Sydney in summer

Our room at the Radisson was large and contained all the amenities you could ask for--air-conditioning, cable TV, minibar, complimentary tea and coffee. We had a room in the South Tower, set back between two buildings, but we still had a pretty good view of the ocean. The balcony overlooked the small pool below.

For better views from your balcony, ask for an ocean-facing room in the north tower.

The Sydney Harbour Marriott is conveniently located a few blocks from Circular Quay. As a tourist, it was a perfect place to stay--easy to get to the ferries, close to the rocks, the bridge, and the opera house. It's a very comfortable 32-floor hotel with great views of the harbour and Sydney Opera House.

The week we were there, the hotel was hosting a large conference for a Japanese company. The hotel was completely full. We had booked a room with two double beds, but they only had a room with a king bed available. After much complaining from me, they gave us a corner room and offered a roll-away bed. The next day, they moved us to an upgraded room on the 27th floor with an Opera House view.

The room was very nicely appointed with beautiful, arty pictures of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. We had a bathroom with a large tub and shelf area. The room had air-conditioning, cable TV, minibar, safe, tea, and coffee.

The only other complaint I had was when we left the room early one morning and returned at 6pm to find the room had not been cleaned. However, after I called to complain, they sent someone up immediately to clean the room.

I've known other people who've stayed there and had no problems, so I'm sure we just had some bad luck. And to their credit, they did work hard to fix our problems.

Even with all our problems, I would definitely recommend the Sydney Harbour Marriott. Its convenient location and the views from the rooms are its best selling points.

Taronga Zoo is a lot of fun for kids and adults. We saw all the usual zoo animals--elephants, lions, chimps, reptiles, bears, seals, penguins, etc.--as well as local Australian animals like kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, dingos, echidnas, Tasmanian devils, wombats, emus, etc.

The best part of Taronga is the view. It's set up on a hill with fantastic views of Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, and the Bridge. It's accessible by ferry from Circular Quay, then a short cable-car ride up to the zoo entrance.

Get there early if you want to get your picture taken with a koala.

There's no cooler way to get great views of the city than from the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The climb takes you along the lower walkway of the bridge, under the cars, to four sets of steep ladders, where you climb up between lanes seven and eight of the traffic. That's the hard part. From there, it's easy steps up the top part of the bridge's arch. Being not exactly in the best physical condition of my life, I had expected to be in a lot of pain after the bridge climb. But it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected.

All along the climb, our guide pointed out famous Sydney sights and celebrity homes and told stories from when the bridge was built. She also takes several pictures of the entire group, individually and of the group travelling together.

Prior to the climb, you must take a breathalyzer test and go through a metal detector. Hairclips and watches must be removed and you are not allowed to bring your camera. They don't allow anything that could be dropped on the eight lanes of traffic below. Everyone must wear the ugly gray boiler suits and a harness is fitted around your waist. You are given everything you need - glasses straps, a hat, scrunchies, a fleece jacket, a rain jacket, and a radio, which all clip onto the boiler suit. It was partly cloudy when we started up the bridge, but by the time we started back down, the wind came up and the rain set in. We all quickly unpacked the fleeces and rain jackets strapped to our belts and scrambled to stay warm and dry.

This was by far the highlight of my trip to Sydney. I would recommend it to anyone. At A$195, it's a bit pricey but completely worth it.