Singapore Days 2 & 3

Friday we woke to heavy rains falling in Kuala Lumpur. We checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to KL Sentral train station. From there we took the KLIA Express train to the airport. We had an 11:20 flight to Singapore but it was delayed by the heavy rain. We got back to Singapore about a half hour late but at least the weather was clear there. We stayed around the hotel until it began to get dark then walked to the Marina Bay area to visit the super tree groves and see the iLight exhibits.

The Supertrees are giant treelike metal structures that are covered by live growing vines and plants. At night they illuminate and glow with shifting colors. They were quite amazing to see.

iLight is an annual free exhibition of outdoor art using light in unusual and creative ways. The exhibits are located along the Marina Bay waterfront promenade and include special projected displays on the outer walls of the Art Science museum and on the Merlion fountain. We walked the entire promenade and enjoyed almost all of the exhibits. Then we walked back to the hotel. It was a more than 23000 steps day. We got back to our hotel room after midnight only to find the main circuit breaker for our room had tripped and our room was without lights or A/C. We called the desk and they sent maintenance to fix the problem.

Saturday we had breakfast at the hotel and took the MRT to Chinatown. We browsed through the crowded streets packed with shops and restaurants and found a few things to buy and take home. We also toured inside a Hindu temple that is located on the edge of Chinatown.  It started to rain so we headed back to the hotel.

Later on after the rain let up we returned to the Gardens by the Bay to visit the Cloud Forest exhibit. The Cloud Forest is an indoor 7 story botanical garden whose centerpiece is the worlds tallest indoor waterfall. It is all built on a mountain shaped structure that you ascend to the top of, then follow a walkway to the bottom. After the Cloud Forest we returned to the super tree grove to see them in daylight. We consider sticking around for an hour and a half to see a laser light show we read about but we were tired and decided to return to the hotel. Tomorrow we will check out of the Marriott and change to a hotel near the airport to facilitate our 6am departure flight Monday morning. Some pictures follow. Note, it's difficult to caption pictures when writing blog posts on my iPad so I'm leaving the pictures uncaptioned until I get back home.

Art & Science Museum

Helix Bridge

Supertree Grove

Supertree Selfie

Supertrees with elevated walkway

Metal Dragonfly Sculpture

Supertree reflections

iLight exhibit

iLight exhibit "Northern Lights"

iLight exhibit made from Evian bottles

iLight Butterflies

iLight Giant Flowers

Illuminated Merlion

Merlion and Singapore Flyer

Chinatown - Year of the Rooster

Chinatown Shopping

Hindu Temple

Temple Entrance

Inside the Cloud Forest

Cloud Forest indoor waterfall

Orchid sculpture

Botanical gardens in the Cloud Forest

View from above

Supertrees in daylight

Dinosaur exhibit

Supertree sunset

Supertrees, Flower Dome (left) and Cloud Forest (right)

Supertree grove

Cloud Forest dome

Day 1 continued

We returned to the hotel to cool off (did I mention how hot it is here?) and then headed to the airport by train. We allowed plenty of time for travel mistakes but didn't make any so we arrived with time to spare. We finally boarded our Jetstar Asia plane for the 65 minute flight to Kuala Lumpur. In KL we took trains to our hotel near City Center. After getting checked in we walked to the Petronas Towers and signed up for our tour. The tour takes you to the sky bridge and also to the 86th floor observation level. After the tour we stayed around a while waiting for the tower lights to come on. Then we headed back to the hotel for the night. Tomorrow we go back to Singapore.

Petronas Towers

View from the sky bridge

Top of the tower

Towers are lit up at night

Bottom of the Towers

Day 1 in Singapore

We had some time after breakfast before we needed to go to the airport so we explored the area near the hotel. It is a short walk to Merlion Park so we went there. It is HOT and humid here. Here's a few pictures from our morning walk. 

This is actually Hong Kong airport from our stopover last night. 

