Sydney Part 1: walking, wild animals and rain
Trip Start
Jan 14, 2008
1
6
22
Trip End
Mar 05, 2008
Sydney,
Australia
Monday, January 21, 2008
Simpsons of Potts Point
We hopped in a cab which took us to our adorable bed and breakfast, Simpsons of Potts Point, a B & B that Andrew had selected based on the reviews he had seen on trip adviser. We were greeted by Vanessa, an absolutely darling blond Australian girl who to our surprise told us that our room was ready. Being a little after 8 in the morning, 5am Hong Kong time, we were thrilled! Before showing us to our room she brought us a map of Sydney and took us on a virtual tour of all of the must-see locations. She told us to go see Mrs. Maquaries point, go through the botanical gardens, visit the Queen Victoria Building, Darling Harbor, the Fish Market, the Rocks, the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and showed us the Quay where we could catch the ferries to Hawkes Bay, Manley Beach and beyond. In eight minutes, Vanessa had planned our entire stay. Vanessa proceeded to walk us to up to our charming room located at the very top of Simpsons called Hideawa. With air conditioning, a comfortable bed and another great shower, we were very happy to be in Sydney.
Andrew and I took a quick nap and rejuvenated, woke up around 10am and ventured out to Macleay Street in Potts Point for brunch. Evidently the Aussie's LOVE brunch, as do we, and we passed by numerous packed trendy cafe's filled with hipsters, handsome built gay men (eye candy for me) and young families. We soon came to the conclusion that our neighborhood was Noe Valley meets the Castro and I loved it! We ended up going to a small super trendy eatery called ZINC, where we ate our eggs and toast surrounded by Aussie's that were in the most incredible shape. With it being Summer, apparently everybody needs to be ready to be in a bikini or briefs at any given time. Though many of the guys would have been more interested in Andrew, they were fantastic to look at. Andrew had Vanessa and I had the handsome gay men. It was a good trade off.
Sydney Opera House
After breakfast, Andrew and I decided to go for a long walk, which turned into a very, very long walk. We followed Vanessa's instructions and walked out to Mrs. Macqueries Point and got a beautiful view of the Sydney Opera House, the Harbor and the bridge. Andrew was shocked to see people looking like little ants climbing to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. We walked through the pristine Royal Botanical Gardens filled with young families playing Cricket, couples both gay and straight lounging on the grass and tourists enjoying the warm Sunday sunshine. It was a beautiful walk until we ran into a few things we did not expect, including a beautiful parrot that caused me to not watch my step and land in a huge pile of dog sh*t (in my new fabulous Adidas I got in Hong Kong), flying foxes/fruit bats (that looked more like huge vampire bats to us)
Ewwwww!
hanging from the tall trees and large horn billed birds milling about.
Strange bird in the Botanical Gardens
Upon exiting the gardens filled with endless manicured lawns, rose gardens and ponds, we came upon tall skyscrapers. Apparently we had emerged into downtown Sydney on a Sunday afternoon. It was a lot like Montgomery Street on a weekend and nobody was in site until we got to Pitt Street, where Vanessa had sent us to find me a replacement for the flat iron I blew up in Hong Kong. To our delight, Pitt Street was a shopaholics oasis filled with Sydney residents looking to get their shopping fix. After purchasing an inexpensive flat iron, Andrew and I stopped at the Queen Victoria Building or as the locals call it, the QVB, where we had some iced coffee and admired the restored 1898 building with its mosaic tile floors and elevated walkways. It was the perfect spot to cool off. Looking at the map over our fantastic iced coffee, we decided to visit the #1 tourist attraction in all of Australia: The Aquarium!
I liked this little guy
The Aquarium was crowded and a little more expensive than we had anticipated, but once inside we found it to be cool and very interesting. It had every bit of sea life from the waters surrounding Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. We meandered through other visitors to see crocs, seals, sharks, turtles, cuttlefish, clown fish and hundreds of other species.
I did not like this shark at the Aquarium
Seeing that we weren't going diving in the Great Barrier Reef this trip, it was the perfect substitute to see everything in one place. 
The stairs we climb to get home: Insult to Injury
Upon exiting the Aquarium, we decided it was time to head back our hotel. We traveled back through Darling Harbor (of Real World fame), through the financial district down Market Street, through Hyde Park, where we snapped some pictures, next to the Botanical Gardens, through Woolloomooloo and up the stairs we have appropriately entitled "Insult to Injury Steps" to Potts Point. Tired and hot we stopped for a glass of wine and a snack at a hip wine bar up the street from our hotel. We then returned to our cool room where we showered and got ready for our dinner with Kate Berkeley.
