Far Side of the World, Part I

Sydney is a world class city; the Miami of the Pacific, for a comparison. This is a good looking city full of good looking people. Walking down the street, I would see young urban professionals in the latest fashions, then a retired couple in Polo shirts walking hand in hand, mothers pushing babies in strollers, students with messy hair slinging back packs, and all different nationalities within these groups. The streets were clean, but not sterile; buildings were modern, yet classic; stores were busy, restaurants were packed. When you walked down the street you had to walk around them because they were always so engaged in conversion with their companions they tended to walk at a slower pace. Life was good for them and they were in no hurry.

Quick Tips:

In Australia, it's pronounced "fish fill-ett." That will save you a lot of glares in restaurants when ordering your fish and chips. Apparently, no one took French in high school.

NO TIPPING. Don't feel guilty about not tipping the cabbie or the bell hop because the tip is built into your fee so don't worry, they're getting paid.

Best Way To Get Around:

Sydney has many districts (The Rocks, Darling Harbour, Financial District, Manly) all with their own distinct feel. You can walk anywhere within these districts, however, you do need to cab or tram between the districts. I did not trust myself to stay on the left side of the road so a rental car was out. I was too cheap to cab it and too by myself to tram, so I missed out on some of the quirkier districts (Kings Cross, Darlinghurst). Having said that, the places I did visit, especially The Rocks, were fantastic and all within walking distance of my hotel.

The only reason I booked the Four Points by Sheraton, Darling Harbour, was because it was the cheapest hotel in Sydney in the Starwood network. A firm believer in "you get what you pay for," I had my doubts as to whether this hotel would be near what I wanted to be near or how nice it would be. The hotel put those fears to rest.

First thing they did to impress me was to allow check in at 7am. I had emailed the concierge with this request earlier, she could not guarantee it. After a sleepless 15-hour flight, I was relieved to be able to have a bed and a shower. And what a bed; it was a sweet sleeper bed just like at the regular Sheratons. It made the adjustment to another continent easier.

The Four Points was a business hotel. Sometimes these come across as stuffy, especially when you’re wearing short and sandals and everyone else was in suits. The amenities were everything you get in an upscale hotel, stocked mini-bar, cable TV, in-room safe, and lovely n bathroom. There was even an electrical converter. Good thing since mine didn’t work. The best thing about business hotels was the room had a king-size bed. Sometimes it’s nice to have a king-size bed to yourself.

I had two mishaps while staying here, but nothing that would stop me from staying here again. The first 1 was that I went straight to sleep after my 7 am check and was loudly awakened at 9:30am by the concierge who wanted to make sure the room was to my liking. Although I appreciated the gesture, waking me up from a deep sleep was not the way I wanted to start my day. The second mishap occurred on my last night. I had booked 2 nights using Starwood points and then booked a 3rd that I paid for. To do this I made 2 separate reservations. Even though I pointed this out upon check in and asked if there was anything I needed to do on Sunday, the front desk clerk said everything was fine. Sure enough I tried to get into my room Sunday night and the cardkey didn’t work. I had to back down to the lobby from the 7th floor and get a new cardkey.

The best thing about the Four Points was its fabulous location. I was a 15-20 walk from the ferry terminal, add another 10 minutes from the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Darling Harbour was a great place to see in itself and it’s connected by a pedestrian bridge right from the hotel. I had no idea all the great places right behind me -the city aquarium, a huge shopping mall and all sorts of fabulous cafes and restaurants.

I was at the hotel for a few days and was unable to sample the 2 restaurants and 24-hour fitness facility. When I go back to Sydney I will definitely stay at this location again.

By far one of my best memories of Sydney was sitting on the outdoor patio at Doyle's eating a fantastic lunch in the fall sun and looking across Circular Quay at the Opera House. It didn't get any better!

When I walked by the place coming from the The Rocks Market, I knew I had to eat there. However, I was unaware that the place did not take American Express until after I was seated. I had left my VISA card back at the hotel and only had A$30 cash on me. This was a problem because Doyle's was expensive. You were paying for the view, which was totally worth it. However, I found the perfect lunch on the menu, Pasta and Prawns. Lightly grilled prawns over pasta with herbs. It was exactly what I wanted and only A$23 on the menu. It even came with two slices of garlic bread. Add some ice tea (which is hard to find in Sydney) and it was the perfect lunch under $30.

