Australia - Part One - Getting to Cairns - Sept 26-28

We checked in at the airport and relaxed in the Delta Lounge until it was time to board our “DELTA ONE” seats. Let’s be honest for a minute, I’m too old to fly 36 hours in coach – so earning those two Global reward upgrades was truly the deciding factor in FINALLY flying to Australia.

The trip from Washington DC to Los Angeles was nice – the food was incredible, the staff was really kind and happy to provide fancy mocktails for photos. The lay flat seats were comfortable, but I didn’t get any sleep from the sheer excitement of actually being ON OUR WAY.

In Los Angeles we again headed to the new fancy Delta ONE lounge, which was absolutely gorgeous. Outside seating, chair hammocks, fancy cocktails and mocktails waiting at the bar – and once again, more food than anyone could ask for. By the time we boarded our LAX to Sydney flight, I didn’t ever want to eat again – and yet, the food kept coming. It is tough to say no to Michelin star chef designed dishes with wine pairings, but seriously – there’s only so much food your stomach can safely hold.

In Delta One SUITES, you not only have lie flat seats, but you have a little workstation area and a door you can close on the aisle to mark yourself “Do Not Disturb” and sleep the flight away. (Or try to, anyway.) I didn’t get much sleep just thinking about the adventures ahead.  Damian sleeps like a professional - I'm quite envious of that skill.

Before I knew it, I watched all four John Wick movies and settled in for a nap JUST as we arrived in Sydney.   Ooops!   I broke out in giggles and seriously couldn’t stop as we passed through immigration and customs, then immediately dropped our luggage off at the Quantas desk for our connecting flight to Cairns.

The flight to Cairns was uneventful – we’ve never flown Qantas before, so there was no status or special seating – we were in the back of the plane with the other peasants, including a really lovely older lady from Mississippi who was travelling with a friend on a two-week tour of Australia and New Zealand.  She told us she had originally booked business class flights, but the tour company cancelled her tour at the last minute and rebooked it a week later - but her airline didn't - thus they had to spend double the cost of their tour just to get coach seats!

Apparently, that’s not uncommon, which is why I made sure to book our scuba diving days with two different companies to ensure we had at least one awesome day.

Once in Cairns we took a taxi to our LOVELY room at the Harbour Lights Condominium – we booked it on Booking.com, but it’s privately owned – a30 second walk from the harbour and pier, with a ton of amazing restaurants on the ground floor.  We had a gorgeous balcony overlooking the water, and the weather is absolutely perfect. A light breeze, some tropical music playing gently from one of the nearby nightclubs – just a glorious start to the trip.

Damian realized he forgot his bathing suit so we took to walking and exploring, eventually finding a Woolworths (I kid you not - it's one of their main grocery chains) and a little gift shop. We bought a swimsuit and some candy and crisps and headed back to the hotel to meet up with Anna and Mark, who have flown in from Adelaide.

We treated them to dinner at Dundee’s on the Waterfront – Damian and I shared the Australian sampler platter which included kangaroo skewers, crocodile sausages, barramundi, garlic yabby and tiger prawns.  It was absolutely delicious and I enjoyed getting to meet Anna’s husband and to catch up with her after thirty years. (We first met on my trip to New Zealand in the early 90s’)

We were in bed by 7:00 and asleep by 7:05. A wonderful start to the trip!