Kate and Andrew at Hugo's
Kate has been living in Sydney for the past 5 months working in recruiting for VM Ware, a company based out of Palo Alto. She was picking us up at our Hotel at 7pm and taking us out on the town. Having been in bed at 10pm since we left San Francisco, this was going to be a big night out for us. She was taking us to Hugo's in King's Cross where it was Industry Night with $5 drinks and $5 pizza's. Andrew and I were both excited for some pizza and beer, as we had our fair share of pigeon. We stopped at a hipster spot on the way (Lincoln's I think it was called) for a drink, as Hugo's didn't open until 8pm. It was Cuba Libre Night and we had Mojito's and beer and chatted about life in Sydney. Kate filled us in on the lingo here, including the term "Good On Ya" which we think means something like "Good For You" and told us all about the fact that minimum wage is fairly high, so tipping is not necessary unless out at a really nice restaurant. She told us about places to go and things to see and her outings on the town while here.
Me and Kate at Hugo's
We crossed the street to Hugo's where evidently you had to stay cool. I, in my Tory Birch dress and flats did not feel very cool when looking around at the scantily clad 18 year old girls who were certainly looking for a big night out. Kate told us that we could not be the first one in line, we needed to act like we belonged and we needed to find a seat quickly upon entering as good seats go fast. After seeing the first three people get turned away, I didn't hold out much hope, but we successfully did all of the above and had prime seats which were perfect for people watching. Kate got the Pizza's, Andrew got the beer and I looked at the incredibly fit and tan men and women with crossed arms and legs. I am never one to feel insecure, but man, did I feel old! I cannot believe how in shape these people are. This must be one of the most fit cities in the world.
After a few pizza's, a few drinks, watching a girl fall hard right in front of us and seeing far too many see through t-shirt dresses we retreated home where I tried on Andrew's button down and tried on my new Gucci knock off belt from Hong Kong to see how I looked in the mirror. It was not the image I was hoping for. (Andrew is reading this and wants me to describe the T-shirt dresses here: This is Andrew speaking, "Imagine a girl wearing her boyfriends dress shirt with a trendy belt tied around her waist. Add a pair of high heels and voila, you are dressed for a night on the town!") More walking was going to have to be in the forecast for yours truly before visiting the acclaimed Bondi Beach.
We fell asleep around 11pm, which was just enough time for Andrew to get a good 7 hours of sleep. The Pats/Chargers game was on at 7am Sydney time you see and I married a die hard Pats fan, so we had to watch the game! Andrew woke up at 6:15am and with a change of clothes and a comatose "Go Pats" out of me, he was off to Cheers Sports Bar, a bar he had emailed before leaving on our trip to make sure they would be showing the NFL playoff game. Around 9am, I hopped in a cab to meet Andrew just in time for the 3rd quarter. There he was, with his Patriots hat on, surrounded by ex-pats and Australian NFL fans with a beer in hand and a smile on his face. To my utter joy, the Patriots won!!! We all knew they would, but it made me very happy as it was going to be a good day.
Sydney harbour bridge in a drizzle
Shortly after our celebration, we emerged outside to pouring rain... maybe not such a good day after all, but the Pats win would hold us over. It was 10am and we were determined to not let the rain ruin our time in Sydney. After seeking shelter and deciding our game plan, we emerged to scattered showers and decided to walk down to The Rocks, which is immediately beneath Sydney Harbor Bridge. This was where the first European settlement in Australia was formed in the 1700's. Though it seemed to be a bit of a tourist attraction, some of the old world charm is still prevalent and Andrew and I got a little lost as we became distracted by the views of the Opera House and the Bridge.
Loving the Doyle's own beer with my fish and chips
After finding our way, we stopped for a break to watch the Australian Open at one of the numerous outposts in Sydney. After watching a tie breaker in one of the women's quarter-final games we decided to have lunch at the famous Sydney Fish Market. Andrew had been talking about Fish and Chips since Hong Kong and we knew this was going to be our best opportunity to get some. A lot of people had mentioned Doyle's as THE spot to get Fish and Chips, but Andrew and I weren't up for a ferry ride to Watson's Bay, so settled on the Doyle's location at the fish market instead and it was great!
At the fish market in Sydney
After lunch we meandered through all of the shops selling fish, grabbed some salami and bread from a specialty food store and decided to return to our B & B with a bottle of wine to have a late afternoon snack and play domino's. We walked home from the Fish Market, which is actually pretty far, in the sprinkling rain and wandered through our adjacent neighborhood Woolloomooloo.
Our view from dinner
After a nasty game of domino's (I won in a heated battle) and a great Shiraz, we made our way back down to Woolloomooloo to have a harbor side dinner at one of the string of restaurants in the Taj Hotel called Kingsleys steak and crabhouse. The views were to die for and we sat under the heat lamps eating fantastic prawns, burgers and meat pie paired with a great Sav Blanc from a region we plan to visit in New Zealand. We talked extensively to our waitress who desperately wants to go to San Francisco and who told us that Russell Crowe lives right at the end of the pier. We had a wonderful dinner and a great second day in Sydney. We both love it here. Tomorrow is dedicated to the beach at Bondi, with an outdoor movie in the evening. I just hope the weather clears up!
In front of the city harbourside in Woolloomooloo
