Well, our quick "Hop across the Ditch" (NZ Speak for crossing the Tasman Sea to visit Australia) is now a memory, as we arrived home around midnight Thursday.
I have an excessive number of photos and I don't think I can inflict them all - I will do a batch tonight, wait a couple of days, do a second batch and then possibly a third - and by then, I should have some more painted figures to photograph!
So here goes with the first slough of images:
We arrived in Sydney around 1030am local time and were picked up from the airport by a pre-arranged uber style driver, who took us directly to our hotel in the Darling Harbour area of central Sydney, The Rydges on Liverpool Street.
The fifth-floor room even had a small balcony, although, not much of a view!
We headed off downtown for the first image of the iconic Harbour Bridge - sun was in the wrong part of the sky - but don't worry, I have lots more later!
View of Circular Quay, where multiple ferries leave every few minutes, and which also boasts a railway station for the equivalent of the Tube/Subway AND a link to the trams that run up the main drag (George Street) and to various inner-city suburbs.
We stopped for a shared pizza and a holiday beverage at the Opera House Bar. Ordering was via an App unloaded by scanning a QR code on each table - despite how irritating it sounds, it actually worked quite well!
The Opera House, I assume, needs no introduction!
Adjacent Botanic Gardens
NOT Captain Cook!
The State Library of New South Wales
Martin Place
The Town Hall
Queen Victoria Building
One of many old buildings converted into pubs - this used to be a bank, I think.
The ubiquitous tram - last time Ruth and I were in Sydney, the roads were chaos, as they were in the midst of laying the tram tracks. It is a very user-friendly system - you scan on and off at the pickup and drop off point, not on the tram itself - and you can use any chip loaded debit or credit card - so Ruth and I could just present our NZ bank ATM cards, and the reader would accept them, and debit the cost of the journey electronically to our bank account back home - and the same system worked on the harbour ferries and the trains, too - very simple and efficient!
You certainly stayed in a central spot Keith. They are rolling the credit/debit card system on public transport here in Brisbane and I thinks it is a much better idea than having to purchase a travel card. I'm not so fond of the app ordering in cafes and bars though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence - we had two experiences of the app ordering - first one wasn't too bad, the second one was a bit more irritating, with my wife having to repeatedly reload it and start again because she wanted to go back and check something on the menu, and ended up leaving the app altogether - I expect if you are under 25, you would not have much trouble at all
DeleteExcellent intro to your Sydney travels.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jon, I am pleased you enjoyed it - plenty more where that came from!
DeleteGreat photos Keith for the introduction
ReplyDeleteCheers Scotty
DeleteSome super photos, look forward to seeing more of your travels.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie, you won't have to wait too long!
DeleteLovely snaps Keith.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked them, Richard.
DeleteHave to see someday!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the same year I get to see Warsaw?! 😀
DeleteThat brings back memories of our trip there last month Keith. The ordering through the app thing is annoying. We went to one out place that said it was the only way they took orders. Well my phone is a Company phone and roaming is international roaming is disabled. So we walked out and found a place that understood the concept of customer service.
ReplyDeletePleased to be of service Mark! Yes,
Deletemine is a work phone too....nothing is disabled, but if I accidentally spent $100 or whatever on roaming fees, they would deduct it from my next pay, so apart from in the hotel and airport (free wifi) I had it on aeroplane mode all the time. Luckily, Ruth was prepared to shell out $50 or whatever for a temporary roaming package, so she did all the app orders!
You obviously got your steps up walking to all those spots Keith.
ReplyDeleteThe Botanical Gardens are a great place to have lunch and get out of the office. My favourite lunch time spot when I was working. Right next to the city but very quiet.
Thanks Ben, yes the gardens are very quiet...I liked Hyde Park, too!
DeleteNice pics Kieth. Glad you guys had a nice time. 😀
ReplyDeleteThanks Stew....it was short, but sweet!
DeleteLooks like a fine trip Keith:). Tram problems remind me of the Edinburgh fiasco, where it is still not fully finished after God knows how many years. Our daughter lived right by one of the roads having the new lines installed, which barely showed much progress in 3 years, other than traffic confusion and diversions!
ReplyDeleteCheers Steve. I have no idea how long it took to complete the Sydney tram system....they were ripping up the main road when we were there last (5 or 6 years ago), and now it's all done and working...but it could have been years behind schedule for all I know!
DeleteIt was very over budget and over time! Like most transport projects. It caused massive disruption to all the businesses where it passed similar to what Steve mentioned for Edinburgh.
DeleteLuckily it is finally working well and they have managed to make the main street much more pedestrian friendly.
Lol....that was what I suspected Ben.....as you say, a common issue with major infrastructure projects! Even if the Chinese were doing it, it might only take 6 months....but it would be scheduled to take 4! 😀
DeleteLooks from this and your later postings that you had a grand time in the sin city Keith? I have not been there for years. I did not realise about the trams. That photo of the old building/pub and tram lines looks more Melbourne than Sydney—don't tell the Sydney-siders that I said that!
ReplyDeleteNext time you jump the ditch, you'll have to head further west and we'll show you some WA hospitality (and I can show you some books about the Napoleonic wars, hahahaha)!!!