Blogs from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania

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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » CBD February 24th 2024

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
Art Museum
Wharfside at Sydney Harbor Circular Quay
Condos at the foot of the Harbor Bridge

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Darling Harbour January 1st 2024

After our very late night/early morning we had a very lazy day today! We ventured back into the city heading for Kathmandu. We found that their toilet bags were on special again so purchased another toilet bag for Tracey … for the overflow toiletries. It’s handy to have a second toilet bag to organize the toiletries, etc that aren’t in use every day! After checking out the Christmas tree in Martin Place, we found our way into H&M where Bernie found some short-sleeved casual shirts that he liked. He really wanted another pair of shorts from Fjällräven so he asked Syri to guide us there. Unfortunately, they did not have a sale on BUT they did have the shorts Bernie really likes in a different colour. Sometimes if you really like something it is worth paying ... read more
Christmas Tree, Martin Place
Martin Place
Queen Victoria Building

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney December 31st 2023

Having been to Sydney before we had decided that there really wasn’t anything in particular that we wanted to see on this trip. We opted instead to catch the light rail/tram thingy into the CBD and browse the Boxing Day/Near Year sales. We shopped in Myer and Tracey purchased a few tops and a dress at 40% off. Bernie found convenient seats to sit on while he played on his mobile phone. He definitely finds that shopping is less of a chore these days with his mobile phone to entertain him while he waits, ha, ha. Bernie received a news update on his phone about 11.00am to say that the Opera House forecourt was already full of NYE sightseers and that no more people would be admitted. WTF, it’s still 13 hours until the fireworks!! We ... read more
Waiting to set sail.
Leaving Darling Harbour
Sydney Harbour Bridge from Barangaroo

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney December 30th 2023

Tour Days 75-81 – As soon as my friend, Arnold, learned I would be in Sydney for Christmas instead of New Year’s Eve, he suggested I join he, Frank, Mum and a few friends for Christmas dinner. I already knew Mum was visiting from Auckland, New Zealand for the Holidays. I accepted the invitation, and what a nice time I had. Somewhere along the way, I missed the instructions to life on the 36thfloor. Great views, wonderful food, nice folks and a memorable Christmas. Other that the Blue Mountains Scenic Drive (and its many variations), there was only one Sydney attraction that held appeal, albeit in a different lifetime – the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb. Yes, climbing up the eastern arch of the bridge to the summit and then down the western arch would probably reveal ... read more
Misc. Around Sydney, Australia
Misc. Around Sydney, Australia
Christmas Dinner with Friends from My Tour of France in 2022

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Darling Harbour December 30th 2023

We received an email yesterday from friends we met on our South American holiday thanking us for the Christmas card we sent. Yin and Gabriel live in northern Sydney, so we emailed back to let them know that we are going to be in Sydney for the NYE fireworks before heading further up the coast on the 2ndof January. After a couple of emails back and forth yesterday we confirmed this morning that we will meet them for lunch on Tuesday before we drive up to South West Rocks. We packed the car and drove over to the blowhole for a quick look. This morning, we were there about an hour before high tide and have to say that there was no appreciable difference in the spout! The sky was blue however as opposed to overcast ... read more
Cathedral Rocks, Kiama.
Minnamurra Rainforest Walk
Minnamurra Falls

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney November 12th 2023

Tour Day 32, Cruise Day 32 – Day at Sea Tour Day 33, Cruise Day 33 – Day at Sea Tour Day 34, Cruise Day 34 –Sydney, Australia – I had kept in touch with a couple I had met while on the tour of France in Summer 2022. It worked out that we were able to hook up for the morning of ms Noordam’s stop in Sydney. We had breakfast and walked around the harbor area, including the Sydney Opera House.... read more
Shots from and of ms Noordam
Shots from and of ms Noordam
Shots from and of ms Noordam

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney September 11th 2023

G'day mate, Som skrivet lite nedslagen men ändå glad över en riktigt trevlig samvaro med Sandra. Jag repade mod ganska snabbt när jag såg typ fyrtio sportiga tjejer i Sandras ålder och uppåt göra entre i den lilla avgångshallen på Townsvilles flygplats. Jag vill med eftertryck påtala att jag inte är gubbsjuk på nåt vis. Men nu brast det. Muskliga tjejer i alla storlekar i typ matchkläder på väg hem till Sydney. Det såg inte riktigt ut som fotbollskvinnor , en del var lite väl bitiga för att vara backar eller något annat stadigt. Det var ett rugbylag förstås, i högsta ligan som var på väg hem. Jag berättade för några där att jag aldrig stött på några rugbyspelare oavsett kön tidigare så jag frågade om en selfie vilket jag fick till spelarnas stora förtjusning. Inte ... read more

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney May 5th 2023

Left hotel just after 5.30am. The hotel had given us packed breakfasts which we ate on the way to the airport. They had to put my big bag and Peter's big bag on the roof rack. Initially they put one of the small bags in between and they only used one rope across so that it was easy to imagine the small bag flying off as we sped along. We told them to bring it down and put it inside. We made it to the airport with all our luggage intact fortunately. Because of earlier experience flying to Varanasi, we knew that we would have to remove all electronics or anything hard from our bags, so we got through security with minimal fuss this time. We had 800INR left and ended up buying some more ... read more
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IMG-20230506-WA0001

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Newtown May 4th 2023

The first leg is Gold Coast to Sydney for an overnight stay at Sydney Park Hotel in Newtown, an inner city suburb with a fabulous feel. To get the trip underway, the Francis St Cocktail Lounge Apprentice tried out the pub hotel’s speciality cocktail, the Pirate Paradise - well mixed, easy drinking. Walking along King St, one of the main drags, I came across a lovely cosy bar, She Loves You, and tested their signature Dark Rum Daiquiri – very easy drinking. With a morning flight departure & a recommendation from the bartender to check out Sydney Park before departing to see how many of the ‘Big 5’ I spot – turtle, eel, fox, pelican & spoonbill –, I reluctantly head for bed. Only to wake up in the night and discover my phone’s frozen in ... read more
2023-05-03 She Loves You Bar
2023-05-03 She Loves You Dark Rum Daiquri
2023-05-03 Sydney Park Hotel Pirate Paradise

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Darling Harbour April 8th 2023

After a grueling flight that was 6 hours late (it was supposed to depart at 10 pm but left at 4:30 am!), we arrive exhausted in Sydney. Made our way to the funky Ibis Barangaroo hotel that was near the ship port (by the Sydney opera house). Barangaroo is around the Darling harbour on the other side of “The Rocks”. This was a perfect location to stay before we boarded our cruise. We love Sydney but only had 1 night! Unfortunately, we arrived on Good Friday, so all the bottle stores were closed. So, we had an expensive dinner along Darling harbor and then drank our beloved chardonnay in our hotel lounge which was only a couple blocks from the harbour. What a fun lounge and great place to stay. The outside featured colorful windows in ... read more
Mona Livia1
Mona Livia2
Easter Morning - Treats for Ron and Darold!




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