Completing the Circle

Oded and I pulled up to the Old Sydney Holiday Inn early Saturday morning. My wonderful parents gave Oded and I a break from the backpacks and the van and booked us into the hotel as our Hanukkah gift (thank you!!). Well, we showed up and it was clear within minutes that we would be someone's nightmare. We had less than two hours to return Astro Boy (tear) and needed to unpack the van, right then and there in front of this lovely hotel. So, we did. Backpacks, gas cans, eskys, food, tent, sleeping bags, atlases--you name it, it was on the curb. Fortunately, the hotel was awesome and they had us checked in and our bags delivered by the time Astro Boy was back with his rightful owners.

Not only did we stay in a hotel, but we went out on the town. A good friend from home is engaged to a lovely girl in Sydney and happened to be in town for the week. Ian and Tamara showed up at our hotel room about ten on Saturday night with a dress and heels for me and a button down shirt for Oded. They proceeded to dress us and show us the hottest spots in town--bars, clubs, guest lists, we were there in style. It was totally surreal to be in these posh places after spending four months in crocks and shirt dresses, but it was great fun. Oded and I bowed at around 3 am, completely exhausted and exhilarated and proceeded to sleep off the night and the last few months the next day.

By Monday, we were back on track, visiting Darling Harbour and taking in the views. Tuesday we headed out to Bondi Beach, Sydney's most popular coastal spot. After seeing tons of beaches in the last few months, this one still impressed me--there is something to be said for having an amazing city with coastal options. We ended up running into all of Israel in Bondi, specifically two guys we met earlier, one in Cairns and the other in Victoria. The world is a small and amazing place. Oded flew to New Zealand Wednesday night after watching hours and hours of inauguration madness and I follow him in two days time.