Cairns You Pronounce Cairns?

We couldn't, at first (the Australian pronunciation removes the "ir" so it sounds like "Cans").

We arrived Monday after a short flight from Sydney and were surprised to gain an hour - the town is virtually due north of Sydney (but the difference is due to daylight savings time, or so we were told!). First stop was the Budget rental car desk where we met Ian, perhaps the most friendly and helpful Australian ever. He gave us various maps and recommendations and also noted he had visited 41 out of all 50 US states - more than either of us! We got settled into our rental car, which will be taking us down the coast back to Sydney over the next three weeks, and Alex tried to adjust to sitting in the right seat and driving on the left side of the road. He seemed nervous at first but definitely has the hang of it now!

A little nervous at first but now he's a pro. Tomorrow I get to try...

The Cairns airport is only ten minutes from town so we were able to check in to our hostel quickly. Neither of us got much sleep during the previous night so after booking a reef tour (thanks Ian!) we headed straight to the water.

During "stinger season" you can't swim in certain areas of the water along Australia's coast because of the jellyfish migration. However, the beachside towns have compensated by either putting up large nets or creating an alternative swimming space. In Cairns there is a huge public swimming pool and park called The Lagoon, located right off the beach. We found a great spot under a palm tree and perched there for most of the afternoon, reading and taking multiple dips in the pool to cool down.

One of the nicest public pools I've ever been to!

Low tide view from The Lagoon.

One more shot of the beach as the water disappears.

Cairns is a pretty laid-back beach town, at least during this time of year. We suspect that it gets more crowded once the holidays near but there wasn't much action at most of the shops, bars and restaurants. We picked a cute little Greek spot for dinner, Fetta's, and left only after we'd seen our fair share of plates get broken (but before the owner - who seemed quite drunk at this point - started pulling people out of their chair to start dancing).

Tomorrow we get up early to explore the Great Barrier Reef so we are pretty excited!

Sydney, Briefly

Alex and I have considered dropping the "honeymoon card" at various points during our trip but we generally feel awkward and uncomfortable about it, especially because we are essentially on a yearlong honeymoon! We finally decided to try it at the Hong Kong airport since our flight to Sydney by way of Seoul was a long one; we figured "Why not ask?" The check-in desk agent was perfectly nice to me but stated that unfortunately our flights were very full and she couldn't upgrade us. She said she'd let the gate agent know if anything changed and we walked away toward security thinking "Well, it was worth a shot." After grabbing a quick bite we started to board and were stopped when our tickets set off a loud beep. I started to sigh assuming something hadn't been checked properly but was stunned when the agent informed us we had been upgraded to business class! It worked! Alex and I were basically giddy about our good fortune for our entire journey: champagne for the newlyweds? Yes please! Dinner with wine pairings? Don't mind if we do! I can't believe this nice check-in agent actually did follow through and succeeded in giving us an upgrade but I am so happy we asked! I am really going to have to restrain myself from bringing it up every time we check in to a flight or hotel now...

We arrived in Sydney completely exhausted after nearly 24 hours of travel but awake enough to appreciate the warmer temperature. Our room wasn't ready yet (we have actually been surprised occasionally and allowed to check-in super early, but not this time) so we dropped off our bags, grabbed some massive caffeinated beverages and headed to Sydney Harbor to walk around.

What "they" say is true: the harbor views can't be beat. 

View of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge.

The sun was shining and there weren't too many other people around so we had a really nice walk through the area surrounding the Opera House and nearby park. After a quick lunch near our hotel it was check-in time...and once we got to our rooms it was nap time! We knew it would mess up our sleep cycles but we just didn't have the energy to do much else. The weather coordinated nicely with our timing (almost an endorsement of the unscheduled nap): it started pouring as soon as we got to our room so we stayed indoors for the rest of the afternoon. (We may or may not have been binge-listening to Serial and are almost out of new episodes).

We ventured out in the rain to buy an umbrella - we really should have packed one - and enjoyed a nice dinner at nearby Onde. Really great food if you're ever staying near Kings Cross in Sydney.

Sunday morning we both woke up late and disoriented. We went to the gym in search of some energy and were excited for a beautiful day in Sydney. Unfortunately, by the time we had showered the storm clouds had replaced the sun again. (The locals said this weather has been abnormal so we hope it clears up!) Alex and I headed out with our umbrella anyway and walked in and out of the shops on Oxford Street for shelter when it started to pour really badly. I bought a few - practical! - items and strolled around until most shops closed around 5-6pm.
 

Rainy day shopping on Oxford Street.

A park along the walk down Oxford Street.

Wet and still a little out of it, we headed to a tapas place by our hotel, Jekyll and Hyde, for dinner. After a glass of wine and some amazing small plates, we are off to bed so we can wake up for our flight to Cairns tomorrow. We didn't get to do a whole lot in Sydney but we'll be back for five days at the end of our Australian roadtrip so we are excited to continue our sightseeing here!