No sun? No worries!
18 days in the land down under.
18 days in the land down under.
Sydney
We landed in the midst of rain and heavy winds—the Manly ferry made the
newscast that evening as it struggled to make its way through the waves.
But, by the time we exited the terminal, the sun was out and the first thing
we saw while waiting in the cab queue was a rainbow. A good omen?
Immigration, baggage claim and customs took about an hour. The sniffing
beagles made a pass through the immigration line, stopping briefly at the
man behind us (he claimed it was his shoes). This was also the first time
we can recall going through x-ray checks to get out of the airport.
Our trip into Sydney didn't start on a particularly good note. As soon as we
left the curb, it became apparent that the cab driver had never heard of our
hotel, The Rocks neighborhood or Argyle/Kent streets. Moreover, his GPS
device led him a bit off course. We eventually found our hotel, with the help
of a detailed map that we supplied. The driver was very apologetic,
insisting that he would take only $25—about what we expected it to cost,
anyway.
We arrived at the Lord Nelson Brewery at about 8am and were delighted
to find that our room was ready and available—enabling us to shower and
unpack a bit before heading out to explore the city. Having slept on the
plane, we were able to keep going the first day with just a small shot of
caffeine later in the day. This helped us adjust quickly to the time
difference—jet lag was never a real issue on this trip (well, until we got
home that is...says the one who was up at 2:30am and 4:30 am,
respectively, on the two mornings after getting home).
Sydney is a beautiful city, and a very dramatically set one. Unfortunately, we
saw very little of it in the sun. Over four full days, we experienced a sum
total of around two hours of sunshine. We can only imagine how stunning
it must be with clear, blue skies—which did not materialize during our stay
until the moment we stepped on our Virgin Blue flight to Cairns. It did rain
quite a bit during our stay, but we seemed to have good timing—being
inside during most heavy downpours. From what we ascertained, the
weather in any one area can change from sun to rain in a matter of mere
moments. We made sure we were always carrying umbrellas.
We won’t go into day-to-day detail about our four days in Sydney, but we did
enjoy the following:
These more than filled our four days in the city, so we did not plan a trip to
the Blue Mountains. As the weather was, that probably ended up a wise
decision. Some parts of the area had flooding problems, and the Blue
Mountains actually had snow on our last day there. We see enough of that
in Chicago!
We used the ferries to get to Darling Harbour, the Taronga Zoo and Manly—
of course, with the secondary purpose of seeing various parts of the
harbor. Highly recommended! We purchased the combined
ferry/admission family passes for the zoo and aquarium.
Otherwise, we walked, and walked, and walked. The Sydney Ferries
website has some useful, downloadable walking tours that we used for
the Botanic Garden, Manly and other areas.
We also ate. A lot. We didn't seek out any specific or notable restaurants,
but we did have a few pretty good meals.
The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel.
This is noted as Sydney’s oldest hotel, dating from the mid 1800s, and it
was perfect for us. We loved the area, especially, and the character and
history. Our room was on the top floor, on the corner facing both Argyle and
Kent. It was spacious enough, with a king bed and single bed and several
dormered windows and a modern bath. We were slightly concerned about
noise from the pub on the ground floor, but it was never an issue. We
occasionally heard the wind and rain and a few cars, but that was it. We
slept well. A nice continental breakfast with breads, cereal and fresh fruit
comes with the room. Downstairs, the pub grub is hearty, the fire is warm
and the home-brewed beer is terrific! We didn't try the food at the bistro
upstairs from the pub, but the food is supposed to be fairly good. We would
stay here again. A$230 for a triple room with breakfast.
Next: Queensland, part 1
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
We landed in the midst of rain and heavy winds—the Manly ferry made the
newscast that evening as it struggled to make its way through the waves.
But, by the time we exited the terminal, the sun was out and the first thing
we saw while waiting in the cab queue was a rainbow. A good omen?
Immigration, baggage claim and customs took about an hour. The sniffing
beagles made a pass through the immigration line, stopping briefly at the
man behind us (he claimed it was his shoes). This was also the first time
we can recall going through x-ray checks to get out of the airport.
Our trip into Sydney didn't start on a particularly good note. As soon as we
left the curb, it became apparent that the cab driver had never heard of our
hotel, The Rocks neighborhood or Argyle/Kent streets. Moreover, his GPS
device led him a bit off course. We eventually found our hotel, with the help
of a detailed map that we supplied. The driver was very apologetic,
insisting that he would take only $25—about what we expected it to cost,
anyway.