The JW Marriott 

Singapore skyline

The MerLion at MerLion Park

MerLion Park

MerLion selfie

Singapore Sling

Singapore Trip 3/21/2017
Our flight to Singapore scheduled for 2:15 pm was delayed until 4 pm. We used miles to treat ourselves to a business class upgrade on this trip so we used the extra time to enjoy the new Polaris lounge at O'Hare. It was quiet and comfortable, and uncrowded which was a nice change from our recent experiences in the United Clubs at O'Hare. After boarding we learned there would be an additional delay but fortunately it was brief. We took off about 4:30 pm. Janet and I each watched a movie before dinner then after dinner settled in to sleep. After 16 hours of flying we landed for an hour and a half scheduled stop in Hong Kong then re-boarded for the continuing flight to Singapore. Customs and immigration were a breeze at 2:30 am, and the 20 minute taxi ride to the hotel was traffic free. We checked in to a nice JW Marriott with a very reasonable rate thanks to Jennifer and Paul. Tomorrow we are making a day trip to Kuala Lumpur to check the Petronas Towers off my bucket list. 😄 I'll try to have some pictures for the next post.

New Zealand - Nov 2016

Saturday 

I played at the 10am Marist remembrance Mass with Carl and several St Linus choir members Saturday morning before leaving for the airport around noon. We got to the airport with time to spare and tried the new United Club near B6. It's bigger and offers a lot of power outlets for charging up all your devices. Our gate was C23 so we had to allow time to get to the C concourse before boarding. The flight to San Francisco actually felt short compared to some of our recent travel. 

After collecting our luggage we took the shuttle to the Waterfront Marriott and checked in to a nice bay view room. We had dinner in the lobby lounge, accompanied by wine and Caipirinhas. On a sour note, the Magikarp in San Francisco bay have apparently been overfished. I was looking forward to catching enough to evolve a Gyarados, but I only saw two the whole time I was there. 😉

Sunday

We had breakfast in the M Club, then returned to our room to relax until our 4 pm late checkout. Then we moved back to the M Club lounge and hung out there till about 7:30 when we took the shuttle to the airport. We had about an hour to spend in the United club before making our way to the gate for boarding. The flight left on time and was long but uneventful. I was able to sleep enough to be comfortable with our drive on arrival.

Tuesday

We arrived in Auckland Tuesday morning about a half hour earlier than scheduled. We had some concerns about New Zealand customs, having heard they may require doctor's notes for prescription medicines, and have strict control on food imports. But we found it to be no worse than entering Australia. We got through to the arrivals hall and picked up our rental car. Once again we relied on Google's offline maps and Janet's navigation skill to get around without a GPS. We had intended to stop at an airport ATM for some local currency but were about halfway to our first destination when we realized we forgot that part. We stopped to ask at a small cafe in Kopu and were advised that a we would be likely to find a bank ATM with a short detour to the nearby town of Thames. We did indeed find a bank there and after picking up some cash we also went to a nearby McDonalds for some lunch.

Welcome to New Zealand

We continued on to our destination in the small resort town of Hahei. The road across the Coromandel peninsula was curvy and winding through forest covered hills. It was reminiscent of the road to Hana. The logging industry is big in this area and we encountered many logging trucks making their way along the narrow roads with a full load of logs. We found our way to our hotel and checked in. The proprietors were pleasant people and our garden cottage was nice. It was close to Hahei beach, and a very short drive to the Cathedral Cove car park.

Tatahi Lodge Cottage

We relaxed a bit before setting out to see Cathedral Cove. We drove to the car park and found a space close to the walking track entry point. Then we began the walk to Cathedral Cove. Here is where Google directions failed us. The Google Maps Directions claim it is a winding 26 minute walk, but fail to note that the trail winds up and down some difficult hills, and actually takes about 45 minutes. We made it nonetheless and it was entirely worth it. The beach and water and stone features at Cathedral Cove are beautiful. After staying at the beach for a while we started back on the same track. We had perfect weather the whole day. It was sunny and mild. The temperature during our walk to and from the cove was just cool enough to keep us from overheating. Note to self, if we ever go back we'll skip the walk and book a Cathedral Cove scenic cruise.

Cathedral Cove

Cathedral Cove

Cathedral Cove

We were hungry after our hiking and chose to have dinner at a nearby accommodation and restaurant called The Church. Janet had their fish of the day special and I had a steak. The food was mostly good, though my steak (a scotch fillet) was tough and gristly. The pacing of the meal was very slow. Perhaps that's just the New Zealand beach resort way. Janet had a New Zealand Gewurtztraminer that was very good.

