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Published: March 11th 2007
Obligatory Pose
Tired, but we made it
Robert
Bats in the Garden Day 1 - 2 - Sydney
We arrived in Sydney in the morning, after two long flights from Toronto and Los Angeles, and very little sleep. In our infinite wisdom we decided to rent a car and drive to our hotel downtown, forgetting that Australians drive on the left and sit on the right. Although my passengers were nervous, I managed to get us in one piece to our hotel, the
Blacket. Excellent location in the heart of the business district, five minutes to the train station, ten minutes to circular quay.
Too early to check in so we of course had to pose for obligatory photos by the Opera House. We headed to the Rocks for lunch, and although tired sampled our first Australian beer (Cascade Premium) and experienced some rude service in one of the restaurants (the ONLY time on the whole trip). Even so, as stupid Canadians we left a 15%!t(MISSING)ip and moved on. Witnessed our first fight...a bum was cursing some ladies at Circular Quay and some guy walked up to him and advised him to shut his trap. The bum called him a f****** wanker, so the guy pounded him on the
spot! Unfortunately I did not capture this on film.
I had a nap, and Dave Sheila and Sandra headed down to
Paddys Market, which is a great place to load up on cheap souvenirs.
For dinner, we headed down to Darling Harbour, which is a prime example of how a city can effectively utilize valuable waterfront property. We ate at
Nick's, which has an amazing view, vibrant atmosphere, and great food.
Next day off to Bondi and the coastal walk, then the Royal Gardens (check out the video), and finally off to the pub for some well deserved pints. I think we walked 10K. Sandra and Dave are partial to the Hahn Light, a fine brew also.
Read the local papers and watched some TV that night...Australia has 5-6 main channels, and limited access to pay channels. I guess if I lived in this great climate I wouldn't need the 200+ channels we have in Canada either. Fitness and Sport are more prominently featured here. There were joggers everywhere in Sydney, and people doing some extreme exercises in the park which I did not understand until I saw a video of the Sandhill Warrior...google and see
what I mean.
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