Jenni and I had arrived in Australia at 6:30 am after an exhaustive flight. Well, some of us were exhausted. That would be those of us who flew 21 hours crammed into steerage. The rest of us had enjoyed a 17 hour flight being coddled by fawning flight attendants in the lap of luxury. Suffice it to say we were both tired. But that wouldn’t stop us from squeezing every bit of joy possible from our first international consulting gig.

One of my favorite professional roles is moderating the weekly #ptchat each Wednesday. I haven’t had a chance to meet many other moderators, in spite of the fact that most of them are only a couple of hours from me in the Northeast. My all time favorite co-moderator is Jeannette James, who also hosts the #ozptchat each week at 6:30 am EST (join it if you can, thank me later). I was shocked to learn Jeannette was part of the group that organized our trip to Australia and would be joining us in Sydney. Even better, Jeannette invited me to guest star in her #ozptchat. Jeannette offered to pick us up and take us to dinner, and had arranged for us to meet at a local pub to participate in the live chat.

When she arrived, Jenni and I met her in our hotel lobby. She told us we had to move quickly in order to see the bridge in the proper light. We hustled up the street to catch a taxi and quickly flagged one down. We squeezed in the back seat. Our taxi driver was not impressed when Jenni put her feet on his center console and he told her to move her feet really angrily. I don’t think we were his favorite fare! We jumped out and hustled over to the opera bar just before sunset.

We sat at a table with the city skyline on one side and the opera house on the other.

The glorious sunset meant the view was constantly changing.

We ordered some snacks and Jeannette and I got some bubbles (champagne).

The best part was the Salt & Pepper Calamari.

The view was incredible and the dozens of seagulls who joined us clearly thought so too!

Everyone walking past was in awe of the brilliant sky and many stopped to record the moment with a selfie.

As the sun sank…

we finished up and caught another cab to the Cargo Bar for our live #ptozchat.

The Cargo Bar is a hip venue in the heart of Darling Harbor. Originally we had hoped to have a Tweet up and meet other Tweeters for dinner before the chat. Sadly, life and Education Week got in the way, so instead we snagged a table on the patio overlooking the water with a lovely view of the casino. Jeannette gave Jenni a few Twitter tips

When the #ozptchat began, Jeannette cranked up her stacks of technology and Jenni hopped on her iPad and iPhone.

I tried to keep up!

After a wildly successful and super fun chat, Jenni and I packed up and walked back to our lovely apartment. Our first day in Sydney was even more magical than we’d anticipated given our amazing new friends and total lack of jet lag #winning!