I spent over an hour savoring the lunch and the view, still amazed that I that I was even in Australia. When I look back on my trip, my afternoon at Doyle's will always be a fond memory.

Looking for authentic Australian arts and crafts? The Rocks Market is held every Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 2pm. It takes places on two streets, George and Playfair rain or shine. A series of triangular tents (very much like the opera house sails) shield patrons and crafters from the elements. There are also several food vendors to feed your appetite and one or two musicians performing to keep you entertained. I found out about the Market from the Rocks website (www.therocks.com). A list of vendors along with information about them is given on the website so I was able to get some idea what I could buy before I even left for my trip. Every medium is represented from sketches, painting and photography to textiles, ceramics and wood carving, far too many to name here (one vendor had nothing but handmade wind chimes). Find everything from cheap and cheesy tourist gifts to expensive artist originals your can buy for your personal collection. I knew when I went to visit that I wanted some boomerangs to give as gifts and I found them at the Specializing in Boomerangs booth. I also found an Australian scrapbook and photo album by textile artist Lisa Reniore and hand painted wood picture frames. Also, all these vendors took American Express and all were willing to ship the items back to the states for me. What a huge relief because I had no idea how I would have gotten these things on the plane. All the pubs in The Rocks were open as well and many people were drinking their first pints of the day. What a country! The Market was a great way to spend a fall Sunday afternoon and I put lots of money into the Australian economy at The Rocks.

After my 15-hour sleepless flight across the Pacific Ocean, I wisely made Manly Beach my first stop in Sydney. It was so easy to get to. I just walked to Circular Quay, purchased a ticket for the 11:30 ferry and hopped on. The ride was only 30 minutes. There was a Jet Cat ferry that makes the trip in 15 minutes, but it didn't make another run until 4pm That was OK because the leisurely pace of the regular ferry was good for my jet lag hangover.

At the ferry terminal in Manly, it was a walk across the street to the Curso, the boardwalk of shops and fish & chip places that separate the beach from the town. The fish & chips smelled good and the shops looked inviting with lots of knick knacks to spend my money on, but I was tired, had a headache, and much to driven by a desire to sleep on sand to stop. Another walk across a street lead me to the steps of the beach. It wasn't very big, easily walked from end to end and being a workday, very few people were milling about. The water, however, was packed with surfers. To my left were the eight volleyball nets that lined the beach, but they were empty. The noon sun was warm on this brisk fall day so I walked to the middle of the beach and set my stuff down for an afternoon nap.

Three hours later I awoke to the sound of children. A group of school girls had arrived for afternoon volleyball practice at Manly (What a classroom!). Finally having gotten some sleep, I strolled the beach which has soft, fine brown sugar sand in a perfect crescent shape. The beach was lined by fur trees towering above the beach walkway and casting late afternoon shadows over the volleyball nets. Ocean-front homes and apartments clung to the cliffs on each end of the beach. Several joggers ran back and forth. There was more activity now, perhaps people were getting an early start to their weekend. After walking the full length of the beach I returned to the volleyball nets to find the schoolgirls gone and some adults playing. Finally my chance to play in the Southern Hemisphere! I asked if a landlocked Coloradoan could join them and they let me. Ian and Jess allowed me to pepper with them before playing a game with two other guys. It was not a pretty game; I was still jet lagged and hadn't played in sand (especially this deep) in years and struggled getting around. Jess didn't seem to mind. One game was enough for me (and probably enough for Jess too) so I sat out the next two games opting to take photos of my gracious hosts. Yawning I knew it was time to go and said goodbye to the locals and headed back to the ferry terminal just making the 5:30 return trip.

You must be age 10 or over and you must be in good physical condition. The climb took over 3 hours; a good chunk of my day. Also wear running shoes for comfort and traction.

First me and my group, around 10 to 12 people, were herded into a small room where we had to sign our lives away and given a breathalyzer test. We were instructed to empty all pockets and to remove jewelry. We were escorted into the changing room where we put the jumpsuit on over our regular clothes. The jumpsuits zip all the way up to your neck and there’s elastic on the sleeves and legs. Finally you pass through a metal detector before you are turned over to your climb guide. Ours was Sasha, who showed us how to put our tether belt on. This belt would keep us connected to the bridge at all times.

Rain was in the forecast so we attached hats, a rain jacket and a fleece jacket to our belts. The jackets were sewn into packs, like parachutes. From here we did a practice climb on a replica of the bridge ladders. Finally we were given our military-issue headphones. Then we went to the start of the climb and tethered ourselves. Once tethered, we couldn’t change places.

