I flew out of JFK and landed in LA around 9:00 Pacific. It was a good flight! Except for the "Ironic" song-play. Right before the flight landed we were told that the airport in Sydney was canceling all flights due to this:
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/chile-ash-cloud-hits-tassie-nz-flights/story-e6frfq80-1226073731601
As I scrambled to find my way through LAX's International Terminal it dawned on me there was no gate information for the flight to Tullamarine.
Qantas canceled that flight after we left the plane.
They were quite decent about the ash cloud conundrum, though. We were put up at the Hilton Anaheim with about $30 worth of meal credit! The bus there wasn't so bad either but I managed to somehow (surprise) leave my camera on the bus. Of course, I did. Luckily the fine folks at Qantas recovered it and promptly returned it to me. I slept easy after that.
And enjoyed a fantastic eggs benedict delivered right to my door step.
The rescheduled flight was not set to depart until 9:00 PM Tuesday evening so I spent the afternoon traversing outside of Disneyland in Anaheim. I never was interested in Disney and now since I have first hand experience I can comfortably say I have even a stronger disinterest. I can find ten thousand different ways to spend that much money on vacations much more memorable. If I ever have kids I will be that grouchy, supercilious parent who would programme them to loathe that kind of garbage. No offense to any one who loves Disney, honestly. But "different strokes" etc. etc. Just not my cup of tea.
And I'm cheap.
My parents took Molly and I on a vacation to South Carolina when I was about eight years old. Staying in cheap motels, driving through the Blue Ridge Mountain range in West Virginia...admiring the red Clemson soil... I think that trip ruined me. Or saved me.
But the weather in Anaheim was rainy, then absolutely beautiful. Fitting.
I met some interesting characters also en route to Mel-bin. (how it sounds when people say it). There was Charlie, the British-Canadian with seven earrings who "couldn't wait to be with his girlfriend. I repeat. My girlfriend. Who I'll love and squeeze and kiss right in front of people because she's a woman. We met on Facebook." There was Misty- the elementary school teacher gone grad student completing course work by exploring the Great Barrier Reef (and was a blast to share drinks with at the airport bar). The elderly couple on the plane so amicable but so difficult to hear. Hoss (I am calling him Hoss) the Montana-man in town for a multi-cultural wedding.
"The Australian women are just going to eat you right up because you're cute and you have an accent."
Thank goodness people think the upstate New York/slightly Canadian accent is charming. Most find it a little strident and harsh. Bright. ayyehhhh.
I remember the terminal was so desolate until about an hour before take-off. A little spooky, actually. I called my mother, listening to Paul Simon's "The Only Living Boy in New York" and hopped on the plane. Fifteen hours, four glasses of wine, one tray of Mahi-Mahi and all of a sudden we landed. It was not as dreadful as people made it sound despite the fact that it was 8,500 miles on a plane. The tricky part was immigration. A lot of long lines.
And holy smokes I am far far away from home and I know very few people. Thrilling, and a bit scary. It won't take me long to get on my feet, I know.
Everything in Australia is exactly how people say it is. People are chill, drive and walk on different sides of roads and sidewalks, everything is more expensive than the US (can of pop = $2.20 AUD here). St Kilda Beach is awesome, as this town is. Melbourne is great from riding through on the St Kilda bus. FAPAS. AMAZING cake shops on Barkley Street, as the Australian baroque-folks said. Today I ate my first Chocolate Kugelhupf from Monarch Bakery. A reporter for the New York Times, displayed in their window, wrote a few years ago that it was the most delicious thing he put in his mouth. Clearly I had to order it. Fluffy on the outside, dense on the inside. Fudge and a vanilla donut/cake like texture. Amazing. Nobody does drip coffee here I guess...Americanos are "black coffee." They are ordered as "long blacks." They cost roughly three dollars depends on where you go.
From their website:
CHOCOLATE KOOGLHOUPF
One of the most delightfully addictive cakes you will ever try. It is made from yeast pastry and has soft melted chocolate swirled through the cake. It looks like a marble cake, but instead of cocoa through the cake, we use real chocolate! It comes in the round shape either small feeding 1-2, medium 6-8 or large for 12-16. It is also available in a slab form where you can come in and have it by the slice with a coffee, or by the whole slab to cater for 30+. It has been featured in numerous articles and programs and is sent to people be mail order all over Australia! For those who are not chocolate lovers, try the poppyseed variety.
MONARCH CAKE SHOP
103 Acland Street
St Kilda, Victoria
Australia 318
Phone (03) 9534 2972 http://www.monarchcakes.com.au
I am staying at the Habitat HQ. Great place. Nice people. Free tacos. Guitars.
Students picking me up tomorrow to bring me to Ballarat. Let the fun and the work begin! I am so ready to get started.
Thank you all for being so supportive and curious and encouraging.
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