Down Under - Day Twenty Six, Sunday, March 2, 2014, Sydney, Australia

Qantas Lounge at Sydney Airport

I left off last night in the Qantas Lounge at the Sydney airport.  We boarded our double decker airbus at 9:00 on Sunday evening, March 2nd.  Remember the time here folks.  More on this later.

Suite 4A on Qantas Flight 11 from Sydney to Los Angeles.

I've been on a few airplanes in my lifetime, but this one was unbelievably impressive.  With only 14 "suites" in our section and 4 flight attendants to cater to our every need, it was quite comfortable.  The suite was the size of two large first class seats but configured in a bedroom setting.  Albeit small, it was equipped with everything one may need for a leisurely, homelike setting.  There were two remote controls, one for the 19" t.v. and one for the lounge chair.  The chair had a massage feature, so I enjoyed a nice massage while watching the live take off from the tail mounted camera.   

Steve and Diane from Boca Grande, FL chat with Stevie.

Steve and Diane from our cruise were on the same flight, so we enjoyed telling tales of our vacation over cocktails before take off.   They were equally impressed with the airplane's set up, but having flown over on the same Qantas flight, they were much less in awe.    

My own Qantas P.J.'s.

I guess you can take the girl out of Arkansas, but you can't take the Arkansas out of the girl, because I was having a ball playing with all the gadgets, flipping my recliner around in different positions and opening drawers and discovering all kinds of goodies ... like my very own Qantas P.J.'s ... in the right size!  How did they know??  I was kind of like a kid in a candy store, in wonderment of all the cool features in my room.  I wasn't raise like this folks!

Shortly after take off the flight attendant brought me a caviar Bellini and a blue cheese tart.  Move over, Bertha, let the force feeding continue.   I'm having the tasting menu for dinner tonight while listening to music in glorious surround sound from my own personal playlist.  I pushed the button to lower my window shades ... yes, plural ... THREE of them in each suite.  

After dinner, the flight attendant came around to make my bed.  The recliner went flat, she covered it with a fleece mattress and sheets with a down comforter and two full size pillows.  Sweet!  I really didn't want to go to sleep because I was afraid I'd miss something, but shortly after my evening tea, I dozed off for several hours.

The next morning, I awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs.  Is there a better way to wake up than the smell of bacon??  We had a couple more hours before landing in LA, so I started playing with gadgets again.  I went to the toilet and when I came back, my bed was gone and the recliner was awaiting.  I must say, the service on this airplane is phenomenal.  I've never seen so many perky, friendly flight attendants.  They brought my tea, I did a few yoga stretches and floor exercises - yes - the room is that large, and then I started scanning the tv channels.  

We landed in Los Angeles and I must admit, I wasn't quite ready to disembark.  They still had plenty of champagne and food on board that I hadn't gotten around to enjoying.  All in all the Qantas flight was one of the best flying experiences to date.  It was a stretch to fine a negative ... ok ... no wifi.  But I was so busy playing with all the other toys, I didn't really miss it.  

Stevie and I breezed through customs and immigration.  If you don't have a "GOES" pass and you travel internationally, you really should consider getting one.  With a quick electronic scan of my passport and fingerprint confirmation, we were through immigration within about 60 seconds.  All my bags arrived and we were in and out of customs in a matter of minutes.  Nirvana!  Back on US soil.  And here's the thing.  Remember when I told you we left on Sunday evening at 9:00?  Well we arrived back in LA on Sunday AFTERNOON at 4:30 p.m.  Almost 5 hours BEFORE we left.  I finally found that day I lost when we went to New Zealand.  

Stevie and I said our goodbyes after clearing customs.  She had to catch her flight to Houston.  We had such an amazing time.  The best thing is, we spent a month together and we're still good friends.  We had such a great time sharing this experience.  Thanks, Stevie for being such an amazing friend.  I miss you already.

It sure feels good to be home.  I'll be here in Los Angeles for a few more days spending time with Jeff and friends before returning to Aspen.  I'm so glad that you checked in with me on my journey.  I can't wait to catch up with each of you to hear what's happening in your world.  We're all on this adventure together ... the adventure of life.  We can spend it any way we want, but the truth is, we only have so many trips around the sun to enjoy, so let's spend them wisely.  I can't think of a better than to embrace each day than with the awe and excitement of a child, exploring new places, people and ideas but mostly sharing those things with the ones we love.  

This is Julie and Stevie's Down Under Adventure signing out.

Love to all!