On Friday 27th we were picked up at our house at 11:05 am and transported to Brownwood town square. At 11:45 am we took a shuttle from Brownwood to Orlando airport. About 3:20 pm we were on a plane to Dallas, Texas. We landed in Dallas about 5:30 pm and had about a 3 hour lay over. During this time we grabbed a bite at a pizza restaurant.
At 8:05 pm, central time, we were boarded on a huge Air Bus 380, a 2 level aircraft with 2 aisles and ten seats across. 3,4,3, to Sydney, Australia. We were on the lower level, coach class. Luckily for us, we were on a side with 3 seats of which the third seat was vacant. The plane had a wide variety of movies, music and T.V. shows that was available on individual screens. Blankets and pillows had been distributed before we boarder the plane. We were going to be flying almost 17 hours. We were served dinner of chicken, peas and rice and mango cheesecake for dessert about an hour after take off. The main lights were then turned off. Tom and I watched movies or read until we were sleepy or fell asleep. We would sleep a little and wake up to watch movies or whatever hour after hour. Believe me, it was along night. About 2 hours before getting to Sydney we were served breakfast of scrambled eggs with tomato, mushrooms and peppers, potatoes and a muffin. Finally about 20 minutes after 6 am Australian time we landed in Sydney.
Even though our luggage was tagged to go to Melbourne, we had to claim it in Sydney our entry point into the country. Of course, it seemed as if we had to walk miles to get to the gate of the departure for Melbourne. But first we had to get our luggage on the conveyor to go to the plane and again we had to go through security check. Well, Tom had something in his carry on that looked suspicious and finally it was discovered to be a harmonica. We were to be on a plane to Melbourne at 7:30 am and all the hassle was eating up time.. It was after 7:30 when we got to the gate and boarding had not started but shortly afterward it did. The flight to Melbourne was about an hour.
After claiming our luggage we had been met by a representative from Trafalgar, the tour company.
We were put in a shuttle and sent off to the hotel we would be staying at for 3 nights, Crowne Plaza. And our room was not ready. Bummer!! The date was now January 29, 2017- in our travels we crossed the International dateline and lost 1 whole day.
After walking to a nearby commercial area along the Yarra River and getting a bite to eat, we returned to the hotel and our room was now ready. In the evening we had a scheduled meeting at the hotel with our tour director, Dave Overton.
Later we walked a short distance to a tram station and boarded the Colonial Tramcar where we were served dinner while the tram toured the city.
The next day, January 30, we had a private walking tour with our tour director, Dave, in Melbourne. Melbourne is unique with its many laneways (alleys that have shops and small cafes, some with covering overhead). There is also an underground tunnel that leads to the train station with cafes and shops.
Later in the day we were on our own to do whatever, Tom and I walked to the area of the laneways and found a little Italian restaurant where we had paella for dinner.
