Our First Day in Sydney

After the incident with Jackson running through Customs, we were ready to get out of there! We still had to pick up our baggage and make it through customs again - for the baggage check. David and Jackson wandered around while I watched for our baggage to come out on the belt. They had a 'quarantine dog' that walked around smelling your bags checking for drugs, food, and other items that aren't welcome into the country.

Once we finally made it out of there, Ricky, Johanna, and Aaron were waiting for us. They had brought along a stuffed koala bear and balloon for Jackson. It was pretty exciting to see some familiar faces finally. And then they broke the news! They had secured a child seat, and we weren't going to have to take the train to our hotel! It was as if the heavens had opened up and a choir had begun singing! I was OVER public transport.

Now they gave us choices - go out for a nice breakfast at "Max's" or go to our hotel. My mind did some quick math where Hotel=Nap. Breakfast it is! Max had this terrific dish - ricotta pancakes with bananas and honeycomb butter. At first glimpse, honeycomb butter may sound odd, but it is butter with little dots of honey in it. So tasty. I didn't use any of the syrup on the table. The pancakes were so thick - it was so nice! Jackson had a 'fruit bowl'. I thought of my friend Valerie when they brought it out. There wasn't a lot of melon in the bowl. There was passion fruit, mango, lychees and a side of yogurt with honey. It really was lovely. David had [boring] bacon and eggs. I will say that the bacon looked real nice because it wasn't as fatty as you find it in the States.

After that we went to our hotel near Darling Harbour. We stayed at the Radisson, which was very nice with a kitchenette and a separate living area. After quick showers it was time to hit the town again - Off to Darling Harbour!

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