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Australia - July 6-28th 2012
Part #1
I just got back from my Australian cruise and have almost gotten over jet lag although I still tend to want to stay up late, get up late and nap in the middle of the day. And I still have a horrible cough.
There were two hazards to this trip - the long plane ride to get there and getting a scooter to use on the ship. There is a nice company called Special Needs at Sea that rents scooters and wheelchairs etc for use on ships. But since the cruise I was taking left from Perth/Fremantle and they didn't have an office there, they absolutely refused to let me get the scooter in Sydney and take it to Perth on the plane.
So I had to rent a scooter in the US. The guy said he would send it to arrive Friday but it didn't come. When it didn't come Monday July 2nd I called and they said that it was en-route but probably wouldn't be delivered until Tuesday July 3rd in the afternoon after we would be have left for the airport. It was a Travel Scoot - a lightweight scooter that had no back up - you pushed with your feet to go backwards.
Since it wasn't expected to get there, the scooter guy said he would order a new Luggie to be delivered to my SIL's office on Tuesday. When I called him to tell him that the Travel Scoot had arrived after all, he was flummoxed. Bob took the scooter out and set it up and it looked complicated and it was way heavier and bigger a box than the scooter guy had said. So I told Don (the scooter guy) that I would take the Travel Scoot to Miami with me as arranged and I would leave whichever scooter I decided not to take in my SIL's office for pickup on Thursday.
He seemed to be OK with that.
Bob took me to the airport and there were NO sky caps. I had to walk into the airport and find a wheelchair guy who got my bag and the scooter checked. I did find that when I looked, I had the shoes on the wrong feet after I did security. But now they have a new rule that if you are over 75 you no longer have to take off your shoes.
Landed in Miami, and my daughter already had the luggage by the time I got down there from the plane. SIL had already unpacked the Luggie scooter and ridden it around and put it to charge. It was nicer and folded up into a compact unit so I decided to take it and let the TravelScoot go back.
My daughter took us to the airport and eventually convinced them to check the bags and the Luggie all the way through to Sydney. We had a five hour flight to LAX and my daughter's friend had given us passes to the Admiral's Club. So that's where we waited for the flight to Sydney which was to leave about midnight on July 4th. Looking down from the Admiral's CLub
My granddaughter (age 12) with her noise canceling headphones
I got a pizza for lunch
and took a nap. We got on the plane and I had picked (and paid for) 72A and B by a window, but we ended up in 48D and E. We saw a few fireworks as we boarded the plane.
The plane was not full and my granddaughter had the seat next to her and in front of her vacant. I was on the aisle but the lady in front of me who had a LOT of leg room as she was in back of the bathrooms, was reading and reclined her seat so I could hardly move. Also she had her reading light on all night.
Dinner on the plane - this is what you get when you ask for lemonade.
The flight was 14.5 hours and crossed the International Date Line, so we arrived early in the morning of July 6th.
I just got back from my Australian cruise and have almost gotten over jet lag although I still tend to want to stay up late, get up late and nap in the middle of the day. And I still have a horrible cough.
There were two hazards to this trip - the long plane ride to get there and getting a scooter to use on the ship. There is a nice company called Special Needs at Sea that rents scooters and wheelchairs etc for use on ships. But since the cruise I was taking left from Perth/Fremantle and they didn't have an office there, they absolutely refused to let me get the scooter in Sydney and take it to Perth on the plane.
So I had to rent a scooter in the US. The guy said he would send it to arrive Friday but it didn't come. When it didn't come Monday July 2nd I called and they said that it was en-route but probably wouldn't be delivered until Tuesday July 3rd in the afternoon after we would be have left for the airport. It was a Travel Scoot - a lightweight scooter that had no back up - you pushed with your feet to go backwards.
Since it wasn't expected to get there, the scooter guy said he would order a new Luggie to be delivered to my SIL's office on Tuesday. When I called him to tell him that the Travel Scoot had arrived after all, he was flummoxed. Bob took the scooter out and set it up and it looked complicated and it was way heavier and bigger a box than the scooter guy had said. So I told Don (the scooter guy) that I would take the Travel Scoot to Miami with me as arranged and I would leave whichever scooter I decided not to take in my SIL's office for pickup on Thursday.
He seemed to be OK with that.
Bob took me to the airport and there were NO sky caps. I had to walk into the airport and find a wheelchair guy who got my bag and the scooter checked. I did find that when I looked, I had the shoes on the wrong feet after I did security. But now they have a new rule that if you are over 75 you no longer have to take off your shoes.
Landed in Miami, and my daughter already had the luggage by the time I got down there from the plane. SIL had already unpacked the Luggie scooter and ridden it around and put it to charge. It was nicer and folded up into a compact unit so I decided to take it and let the TravelScoot go back.
My daughter took us to the airport and eventually convinced them to check the bags and the Luggie all the way through to Sydney. We had a five hour flight to LAX and my daughter's friend had given us passes to the Admiral's Club. So that's where we waited for the flight to Sydney which was to leave about midnight on July 4th. Looking down from the Admiral's CLub
My granddaughter (age 12) with her noise canceling headphones
I got a pizza for lunch
and took a nap. We got on the plane and I had picked (and paid for) 72A and B by a window, but we ended up in 48D and E. We saw a few fireworks as we boarded the plane.
