28,233 Miles in 12 Days

On Friday March 8, Kevin and I flew to Sydney! We left Colorado Springs around 5pm and flew to Los Angeles. We had a 4-hour layover in LA and then flew 14.5 hours to Sydney. We landed at 7am on SUNDAY morning and it took us about an hour to get through customs and immigration. We took the trian from the airport to our hotel and were unable to check-in when we got to the hotel, however, we were able to go up to the fitness center and change clothes before we ventured out into the city. We decided to walk up to the Hay Street Market to get some lunch and do some shopping! It was a good thing we went to the market on Sunday because we learned that they were closed Monday and Tuesday and we left on Wednesday. I bought a new pair of Ugg boots and then we ventured back to the hotel. We were able to check-in around 2pm, so we dropped off our stuff and walked down to the Rocks. The Rocks is a very well known area near the Opera House and they have an awesome market on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. We got back to the hotel around 5pm and relaxed for the rest of the evening (which ended around 7:30pm when we crashed).

The map of the stops on the Airport Train. 

Outside of the Hay Market with my new UGGS!!

My new UGGS! Love them!

Watching some glass blowing at the Rocks Market. 

We woke up around 6:30 on Monday morning and walked to the ship around 9:00am. We didn’t have too much work to do and were finished by 11:30am. I think Sydney is my favorite city to do an inspection simply based on the location of the port. The ship literally docks in between the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. It is absolutely beautiful! We spent a little time in Circular Quay (pronounced key) and bummed some free Wi-Fi before walking back to the hotel. We dropped off the tool bag and walked across the street to a local pub for some drinks and lunch. We went back up to the room and crocheted for a little while and then did some more shopping. There were 2 amazing bookstores very close to the hotel so I bought a couple of children’s books and then we walked over to Darling Harbour.  We picked up a few snacks and dinner to go and spent the rest of the evening in our room.

This is a panoramic shot of Sydney Harbour from the ship. The ship is literally docked in the middle of these two beautiful landmarks. 

It was such a beautiful morning!

I love Instagram and Pic Stitch. 

We woke up pretty early again on Tuesday. We had the whole day to do whatever we wanted so we decided to go on a picnic in the Royal Botanic Gardens. We went out around 11am to get some snacks and the weather was a bit overcast so we went back to the hotel to wait out the storm. By about 1pm the sun came out and it was a perfect day for a picnic! We packed our picnic bag, along with some yarn, and walked over to the gardens. We found the perfect spot overlooking the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon! We didn’t end up making any hats but we did do a mini photo shoot with a few that we had already made on the trip. It really was the perfect date! We went back to the hotel around 6:00pm and then went looking for dinner. It was amazing to me how quickly the central business district shut down. We went out around 8pm and could not find any restaurants that were open for dinner, even Subway closed at 9pm. We ended up eating dinner at the pub connected to our hotel and crashed around 10:30pm.

Our beautiful picnic overlooking the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Modeling a new Snug HarBor Hat...

...and another one!

I love this view!

The weather was incredible!

Another view. 

On Wednesday we flew to Darwin, Australia. We had never been to Darwin so we were excited to explore a new city! We checked out of our hotel around 8:30am and took the train to the airport. The flight from Sydney to Darwin was about 4 hours and we arrived in Darwin around 2pm. We took an airport shuttle to our hotel and were able to check-in right away. We dropped off our bags and then went exploring. We learned very quickly that the city of Darwin is very small! The central business district was only about a 20-minute walk from one end to the other. Our waitress from the pub in Sydney recommended that we go to Shennanigan’s Pub in Darwin, so that was our first stop, and boy was it refreshing! The climate in Darwin was incredibly hot and humid and a nice cold beer was exactly what we needed after only 10 minutes of walking. We walked down to the waterfront to see if we could find a way to the port, but our adventure was cut short when a crazy storm moved in. October to April is the wet season in Darwin and we got to experience the rain first-hand. We picked up some Thai food-to-go on our way back to the hotel and only got a little wet on the way. We got back to the hotel around 6pm, ate our dinner, and fell asleep pretty early. The time difference from Sydney to Darwin was 1.5 hours (who ever heard of a half hour difference) so our early bed times in Sydney were even earlier in Darwin. The storm really hit in the middle of the night and it was so cool to see the lightning light up the room while we were sleeping.

Welcome to Darwin!

Our delicious Thai dinner!

We accidently woke up around 7:30am on Thursday morning (we thought it was actually 9am because the phone did not change time zones) so we were able to get to the ship a little earlier than normal. We had a little extra work to do on this ship, and ate lunch in the Windjammer, so we didn’t get off the ship until about 1:00pm. The Sports Supervisor was able to get off the ship with us for a while so we went back to Shennanigan’s for a couple drinks – drinking was really one of the few things to do in Darwin. We went back to the hotel around 4:00 to drop off the tool bag and then went to do some shopping. Little did we know, Darwin shuts down around 5:00pm. There were only a few restaurants open but we weren’t too hungry after our big lunch on the ship, so we got some cheese and crackers at the supermarket and went back to the hotel. We watched some Desperate Housewives, crocheted a bit, and called it a night around 10pm.

