Hello everyone,
We made it safely to Australia,
albeit a very long flight- 19 1/2 hours from Dallas/Fort Worth, TX to
Sydney Australia. As I am typing this communication, we are fourteen
hours ahead of Eastern standard time. When it is 5 p.m. in Baltimore,
it is 7 a.m. here, the next day. Yes, we crossed the international date
line. We lost a day in our travel, however, we will reclaim that lost
time when we return. We got through customs in Australia with everyone
in the group retrieving their luggage. Unfortunately, it rained most
of the day. In fact, the tour guide said that rain was in the forecast
for the next day or so. I understand that there was interesting weather
back in Baltimore, with the touchdown of a tornado in the Eldersberg,
MD area.
We left the airport around 10 a.m.
Australian time. As with most hotels, we could not check in to our
hotels until 3PM. The itinerary included an informal tour around
Sydney, the largest city in Australia, a stop at the Queen Victoria
Building, a renovated warehouse of upscale stores. Australia may be
perhaps the most expensive city that we have visited. One reason for
the expensive economy is the high minimum wage in the country of $15 per
hour, i.e. no cheap labor. After the Queen Victoria Building we spent
several hours in the Sydney Aquarium. There we grabbed a bite to eat.
We
are staying at a modest hotel in Travelodge, however, the location is
in the middle of the downtown area, just a short walk to the Sydney
Opera House.
A well-planned welcome dinner was served to the group before heading to bed.
Already
news of our arrival has hit the news in this country, with important
officials planning to attend our performances. See link to press
release:
Must head to bed. More to come.
Eric Conway
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