled back in our room at 2:00 AM, and we crashed for the night. Tomorrow … we relax! :)

Days 1 & 3 - Time Travel

12/28/2004 & 12/30/2004

Location: Newark, NJ --> Singapore --> Sydney
Weather: Warm upon arrival


Let me start by saying we’ve barely seen the light of day for 2 days now … and somewhere along the line, Wednesday disappeared on us. After Mom & Dick dropped us off at the airport, we checked in at the ticket booth and my carry-on was too heavy. Apparently, I was still paranoid from our last adventure to Portugal where our luggage was lost. :(
We went through security; put all of our stuff through the x-ray machine, etc … when we heard over the loud-speaker, "Will Jason & Hilary Victor please report to the ticket desk?" So we left the secure area and went all the way back to the ticket counter. The woman behind the counter paged us because the Singapore Airlines lounge was still under construction, so we got passes to the Virgin Airlines first class lounge!
We took advantage of the open bar (Gray Goose Vodka) and waited for our boarding time. We had a moment to email friends and family, too!
We got on our first flight from Newark to Singapore and it only took 19 hours! We slept for a good portion of the flight, but for the other 9 hours, we had the <TA DA!>… in-flight entertainment system. I just laid back in the space-bed and saw so many movies and sitcoms, that I don't have to go to Blockbuster ever again! I saw "The Runaway Jury," "The Forgotten," "Dodge ball," and tons of T.V. shows like, “Whose Line is it Anyway,” “Frasier,” “Monk,” “CSI,” etc …
When we landed in Singapore, we tried to use the bathroom. Luckily, I didn’t have to “squat” just yet. The airport was nice!
There was a free movie theater, fern garden, sunflower garden, and coy pond.

We bought a few souvenirs, took a step outside (in the sunflower garden) and it was warm and humid! I didn’t realize how close Singapore is to the equator!
We had some more time to kill, so we headed to the business class lounge and had some native cuisine and posed with the fish. After our three and a half hour layover, we got on our second plane to Sydney. This one was only seven hours long. It’s amazing how short a seven hour flight feels after being on an eighteen hour flight. They had the best food! I had the beef! (no pictures, sorry) :)
After landing, we hit an ATM, took a cab to the Central Park Hotel, where we promptly crashed for the night. We might try calling family tonight, as well. Tomorrow, we’ll have more to tell. I’m excited about our New Year’s plans!

Foreword: By Jason Victor

Testing 1 2
Testing 1 2 3. This pen writes just fine.
Or rather … this pen writes fat lines.
(This pen ran out of ink after just 6 days. Damn Walmart pen)

We’re going on another trip! This trip will be our last for a while. We have a mortgage now and won’t be able to do this anymore, so in the spirit of one last “hurrah” we are going to the other ends of the Earth. We hope to see great sites different from what we’ve seen in our travels before. We hope to meet friendly people who we can learn more about ourselves from, and see how we are perceived by others.

I will document our travels in the following pages. Otherwise, we will forget what we have done and some of the amazing things we have seen.