Getting Ready to Rock!!!: Last Day, First Day!!!

k, so I am here. No surprise to any of you since I got on the plane but just to confirm. I did not end up somewhere else, though there were moments at the airport (like when they told me my ETA Visa wasn't valid and i couldn't get on the plane) that I thought perhaps I wouldn't end up here. But I did! Yay me!

I must send my great big thank you to Sandra and Steve for taking me to the airport and of course putting up with my insane nervousness prior to dropping me at the gate. It's funny, I was calm for a long time, then as the days got closer for my departure I started to freak, then when I got the furniture and the bikes to the shippers I calmed down, then the few hours before and the time at the airport I went insane again! Rollercoaster!!! and again thank you to everyone (steve, sandra, aliki, ken diamond, kevin, greg, monica and alex) for not making too much fun of me (ok maybe not steve, but as previously mentioned they got the highest point of insanity I think). Thinking back; maybe the hangover that I gave myself from the night before may have been an added bonus!

Fortunately the flight itself seemed like it was about 5 hours and I did get to watch some good movies and lay in my super lux pod drinking hoity toity champagne!!! The highlight of course was the quarantine spraying they did on the plane before they let us deplane and to add insult to injury the flight attendants covered there faces when the spraying happened leaving us to suck in the fumes (I covered and took photos. Hee hee)

The full enjoyment of my bags kicked in when I had to try and get them on the luggage cart myself. I, of course, found myself a nice gentleman to help out though ;D but had no one to help me coming down the ramp with my 210 pounds of luggage.... can you say runaway cart????

Imke picked me up and we went down to Bondi for a bit of breakfast (10am-ish) had some fantastic ricotta hotcakes with blueberries and checked out the most famous beach in Australia (I think), and of course we went surfing that day too! Couldn't not. Got the shit kicked out of myself by the waves but it was glorious! Warm(ish) water - but warm compared to Vancouver and just a beautiful day in all.

So all in all i have nothing but good things to say so far. The jetlag is almost gone (i hope) and I am settling in already.

What's to come next? Stay tuned....

The Chestnut I had to leave behind :(