Days 1 & 2 in Sydney

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Travel days and Days1 and 2

We left SFO at 11:00 PM Tuesday October 25 on our flight to Sydney and thought it was going to be the flight from hell. 14 hours in coach with the possibility of screaming babies and someone kicking the back of our seats is not our idea of traveling in comfort. With a $300 pair of noise cancelling headphones (well worth the money), three vodka cranberries, and Jim's small white pill from his doctor made the trip the best long-distant flight we have ever experienced. We were able to get about 6 hours of sleep and arrived in Sydney Thursday morning feeling pretty good. Getting through customs and security was made better with a stop at the duty free shop to purchase a couple bottles of Johnnie Walker Black and double black for a good price.

Our first impression of Sydney from the shuttle ride to the hotel and a stroll around the harbor was it reminded us of San Francisco but much bigger geographically. We spent more than 16 hours sitting between the flight and the shuttle to our hotel. Since our room was not ready yet we ventured a few blocks to the Rocks district which is the area first settled in Sydney. Within 20 minutes of dropping our bags at the hotel, we climbed many flights of stairs to walk across the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Our legs were in shock since they had not been in use for almost a day. However before we made it to the bridge, we had to stop when we saw the "Pie Face" shop and purchased a sausage roll and chicken and mushroom pie and ate those on the way to the bridge (yum).

After a stroll across the Sydney harbor bridge we found a pub, big surprise, which claimed to be the oldest pub in Sydney. We found a spot at the bar and ordered a couple of ales, oh yea, it was about 10:45 AM but we figured it was after noon at home so we were not breaking any rules. There were two other gents sitting at the bar but not next to each other and we soon struck up a conversation, once they found out we were from the US we were their friends. In fact one of the guys who looked like a regular, and we mean a regular, bought us a round. The other gent gave us many recommendations on beers to try in Sydney as well as Adelaide. We heard "Welcome to Australia" so many times it was amazing. This is not from service industry personnel. This is from locals. They are very proud of their home. Within a few hours, we heard many times about how the area we were in was the founding place of Sydney in 1788. Everyone told us how much fun we will have and while we were already experiencing that fun, it made us even more excited.

Shortly thereafter, two men from Scotland joined the fun. One of the men told a story to Jim about his trip from Scotland to New York to SF and then finally to Sydney. Along the way they played Johnny Cash's Live at Folsom Prison CD. He shared his opinion that Jim had the same accent as Johnny Cash. Accent? Yes, Lisa is having a few problems in translation.

After three beers it was about noon local time and we figured we better move on or call it an early day.
We took a walk over to the Opera House and it is much bigger in person than one would expect. The area around the Opera House has a lot of touristy restaurants and souvenir shops but the area is nice and reminded us somewhat of Baltimore's inner harbor. Every person we met has been very nice and willing to help out with directions or recommendations on where to go and where not to go.

We walked back to the hotel around 2 PM and our room was ready. Even though we had been in Australia only 6 hours we felt like we had about two days of fun. We rested for a bit and then headed out once again. We went to the Spanish area for tapas close to Darling Harbor. The Spanish area is basically one block with 4 tapas restaurants. The time change and long flight has taken its toll and we do end up calling it an early night. However, we did pack in a lot on our first day. Tomorrow we are planning on going to Manly Beach if the weather cooperates.

Day 2 - Friday October 28

After a good nights sleep we decided to take the 30 minute ferry ride from Circular Quay to Manly Beach as it is one of many beach destinations close to Sydney. As we have experienced in San Francisco, many languages are spoken in a major tourist area. We also wanted to visit 4 Pines Brewery in Manly for lunch and a few beers. The ferry ride was great as it went past the Opera House and through the main harbor. Once we arrived in Manly we walked the main beach area. The area is a strange combination of Newport Beach and Santa Cruz. There are some very big and expensive homes on the beach and a few blocks away there are small bungalows. When summer is in full swing the area must be crazy. The day is overcast so the beach activity was at a minimum.

We walked back to town to visit the brewery for lunch. Jim talked to the brewer and sampled all the beer they had on tap. The one thing we have noticed is how expensive just about everything is. For example a sample set of 5 beers was $15 AUD and each was about 3 ounces. Our favorite was a pale ale which was well hopped and very good. We split a burger and a salad (rocket greens) while sitting on a balcony overlooking Manly bay. Nice area as it reminded us of other beach towns we have been to, lots of surfing shops and bars. After lunch Lisa had to find a shop to buy a souvenir for a Christmas ornament as she always does. We caught the ferry back to Circular Quay and then decided to do an afternoon pub crawl. Our first stop was the Lord Nelson brewery for a couple of pints. While researching where to stay in Sydney, we found the Lord Nelson and tried to make reservations but they were full. We had stayed at a Lord Nelson pub in the village of Marshfield in England and thought it would be fun. It is a nice place with a lot of old time ambiance but a little out of the way of the fun scene. We then headed the Australian Hotel where the beer festival is going to be held on Saturday. Based on the recommendations from Sam we decided to try the Vale IPA which was one of the best beers we have had so far, hoppy and very tasty. Jim chatted with the bartender and he recommended a beer brewed by the Little Creatures Brewery from the West side of Australia. One half liter bottle was $14 AUD but it was even better than the Vale IPA, a double IPA with seven different hop varieties including Simcoe, which is a US hop grown in Washington State. Knowing the beer festival was the next day we decided to head back to the hotel to rest up for the big day of tasting a lot of beer at the Australian Beer Festival. Even though we have been here for only two days it seems like we have had a weeks worth of fun. Jim must have said at least 20 times, "I love vacation". More to come if we can remember what happens at the beer festival.

To see all of our photos go to the following link:
http://fortes.smugmug.com/travel

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Photos

One of the oldest pubs in Sydney
Our first pun visit in Sydney

The Opera House
As cool as we thought it would be

Bridge Shot
Us on the Harbor Bridge on Day 1

Lord Nelson Brewery
Great Brewery in the Rocks district

Comments

[Jim Sherman]

Amazing!
It's amazing how being 16,000 miles away from work makes you guys look so relaxed. :)