Arrived

I have arrived in Auckland, and I have to say...that was the best 15 hour trip I have ever been on. Flying 1st class was such a treat. I got on the plane and sat in my "pod", put my feet up, and opened my very own bottle of water. One of the stewards gave me my over-night bag, complete with toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask, revitalizing foot spray and slippers. I started watching "Sex in the City", but fell asleep, and then tried to watch "Baby Mama", but fell asleep again! I must have slept at least 10 of the 15 hours. I woke up, had breakfast, and then it was time to get off the plane in Sydney, Australia.

I had an hour stop-over in Sydney, where I was invited to use the "lounge" where I could get a bite to eat, have a shower, and use the internet. Then I got back on the plane for 3 hours and arrived in Auckland.

As soon as I got off the plane, I was greeted by a tournament representative, and a customs officer, who helped me get my bags, and pass though all the customs/security checks without having to wait....WOW! I felt so important!

When I arrived at the hotel, I received a huge adidas bag of uniforms, etc that I had to quickly try on because the adidas rep was almost closed for the day. Almost everything fit, with the exception of my jerseys (kind of important) which were all a size large (no, I did not order a large), but unfortunately, because I was the last one to arrive, all the smaller sizes were gone. I guess I'll be doing some serious "tucking in" for the next month!

Once I had all my kit, I went for dinner, which was unbelievable - all the food that was there. Then I signed up for a massage, came back up to my room to unpack, and went back down to get my 30 minute massage....so great! I had another good night's sleep and woke up this morning feeling really good. I am hoping that I have avoided any jet lag...knock on wood.

So far, this has been an amazing experience. I am really looking forward to the rest of the tournament. I can hardly wait until the games start!