You better run, you better take cover

Since my last post, I have (a) become someone's wife, and (b) traveled to Australia. Both extremely exciting developments, to be sure, but only one of them involved snacking on Oreos while hurtling over the International Date Line, oblivious to date and time and space. I promised my sister I would update this fine forum from Down Under, so here goes.

[But first, I have to help my beloved husband figure out the coffee maker in our hotel room.]

We arrived early Wednesday morning Sydney time (late Tuesday afternoon in Ohio), and the jet lag has not released us yet. Our hotel room -- the Park Hyatt in the shadow of the Harbour Bridge -- is so luxurious as to be obscene. For example, this is the view from our private veranda:

Ridiculous. But awesome. Plus, my dear Aussie friends left a gift basket in our room for us containing all my favorite Australian treats: Tim Tams, Cadbury Crunchies, a bottle of Australian sparkling wine and two Crown Lagers (a.k.a., Crownies). Also in the basket: two gift certificates for the Sydney Harbour Bridgeclimb, their wedding gift to us.

[Couldn't figure out how to work the coffee maker. Wonderful new husband just brought me a pot of tea, which he is serving to me in bone china.]

We spent yesterday walking around the city -- a long way around the city. I have been here several times before, but my husband has not. I delighted showing him around the Sydney as if it was my own. Of particular interest to me, the following photo, which shows someone's office within the Sydney Opera House. Although this person has a view of one of the most magnificent, sparkling harbours in the world, I will bet any amount that he/she is just as disgusted by his/her paperwork as the rest of us:

And here is the view from said office:

Working, as I do, in an iconic-type building makes you notice things like this. (Although my office is nowhere near the icon that the Sydney Opera House is -- its iconic status has a much more limited reach.)

Anyway, we stopped around 3:00 p.m. for some beer, and returned to the room for a quick jet lag-killing nap. At least that was our intention. At 11:00 p.m., we woke up, rolled over, realized the night was basically shot, and went back to sleep. Got up this morning at 5:30 a.m., of course, so here we go again. We are determined to stay up all day, no naps, to get over this once and for all. Although I must say I don't feel too badly about sleeping so much yesterday -- between the wedding, the immense plane trips, etc., I think we could use the rest. And we don't have this gorgeous hotel room for nothing!

Today, Bridgeclimb. Bitchin'.