Sydney 2007 - Blog

19th Oct 07 - Final Leg

Well, guess this is the final leg of our holiday. Ade was extremely brave on this 1 hour flight to Sydney. Got a taxi to to the Maistri towers. Mmm. Got our first apartment, and went straight to reception and refused the keys. It was with great regret that we were unable to accept the initial apartment. We were given an apartment with a scaffold view - we had booked 12 months in advance and had requested a sea view. After 1.3 hours, we were offered an apartment with a ‘Different’ view. The view from the balcony was, well, let’s just say it was crap. The new apartment was so much better with a more interesting view. Had a stroll around darling harbour and popped in a for a meal in the ice cube restaurant in Darling Harbour where I had a steak and Ade had lobster and fillet steak. Returned to apartment after trailing to find a liquer store for an hour. - James.

20th Oct - Taronga Zoo

Got a ferry this morning from Darling Harbour to Taronga Zoo. Managed to catch some of the animals that we missed last time, and have a look round the new sections that they have added since our visit in 2005. At the minute, they are building another extension to the Zoo, so I guess we will have to come back in a couple of years to see the new section :-).

Got ferry back after looking round the Zoo and went back to our Hotel to get ready to go out for a meal. We ended going to Narita - a Japanese Restaurant on Darling Harbour. I had Yakitori for my started and Ade went for the Oysters. Main course consisted of Seafood and Veg for Ade with Fried Seafood Rice, and I had………..wait for it………..Mushroom Beef. We had to get a bottle of Jacob’s Creek to wash it down with. Had an early night as we had to get up early for our Blue Mountains tour.

21st Oct - Blue Mountains

Had an early start this morning. Our tour bus picked us up at 7am. Our guide (Paul) was a minefield of information! What he didn't know about Australia, it’s animals and it’s fauna isn't worth knowing! Would highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to visit the Blue Mountain area. Our first stop was at Featherdale Wildlife Park where we had breakfast while one of the park’s team members brought round a Koala for us to stroke. This place was more interactive than any of the other Zoo’s that we have been to on this visit. We both had a stoke of the Dingo’s, Kookaburras, Echidna's and any other animal that didn’t run away when we approached.

We then headed off for the Blue Mountain area through Richmond then on a 4 wheel track with a few stops in the Ausie Bush along the way. We stopped at the Imperial Hotel for a spot of lunch before continuing our trip towards the Blue Mountains.

Once we got to the Blue Mountains, we went on the Skyway then the Cableway before a short walk round the Rainforest. Then we went on the Railway to the top and got fantastic view of the Three Sisters.

On our way back to Sydney, we called in at Euroka where we all enjoyed a glass of Champagne while we wandered round looking at the wild Kangaroos and Cockatoo’s. Paul dropped us all of at the Olympic Ferry Terminal where we got the ferry back to Sydney Harbour, then another ferry round to Darling Harbour. Great day out (all 12 hours!) - James.

Website: www.ozeco.com.au - (actual tour company)

Or: http://www.bluemountainsaustralia.com.au/

22nd Oct - The flies are out in force!

Went shopping again today. Called in at the National Opal Museum where we picked up our freebies (we got some vouchers off Paul that entitled us to a free gift at the Opal Museum). We then headed down to Sydney Harbour and stopped at the Portabello Caffe for a spot of lunch (we went there a few times last time we came over and wanted to come back because it was that good!). Only proble with today is that the flies are out in full force :-(

After lunch, we headed off towards the Opera House (did you know that it’s tiled on the outside?), then off to the Sydney Botanical Gardens. At last! I have found the Bat’s I was hoping to see. I never seen any when we were in Cairns - there were loads of them last time, but no sightings this time - until now! They are gorgeous animals, but Sydney is currently having a problem with them and have been given permission to try and stop them roosting in the gardens.

This evening, we went for dinner at the Meat and Wine Company and I had a taste of Kangaroo. Ade ordered the Kangaroo. I have always wanted to try it but didn’t want to order it incase I didn’t like it. It was really tasty, however, I had steak with Chilli sauce. Best steak I have had while we have been over here! - James.

Website: www.themeatandwineco.com

23rd Oct - More Animals!