"The Church" Restaurant

Wednesday

Wednesday we checked out of our hotel and had breakfast at the Hahei Beach Cafe. I had coffee and some delicious pancakes served with bananas and Janet had scrambled eggs. After breakfast we drove to Hahei Beach and walked out to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean. Hahei beach is a beautiful beach with soft sand that has a pink cast to it. While there we saw a kayak tour setting out for Cathedral Cove. We left Hahei beach and drove to Hot Water Beach. We arrived too late after low tide to try the traditional spa digging, but we enjoyed a walk on the beach and picked up a few shells to bring home (which we unfortunately forgot in the rental car).

Hahei Beach

Hot Water Beach

We left the Coromandel peninsula along the same winding route we followed in and headed to the Hobbiton movie set tour. We stopped in Matamata at the visitor center that looks like a hobbit house. We got to Hobbiton in time to take the 3:15 tour. We spent two hours guided around the preserved movie set followed by snacks and beer at the Green Dragon.

Matamata

Hobbiton

Green Dragon Inn

We drove from Hobbiton to Tauranga where our next accommodations were. We also had booked a Glowworm Kayak Tour for Wednesday night and needed to be at the hotel for our pick up at 6:30 pm. We arrived just in time for our pickup with just barely enough time to get checked in at the hotel.

Tauranga Trinity Wharf Hotel

Our glowworm tour guide Tom drove us to the site on McLaren lake and set up a table of wine and snacks for us to enjoy while he prepared for the tour. We were the only participants on this evening's tour although we were told there are sometimes more than 20. We were happy to have a personal tour and our guide Tom was a genuinely friendly and laid back guy whose language mannerisms reminded me of Crush the sea turtle. But he was completely knowledgeable about kayaking and glowworms. He guided us on a trip across lake McLaren and allowed us to row at a comfortable pace. As the sky darkened he led us into a narrow canyon where both sides sparkled with tiny blue white glowworm lights that looked like an array of led christmas lights. Tom explained the life cycle of the Arachnocampa Luminosa, and why they were there. It was an incredible experience to be out on a lake in a kayak surrounded by nothing but nature. There wasn't a human sound to be heard. As we left the canyon and rowed back to the lake our dark adjusted eyes could pick out hundreds more glowworm lights in the trees along the shore. We finished up the tour enjoying the moonlit starry sky as Tom packed up the kayaks. Then we were returned to our hotel, getting back around 10 pm.

Thursday

We started the day with a buffet breakfast in the hotel, then started out on a drive to Taupo to see Huka Falls. The falls are on the Waikato river at a point where it narrows and drops in elevation. It's much like a white water rapids with occasional small drops until it ultimately falls 35 feet at the end. There is a foot bridge over the middle of the falls gorge that offers a great view and selfie spot. There are several walking trails in the area as well and we spent a little time walking on one that followed the river upstream.

Huka Falls

After we left Huka Falls we went to the nearby Craters of the Moon geothermal walk where for a small fee you can walk a laid out track on a geothermal field among large craters, mud pools, and steaming fumaroles. It's a little unnerving to think of the volcanic activity going on around you and probably under your feet.

Craters of the Moon

We left Taupo and headed for Rotorua which has some of the best geothermal sites in the area. We arrived in time to tour the "Thermal Wonderland" at Wai-O-Tapu, and we were suitably impressed. We walked among steaming craters, large colorful pools of bubbling steaming water and bubbling mud pots. After leaving the Thermal Wonderland, we stopped to see what is claimed to be the largest mud pool in the southern hemisphere. We returned to our hotel in Tauranga and had dinner in the hotel restaurant.

"Artist's Palatte"
Wai-O-Tapu

Mud Pool

Friday

After morning breakfast in the hotel restaurant we checked out of the hotel and packed up the car to drive back to Rotorua. We parked in the government gardens and walked around for a bit admiring some of the trees and flowers, statuary, and even a hot spring pool named Rachel. Next we visited the Rotorua museum which occupies a building once used as a bath house where people from all over the world would go to soak in the thermal water as a cure for chronic disorders. The museum has an entire wing devoted to Maori history in New Zealand, and also some art exhibits and a preserved section of the old bath house. After the museum we drove about 3 hours to Auckland, passing through Hamilton on the way. Most of the drive was pleasant but the traffic backed up on the motorway near Auckland. Janet identified a better route on the map and got us to the hotel straightaway. We had dinner in the hotel lobby bar where a guitarist was playing and singing.

