Just arrived in Sydney, Australia an hour ago. Ask me anything!

[pink-o]

...I have a friend in Auckland, and spent last week there with her. Middle of summer, about 80 degrees with beaches as beautiful as any I've seen in the Caribbean. Waiting now at the Internet Cafe for my hotel to be ready, so logged onto DU.

It's warm here, too. My first time in the city, so I booked what looked like a centrally located hotel in Darling Harbour, only to find out it's in the gay area. Yaay! All the comforts of home!

The sun sets at 10 pm here, so I'm bathed in sunshine all day. Love it, I really loathe and despise winter with all the passion in me--and I don't even live where it's cold. The Aussies seem really happy to have rid themselves of Ho-warred. They're telling me it's our turn now!

Stay warm!

Anja, alias Pink-O.

[hippywife]

1. No questions...

just wanted to say that I hope you continue to enjoy yourself. :hi:

[pink-o]

2. Thanx!

Hafta come home on Jan 31st. Don't wanna think about it, but I didn't vote absentee on purpose so I wouldn't be tempted to stay here past Super Tuesday!

[triguy46]

3. How's the beer?

[pink-o]

10. brilliant! And they give you a huge serving

[lligrd]

4. How Awful Was The Plane Flight?

I would love to visit Australia but I can't imagine being on a plane for that long.

[pink-o]

11. the worst I've ever taken!

Even from San Francisco, it's 13 hours--and I had a middle seat in the back, because I work for the airlines and we fly standby, getting last choice. I'm 6'1", and we hit turbulence about an hour outside of Auckland, so it was totally the flight from hell.

But like giving birth, once you're there, you forget the pain.

[Parche]

19. Flight

This? UA 863


Or this

QF74


:hi:

[pink-o]

25. Find me Air New Zealand Boeing 777 and you got it!

Flying Qantas home, though.

[Parche]

30. 777

Master of the skies
awesome aircraft

I got a client there in Sydney , going to Perth in a few days

:hi:

[Radio_Lady]

31. Wow! Neat photo! I wish I were going, too!

Maybe next year or the one after that...

:hi:

[pink-o]

33. Yup, that's it! My hell plane!

Perth has been sunny and hot hot hot! Happy summer to you too!

[Esra Star]

36. Do they know what caused the problem at Heathrow yet? nt

[xchrom]

5. i hope your itinerary reads FUN all day -- every day. nt

[pink-o]

12. thanx! Already making plans to come back here! n/t

[MonkeyFunk]

6. I'm jealous!

Auckland and Sydney are two of the greatest cities I've ever visited. Have a great time!

[CreekDog]

7. what time/day is it here?

haha stumped you i bet! :hi:

[NightWatcher]

8. go flush the toilet and tell us which way the water swirls

pics would be appreciated

:rofl:

[yellowcanine]

13. Dang, you beat me to it. I also want a pic of the Southern Cross

[pink-o]

16. I'll see what I can do! My camera doesn't do well with the night sky

[pink-o]

14. y'know, I watched the water the first time I flushed!

...and it doesn't swirl at all! It just spashes back and forth. What a rip-off!

Anyway, down under they have 2 setting to flush your loo, depending on what you've dropped into it!! Very green of them, actually.

[Esra Star]

37. Sorry, non swirling toilets in Oz. nt

[BrotherBuzz]

9. Do toilets flush clockwise down there?

:shrug:

[yellowcanine]

15. Have you checked out any topless or nude beaches yet?

[pink-o]

20. goin to Bondi today, so I'll see if some blokes will let me shoot them in their speedos!

There's a nude beach outside of Auckland, but we ended up elsewhere. I'll see what I can do before I come home!

[Deja Q]

17. What was the time yesterday?

:D

[pink-o]

22. 3 am!

[yellowcanine]

18. Have you heard anyone use "shiela" to mean "woman" or talk about grilling on the "barbie"?

[pink-o]

21. No, they haven't said the "Sheila" thing around me..

...but since this is summer, I've heard a lot of talk about "barbies".

