Blogs from CBD, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania

Today I slept in . It was a late night last night. I woke up naturally at 9:30. I noticed a message from Bernard; he actually got up for the 6:30 Vicious cycle class!! WOW! It’s his day off, he had a late night…. And he still went! That’s dedication. I can’t remember being that dedicated to anything! Ha ha. Maybe it’s an age thing! I just relaxed around the apartment, I chatted on with Gavin for a while whilst I had a cup of tea. Then Bernard came home. (The arrival of Chez Bernard!) Last night, we had discussed going for bagels for brekky, but due to the endless pouring rain, Bernard had picked up some shopping on the way home from vicious. He set up his pots and pans, whilst I did an excellent ... read more

Sydney, spectacularly draped around its glorious harbor and beaches, has visual wow factor like few other cities. Scratch the surface and it only gets better. Cheeky, brash, intoxicating – this city has been naturally blessed like few other cities on Earth. A 40-mile string of glistening sandy beaches bracket one of the world’s most spectacular harbors: it’s an Australian icon, where getting outdoors is everything, whether you are surfing the waves, marveling on a coastal walk or al fresco dining on sumptuous seafood. This multicultural, hedonistic city has numerous districts to explore. At some stage you’ll almost certainly end up at the Rocks - you haven’t really been to Sydney if you don’t. The Rocks, unrecognizable from the squalid place it was in the convict era, now serves as an "olde-worlde" tourist focus. There are a ... read more

As important as first impressions are, Sydney certainly knows how to make a good one. We arrived on Australia day and went to celebrate that at the Circular Quay. It was packed with people, there was live music from several artists, and oh.. those fireworks. I've seen firework shows before, but try to beat a firework show where jet skies are racing around the water firing off fireworks with the Sydney opera House on the background and reflections of the fireworks on the water. It was magical. After planning our next adventure (think rainforests, scuba diving and more!), we went to the Home bar: a multi-level nightclub with house, R&B and hiphop in separate rooms. The hostel had arranged a bus to the Home bar and we met a lot of nice people: I really enjoyed ... read more

SYDNEY 1st March - 9th March Arriving early morning into Circular Quay, always a special sight, the sun over the Opera House and the first view of the Harbour Bridge. Disembarkation was easy, however waiting for the transfer was not. No transport waiting for us, bookings all messed up and eventually tracked down the company responsible. It was only about 800 yards to the Mantra where we were staying so no big deal but it was hot waiting and seeing everybody else disappearing was a bit traumatic. This is our fifth visit, so what to do. The answer is loads, from museums to beaches to gardens. The apartment was ready early so off shopping only for essentials. Who do we bump into in George Street but friends we have made on Arcadia, Hilary and Phil. They ... read more

My friend Sue contacted me a couple of days ago saying she was heading into Sydney for the afternoon / evening to check out the Chinese New Year (CNY) festivities, and wondered if I wanted to join her. I took up that offer! We met each other on the platform of our local station and caught the train to Town Hall station. We made a slight detour to a camera shop so I could buy a new camera strap, and then we headed to Darling Harbour. We crossed Pyrmont Bridge and had lunch in the food court. It was so hot! I had noodles and an ice cream. Yum. We then headed towards Haymarket and came across the CNY festivities. It was still daylight so we got to see the paper lanterns in daylight. We decided ... read more