Government Gardens

Bath House / Rotorua Museum

Saturday

Saturday morning we enjoyed a buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant and after a bit we went out for some sightseeing on foot. A short walk from the hotel we visited Auckland's St. Patrick Cathedral. It wasn't very 'cathedral like' by European cathedral standards, but it was a pretty church. We went inside and snapped a few pictures, then moved on since people appeared to be gathering in the narthex for some event, perhaps a wedding.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Not far from St. Patrick's is the Auckland Sky Tower which we had plans to visit. We walked there and bought tickets to visit the observation deck. It is a swift elevator ride to the top with glass doors that allow you to see out on the way up. We took some pictures of the city panorama and a couple looking down while standing on the glass floor too. There was a cafe restaurant near the top level too but we didn't eat there. When we returned to the bottom we bought a few things in the souvenir shop.

Sky Tower

Glass Floor

The building adjacent to the Sky Tower contained a casino so we went inside and played 20 $NZ on a roulette game but didn't win anything. On our way out there was a street fair of some kind going on with music and food booths set up. One booth had a person making huge bubbles.

Bubble Man

We walked back towards the hotel and stopped in a few shops to do a little more souvenir shopping. We also took a walk along the harbor which was a little nicer looking area than the city streets we were on prior. When we got back to the hotel we repeated the lobby bar dining experience since the food there was pretty good.

Auckland Hilton

Sunday

Sunday was our travel home day. I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant and then returned to the room to get repacked. At checkout time we collected the car and loaded up to go to the airport. The drive to the airport was only about 30 minutes but surprisingly did not take an expressway route, instead following a zig-zag path along secondary highways. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to return the car and get checked in, then spent some time in the Air New Zealand airport lounge before heading to the gate to board. After the plane left the gate and was taxiing to the runway, the pilot came on and said there was a mechanical problem and we had to return to have it investigated. It took a while for the problem to be corrected and we ended up taking off more than 2 hours late.

We had scheduled a 3 hour connection time in San Francisco but when we landed 2 hours late we knew it would be tight to get through customs and immigration as well as re-check our bags and clear TSA before getting to our next flight. A delay at any step would mean we'd probably miss our flight. Fortunately everything went smoothly and we made it to the gate just as boarding started. It wasn't until then that we had time to check our phones and learned about the New Zealand earthquake that had occurred about 7 hours after we left. We fired off a couple of messages to let people know we were fine then took off for Chicago. The New Zealand trip had been amazing but we were happy to get home.

Amsterdam

Saturday-Sunday

We were looking for a place to travel to this fall for a good price when we saw an airfare to Amsterdam for less than 6 cents a mile. So we booked a long weekend for mid October. We left on Saturday evening on a direct flight that got us into Amsterdam a little after 9 am. The plane was a 767 that has crappy overhead storage, tiny seat back video screens, and no power outlets except in premium cabins. It's only saving grace is that the seats are 2-3-2 so we could sit together comfortably without sharing the row.

Amsterdam airport is huge and it's a long walk from the gate to customs and immigration. We finally made it to the arrivals hall and purchased a 2 day Amsterdam transportation pass that covered train fare to Amsterdam Centraal station and city trams and busses. We rode the train to the city station, then walked about 10-15 minutes to our hotel, arriving at 11 am. Our room wasn't ready for check-in so we hung out in the hotel club lounge until we could get in our room. It took a few hours and we finally got our room a little after 2 pm.

We were feeling jetlagged and decided to take time for a short nap. In the meantime we made reservations for a 6 pm canal cruise with Those Dam Boat Guys. Around 4 pm we started out for a casual walk around Amsterdam city center meandering the streets between the canals and window shopping. At 6 we met up with the representative for our boat tour and were guided with the rest of the customers to the tour vessel.

Most of the canal cruises are on large glass topped boats with 50 passengers or more. "Those Dam Boat Guys" offers an intimate cruise on an open boat with a maximum of 10 passengers. You are invited to bring wine and snacks on board and to introduce yourself to your fellow passengers. Blankets are available to fend off the night chill. The guide is friendly and knowledgeable, although his frank use of language could raise an eyebrow. We totally enjoyed our tour which even extended beyond the chartered 90 minutes.

After our canal cruise we walked back to our hotel hoping to have dinner but the hotel restaurant was closed. There are a lot of restaurants in the area so we walked around and finally settled on a small place called London Bridge Pub where we sat outside under heat lamps and enjoyed some wine and dinner.

