Sydney Part 1

After our trip to New Zealand, the next question was obviously "Where to next?" We went down the list of "Places We Must See Before Leaving Australia" and selected Sydney. We chose the long weekend in March (Aussie Labor day) and starting making plans.
We finally saw the bright side of all of Andy's travel: we were able to exchange his frequent flier points for four airplane tickets. Whoo hoo. Just as well the tickets were free, given the cost of accommodations over a holiday weekend in Sydney. Yikes, the prices were insane! But because we only had four days, and wanted to see as much as possible, and definitely didn't want to rent a car, we bit the bullet and paid through the nose to get a nice hotel in the city. Our hotel location turned out to be perfect: grocery store and coffee shop just around the corner, easy walking distance to most places, and if we didn't feel like walking, we could easily catch a taxi, train, bus, or monorail (all of which we did!)
So, we departed on a Thursday night for the airport. Dropped off our car at long-term parking, breezed through airport check-in thanks to Andy's Gold frequent flier status, and headed for the lounge. Another perk of Andy's status is that in addition to himself, he was allowed to bring three guests in. Wisely, he chose us. The girls were amazed at all the free drinks and food available. Though we usually make them stick to water, we felt that going to Sydney was a special occasion to be celebrated with sodas for the kids and alcohol for the adults. Cheers! 

Aliya even commented, "Dad, you should travel more often," thereby breaking Andy's heart. Of course, she didn't mean it, she simply was enjoying the lounge. Soon enough, it was time to head to the plane for our laughably-short flight. The girls had a nice view of the sunset out of the window:

We landed in Sydney about 9:30. We could have taken a train to our hotel (love the public transport in this country) but decided that it would be simpler just to take a taxi. The girls still had lots of energy and were able to amuse themselves while waiting in the queue. 

We got to the hotel and checked in with no problems. The only drama was the huge decision of who got to sleep with whom and in which bed. Andy voted to sleep with me but got overruled. The kids agreed to alternate which parent they slept with, but there was still which bed and which parent first to negotiate. Somehow, we were able to compromise and get to sleep. Good thing, because we had a big day planned!