We had to check out of our room at 11am on Friday, but our flight did not leave until 3ish. We packed our bags and left them at the reception desk and then did some shopping and grabbed some lunch. There really wasn’t much to do in Darwin, even the shopping wasn’t great, but the food was delicious! Darwin is as far north in Australia as you can go, so it is relatively close to Asia. That being said, the Asian influence is pretty big and the food is awesome! We had Vietnamese for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it. We went back to the hotel around 1:30 and the airport shuttle picked us up around 1:45pm. Our next destination was Dubai, but in order to get to Dubai, we had to fly back to Sydney. We got to Sydney around 9pm and the flight to Dubai didn’t leave until 6am on Saturday morning. We arranged to stay at a hotel near the airport so we didn’t have to sleep in the airport. We ate a quick dinner at the hotel and fell asleep around 11pm.

There is a crocodile "zoo" in the middle of downtown Darwin. We planned to visit but didn't get around to it. We did go into the gift shop though, and got to see one of the massive saltwater crocs from afar. Look closely at the very top of the photo.  

We woke up around 3:15am on Saturday and were at the airport around 4am. We were there so early, that the customs and immigration officers weren’t even there yet! We got through customs and immigration around 4:30am and were able to connect to a Wi-Fi network for a little while before our 14.5 hour flight to Dubai. We arrived in Dubai around 2pm (9pm Sydney time) and took a Ladies Taxi to our hotel. We were able to check-in and shower before we ventured into the city for dinner. Our hotel was very close to a metro station so we took the metro to the Mall of the Emirates and had some Shake Shack for dinner. I know I have mentioned this in previous Dubai and New York posts, and that it is silly to fly all the way to Dubai to eat a burger, but Shake Shack honestly has the best cheeseburgers I have ever tasted! I have no idea what they do to their meat and buns, but it is amazing!! We watched some skiers at the indoor skiing facility and then went back to our hotel. We were exhausted from the long flight and time change and we fell asleep around 9pm.

Loving the stamps!

So excited for our dinner!

Delicious!

This indoor skiing facility always amazes me! Dubai has something for everyone. 

Sunday was St. Patrick’s Day and we had the whole day to hang out in Dubai. We woke up around 6:30am and left the hotel around 10am. I was able to be the first person to wish my mom a happy birthday and then Kevin and I went out on our adventure. We went back to Shake Shack for lunch (don’t judge) and then took a taxi to Atlantis on Palm Jumeria. Palm Jumeria is the man-made island in Dubai that is shaped like a palm tree. We have never visited the island and were excited to see it. Unfortunately, you can’t tell it is a palm tree when you are on the island, but it is the concept that is cool! We planned to go to Aquaventure, which is the waterpark at Atlantis hotel. We got to the park around 11:30am and stayed until about 5pm. We started our day on the lazy river and through the grand rapids. Then we enjoyed the water coasters. The water coasters were something I had never seen before, but I think they will become very popular in other waterparks in the future. You ride in a double inner tube up a conveyor belt (yes they have invented a way to ride slides without climbing steps!) and then you are pushed through the coaster with high velocity gushes of water. It was like no other water ride I have ever seen. The coolest part was that there were multiple slides all connected to this belt, so you could choose your fate. One of the slides connected to the belt was Shark Attack. This is a slide that is completely dark until you dump out into an enclosed tube that guides you through an aquarium full of sharks and fish. It was way too cool!! We braved the Leap of Faith and the best part of the whole day was that the longest line we had to wait in was less than 15 minutes! The park was connected to a private beach so we finished our day on the beach and Kevin was able to smoke the hookah. It was such a fun day! We left the park around 5:30pm and took a taxi back to the Mall of the Emirates. Being that it was St. Patrick’s Day, we were determined to find an Irish Pub in which we could celebrate. We found a place called McGettigan’s that was right near one of the metro stops so we made a pit stop on the way back to the hotel. They didn’t have green beer like they often do in the States, but they did have some Irish dancers and live music that made up for the lack of green beer. We each had a burger and some Irish drinks (Magners Cider and Guinness) and went back to the hotel around 8:30pm. We waited until 11pm to talk to mom again and then crashed. We were pooped from a long day in the sun!

You can buy gold from vending machines at Atlantis. 

The lazy river and the conveyor belt in the background. 

I bought a waterproof camera before our trip and took a few pictures on the slides. This is actually going up the conveyor belt on our way to the water "coasters."

This is inside the shark tank. 

Going through the shark tank. 

This is overlooking the water "coasters." They were awesome!

Sure do love him! 

This is the center-piece of the park and the Leap of Faith goes right down the middle.

The Burj al Arab from the beach at Atlantis. 

The view of Atlantis from the private beach. 

The panoramic view of the Atlantis resort. 

Enjoying some Irish cider on St. Patty's Day!

We took a taxi to the ship around 10am on Monday morning. We set 3 new routes on the wall and ate lunch on the ship. We got back to the hotel around 2:00 and decided to stay in for the rest of the day. We had such a great day at the waterpark so we didn’t feel the need to go back into the city. There was a Chili’s near our hotel so we walked to the mall for dinner, packed our bags, and crashed around 9pm.

On Tuesday we flew home. We flew another 14.5 hours from Dubai to Seattle (and came within about 60 miles of the arctic circle), Seattle to Denver, and Denver to Colorado Springs. We traveled for about 26 hours and got home around 10:30pm. It was a long day!

In 12 days, we circumnavigated the globe, flew a total of 28,233 miles, and spent a total of 74 hours sitting in airports and on airplanes. It was a whirlwind of a trip, but we had a blast!