The plane was not full and my granddaughter had the seat next to her and in front of her vacant. I was on the aisle but the lady in front of me who had a LOT of leg room as she was in back of the bathrooms, was reading and reclined her seat so I could hardly move. Also she had her reading light on all night.
Dinner on the plane - this is what you get when you ask for lemonade.
The flight was 14.5 hours and crossed the International Date Line, so we arrived early in the morning of July 6th.
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I've just finished submitting a form to be reimbursed for the seats that I paid $40 for, so we will see what excuse Qantas comes up with.
When we disembarked, I changed some more money and we went through customs and immigration. The wheelchair lady went in the express line each time. At luggage claim, the Luggie came out first and the lady started piling things on a cart. None of the rest of the luggage came for a long time, but eventually we got it all and it was all put into the taxi. The driver was Lebanese, and had lived in NC in the Greensboro area. They drive on the left.
The fare to the hotel was $54+ and included several tunnel and freeway tolls. I paid him in some of my newly acquired cash. There was no extra charge for the luggage.
Even though we were quite early we could check in and our room was ready. The bellman took the luggage and took it to our room - we are on the 23rd floor - view from the room. In one direction we see the Botanical Garden.
and we see the city on the other side
and we have to use our room key to get the elevator to stop at our floor. We have an automatic window shade closing button by the bed. I got my granddaughter's Australian plug to plug in and she recharged her electronic items. There was also an extra converter plug in the minibar. I had two Australian plugs and never used either of them.
This shows the minibar area and also the window into the bathroom. I thought the bathroom window was weird. They also had speakers in there from the TV. The internet is $50 for three days, and is a LAN cable instead of wireless but works fine. My granddaughter put the scooter together like a champ, and we organized ourselves and went down to the Concierge desk. I had decided that the best way to deal with jet lag was to do something outdoors and a ferry ride seemed to fill the bill
The concierge recommended the Manley ferry and said that the round trip was $14 each. When we went out the entrance that they told us to go to, it turned out that there was a small step. When we lifted the scooter over it, the light started to blink, but we solved that by turning it off and turning it on again.
We scootered down to the docks and one of the people there directed us to the ticket office (we were at the ticket machines) and the ticket lady asked if I didn't have some kind of disability card or senior card. I said 'no I had only gotten here this morning'. She laughed and asked how old my granddaughter was and when told she was 12 said that she was a child and could ride for less.
Then we got ourselves into the right area to get on the ferry. The sun was shining but there was some wind and also rain sprinkles. (It was their 'winter') The ferry proved to be easy to board but I couldn't get anywhere to see on it because except for the first deck there were stairs. We were hungry so my granddaughter got a sandwich and I got a donut from the concession stand and he said I could leave the scooter there. So I did.
So we went up forward. It was windy and rather chilly and I was sorry I had taken the lining out of my coat. (my granddaughter's photo)
We saw the Opera House and the bridge,
and I took a lot of photos of lighthouses. Fort Denison (Pinchgut)
Bradleys Head Light and the mast off the light cruiser HMAS Sydney (1912)
Harbor entrance
Arriving in Manley
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Another ferry - they are double ended
I always meant to go back and get another photo of this but never did. I'd like to know the end of the verse.
On the way back to the hotel we saw an aboriginal playing a diggery do (which I didn't get a good photo)
and a fire juggling man getting ready to mount his unicycle.
I decided to go in the car entrance of the hotel as I can't do a step each time. We came back and plugged in the Luggie and then I found that the LAN cord wouldn't reach me on the bed. Eventually we rolled the bed nearest the door over to the other wall so the computer cords would reach and that meant that my granddaughter had the bed near the window and TV which works out better for her.
After we got back from the ferry ride, my granddaughter fell asleep while I wrote my email. I asked the desk to give me a 6:00 wake up call so we could get something to eat, and they did. We didn't feel like a full meal so we went to the bar to get a snack. She had chicken quesidillas and boardwalk fries and three glasses of water. I had cranberry juice and a club sandwich.
Then after we talked to the concierge and got pamphlets for tours and discussed the phone situation (neither of our phones work although I bought my phone specifically for this trip), we came back up and my granddaughter went back to bed which is where she still is. Just so you know - it is 3:16 in the morning here (when I wrote the email).
I realized that I had turned off all the outlets where things were charging, so I went around in the dark and turned them all on, wrote some emails and then went back to sleep. I let my granddaughter sleep until she woke up. (She's not a morning person.)
We both got showers and I called housekeeping to get my bed made up with the head at the foot so I could do the computer in bed with my feet up. My ankles have swelled, but not as much and are getting better. I also ordered breakfast from room service but there is a $6 fee for that, so I guess I won't do that again. We saved the toast and croissants and some of the fruit and the granola bars from the breakfast.
I had decided that I would just buy my granddaughter a phone. I don't really need one as I've been many years without a cell phone, and she's used to having one. So we got directions from the concierge and took the scooter out to go to the phone store. We found that the people entrance to the hotel still has a step, and the scooter needs to be in free-wheel before you pick it up or it has a fit. (me on the scooter)
So having solved that problem we went about 5 blocks to the phone store. Two steps up to that.
