Seat snob

Flying from Chicago to SFO the plane I'm on is configured with the seat typically only on international business class. The lie flat seat is usually not on domestic flights. So I feel lucky that I got upgraded to first and have a fancy seat for the four hour flight. I'm focusing on that aspect of the trip rather than the fact that we had to deplane and I'm actually stuck in Chicago for a five-hour delay while they fix the engine. I can't wait to get back to that seat.

Australia

We flew through San Francisco and upgraded all four of us to Polaris Business. The seats were the older fold flat, and not as nice as the newest seats. The Polaris club in SFO was brand new and awesome. We relaxed, ate, showered, napped. I even got a good bourbon with a huge cube.

First night in Sydney was at the Marriott close to the harbor. We left our luggage and walked around since we arrived at 7am. Saw the opera house and ate sushi and dim sum. Walked more and shopped. Eventually got a partial bridge view room and relaxed. Marriott elite status benefits were solid with food and soda at the executive lounge.

Thursday we got our apartment. First we ate at one of the oldest pubs in Sydney. We have one week in a studio nearby Darling Harbor. Great location and good space. Balcony with three beds and a kitchen. 

Friday we took the hop on/hop off ferry to Manly Beach. Cool location; walked in the sand. 

Saturday took the ferry to Watsons Bay; ate at a famous beach side place. It was expensive but a fun experience. Back to Manly for desert and then back to Darling Harbor.

Sunday hit The Rocks Markets art fair. Ok but not what the kids were looking for in a market. We walked all the way to Haymarket which was much more their speed - flea market stuff all around. Terri got a backrub and we saw so many t-shirt and wig stores. 

Monday we spent the day at the maritime museum as Paul wanted to see the military ships. We toured a destroyer, a sub and two tall ships. Very cool.

Tuesday we went to Chinatown for dim sum and then Bondi Beach. We walked some toward Cogee and loved the view of the Pacific ocean.

Wednesday we climbed the bridge. We walked the distance and took lots of pictures. Ate at a rooftop pub with an amazing view of the opera house.

Thursday we left the apartment and flew to Brisbane. We rented a car and drove up to Dickey beach, about 1 hour north of Brisbane. We had a 2-bedroom apartment close to the beach. Bella and I had time to jump the waves for about an hour before dark. We ate burgers and chips and enjoyed the beachside atmosphere of the little area.

Friday we hit Australia Zoo and saw kangaroos, koalas and crocs. We got to see the Irwins do the croc feeding show. That night we drove up to Bundaberg. The motel in Bundy was funny, we had to call ahead for late check in and couldn’t find our room (it wasn’t labeled and was the only room of it’s kind in the motel).

Saturday morning we had a 7am departure on the Lady Musgrave Experience to snorkel on the barrier reef. It was a 2 hour boat ride, then a tour of the Lady Musgrave island, glass bottom boat ride and snorkeling. We saw turtles and fish. The reef was amazing.

Sunday we left Bundy and drove back down towards Brisbane. We stayed at the Rumba Beach Resort and had a nice 2-bedroom apartment. We ate aussie steak and swam in the four pools (especially the hot tub).

Monday morning we headed to Brisbane airport to fly back to Sydney. We stopped at a rest area where we ate sushi and steak pie. We arrived back in Sydney around 5pm and took an Uber to a hotel on Brighton Beach. Not much time to see the beach as it was already dark; we ate pizza at Bondi Pizza and packed up for our flight home on Tuesday.

Tuesday we headed to the airport early like 7am. We got through security and Bella and I enjoyed the Singapore Airlines club. We had soda, dim sum and hash browns. I brought a soda back for Paul. Terri and Paul bought snacks for the flight including Tim Tams, Skittles, Pringles and a poke bowl.

The flight home was good; still not enough food. Isabella is always hungry on flights. We had two rows and could stretch out. Only 12 hours on the way home, stopover in LAX. All four of us relaxed in the LAX club and freshened up with soda and snacks. Terri changed, I wish we could have showered. 

I was upgraded on the flight from LAX to ORD but on an older 757 the first class seat was really bad. It reclined on its own and I had trouble getting comfortable. The food was also not great; mac and cheese. The service felt rushed and overall I was ready to be home.