We arrived at the Lord Nelson Brewery at about 8am and were delighted
to find that our room was ready and available—enabling us to shower and
unpack a bit before heading out to explore the city. Having slept on the
plane, we were able to keep going the first day with just a small shot of
caffeine later in the day. This helped us adjust quickly to the time
difference—jet lag was never a real issue on this trip (well, until we got
home that is...says the one who was up at 2:30am and 4:30 am,
respectively, on the two mornings after getting home).
Sydney is a beautiful city, and a very dramatically set one. Unfortunately, we
saw very little of it in the sun. Over four full days, we experienced a sum
total of around two hours of sunshine. We can only imagine how stunning
it must be with clear, blue skies—which did not materialize during our stay
until the moment we stepped on our Virgin Blue flight to Cairns. It did rain
quite a bit during our stay, but we seemed to have good timing—being
inside during most heavy downpours. From what we ascertained, the
weather in any one area can change from sun to rain in a matter of mere
moments. We made sure we were always carrying umbrellas.
We won’t go into day-to-day detail about our four days in Sydney, but we did
enjoy the following:
- The iconic Opera House, inside and out; it is much different on the
inside than we expected—more Scandinavian and a little retro-70s
in style
- The Royal Botanic Gardens; a green oasis in the big city, with
awesome views of the harbor
- Circular Quay, with its hustle and bustle of boat traffic
- The Rocks—including the architecture, weekend market, etc.
- Observatory Hill for day and night views
- The Harbor Bridge; we did not choose to do the Bridge Climb (to be
honest, it looked miserable in the wind and rain) and we never did
make it up the pylon, but we did walk part way across and
photographed it from many vantage points
- The Taronga Zoo, particularly the cable car ride to the top and the
bird show in the amphitheater overlooking the harbor
- The Sydney Tower; we found this helpful for getting our bearings
and figuring out where everything is
- The Australian Museum; an old-school museum with some
interesting displays of insects and skeletons and an interesting
Indigenous Australia exhibit
- Chinatown, including yum cha lunch; Chris had never done dim
sum before and enjoyed it; Marisa enjoyed taking the lead in
ordering, for a change
- Queen Victoria Building in the CBD (the inside reminded Marisa of
GUM in Moscow, somewhat)
- Manly, including walks on the Corso, beach and headlands and a
little shopping
These more than filled our four days in the city, so we did not plan a trip to
the Blue Mountains. As the weather was, that probably ended up a wise
decision. Some parts of the area had flooding problems, and the Blue
Mountains actually had snow on our last day there. We see enough of that
in Chicago!
We used the ferries to get to Darling Harbour, the Taronga Zoo and Manly—
of course, with the secondary purpose of seeing various parts of the
harbor. Highly recommended! We purchased the combined
ferry/admission family passes for the zoo and aquarium.
Otherwise, we walked, and walked, and walked. The Sydney Ferries
website has some useful, downloadable walking tours that we used for
the Botanic Garden, Manly and other areas.
We also ate. A lot. We didn't seek out any specific or notable restaurants,
but we did have a few pretty good meals.
- Pizza at Eastbank Café on Circular Quay
- Yum cha at East Ocean
- Italian at Lucetta on Kent
- Fish and chips at Café Steyne in Manly
- And of course, pub grub at the Lord Nelson
The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel.
This is noted as Sydney’s oldest hotel, dating from the mid 1800s, and it
was perfect for us. We loved the area, especially, and the character and
history. Our room was on the top floor, on the corner facing both Argyle and
Kent. It was spacious enough, with a king bed and single bed and several
dormered windows and a modern bath. We were slightly concerned about
noise from the pub on the ground floor, but it was never an issue. We
occasionally heard the wind and rain and a few cars, but that was it. We
slept well. A nice continental breakfast with breads, cereal and fresh fruit
comes with the room. Downstairs, the pub grub is hearty, the fire is warm
and the home-brewed beer is terrific! We didn't try the food at the bistro
upstairs from the pub, but the food is supposed to be fairly good. We would
stay here again. A$230 for a triple room with breakfast.
Next: Queensland, part 1
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
Sydney Opera House
Australia home
Planning considerations
Sydney
Queensland, part 1
Queensland, part 2
Queensland, part 3
Red Center
Yarra Valley
Melbourne
Getting there and getting around
Planning considerations
Sydney
Queensland, part 1
Queensland, part 2
Queensland, part 3
Red Center
Yarra Valley
Melbourne
Getting there and getting around
Houses in the Rocks
Sydney Aquarium
ANZAC Memorial, Hyde Park
View from the Ferry
In the pub at the Lord Nelson
Taronga Zoo
View from the Sydney Tower
Sydney pub
Queen Victoria Building
