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Published: March 21st 2012
Some of today’s blog overlaps with yesterday’s,as I spent the first art of the day dealing with Bank of America,trying like hell to get my card to work. Again,not trying to solicit,but if you haven’t already, please visit
Bewareboa.blogspot.com
To read/pass along the story. I want as many people as possible to hold Bank of America accountable for abandoning their customers while traveling overseas.
Now that that’s’s out of the way,on to Day 2 in Sydney…
Once I finally had access to my funds,albeit I had $1300 in cash to keep track of,my first order of business was to make sure that I didn’t lose it. I walked over to the Citibank on the corner near my hotel,and attempted to purchase travelers checks,to no avail. I was directed to the Travelex store in the QVB across the street,where a very nice gentleman almost sold me a prepayable debit card to deposit my funds on to. I say almost,because as I was about to accept it,his manager came by,listened to two seconds of my travel plans,and told me I was better off dealing with the cash
I had. Sorry!!
So I went back to my hotel,where I asked Jen,the first receptionist that I met yesterday,to put a large chunk of it in the hotel safe. She was agreeable,and reassuring when I asked about the security of my funds. “Oh,you wouldn’t BELIEVE what people give us,” she stated. “I mean,we’ve received jewels that rivaled the Crown Jewels! I always ask the men if they are married,” she remarked. “Unfortunately,most of them are divorced and aren’t looking for another wife.”
Well,then,I guess my measly $800 would be all right,then.
My next stop was Woolworths,where I attempted to use my card (that was supposedly working as of 4 that morning) to purchase discount tickets to the Sydney Aquarium. On the top floor of Woolworths is an internet café.Unfortunately,the card did not want to work,so I lost another 2 hrs dealing with the bank AGAIN,only to be told “it was the merchant’s fault.” Yeah,right.
Anyway,on the encouragement of my sister and Giles,I took comfort in the fact that I had access to enough funds for the Sydney part of my trip,and decided that I had wasted enough time
on B of A. It was about 1:30p.m., and the sun had peeked out a bit,so I decided to walk over to Darling Harbour. It turned out to be only a few blocks west on Park St,and it was amazing! I looked down on a boardwalk that wrapped around the harbor in a U-shape,with cafes/shops all around,outdoor patios beckoning tourists to stop by and have an overpriced meal. (Sorry Sydneysiders-I love you,but your food is damned expensive-average lunch-type meal(sandwich/burger and soft drink) will set you back about $30. There were a few that advertised $10 meals,more towards the Aquarium.)
I was happy enough to stroll along for awhile,first attempting to find a place to eat that was less expensive,until I spontaneously decided to catch a ferry over to Manly Beach and try the infamous fish and chip platters over there. I walked past the Aquarium,deciding to hold on on visiting at this time(still smarting over not being able to buy $17.50 tickets thanks to my card). Right next to the Aquarium was Sydney Wildlife World,and I have to say…I wasn’t impressed by the outside. Basically,both venues share the same large square building. Its hard to imagine a
very comfortable environment for the poor animals,nor an attractive visit,as it seemed like it would be nothing more than a large crowd of people shuffling through various exhibits in a line. Maybe I’m wrong,but nothing about the exterior enticed me to want to shell out money for it. (Also,I was planning on visiting Featherdale and Taronga later in the week,so I would have plenty of opportunity to visit wildlife).
I found the main ferry stop on King’s Wharf,about a 5 minute walk from the Aquarium complex.Since there was about 20 minutes until the next ferry to Circular Quay,I stopped at the café next to the ferry dock and had a quick beverage.
Once I embarked on the ferry,I was surprised at how nice the “basic” ferries were. They were two-story,supposedly had WiFi access(my cell kept telling me that there was a signal,though it never connected),and was very spacious and clean. I sat in the back on the outside and proceeded to take several pictures of the harbor as we made our way. Next to me,an older couple from Melbourne engaged me in conversation-the guy was in Sydney on business. As they were talking about
their recent trip to the States,the woman told me to turn around. As I did,I noticed that we were gliding underneath the Harbour Bridge. More pictures ensued!!