Monday

We got up in time for breakfast in the hotel lounge which consisted of croissants, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage plus the usual European spread of deli meats and cheeses. After breakfast we relaxed in the room for a while then headed out for some sightseeing. We hopped on the tram near the hotel with our transporation cards and rode to the Museumplein. The Museumplein is a large grassy open space bordered by 3 museums and a concert hall. We took some pictures of the Rijksmuseum and the I Amsterdam sign. Then we bought tickets to the Van Gogh museum and toured inside. 

After we left the museum we walked to Vondel Park and strolled around for while enjoying the pleasant weather we were gifted with. When we left the park we boarded the tram again and rode back to the hotel neighborhood. We went looking for a shop we had seen the day before that sold souvenir figurines. We found the shop and bought a cat figurine to bring home. We were hungry so we stopped at the Van Zuylen cafe near one of the canals and had wine and cheese. Finally we made our way back to the hotel in time for the evening snacks and drinks in the club lounge.

Tuesday

We set our alarms for an early wake up in order to allow plenty of time to get to the hotel for our 11 am flight home. We walked the 0.4 miles to the train station. We bought return tickets to the airport and caught the next train at 7:25. There was a slight delay on the return trip caused by a breakdown of another train, but I think we made it to the airport by a little after 8. We checked in for our flight and cleared security, then went to the airport lounge to wait until boarding time. We didn't stay at the lounge long since it was such a long walk to the gate and we also wanted to find some bottled water to take on the plane. The flight home was bumpy a few times but otherwise we were comfortable and able to catch some sleep as well.

We found Amsterdam to be a pleasant charming city. The tall narrow buildings have a lot of character with many of them tilted from years of subsidence so that they look like they're tipsy. I believe we will be happy to return if the opportunity arises.

Sydney 2016

As part of our annual quest for at least 50,000 PQM on United Airlines, we planned a trip to Sydney Australia this year. We originally scheduled it in April, but cancelled that trip due to some health concerns. The airline allowed us credit on our airfare, and the Shangri-La in Sydney also allowed us credit for our pre-paid reservation there. We ended up using the airfare credit for a trip to New Zealand which is coming up soon, and scheduled a new trip to Sydney in September, so here we are.

Saturday

We left home Saturday and arrived in San Francisco for a stopover before our Sunday night flight to Sydney.  Thanks to the valuable discount provided by Jennifer and Paul, we stayed at the San Francisco Waterfront Marriott which is one of our favorite hotels. We had a newly remodeled room on a high floor with a bay view. We enjoyed dinner and drinks in the lobby restaurant and bar where the bartender makes an excellent Caipirinha. An unexpected bonus was that the hotel's proximity to the bay meant there were a plethora of water type Pokémon hanging out there. I caught at least 50 Magikarp. That puts me halfway to evolving a Gyarados! :)

Sunday

The breakfast buffet was pretty good. We were allowed a 4pm late checkout from the hotel so we could relax in comfort before heading to the airport for the 14 hour flight to Sydney. The San Francisco weather was unseasonably warm so after checkout we sat in the outdoor lounge area for a while and watched planes land and take off. About 5pm we boarded the shuttle to the airport and checked in for our 11pm flight. We had dinner from Klein's Deli in the E concourse, then went to the United Club in the International terminal to hang out until boarding time.

Our seats for the flight were in the bulkhead row 16 on a 787 which has lots of leg room. We initially booked them with an empty seat between us in hope of having some extra room to spread out during the flight, but the middle seat ended up being assigned so Janet gave up her aisle to the lucky standby passenger and took the middle next to me. We have the same seats on the return trip so if we lose the space again I'll take a turn in the middle.

The flight to Sydney is grueling. You eat dinner, then watch a movie, then try to sleep a while, then watch another movie, sleep a little more, etc. It seems to take forever but eventually you arrive and are thankful to get off the plane.

Tuesday

Passport control at SYD is new since our last visit. Now they have kiosks that read your passport and present you with some entry questions. The kiosk gives you a ticket and you advance to an automated gate with a camera. You put your kiosk ticket in the slot by the gate, it takes your picture, and if all is well the gate opens and you are allowed in to the baggage claim area. Once you have your bags you choose between the "Nothing to Declare" or "Declare" exits. Australia is fussy about what foods you bring in and since we had some packaged nuts and granola bars we chose the Declare path rather than risk the trouble of being stopped without declaring it. The lines for declaring were disorganized and slow but we eventually made it through.

