Sydney-my home town

There are some must do's when you arrive in Sydney. Try and stay on or near the water. Go to this site, this one, and this one for some great deals. You can take a shuttle, train, or taxi from the airport to most central destinations. Drop your bags and unpack later and hit the city.

Start by walking over the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and if you are daring do the Bridge Climb - day or night it is a real experience. Take a harbor cruise or the jetcat to Manly a northern beach tourist suburb, or go to Taronga Zoo. From the harbor you can do the Historical Rocks (pubs, good shopping, and restaurants) then take a jetcat to Darling Harbor and visit the Underwater World, Power House Technology Museum, shop, or go to one of about thirty restaurants - you must try our prawns, oysters, and lobsters.

The monorail from Darling Harbor takes you to the city centerpoint. There's a revolving restaurant where you see the entire city. Walk up George Street. Great bars are Jacksons on George, ANA, The Establishment, Jackson's on George, and The Basement for live jazz. King's Cross is a must and The Bourbon and Beefsteak is always open.

Quick Tips:

You can take day trips from the city to say The Blue Mountains (one hour), which is very picturesque and majestic, the Southern Highlands (one hour), South Coast (one hour), Central Coast (one hour), or the Hunter Valley (two hours). Most of these can be reached by coach or train. Our Tourist Information Centres are everywhere. Look for the big blue (i) sign. Go on the Hydrofoil from the harbor to the Olympics stadium, which is about 35 minutes.

Best Way To Get Around:

Sydney is easy and safe to get around. Car hire starts at per day. You can get rail/cruise/bus passes that will get you to and from most places. Other memorable spots are Bondi Beach where you will find beautiful bronzed Aussies-sunbaking, swimming, and surfing, great outdoor restaurants, cafes, and shopping. Buy a new bikini or swimsuit in Bondi.

If money is not an issue, shop in Double Bay in the Eastern suburbs, then lunch at the famous Doyles in Watsons Bay on the beach. If you have children they can play on the beach six feet away while you dine and have a cool glass of Auusie Chardnnay. The pub next door is owned by Doyles and you can have a beer and fish and chips there.

Everything I have described you can do in four days, though maybe not all of the day trips. You will fall in love with our harbor and bright sunny days, even in winter. There is also a cultural side to Sydney and it is worthwhile visiting The Art Gallery and Library. Go to our fish markets by light rail. They are a real experience and you can eat at one of several restaurants on the water.

Breakfast at Sheraton on the Park on a Sunday is a popular and a fantastic experience for a couple or the whole family or friends. Afterwards, you can take a walk through to the Botanical Gardens and down to the foreshore to Lady MacQuaries Chair where you look out to the Sydney Harbour Heads and across to Wolloomolloo Wharf. This walk takes about an hour -- back to breakfast.

Sheraton on the Park is one of our finest hotels -- the setting is beautiful and the furnishings and ambience are special. Ask for a table near the window and take an hour or so to enjoy the beautiful food. Specialties include a wide array of fresh fruits and juices and yoghurts with preserved lemons, dates, strawberries, and raspberries with clotted cream. The eggs Benedict is good and the omelettes are cooked to order with your choice of smoked salmon or traditional fillings. Finish with delicious fresh breads and pastries. At Christmas, they have a festive mood with a giant gingerbread house and we order Moet Champagne to make it truly special.

Full breakfast is $34 per head and if you have a Starwood dining card, you pay for just one breakfast. You can use one card per couple, so I encourage our family and friends to participate in the Starwood program as well.

Take a beautiful sunny day and walk around the Sydney foreshore.

From MacQuaries Street turn right and walk across the Park to the Botanical Gardens. This closes at sunset. It is well sign posted and you are encouraged to hug a tree and talk to the flowers and smell the roses. You will pass our Art Gallery and little cafes. Often there are events happening in the park -- local artists, many families picnicking. The Domain is adjacent and there are many outdoor concerts and theatre productions there throughout the summer months.

As you meander through, in the distance you will see the yachts and cruisers around the harbour. Walk down to the foreshore and walk right to Lady MacQuaries Chair and the Wolloomolloo Wharfs where last Sunday seven American Aircraft Carriers and big naval vessels were in town for some R&R after the Gulf -- they are huge. We watched American sailors running along our foreshore and enjoying the harbour.

Moonlight Cinema in summer is a favourite -- the screen comes out of the ocean as you sit back and enjoy a picnic supper and glass of good Australian chardonnay or a nice cold beer. Down at the Wharf, you can queue for quite a while to have one of our World Famous Harry's Cafe on Wheels pies with mushy peas. If you turn left, in front of you is our Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. There are always activities and live entertainment as well as many restaurants and cafes offering a wide and vast array of tempting treats. A favourite is the Oyster Bar on the Opera House approach.

One hour west of Sydney are the stunning Blue Mountains. The road winds up to the top of the mountain range through many tiny little villages and towns. This is a fantastic day trip or even a great place to spend three or four days. There are several historical towns with accommodations ranging from B&Bs to 5-star resort-style hotels.

The grandeur of The Three Sisters is overwhelming. You can take short walks from the top of these three craggy mountain tops and look across the panorama of the range. There are picnic areas there and even in the winter you can picnic in a rock cave--take your hot soup and home made pies--yum! A cable car at Katoomba takes you across the top of the range for more breathtaking views. There is a historical railway that takes you around the mountains and gulleys surrounding Katoomba, the main town. For the more adventurous take a 4-wheel drive and go exploring further inland and find the Jenolean Cave with its amazing cave walks to view the stalactite and stalacmite formations. They even do ghostly night walks. The arduous 3-hour walk is more of a slither and slide tunnelling exercise. Rock climbing and abseiling on the Three Sisters is poplular and, for me, scary. A gentle 60-foot drop abseil is sensational--some of these seem to go forever. You can watch them from the top.

All of the little towns have old pubs with roaring log fires and great traditional food and accommodations. In Australia, because it is winter in June-July, we have mid-year yule tide dinners which are a full six-course turkey feast complete with Santa.