Already There?

Posted on August 9, 2018 by vanbraman

It is a little past 8:30 am on Friday here in Sydney. I am waiting for my flight to take off at 10:30 am.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner - United 787 - NRT-LAX - New Airplane

However, I arrive in San Francisco at 7:00 am on Friday, so am I already there?

Sydney Transport, Trains, Macquarie University STation

At 7:00 am I was getting on the train to go from my apartment to the airport.

Airplane Map, SFO, SYD, United Airlines

This is always the fun part of flying from Australia back to California. You always arrive before you leave if you are looking at actual local time.

Above you see the flight map for the flight here two weeks ago. It will be over water the entire way.

volunteer trees, back yard, grass

Of course, I have a long 13 hour and 30 minute flight home. However, I will still have my whole Friday ahead of me. I am just at the start of a very long Friday.

I may even be able to get some yard work done. I hope my backyard does not look as bad as this, but with the heat it might. When it gets hot little trees grow from the roots of the larger trees. It has been hot back home.

I am not looking forward to the heat, but know that it will only be a few more weeks and the worst of the summer heat will be over.

Wing of 787, Flight to Australia

Now for a snack before the flight.

Steven

 

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Drinks Down Under

Posted on August 9, 2018 by vanbraman

Tonight as I pack for my return home I decided to share a few of the drinks that I have been enjoying while Down Under.

australia, solo, soft drink, foodOne of the first things I did when I arrived was go grocery shopping so that I would have food in my apartment. See: Australian Apartment

One of the things I bought was a nice big bottle of Solo. This is one of my favorite soft drinks as it has a nice lemon taste with a bit of a bite.

Solo, Lemon Soft Drink, Australia, Drinks Down UnderI would usually drink a can of Solo each day while teaching. It was sometimes two a day in the second week as the vending machine was right outside the classroom.

I really like this wonderful Australian drink.

Lift Soda, Australia, Solo competition

There is also a competing soda called Lift. I would rather have Solo, but they both taste good.

Bundaberg, Ginger Beer, Australian Drinks

I also had to try some Bundaberg Ginger Beer. This is the best Ginger Beer that I have tasted. I was looking for their Root Beer, but didn’t realize until just now that I have seen it under a different name. Here it is marketed as Sarsaparilla.

In the background of the picture you can see a tea pot. Of course, I have been making tea every day in my apartment.

Pot of tea, Thai Restaurant

I also had tea with my meals when we had our Australian Thai Dinner and also at our Australian Course Dinner.

I have also bought a few types of tea to take home with me, but you will learn about them in some future posts.

Steven

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