Sydney Opera House – 12/28/2012
Dec 30th, 2012 by admin
We’re heading back to Brisbane today. Barbara is leaving for home tomorrow and I have to pick up the Cherokee at 4X4 shop before they close. Yesterday, I finally got the insurance worked out and I have a fax of the insurance certificate. The plan is to drop Barbara at the airport and start heading back south to Sydney for New Year’s Eve.
The insurance certificate was a struggle. The agent that I was talking to had left for holiday over the Christmas to New Year’s break. I kept emailing the agent and calling his office. But nothing happened. Without the insurance certificate, I can’t legally drive in Australia. Now we’re closing in on still another weekend and I still don’t have the certificate.
All week I’ve been calling the office and getting a man on the phone who kept putting me off. Finally, I managed to have him give me a phone number for the insurance broker. I called but, of course, they were closed for the holidays and would reopen on January 2nd. Their answering machine message did give a couple of off hour numbers which I called.
After a couple of tries I got Wendy who hadn’t seen my application but knew that I had one pending. She asked me to fax her the insurance application. No problem. How about an email. Fine, email it. I thought that I had a scan of the form but I couldn’t find it. Down to the hotel business center with the complete form that I had saved.
A very helpful woman in the business center rescanned the form and emailed to Wendy in about 3 minutes. Maybe ten minutes later, the phone rings. It’s Wendy. “I’ve emailed your certificate to the hotel’s fax number. Please check with them and call when you have it.”
Back down to the business center. The form is there. They make me a couple more copies. Call back Wendy and thank her. Finally, we’ve got insurance.
Today, the only thing left to do is see the Opera House and fly back to Brisbane. We pack, load the car and check out of the hotel. We drive over to the general area of the Opera House and drive straight into an underground parking garage. Some days things just work right. Other days, not so much. Today is turning out to be a good day.
Park the car and walk up to the Opera House. We sign up for an hour long tour. We have about 2 hours to do the tour, get to the airport, drop off the rental car and check in for the flight to Brisbane. It’ll be tight, especially if there’s traffic to the airport.
The tour is great. The woman who was our guide had a very clear and distinct voice. Plus, we had intercom headsets so that she could be heard no matter where she was in the group. The intercoms are a great idea. European tours should adopt them.
The Opera House is know for its iconic design. Everyone knows the Sydney Opera House from its distinctive silhouette. It’s just as beautiful inside as it is from the outside. And the story of the successes and failures of the construction is very interesting.
The tour runs a bit long so when it ends we bolt for the car and head for the airport. We find the right airport (the international is different from domestic), drop the car and get to the check in with plenty of time.
The flight to Brisbane is about an hour and a half. It leaves on time and arrives on time. Down to baggag claim and out to the taxi stand. We have a hotel reservation at a Comfort Inn at the airport but we decide to go get the Cherokee first. Taxi to the 4X4 shop and they’re waiting for us.
The car isn’t quite ready so we hang out in the waiting area. While we’re waiting, the skies just open up in a torrential down pour. Maybe 30 minutes and they’re done, I pay, we load the car and we leave for the hotel.
The rain stops as we make our way back up to the airport and the hotel. Check in. Dinner at the hotel. We’re just plain tired. Bed early. Barbara leaves tomorrow.
Obi-wan