arrival in sydney

My friend Eustacia and I flew into Sydney this morning. Originally, I thought it was a 1.5 hr flight from Auckland but I forgot about the 2 hour time zone change. So it was 3.5 hours... enough time for a nap! We got in shortly after 11AM and looked around for a place to stay. We had 3 places in mind but needed a map to determine which one was the closest to all our activities - at least that was the reasoning for putting it off. Plus, 2 of the places offered to pick us up from the airport.

We called the one hostel we thought would be the closest but the front desk said they were booked and they cannot come pick us up since bookings have to be made prior. Strangely or luckily, there was an internet lounge at the airport and we surfed the other 2 locations. Just by chance though Eu double checked the Maze and they had openings online. So we booked online and called them right back to asking them to pick us up. Sure enough they did. We got the hostel we wanted and have been walking around town since arrival. And even though we booked for a 6 bed share dormitory, they were over booked so we got bumped up to a 2 bed share room. Kinda really nice since I'll know who my roommie is! From what they said, is they say they are full but keep a few rooms just in case over bookings occur and upgrade when neccessary.

There are alot of folks here for Mardi Gras. Tomorrow is the last day. I think it's been going on for a week or so but I just wanted to see the parade and the after party which gave me more time to hang in New Zealand. So pretty much my trip was scheduled around coming to Sydney for the parade or I think I would have stayed in New Zealand longer!

Sydney is awesome so far! We've just been shopping - originally window shopping but the shops magically lured our wallets out of our pockets! We got some really cool stuff though. Everyone is getting ready for the Mardi Gras parade tomorrow night. We had booked tickets for the after party so it'll be a long day - sightseeing in the day and the party starts at 10PM.

We have 5 days here in Sydney and they are just jammed packed of sights, clubs and hanging at the beach... and the beach is only if we have time to go. Hopefully, we can make the beach for a few hours.