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Transit through Sydney
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Our 15-hour flight from San Francisco to Sydney was behind us. But, we had the 6+ hour flight from Sydney to Denpasar, Indonesia to go. However, it didn't depart until 5:45 PM, and we had arrived in Australia around 6:30 AM. What to do?
We booked a day room (in advance) at an airport hotel so that anyone who needed to rest/sleep, had that option. Also, we could leave the bags in one place and take a look around if we wanted to.
My 17-year old son, Evan, stayed in the hotel room, and the other nine of us walked to the nearby Mascot station for a ride on City Rail into the center of Sydney; Circular Quay (pronounced "key") to be exact.
Even though we were just passing through Australia (at this point), we had to have some local currency. I can't remember the exact exchange rate as I write this, but it was close to 1 to 1 (USD to AUD).
The first glimpse of Sydney Harbour, the Harbour Bridge, and the Sydney Opera House from the window of the train, is wonderful. Stepping out onto the dock along the harbour, we were thrilled at the beautiful view. Although we were there in winter, the day was sunny and clear. Well, it began that way. The sun went away not too much later, but our first views, and photos, were picture perfect.
We walked down George Street in The Rocks district, and browsed through the shops.
Although it was early, according to the clock in Sydney, we were all hungry and ready for lunch. It was difficult to find an open restaurant. We settled on one a few blocks from Circular Quay, that had outdoor tables. We sat at one, rested, and waited for it to open at 11:00 AM.
Since we were leaving the country, we had to be at the airport in enough time to jump through all the hoops that entailed, so we headed back to the hotel to pick-up our son, and the luggage.
Brief report on the hotel: The rooms were TINY. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to stay there overnight, or for an extended time. Even just using it as a day room, we were cramped. And, there wasn't a pool, which was a drawback because, after a long flight, some of us--especially the children--would have liked to have jumped into a pool to cool off and/or expend some energy.
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