A crazy start to the day. We woke at 4 to make sure we got to the airport in time to drop off our rental car, check in and be ready for our 7 a.m. flight. We were told the rental car office at the airport opened at 5. But they don’t. We got there, and there’s nobody. The sign on the kiosk says we should go into to the terminal to the Hertz desk. We go into the terminal and can’t find it. We ask security and they tell us there isn’t one. We go back to the kiosk to drop the key in the key drop. The key drop is sealed shut. So we leave the keys and the paperwork in the car, parked in a Hertz slot, and head for our gate.
Once there, I call our travel agency’s North American office, where it’s the middle of the afternoon. I tell them the story and ask them to deal with it. When we landed in Sydney, I had an email from the travel agency saying they had called Hertz at the Auckland airport and told them our story. They also told Hertz to email me confirmation when they checked in the car. I still haven’t received the email. So either Hertz has its car and everything is cool, or they don’t and there’s a big mess to clean up. I’ll keep you posted.
Here in Sydney, we met Roslyn’s cousin Barbara for lunch. Barbara is a second cousin Roslyn did not know she had until just before we came here. Their grandfathers were brothers, making Roslyn and Barbara second cousins. We had a lovely lunch at the art museum cafe, and really enjoyed getting to know each other.
Then later in the afternoon, we met Roslyn’s first cousin Warwick at the Opera House Bar for a drink. The Opera House Bar is an outdoor affair in a location you can probably work out on your own. From there, we hopped in a cab to East Sydney to get a bite to eat.
“Have you been in an Australian pub yet?” Warwick asked upon alighting from the cab. When we confessed that we had not, he marched us into a pub on the nearest corner. He and I had half-pints, and Roslyn had a club soda.
Then we walked up a block to a wonderful little Italian restaurant. Lots of really good food and lots of drink. Warwick ordered a bottle of wine for him and me, ordered grappa for us after the meal. I am undoubtedly over the legal limit as a type this. I wasn’t driving, so you don’t have to worry. Roslyn, on the other hand, is quite concerned I might be snoring tonight.