The Aussies have a rep for being uncouth, but in Sydney I think it's undeserved. Probably the Brits tried to put it out, just like they tried to tell me there was nothing redeamable about the French

[yellowcanine]

23. The Brits are likely wrong about the Aussies, maybe mostly correct about the French.

Of course the French can cook rings around the Brits and don't even talk about the wine.

[pink-o]

26. I've never had any trouble with the French

Even in Paris. The Spanish to me are the snobbiest people in Europe. They think they walk on water!

But I gotta say, it's nice not to deal with the language barrier. I can get by in Spanish and Italian, I can understand French if I read it, but it hurts my old brain after awhile to make myself understood. And when you're traveling alone, it's nice not to get on the wrong bus or train!

[TZ]

24. I have a good friend who lives in Sydney

And he says that most Aussie's try to talk "normal" to us Muricans...But what they do is shorten their words quite a bit..arvy..afternoon, uni..university, footie...football. He is quite capable of putting together sentences that are quite difficult for me to interpret. Have you encountered this?
BTW, the Aussies I know are the most down to earth people I have ever met. Yes, the uncouth thing is a leftover British prejudice, according to my friend....

I so envy you!

[pink-o]

28. a lot of their abbreviations sound like how the Brits speak

I spent 5 years in London and learned a bit of cockney rhyming slang. Aussies don't murder the language as much as the Mother Country does to the Mother Tongue.

Yeah, just loving it here, and the people are totally down to earth. I really love Italy, of all the countries I've visited, and I cry everytime I have to leave it. But Australia is quickly catching up to it! They even have amazing gelatto, set up just like it is in Florence, stacked up like mountains of yumminess. Killer, cheap wine, outdoors lifestyle, breathtaking water views, pedestrian and bike-friendly--what more could you ask for???

[Radio_Lady]

27. Have a wonderful time in Australia! Sounds scrumptuous!

We're thinking about going there in December 2009 or maybe it's 2010.

Crap. I hope I live that long!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pink-o]

29. Look at it this way: Chimpy McSociopath will be out of the White House

..and Australia already has a pretty good replacement for Ho-warred--the ear-wax eater, Kevin Rudd. Remember the hulking bald guy from Midnight Oil? That guy is Rudd's minister of the environment. And Rudd is the first Prime Minister who wants to publically apologise and make up for the wrongs done to Aboriginals. The Maori in New Zealand are totally a part of society there, what little racism still exists I didn't see any evidence of it. And my friend who's lived in Auckland for 3 years assures me it's not anything like what we have at home. So Australia would like to do the same for the indigenious people here.

That means when you come in the next 2 years, maybe both societies will be out of the darkest of their ages!

[Radio_Lady]

32. Thanks, pink-o... Certainly hope you are right about that!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

34. Do people walk around upside down?

Is the ground where the sky should be and vice versa? :evilgrin:

[pink-o]

35. Yeah, it was hard to get used to that aspect of it! n/t

[MrMickeysMom]

38. Do THEY hate our freedom, too?

Just wondering...

And, oh, this is really a true question (if you're still checking in)... Is it true that the Aussies have a campaign AGAINST getting "tan" because of their intelligence of the ozone layer and such?

[pink-o]

39. yeah--they hate it so much they replaced their own Idiot leader with a real one!

Rudd, eater of earwax, is on his way to restoring free education at the University level--something that would never happen here, because an educated populace might actually rise up against the Nanny States of America! Also, Ho-warred was chipping away at that "socialised medicine" that freedom-hating countries have all over the world. Rudd's well on his way to restoring that as well.

I know all this because I had a long conversation with the young man who served me my breakfast this morning. It seems like Aussies are rooting for us too!

BTW, not too unhappy to miss the SOTU address! I'm sure it was riveting and articulate, as are all of Chimpy's utterances from the podium:sarcasm: