Getting There
When airfares are low, a federal holiday provides the perfect excuse for a short international escape. My husband and I took advantage of just such a combination of events over Labor Day weekend and jetted off to Sydney, Australia for a four day excursion.
Delta has offered phenomenal rates to AU all summer and with their double MQM promotion for flights out of Pittsburgh it made sense for us to eschew the local airports (IAD/DCA) in favor of a long drive to depart from PIT. We made the drive the night before our flight (for international flights it is always wise to plan ahead and arrive in the vicinity of one's departure point a day ahead) and were well-refreshed and ready to go on Wednesday morning.
After a set of relaxing flights in first class from PIT-JFK-LAX (complimentary upgrades provided to Delta elite members) we enjoyed dinner out on the town in Los Angeles during our evening layover, courtesy of my uncle Lucien. Travel tip#101 -- reach out to family and friends who reside in your connection cities to bring a little joy to your layovers.
Back at the airport, we boarded our jet for the longest plane ride we'd even taken to date: approximately fifteen hours. Fortunately, Delta offers 'on demand' movies and music, which kept us entertained during the portions of the flight where we were not sleeping. Let me take the time to recommend the movie 'Keeping Up With the Joneses' -- it was one of the best movies I've seen in awhile.
Somewhere above the Pacific we lost Thursday (fourteen hour time change) before the plane eventually descended. I had been listening to relaxing 'spa sounds' during the descent so I arrived in Sydney refreshed despite the long flight and I was excited about the possibilities of this adventure. My first trip to Australia! My first trip to the Eastern hemisphere! I grinned as I saw the landmark Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge in the distance. I was looking forward to the people we would meet, the beauty we would see laid out before us and the new culinary experiences I was surely destined to enjoy. I was ready to drink it all in and take Sydney into a little part of my heart the way Paris, Rome, Machu Picchu, Luzerne and so many other places have been collected. When you travel, it changes you. Travel opens your eyes to possibilities you've never imagined and allowed you to forges connections with the locals as well as your fellow tourists. It breeds a sense of kinship among us all and we are the better for it.
I planned our trip itinerary with an eye toward experiencing Sydney as a couple and building memories together but all of the stops and highlights are certainly appropriate for singles and families as well. I used a couple of popular travel guidebooks and spent several hours constructing our schedule but tourists can also pass this work onto tour companies, such as Globus or Trafalgar, (see below for links) if they'd rather leave the work of planning to someone else and free themselves up exclusively for enjoying the trip.
Walking in Sydney
The first thing we did was transfer to our hotel and check-in. We'd already studied the transportation options when researching the trip and knew that we'd be taking the train (airport link fare) to the city centre (Townhall stop) as our hotel was just a few blocks away from that particular station. Visitors planning to take in several sites in or around Sydney will benefit from the MyMulti 1, 2 or 3 pass which allows for unlimited rail, bus and ferry travel within designated zones. MyMulti 3 is required for example for visitors who wish to include the Blue Mountains in their travel zone.
After we'd checked in at our hotel, we set off walking to tour the historical buildings adjacent to the domain. Walking in Sydney is as much a mental exercise as physical due to the right-left reversal in movement paths (whereas we walk and drive on the right in America, Australians do so on the left). I would eventually bump head-on into several local residents before the trip concluded.
New South Wales
We wove our way through Parliament and the State Library of New South Wales as we traveled along Macquarie Street. Although the Parliament staff did not have any guided tours scheduled the morning of our visit, the gentleman who normally presents historical speeches on the Australian parliament was kind enough to give us a presentation. Most impressive detail of the presentation: The Governor General of Australia is seated at the request of the Queen of England and has the power to dissolve the entire Australian Parliament and House of Representatives. The State Library features a historic reading room with exquisite architecture and is open to the public. It's definitely a must-see for all Sydney visitors. We also passed the Sydney Mint, St. James Church and the Hyde Park Barracks but did not carve out time in our schedule to tour these buildings.
Next we visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales in the early afternoon. It houses the most extensive collection of European art in Sydney and is fixed in the middle of the Domain (which is a large park near Sydney's city centre). The gallery also manages an impressive collection of Aboriginal art. Working off a tip from a local resident, we took lunch in the gallery's café, sampling the daily meat pie special. Meat pies are a Sydney staple, often consisting of beef and potato or chicken and leek within a flaky pastry crust.
The rest of our afternoon passed slowly as we meandered through the beautiful botanical gardens that front the harbor. There are many green spaces sprinkled throughout Sydney for the enjoyment of residents and visitors. Although we did not come across any squirrels we saw many varieties of birds including magpies, cranes, and birds that looked akin to teradactyls (I am not kidding!). Within the park is also the historic Macquarie's Chair. This is a bench facing the open harbor and was carved into the sandstone by convicts in the early 1800's for the pleasure of Governor Macquarie's wife. The park itself is nearly two hundred years old (celebrating in 2016) and is well maintained throughout all seasons of the year.
The Opera House
After a quick dip into our hotel room to freshen up, we walked the short distance to the Opera House where we were met with a lovely sunset. We nibbled hors d'oeuvres and enjoyed a glass of wine alongside the harbor before taking our seats inside the Opera House for an evening performance of Pirates of Penzance.
The comedic performance was spectacular with excellent singing and dancing and the Opera House itself exhibits stunning architectural design. Although we enjoyed the show tremendously, we were definitely beginning to tire after the full day of touring and were glad to slip into our hotel bed for a good night's rest.
