We had decided to 'hop across the ditch' to Sydney to catch a performance of Aida at the Opera House. It was something we had planned in 2020, but the plague ruined those plans, so when a fresh production was arranged we grasped the opportunity.
Our trip has an abysmal start. After a dream run the the airport - every green light and no traffic - the valet parking that I had thought I had booked was not valet parking, but rather covered parking half a mile away from the terminal. In a rush I drove over there, in the pouring rain, and managed to reverse into some bloody stupid planter box that badly damaged my back bumper. Wet and angry from this I returned to the terminal and the relative calm of the airline lounge. Then we had a departure delay due to an engineering issue then a further delay with a baggage loading, making us one hour late leaving. The trip across the ditch was bumpy, not severe turbulence, but still the bumpiest I had ever know over the Tasman Sea. Then there was a weather change in Sydney and they reduced operations to a single runway, so we circled off the coast for forty minutes while Air Traffic Control re-routed all the arriving aircraft. All these delays meant that there was no gate with an airbridge was available and we had to park at a remote gate and be bussed to the terminal. But the busses were slow to arrive and we lost another fifteen minutes. Then, almost as a final insult, neatly half the kiosks in the immigration hall were inoperative and standing in a queue with several hundred people I had to chortle at the sign that boasted how theses machines saved queuing times. Finally, two hours late, we hit the fresh air - well caught the train to the city more correctly...the most efficient part of the trip in fact.
Lunch allowed us to recover our shattered nerves and the afternoon was much more pleasant. A nice snooze in mid-afternoon (we had been up since 4:00 AM NZ time) was enough to refresh us prior to dinner and the show. Our hotel was just a short walk to the Opera House on a surprisingly mild evening.
Thankfully Saturday was a much more ordered and peaceful day. A bit of shopping, walking around the city in the sunshine...a rarity for us these days...and a nice lunch as a Malaysian restaurant overlooking Darling Harbour...so nice that we went back there for dinner.
We head back home today.
Rough start but a pleasant middle. Hope the ending is satisfactory.
ReplyDeleteNot looking forward to sorting out the car repair though.
DeleteAt least your role at Air NZ does not involve telling the flying public what a great airline it is Mark (although, to be fair, it IS pretty good and wins plenty of awards to prove it!) Sounds like things got back on track pretty quickly though...all I really know about Aida is one of the marches in it (March of the Pharoah perhaps) is the regimental march of either the Coldstream or Grenadier guards! It is a very cool tune too!
ReplyDeleteAt least the flight crew kept us well informed and only one of those issues was the airline's responsibility.
DeleteAnd that march was played brilliantly by six trumpeters...really filled the theatre.
The worst flight I have ever been on was between Auckland and Sydney, so rough we were seated for just about the entire journey and I don't think they even got the food service out. Nice to see the rest of the trip was better, and that you had a decent show and dining experiences to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteMy worst was enroute to Singapore, hitting clear air turbulence just north of Darwin. Three massive drops. They had just served drinks and there was wine all over the ceiling...and one cabin crew member...thankfully I had finished mine but I never did see where the plastic cup went. There was one guy had three seats to himself and was asleep across them, I can distinctly remember him rising above the seat backs on all three occasions...I guess he understood the value of the seat belt after that! It was a very subdued for the rest of the flight.
DeleteMy daughter Amyr(flight attendant) had to sit in the aisle for ten or fifteen minutes because the turbulence was so bad, she could not make it back to a crew seat...that was going to Australia although I am unsure which city ....possibly Brisbane!
DeleteThey tell me that nearer to the equator the more likely to get that.
DeleteAfter a bad start I'm glad that at least you got to rest and then enjoy the performance. The worst flight I had was over the Sahara desert as we approached Northern Nigeria following a Summer thunderstorm as we flew in. We hit turbulence and an air pocket where the plane just dropped for what seemed a very long time before we hit air again. Everything went silent until we landed when everyone let out an audible gasp of relief. I've always flown with the seat belt loosely tightened just in case...
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve...yes those drops seem unending, don't they.
DeleteA stressful start but it sounds like the opera was everything you hoped it would be…
ReplyDeleteHopefully your journey home is/was more relaxed.
All the best. Aly
The opera was indeed the spectacle we expected. The trip home was much more relaxing and the damage to the car is not as severe as it looked in the wet semi-darkness of Friday, although the bumper will, probably still need replacing ☹️
Deleteso no one in the opera had red pants?
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You know there could have been...it was a big cast and some were in the back where I may not have been able to see...
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