About 15 minutes later,we reached Circular Quay(had to stop by Luna Park amusement park dock first). There,I had to switch to a different dock to get to Manly. It was here that I discovered that my MyMulti1 pass does NOT include the “slow” ferry to Manly,unlike what I had been told. Oh well. The RT fare was $14. I’m not sure how much the fast ferry cost,because the “slow” ferry was getting ready to leave just as I purchased my ticket.
If I thought the main ferries were nice,they had nothing on the Manly ferry. This one was 3 stories,had a café and restroom, and TV’s in the inside decks. Once again,I chose to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful views. As we set on our way, I saw that the Queen Mary 2 was docked at the harbor. I’ve been on cruises before,but this ship was truly magnificent,and held quite the semblance to the Titanic in looks.(Hopefully that’s all the resemblance that the two ships will
share)! It was at this point that I could immediately spot the difference between the Sydneysiders(if not Australians) and the tourists. The locals were snapping photos of the ship,while the tourists seemed torn between photographing the ship and the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. I,of course,attempted to get all three in one photo. You be the judge of how successful I was…
While I was sitting near the railing of the ferry,a woman across from me was leaning over to take a photo when suddenly,her cell phone slipped through her fingers and landed on this little piece of railing,precariously close to the edge. She started gasping,screaming,and fluttering her hands about. I leaned over and managed to rescue said phone(it was near my feet) and handed it back to her. She gratefully thanked me,and promptly headed for the inside cabin,stating “I don’t trust myself out here!”
So I had the area to myself for a bit,until a family headed over and sat across from me. We all kept to ourselves for awhile until the baby threw her binky onto the floor near me. Once again,I retrieved the lost object,and the mother told me that I
was “certainly useful on this boat.” (They had been nearby during the woman’s shrieking about her phone). We all started talking,of coure I had to say where I was from. I have been simply saying “the U.S.,” as I was finding that I received a lot of blank stares when I said Connecticut. It turned out the family was from Melbourne,and once again I had to admit that their city wasn’t in my travel itinerary this go round. “Yeah, Melbourne is a nice city,but we don’t have the tourist attractions that Sydney does,” the woman reluctantly repied. “We just don’t get as many tourists there.” I felt so bad,especially since she was right-when reviewing Melbourne and deciding whether or not to go,it just didn’t seem to have anything drawing me there.(Sorry,Melbourne peeps!!! But you all seem very nice!)
Anyway,we chatted for awhile,then they,too, went inside,as their 3 yr old was running around and creating havoc,as 3 yr olds do.
When we arrived at Manly Wharf,there was an indoor shopping area and a few shopping outlets on the way to the main boardwalk,the Corso,leading up to the beach. It was a very active area,with stores,restaurants,and
Sydney Aquarium & Wildlife World
Doesn't this look enticing? Yeah, I didnt think so,either.such,with the middle being closed off so that people could walk,skate,etc through it. At the end was the beach,which would have looked enticing if it hadn’t been for the gray clouds looming overhead. Still,the beach had a lot of people,and there were some surfers riding the waves. I walked around for a bit,then found a place to have fish and chips. I couldn’t recall the place that ws rrecommended on TripAdvisor,so I settle for a local cafe,and it was pretty good!
Unfortunately,it started to rain as I was eating. I was sheltered underneath the table umbrella,but once I was finished,I had quite a wet walk back to the wharf.I made it just as a ferry was getting ready to leave,so I hopped on and had a very bumpy ride back to Circular Quay.Along the way,there were quite a few sailboats out on the harbor,and as I was watching,one of them took a sharp turn and just missed crashing into a small speedboat!
Upon arrival at CQ,the rain was really coming down,so I grabbed a train back to Town Hall. I stopped at Woolworths to pick up some breakfast items for the week-expensive still! For
a pack of muffins,bottle of soda,and a bag of chips it was $25.
I went back to my hotel,with the intent of relaxing for a bit before finding a place to have dinner later. However,I must have had some lingering jet-lag,which added to the stress of the morning and lack of sleep the night before,left me passed out on my bed for the remainder of the evening!
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