WELCOME TO SYDNEY

My plane finally arrived in Sydney on Saturday, 1:00 pm Arizona time and Sunday, 7:00 am Sydney time. My seat was a window seat, with 2 other seats in the row. There was a couple seated next to me and they ended up moving so I was lucky to have the whole row to myself. I was able to stretch out which made the flight a little bit easier.

Picking up my luggage and going through customs was pretty quick. It was exciting to see Scott & Juliet waiting for me! And surprise of all surprises, they had Krispy Kreme donuts at the airport!

We drove from Sydney to their home in Cardiff, just outside of Newcastle. I unpacked, we worked on getting my computer up and running and then we were all starving so left to get a bite to eat. Scott and Juliet are renting a 2-bedroom home in a quaint neighborhood with a picket fence surrounding their house (just like the picket fence in farmville!). It's a very quiet neighborhood.

We went to The Brewery which is located on the Newcastle harbour at Queens Wharf. The water looked very inviting as it was quite hot out. There were huge ships on the water along with smaller boats and even ski jets. On Wednesday I am going on a cruise at one of the Lakes.

I couldn't resist playing the pokies after we ate. Not a big surprise that I would be playing the pokies on my first day in Australia, huh? And no, I didn't win.

Juliet's family came over in the evening for a BBQ. I met her mum, sister, brother, sister-in-law, and the four children. Juliet's mum gave me a welcome basket full of fruits, lemon curd, jam and hand towels. We talked getting to know one another and feasted on grilled lamb and sausages. A very enjoyable first evening!