Order of the Double Sunrise

Day 1:

Thanks the the wonderful efforts of Sally, our first day was pretty darn easy.  After work, she picked us up at the house and we all went out to dinner.  After dinner, she drove us all the way to Heathrow and made sure that we got there with plenty of time to spare.  The lines weren't too bad and the flight took off on time.

Day 2:

To be honest, I got quite a bit of sleep on the flight which made it bearable.  The first leg ended up being 13 hours and dropped us in Singapore.  I'm not sure I can claim to have ever been there, but the airport was quite nice.  Everyone was required to de-plane with all of their luggage, and then re-board.  Re-boarding involved leaving the secure area around the gate and re-entering through a miniature security setup.

Day 3:

In the early days of Qantas, people who flew the London to Sydney route were inducted into the Order of the Double Sunrise.  They don't do that anymore, but I still feel like I'm a member.  The second leg of trip was about 7 hours and once again was smooth and on-time.

The one hiccup we've had so far is the luggage.  Somehow, the airline managed to mangle our bag severely.  They've nearly ripped the pull-handle assembly off of the bag itself.  At the same time, the bag showed up on the conveyer belt, split open at the zipper.  Tomorrow is a day to find wire-ties and do a quick patch job, but I am damn glad that I got Eagle Creek with their 'No Matter What Guarantee'.

We picked up the rental car and drove into the city.  After a false start, we found the hotel and dropped off the car and luggage.  We couldn't check in for another 5 hours, so Jill and I decided to walk around a bit and headed up towards the bridge.  It was an enjoyable way to kill time and we got some nice pictures.  By around 13.00, we were both completely exhausted and jones-ing for a shower.  We got to the hotel room, took showers and promptly fell asleep.

Jill Update:

For those wondering, Jill still likes me today.  This is an improvement over our Scandinavian holiday in which she hated me before we landed.