First we had to walk to the southeast tower, where the ladders were that would take us up. From the tower we had to snake through some narrow passages before we approached the ladders. We had to climb 4 ladders and I told myself I wouldn’t have to do my workout today. We were now on the stop arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Walking up the arch was like walking up stairs; very gradual with hand rails on both sides. Perfectly safe. This was also our first glimpse of the city and the Sydney Opera House. Sasha began pointing out the landmarks and explaining what many of the things we saw were, not just the opera house, but the ferry terminal and several small islands (former penal colonies) in the harbor. We stopped many places along the arch so Sasha could take digital photos. We were not allowed to bring cameras, just another thing to drop on the traffic below, so Sasha took all photos. Soon we were near the top and we could see the climbing group ahead of us and the one coming behind us. The bridge was crowded!At the top, we crossed the middle girder that marked the highest point on the climb (134m / 440ft).

Now we were on the west side arch and made our way down. We had now arrived at the second set of ladders that will take us back under the bridge where we started. From here we detached from the tether and were able to walk freely back into the Bridge Climb building were we cleaned up our headphones, turned in our gear and received our free climb certificate.

Part dining experience, part nightlife and part boat tour, this was an interesting experience.

One of the things I wanted to do in Sydney was take a harbor cruise at night so I could see the city all lit up. After some online research, I chose Captain Cook Cruises. They’ve been in business for 35 years and had several ships with many types of cruises. Their ticket office was also at Circular Quay, which I could find easily. Captain Cook Cruises offered everything from afternoon buffet and evening dinner cruises to week-long cruises up the eastern coast and even to Fiji. I chose the Sunday Twilight cruise, which started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.

There weren’t too many of us when the boat docked at 6:30 p.m., mostly couples, young and old, looking for a romantic evening out, perhaps celebrating anniversaries as some were quite well dressed. Formal attire was not required, although I did wear a nice outfit because I didn’t want to be perceived as an American slob. Funny thing, one of the couples was a young woman in a chiffon dress while her date?fiance?husband? wore ripped cargo shorts and a sports T-shirt with a ball cap. Way to go Romeo!

We were escorted to assigned tables on the second deck by a server while another poured champagne into glasses already on the table. There was a bass player and a pianist playing soft jazz which made for a romantic atmosphere. My server was a 21-year-old Russian girl. While talking to her she told me she had followed her boyfriend to Australia and hadn’t been in Sydney long enough to know much about the city. Obviously she was new to serving, but her pleasant demeanor and willingness to help made up for any missteps, such as forgetting my rum and coke.

For the meal, I selected a filet mignon, well done, which came with fresh vegetables and a mushroom sauce. Delicious. My pre-mail salad wasn’t anything special; the vinaigrette dressing was a little too sour for me. For dessert, my server offered my a choice of three items, but as soon as the words "chocolate" came out of her mouth, I didn’t bother waiting to hear what the other 2 were. The chocolate cake drenched in chocolate icing was so rich that despite my best efforts I couldn’t finish it.

Before the meal was served, the ship left the dock and did a small circle around the harbor before making its way under the harbor bridge. I thought we were going farther inland and was exciting to be seeing some places that I wouldn’t be able to visit. However, the ship soon turned into Darling Harbour and headed straight for a dock. How odd. After docking, a large group of Japanese tourist poured into the deck and sat at the empty tables. They were unbelievable loud. In 30 seconds, the romantic mood of the cruise changed to a party atmosphere as a Japanese woman in a red sequins dress came out with a microphone and began to sing with the two musicians. She sang song like "Let It Be," "My Way" and "On Top of the World" and even had a costume change during her "intermission." She made it a point to visit all the tables on the deck asking them if they were married and where they were from. She asked me where my husband was and was quite disappointed when I said I was by myself. I asked if she knew Margaritaville, but she said no.

The top deck of the ship was open to elements and a little chilly, but I remembered my jacket. I was finally able to see Sydney shine. I love cities at night. I took 2 rolls of film just barely getting it done before the ship re-docked at Circular Quay. Several of the Japanese tourists asked me to take photos of them in front of view.

I enjoyed my dinner cruise, but I have to admit the mood change when the tourists boarded was upsetting. It was such a quiet cruise until they boarded. The tourists themselves were friendly, but they all talked, danced and sang along with the singer. A complete 180 mood swing. Would I do this cruise again? Probably not.