On my way back to Sydney, I stopped off in San Francisco to spend time with my cousin Tetsuya and his pregnant wife Chamnan.
It took me a bit of time to get to their place because I was supremely upset with Hertz Car Rentals who refused to rent me the car I reserved at SFO because they "claimed" that I didn't have an official driver's license. If you'll all remember, two months after arriving in Sydney (June 2009) my purse was stolen (and of course my Calif. driver's license was stolen too) and when I called to report it stolen I was told that Calif. DMV will only mail a replacement driver's license if I request it in person. In lieu of that (or until such time as I returned to Calif.) the only thing they would mail me was this very, very lame tiny piece of paper that said this person's driver's license has been stolen and this served as my Calif. driver's license until I could get a replacement and that I was a driver in good standing (yet it had no picture, no seal, not laminated). If you saw this, you'd think I made it myself on the printer.
Anyway, I explained all of this to Hertz at SFO, let them know that the next day as soon as DMV opened, I was going to get a replacement. But they still said "no". I even told them I was a Gold Club Hertz Member and had rented cars from them many, many times ... had my passport and everything but still "no". So, I was forced to rent from "Fox Rental Car" which didn't have such stringent policies. To add insult over injury, when I arrived back in Sydney, Hertz had actually charged me for "canceling" my car rental reservation. The nerve! I had the charge credited but I still got charged a booking fee.
The good news is that I did get a replacement Calif. driver's license at the DMV the following business day! Still, going to the DMV doesn't rank high on anybody's list of places to visit on a vacation but at least it's done.
On to more enjoyable activities! My great friend Sylvie hosted a lovely brunch for me and my friend Brenda at her home. It was wonderful to catch up with many of my friends! And the crepes were very tasty as were the mimosa's. Thank you again Sylvie for your kindness and generosity! It meant a lot to me to see you and all our friends! :)
The whole vacation I'd been telling all my family and friends to come and visit me in Australia! And in particular, coming for New Year's 2010. Here are Sylvie, Carolyn, Seth, Alain and Karen committing to come visit me in 2011!!! I'm so excited!
And thank you Carolyn for the mani/pedicure - you chose a great place because it lasted until today when I just got a mani/pedicure. It was great catching up with you too!
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