An update

Everyone but me just went to the train station to meet the Feuerbacher girls, who should have just arrived, so I have a moment on the computer. About those pictures - we'll see what we can do.

LA was nice but scarey at times. Sitting on the subway or bus I did a lot of praying for protection. One blind man got on the subway and held up his cane saying it held a gun inside and everyone needed to give him money - or at least 3 people could share the cost. He promised to buy no hard drugs. Colleen was about to cry and begged to get off. Since we were near the Watts tower exit, I felt it better to stick with the subway. He didn't shoot his cane, and got off himself.

The next day we decided to avoid the subway and take the city bus to Santa Monica. In Santa Monica we walked a mile to the St. Anne's shrine for mass only to find there was no mass. It was an interesting walk, though, past many day laborers waiting to be picked up for work. The area was full of contrasts. Across from the shrine was a modern Sony building, and a stretch of stores and cafes. We ate a nice lunch at a sidewalk table, and took the bus back to the pier and the beach. As the kids said, it was great. I still have a sunburn. The city bus wasn't too much better than the subway, especially for the Feuerbachers, si I think some of our group might have
sworn off public transportation for good.

Our plane ride couldn't have been better. We were treated like royalty. 14 hours in a plane is nothing compared to some of our trips. On the plane people keep bringing you food and drinks, showing movies, and you get to sleep. Once we arrived at the airport, we waited a couple of hours for Marcin. It was fun to see other groups arrive - we saw the Archdiocese of Miami, a large group from Toronto, groups from Croatia, Aruba, Wisconsin (a huge group,) Italy, Greece.

Sydney is beautiful. The architecture is so varied. The people seem very formal, but friendly, not used to the American sense of humor (or at least the Florida Group sense of humor.) Yes - we met the shifty people - the cab driver from the airport charged us $59 for a ride we were told would be $40. (still cheaper than the bus or train.) The accent takes time getting used to...and different words, too... "lift" instead of elevator. People dress very formally.

Our hotel is great - we have two adjoining rooms with a view of the bridge out our windows. We had a warm welcome from the staff. Anyone working in the service industry - you make a big difference to a trip! The big buildings have malls underneath with different markets, grocery stores, etc. We're able to buy food and bring it back to the rooms, which both have refrigerators. We made soup with the hot water in the coffee pot for dinner. We had cheese and crackers, cookies, sandwiches. As you can see, our hardships have been very, very minimal.

Colleen said they're not allowed to be tired - that's only until night-time. We were told the best way to combat jet lag is to stay up the entire first day, no naps, and then sleep. So I'm hoping we're all in good shape today!

I went to mass at St. Patrick's church last night, the oldest church in Australia, just a few blocks from the hotel. Fr. Miguel will be staying there when he arrives. He told us to contact him if we need anything, so that helps my sense of security. Thank you everyone for the prayers - I promise not to talk so much again - We miss you and feel far away!

Maureen