They said that both our phones were locked and suggested we go to the phone person to get them unlocked. So we scootered over there and he didn't open until 11:00 on Saturday. What to do? In the end, we rambled around the area and took photos until 11:00.
Royal Australian Regiment Memorial
We went back to the hotel and the scooter had a hard time on the hills but we made it back to the hotel and came up and put the scooter on to charge. Then we ate the toast and croissants and started out without the scooter to walk to the HOHO (hop on hop off bus). We stayed on the bottom because I wanted to switch to the Bondi tour bus in just 4 stops
We switched and went up top - it was pretty cold up there.
After about an hour up there we got to Bondi,
and went back downstairs. We got off at the Australian Museum stop about 3:30.
After we shopped in the bookstore there we turned in the wheelchair and got back on the HOHO bus. Here I made a BIG mistake. I got on the bus at the wrong stop. So instead of getting on at stop 5 which would have taken us around to the hotel at 11, we got on at 14 and had to go all the way around to stop 1 and then go to 11. Oops. It gets dark here about 5 and it was too dark to take many photos from the bus.
I got the driver to let us off opposite stop 11 so the only place we haven't been is to stop 10 which of course is the Opera House. I was really tired. We turned in the umbrella that the concierge lent us, and hobbled up to the restaurant. I was too tired to eat anything much so I had a
little steak.
My granddaughter had the buffet.
For a child's buffet it was $45.00
We were both in bed by 8:30.
I got up about 4 am to go to the bathroom and didn't push the silver thing in the wall that flushes the toilet hard enough. I picked up a glass to get a drink and realized that the toilet was stuck and went to fix it and the glass slipped from my hand and hit the tile floor and shattered into multiple small shards.
I went carefully back to bed and called the Instant help and they sent someone up to clean it up. We will both have to wear shoes in the bathroom for the present.
We got up and decided not to have breakfast - she ate some
Pringles, and we both had some dark chocolate.
We got organized and went down to the concierge desk and made a reservation for lunch at the Sydney Tower for 11:30, and also bought the cheaper on-line advance tickets for the Aquarium
We got into a cab to do a couple of last minute drive-by's. Went out to the Opera House which we missed yesterday (my granddaughter got out to take photos) and drove across the Sydney Bridge.
When we got to the other side, I could see the lighthouse and the lightship that I had missed because they have been moved to the Maritime Museum. The cab driver took photos of us with each of our cameras.
When I asked the cab driver about a dog statue he said, he never noticed it before.
But he got us to the Sydney Tower about 11:10. My granddaughter is getting good about getting the scooter put up and taken down. We scootered into the tower and up to the fourth floor where the restaurant desk was. Unlike in Seattle and Toronto and Dallas, this tower does not allow you to the observation deck from the restaurant - you have to pay that separate.
very fancy shops
This was from the pedestrian walkway over the street
Then we went up to the restaurant and ate. It was a buffet
Manley ferry going through a sailboat race
Then we were to scooter to the aquarium. We went straight down Market Street to the harbor, but it was not clear how we could get down to the aquarium which was on another level altogether and it seemed nothing but freeways. I asked a group of guys and they were puzzled too and suggested that maybe the hotel there would have a lift down to that level. So we went to the hotel and asked. They said that we should go up on the bridge and then take a lift down. Two of them walked us all the way to the first lift. They went up with us and then walked us part way across the bridge and pointed to where the lift down was (lift = elevator).
The concierge had said we should not get into the ticket line to buy tickets but that there would be a shorter line for those who had tickets already. The aquarium was a zoo - multiple children and strollers and families. But we had a good time and my granddaughter was glad she didn't have to push the wheelchair.
Here she is comparing her height to the length of a giant crab claw
Sitting by a mermaid made of legos
They gave her a scavenger hunt to do but she didn't find everything and at one point she stopped for something, and I didn't and she didn't know I had gone on. A good lesson for me.
We ended up at the gift shop and they gave her the chocolate prize anyway even though she hadn't found the scroll.
Water bottle refill station outside the aquarium
I was not really hungry, but my granddaughter wanted to eat so I ordered a hamburger for her and a sandwich for me and a banana and croissants for the morning. We also figured out how to make tea. My granddaughter weighed herself on the scale in the bathroom and reported that it was way off - not realizing that it was in kilograms
I went to sleep and woke up about midnight and went down and paid the rest of the bill (just the food things and the internet) in US dollars. The exchange rate right now is $100 US to $121 Australian.
My granddaughter was up when I got back - she said I was loud. But I asked her to turn off the TV and she didn't hear that, so I don't think I was that loud.
Anyway, we are checked out and the concierge checked us in for our flight and we have a cab coming.,
Picture thru the bathroom window - Luggie suitcase ready for pickup
We are going to fly to Perth to get on the cruise ship.
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Sounds like you had a wonderful adventure with your grand daughter.
All the food looks yummy.
Yes we had a goood time. And did not gain weight
is the next section of the trip