Hyde Park
Our second day in Sydney began with a modest run across the Domain and through the Botanical Gardens at sunrise. I felt bright-eyed and energized! What a great way to start the day.
On the way back to the hotel I literally danced across Hyde Park, victorious in my run and thrilled to be in Australia. The giant chess pieces adorning the park are pretty neat and take the park in a completely different artistic direction from ordinary city squares.
Bondi Beach
We stopped for a quick breakfast (sandwiches at McDonald's as nothing else was open yet downtown) before our trip to Bondi beach. Transportation tip: take the train to Bondi junction then transfer to bus 381 for the beach. Bondi beach is crescent shaped and dotted with surfers even in the late winter of September (seasons are reversed in the eastern hemisphere).
The biggest waves I've ever seen crashed over the beach in rapid succession. Instead of breaking into white foamy crests these powerful waves rolled right onto shore.
We followed the cliffside path from Bondi south. We were greeted with stunning views of the Pacific ocean along our entire route through Bronte and onto Clovelly beach. Although the path we took was moderately easy, there are several steps involved preventing me from labeling it stroller or wheelchair friendly should visitors require those accessories. We made the effort to wade into the water â a bit too chilly yet to swim but acceptable for sticking a foot in to say we stood in the waters of the western Pacific. Along the way we also passed a few oceanfront surf clubs that boasted infinity lap pools that kissed the ocean at their edges. We watched as occasionally the sea waves would crash over the edge of the pool and roll toward the swimmers.
We passed through a seaside cemetery just before Clovelly beach and then caught a bus back to Bondi junction. For lunch we passed on Australian cuisine this day and opted for fresh sushi for takeaway instead (In Australia you order food 'for takeaway', not 'to go') before walking the famed Oxford street all the way back to the Paddington neighborhood (at least a mile and a half) where we visited the arts and crafts market and perused the streetfront shops. I picked up some pretty trinkets and artwork to take back to the States as mementos of the trip. Most of the market vendors take major credit cards. While standing at the bus stop for our return to downtown Sydney we learned a valuable lesson- buses will NOT stop at designated locations even if persons are waiting unless those persons put out their hand to hail the bus (akin to hailing a cab). We had at least two buses pass by us before we figured this out and our feet were really beginning to tire after two days of sightseeing on foot.
We chose dinner downtown near our hotel again, this time at a local hangout popular with the college set called the Star Bar. It's a pub serving steaks primarily and the food was good. There was a steady stream of music videos from the 1990s playing on a large television in one corner of the seating area to keep us entertained. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at an Asian ice cream shop to people watch after hours. Imagine Baskin Robbins but with exotic flavors like bean paste and Thai coconut instead of vanilla and chocolate chip. For the most part nightlife in Sydney is similar to the States except that the drinking age is eighteen which leads to a lot of older teens milling about the streets outside bars at one a.m. dancing, singing and generally behaving in tipsy good fun (whereas in the States the young adults under 21 must do these things in secret after getting sloshed behind closed doors while Mom and Dad are away).
Our second evening concluded with us watching Australian television from the comfort of our hotel room. I feel strongly that tourists can get a handle on local culture by sampling the popular tv shows. We were watching Australian football and were delighted to learn that when players commit a foul they are sent to the 'naughty corner'. What a hoot!
Harbour Bridge
Manly Ferry
Later we took a ferry to Manly (trendy beachside community) and walked down to the beach and then from the ferry dock along the ocean. The weather was perfect and the people were friendly. We treated ourselves to fried barramundi (fish and chips for the win!) for lunch and bubble smoothies for an afternoon pick-me-up before returning to downtown Sydney.
That evening we feasted on traditional meat pies again for dinner and headed to bed early so that we'd be prepared to hike the next day.
Final Day
Govetts Leap Waterfall
Katoomba Falls and Scenic World
After we'd taken in the view and taken many photos, we accepted the kindness of strangers in the form of a ride back to the train station where we hopped on the train heading to Sydney and disembarked at Katoomba to purchase tickets for the Blue Mountain Explorer bus. This tour bus is a hop on/off service that follows a circular route along the major attractions of the Blue Mountains (http://www.explorerbus.com.au).
We decided to hop off the bus first at Katoomba Falls and walked our way to Scenic World (http://www.scenicworld.com.au).
At Scenic World visitors can (and we did) ride the world's steepest incline railroad and take a return cable car back up the mountain after hiking in the valley rainforest. Extra bonus: more wild cockatoos. Although we did not opt to do so, visitors can also take a glass bottomed cable car across the canyon for an affordable price. We had the amazing luck to catch a full rainbow while we photographed the view from the visitor's shop platform after lunch.
Three Sisters and Bridal Veil Falls
We got back on the bus and hopped off again at stop number fifteen to walk from Honeymoon Lookout to Three Sisters (rock formation) and Echo Point (scenic lookout).
Again we got on the bus and again we got off, this time at stop sixteen and hiked past Bridal Veil Falls and Leura Cascades.
Back on the bus our final stop was Leura village. We relaxed over a leisurely and delicious dinner at The Red Door Café (Thai cuisine) in Leura before boarding the train to return to Sydney.
Tuesday morning we checked out of the hotel and made our way back to the airport for our flight back to the States. This short taste of Australia wetted our appetite for a return journey. We would like to visit Australia again in 2011 for a longer vacation -- perhaps concentrating on Melbourne and its surrounding areas next time.