We decided not to rent a car for this trip and instead booked an airport transfer from the hotel. We were met in the arrival hall by the driver who guided us to the car and drove us to the hotel. It was nice to not worry about dealing with the morning traffic and finding the hotel. We have a Horizon Club room at the Shangri-La and they are very good about allowing early check in for guests arriving on early morning overseas flights. We had breakfast in the Horizon lounge while they finished readying our room and shortly after breakfast we were allowed access.

It's tempting to crash on the bed as soon as you arrive but in our experience it's best to stay awake as long as possible the day you arrive to adjust yourself to the time change. We stayed up and took a walk around Circular Quay and to the Opera House shopping concourse where we picked up a couple of souvenirs. On the way back we walked through the Rocks area and finally back to the hotel. At 6pm we headed to the Horizon club for drinks and canapés which served as our dinner. We were back in our room by 7:30 and finally allowed ourselves to crash.

Wednesday

We woke up early and had breakfast in the Horizon club, then relaxed in the room most of the morning. We had been undecided about which day to go to wine country and since Wednesday's weather was looking the best compared to the rest of the week, we made a late decision to go today. We took a taxi to the downtown Sydney Hertz location only to find they had no cars available. The nearby Budget and Thrifty locations had the same result. We did finally get a car from a company called 'No Birds'.  I have no idea where the name comes from. We had no in car GPS, but with Google's offline maps feature and Janet's excellent guidance we were able to make our way out of Sydney and to the Hunter Valley.

Our first stop was Ernest Hill Winery, where we have gone on most if not every previous trip to Sydney. They have a couple of wines that have become our favorite, and we usually try a few from their tasting menu. After buying some wine to carry home we drove around wine country a bit in search of somewhere to grab a late lunch, finally stopping at The Goldfish.

After eating we started on the 2 hour drive back to Sydney. It was late in the day and dark by the time we got back to town, but again Janet guided me flawlessly to the hotel. We arrived back in time for evening drinks in the lounge.

Thursday

We woke up a little later today and again relaxed in the room for a while after breakfast. We needed to return the rental car by 1pm so we left the hotel around 11:30. It was a little tricky finding a gas station to fill up at, and some construction detours on George Street made it even trickier. We did get the car gassed up and returned on time. Our plan for the afternoon was to have a late lunch at Doyle's restaurant in Watson's Bay. We walked the 2.1 km from No Birds to Circular Quay where we arrived just in time to get on the 1:40 pm ferry which got us to Watson's Bay just in time for our 2 pm lunch reservation. Doyle's is famous for their fish & chips prepared from your choice of several fresh caught varieties of fish. We both had that and shared a nice bottle of South Australian riesling.

We caught the 3:45 ferry back to Sydney and leisurely completed the uphill walk back to the hotel, stopping in a few shops along the way. We arrived back with plenty of time to freshen up for evening drinks and snacks.

Friday

Today we slept in the latest we have all week. We are just about on Australian time now.  Too bad we go back to Chicago tomorrow.  Today was windy and cool. We went out for a walk in The Rocks and needed a light jacket. We shopped a little bit and then stopped for lunch at the Munich Brauhaus, a Bavarian beer garden style restaurant not far from the hotel. There was a live band dressed in lederhosen but the music was contemporary. I had a roast pork sandwich and Janet had some fish & chips that couldn't compare to yesterday's at Doyle's. We both had steins of beer. Overall it was a nice experience. We got back to the hotel in time to catch the end of tea time in the lounge, and then stayed there until the evening drink service began. Tonight we have to pack and tomorrow we leave for the airport at 8 AM. We'll be back in Chicago Saturday.

Saturday

We got up early to do some final packing and go to breakfast when it opened at 6:30. After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and used the hotel's car service to return to Sydney airport with plenty of time before our 10:30 flight home. I'd like to say that the travel home was uneventful, but we experienced a 2 hour delay leaving Sydney due to an aircraft mechanical issue. The flight itself was typical (long and exhausting) once we did take off. We had our bags checked through all the way to Chicago, and while we knew we would have to claim them in San Francisco before clearing customs, we expected we could re-check them and go to the gate for our connection without leaving the airside of the airport. But SFO's baggage re-check facility was not functioning and we had to go to the check in counter outside of security to re-check our luggage and then go through security again. Fortunately we allowed enough time between our scheduled arrival and our connection to Chicago, so we made it home pretty much on time.