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Published: March 6th 2014
I don’t know where to start. Sydney is fantastic! I only had two days to get to know this city of about 5,000,000 people, but I tried hard to experience as much as I could, and I liked everything I saw and experienced.
When I left the Oosterdam I got a taxi to the Marriott Sydney Harbor at Circular Quay, a perfect location. There are several nice hotels in the area and I highly recommend the area as a base to explore Sydney. I got to the hotel before check in time but they secured my bags and I then checked with the concierge about how to get a good overview of Sydney in two days. He recommended a hop on hop off bus tour which I did. I wanted to use the open top deck of the bus and the weather was threatening, so I instead took the short walk past several sidewalk restaurants overlooking the beautiful harbor to the iconic Sydney Opera House and bought a ticket for a tour. I only had to wait twenty minutes for the next tour and it was well worth it. I learned that the Opera House is used for
several arts activities in addition to Opera. There was a Sunday afternoon program “Great Opera Hits on a Sunday Afternoon” and I decided to attend. On the way back to the hotel to change, I had lunch in one of the many restaurants before coming back for the performance. Good choice! I had read that tipping was not obligatory in Australia, but if the service is very good, 10% is appropriate. There is a VAT of 10%, but I didn’t experience any other sales taxes. I changed clothes and walked back to the Opera House after a short rest. The numbers of people out and about was amazing. Everyone seemed happy and pleasant, it was a good atmosphere. The theater was very nice and a pianist and four singers performed a variety of arias, but I sang in the chorus for the closing number, “Brindisi” from La Traviata, of course everyone in the audience was invited to sing. It was fun and we didn’t sound too bad! A walk in the surrounding area brought me to a nearby neighborhood known as “The Rocks”, home to a lot of pubs, restaurants and nightlife. I had enough for this day, but I
put “The Rocks” on my list for tomorrow.
When I awoke the sky was clear and the temperatures were fine so I got dressed and went to a nearby McDonald’s for breakfast (instead of the high priced hotel breakfasts) and the tour bus started less than a block away. I got there early enough to get on the upper deck and enjoyed the whole trip. The architecture is a pleasant mix of grand older buildings and modern new high rises. They co-exist nicely. There were a total of 34 stops on two bus lines and I saw all the major areas of Sydney. Of course, water view neighborhoods were the most expensive, but I didn’t witness any run down areas. They must exist, but I didn’t see them. I went from the high rise city center through old neighborhoods and beachy areas. Take your choice, all you need is money! There were great shopping arcades and plenty of places to spend your money, including a big casino.
The heart of Sydney is the harbor. So after I had done the bus tours, I took a harbor tour. I was on a hop on hop
VICTORIA SHOPPING MALL
HISTORIC BUILDING REBORNoff ferry, but it was late in the day so I stayed on. Sydney Harbor is large and is home to many marinas and beaches (look out for the sharks), including three nude beaches.
I had decided that my evening meal should be pub fare and I selected one of the oldest pubs in Sydney, the Lord Nelson, which brews its own beers. I had fish & chips and Nelson’s Blood, a dark beer. I began my walk back to the hotel and passed several other inviting pubs, but it’s not as much fun being alone as being with someone you want to be with. Back to the hotel, writing this and packing for my 25 hour trip back to Sarasota. My shuttle to the airport is set and I’ll be happy to be home. It was a good experience! Don’t forget the compression socks!
ILYS
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Kathy - World Travel
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Fish & Chips
Well, pictures are beautiful, trips sounds WONDERFUL! But I want to know if you're "fish & chip"d out yet? Thanks for sharing this wonderful adventure with us! Kathy