Terriers In Australia: Journal Entry No. 1
June 6, 2005 | Women's Lacrosse
SYDNEY, Australia - The Boston University women's lacrosse team, fresh off its best season ever, is in the middle of a 15-day training tour of Australia. The following is the first of a number of online diaries by members of the 2005 Terrier team.
The first entry is by senior Karlene Lihota.
Friday, June 3rd After a long, rough flight of awkward sleeping positions, drool, and overcooked lasagna, we finally arrived at the Sydney airport at around 6:30 a.m. Australian time, which would be 4:30 p.m. U.S. time.
Our tour guide, Brad, greeted us once we went through customs with a thick Aussie accent and a smile. He showed us to our luxury 1980's style bus, complete with red plush seats and a bright red carpet running down the center isle. Straight from the airport we embarked on a sightseeing tour of Sydney, taking in icon sights such as Bondi Beach, the Opera House, Sydney Harbor Bridge, Russell Crow's house, Darling Harbour, and The Rocks. It was a great overview and summary of Sydney to welcome us to the city and get our bearings.
The 80's bus dropped us off at our hotel, The Mercure, which is a huge step up from the hostel I stayed at during my last visit in Sydney. We all had to fight off the temptation to take a nap, and continued with the day. For the rest of the day we took in the city.
Paddy's Market, within walking distance from the hotel, is an enclosed marketplace with stalls that sell everything from t-shirts, jewelry, cowboy hats, to fruits and vegetables. We spent a large chunk of time there before hitting up one of the local pubs for lunch. Our table shared a whole heap of fried food, including my favorite australian pubfare: potatoe wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce. You're not living if you've never had this! After we each gained about 10 pounds, we went back to the hotel to shower and change before heading out to Fox Studios and the Footie match (a local rugby game). It was an early night for most, since it felt like we had been up for days without sleep... Saturday, June 4th: Yes! Free breakfast at the hotel! Nothing can be better than this...we all ate to our hearts content and packed some PB&J for a lunch snack. Today was a free day as well, but the majority took the ferry to Manly Beach, on the north shore above Sydney. We picked the right day for this because the weather was beautiful and there was an outdoor open-air market happening at Manly Beach. I was as happy as a clam just shopping, browsing, and relaxing on the beach's edge.
The ride back to Sydney was definitely an express ferry and took us a fraction of the time it took us on the way there. Once we were back on land again, we went to another open-air market, the Rocks Market, held every weekend. People bought jewelry, postcards, photo albums, etc. Lindsey Lewis got a corn on a stick with butter and salt dripping down her chin...We all gathered for a team dinner at Encasa, a tappas restaurant, which had a fixed-price meal of salad, various tappas, and gourmet pizzas. Tonight is an early night because of our first match against the NSW state team tomorrow. Wish us luck!
Smiling in Sydney,
Karlene Lihota
