Best airline ever!

PORT DOUGLAS, AUS - -When I was in Sydney, I was glad to have closed-toe shoes since it was rather chilly, windy and rainy. Now that I'm in steamy Port Douglas, I'm seriously wondering whether public nudity is truly illegal or simply frowned upon.

Anyway, now on to the commercial segment of our programming....

If you ever find your lucky selves in beautiful Australia and need to get from one lovely city to the next, there are several air options for you. Qantas is great, of course, and Jet Blue is a new low-cost airline, but for my money, you've got to fly Virgin Blue.

The flight crew was friendly, as all Aussies are, but we were lucky enough to have a hybrid Aussie named Barry, as our host for the three-hour flight from Sydney to Cairns (nearest airport to Port Douglas).

Barry is Irish.

And crazy.

Some of Barry's loudspeaker comments enroute:

"And straight from flight school, our pilot, Captain....."

"Virgin Blue prides itself on having the best, most professional flight crews. Unfortunately, they're all in Melbourne watching the Cup, so today we have....."

"All electronic devices must be turned off now. That includes cell phones, as they interfere with the pilot's pacemaker."

"If you have any questions while we're in the air, please don't hestitate to ask our purser Alyce. She knows everything."

"As all Virgin Blue flights, this is a non-smoking flight. Anyone caught smoking will be invited to take a seat on the wing and enjoying a complimentary viewing of "Gone with the Wind."

"Will the cabin crew now please hold hands and get ready for takeoff. Alyce! That's not my hand!"

"If you have anything stowed in the overhead bins, please be aware that items may have moved during the flight, so please be carefull. As everyone knows, shift happens."

"And from all of us, including the two boys in the pointy end, thanks for flying Virgin Blue."

Oh, and if that's not enough. We had a game of "guess the combined age of the cabin crew." Yes, they were all under 30, some significantly so. Our girl Alyce is only 24!

The fun is just beginning...

An old friend

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - - I'm fighting a losing battle to keep my eyes open as I've been here almost 10 hours already after having almost no sleep on the plane from Los Angeles. Although it's only 6 pm, I'm only staying awake long enough to write this and eat dinner - -I'm starving!

On another note, I'm in love with my bathroom (okay, that's sleep-deprivation talking). The room is the size of my kitchen with a two-person soaking tub in the corner. If only I'd talked to the wonderful Ken doll that was sitting two rows ahead of me on the plane, then maybe I'd have a partner in my lap pool. Oh well!

My room has a view over Hyde Park, two huge queen-sized beds and a flat screen TV...how cool is that?!?!

Not even attempting to masquerade as a local, I wore my Cubs hat as I got re-acquainted with Sydney. (Kinda surprised another (I'm guessing) tourist as he pointed at me and said something to his pals.)

Like an old friend with whom I've lost contact, I've found I have to tread carefully when warming up my love affair with this city...looking right instead of left when crossing the street, ordering a "flat white" for coffee, and trying to remember what the hell "rocket" is.

Which brings me to dinner tonight. I had a Brokenwood Shiraz with beef wellington. It's probably too much to spend on a first-night's dinner, but I'm starving! The wine is quite good. I wonder if it's the same wine that my colleague from Frankfurt suggested when he said "Bloodwood."

En route from Los Angeles, I caught up on my movie-watching with "The Lake House," the new "Pirates of the Carribbean," but I fell asleep before "Prairie Home Companion" began. Too bad!

Upon arrival in Sydney, I texted Leg Shaver Guy (remember him from my trip to Perth last year?) Yes, I know, another sleep-deprivation action! Anyway, he responded and said he'll email me. I just read his email and he's going to see if he can switch his schedule and catch up with me the week I'm in Sydney again (Nov. 15-22). We'll see.

What a snob I am!!! I just had a cheese plate for dessert (of course, since I had some wine left!) There was a really nice white cheddar, a creamy Kings Island brie and a not-too-strong stilton. The cheddar was good, but nuttier than I expected. A fabulous surprise, though, was the dates, apricots, prunes and raisins (or sultantas?) that accompanied the cheeses. Fabulous!

Okay, my stomach's full, so I am sooo ready for bed! (One more thing: total price for dinner with wine, entree and dessert? about $40 US!!!)