Headed off down to Darling Harbour again today. Visited the Aquarium where I managed to get a semi-decent photo of a platypus,  then went for some lunch. After lunch, we had a short walk round the harbour, calling in at a few of the shops along the way. We went to watch a couple of 3D movies at the Imax Cinema on the harbour (sea monsters and deep sea), then headed off to the new Australian Wildlife Centre where I eventually got a decent photo of a Cassowary!

24th Oct - Our Anniversary!

Headed off to Sydney Tower this morning to do the SkyWalk. We had to have a breath test before we could go out. We were a bit worried about this as we had a late night on the pop last night, but we both passed and were given out disclaimer forms to sign and shown a short safety video before going in the lift to the top of the tower (270 meters). As we walked round the edge of the tower, the guide gave us info about Sydney and landmarks with a bit of history thrown in for good measure. As we walked out onto the glass platform, I noticed Ade was shaking quite a bit - I put this down to the temperature, and started jumping up and down to see how strong the glass was. I received a ‘glance’ from Ade, and immediately realised it wasn't the temperature that was making him shake, so I stopped jumping on the glass (till he turned away again). The tower is designed to sway up to a meter in strong winds, but unfortunately, today wasn’t windy (just a bit cloudy so we couldn’t see that much of Sydney). Had our photos taken at the top on the glass walkway, and have uploaded it for you all to see (you can see the fear through Ade’s smile on the photo!).

Just going to get ready to go out for our cruise with al-a-carte meal and champagne round Darling Harbour and Sydney Harbour - James.

Feeling a tad hung over this morning, the night cruise around the sights of Sydney Harbour was amazing. It was nice to see how the other half live.

The food was the best we have tasted since arriving in oz, menu below:

James

Adrian

ENTREES
Pacific oysters, fresh salmon and seared green prawns with Waldorf salad

Carpaccio of rare Angus fillet with white bean puree and sage olive oil dressing

Crab and prawn ripieni with light pesto sauce and shaved parmesan

Vegetarian antipasto – marinated mushrooms, flame grilled artichoke hearts, Mediterranean beans and risonne

MAIN COURSES
Fillet of Tasmanian salmon with roast chat potatoes, asparagus frizzled leeks and citrus hollandaise sauce

Supreme of free range chicken roasted with prosciutto, served with polenta and Tuscan style sauce.

Aromatic confit of duck with wild cherry sauce, kumera mash and baby buk choy

Grilled eye fillet of beef with layered dauphinoise potatoes, red onion jam and rich veal jus

Gratin of vegetables with sweet capsicum sauce and asparagus

DESSERTS
Chilled coffee soufflé with chocolate sauce

Chocolate brulee tart with lime bavarois

Vanilla trifle with almond biscotti

King island camembert and classic vintage cheddar with pear paste and water biscuits

Tea & Coffee

Not saying what we had to drink cause there is not enough room on the web page, but going by going on how my heed feels this morning it was a tad too much he he he. On top of this Andrew (Brother-In-Law) decided to send me a message at 2.15am to ask me where the locking nut was for the car wheel, I eventually found the phone after wrecking the apartment looking for it. - Gonna dig you nuts when I get home - Adrian

Skywalk Website: http://www.skywalk.com.au/

Cruise Website: http://www.captaincook.com.au/

25th Oct - Penultimate Night

We spent out penultimate day on the hop on hop off bus that takes you round Sydney for $30 AUD. First, we went to the Opera house and had a quick walk round some of the shops. We had to call into one of the shops for some tissues because I have Australian Man-Flu (like English man-flu but much worse!). After we had finished our quick look round at the shops, we turned and headed off to the Rocks. We had a look for somewhere to eat, but stumbled upon a nice shop that I wanted to have a look in. It was an Opal shop. We had a look round and I asked the assistant if she had any Matrix Opals in, “Yes” she replied. We had a look at some of the Matrix Opals, and I felt my hand creeping towards my back pocket (and Ade’s eyes piercing my every move). Before I knew what was happening, the assistant printed an EPOS receipt and showed me where to sign. Before we left the shop, I was given a sample of opalised rock as a thank you for purchasing the new addition to my gemstone collection.

We left the Rocks (wallet somewhat lighter) and headed off in the Kings Cross direction, again on the hop on hop off. We started looking for somewhere to have a bite to eat, then toilets, and before I knew it we were walking back through the Botanical Gardens near the Opera House. I was tired by this time because I am so ill with Australian man-flu, so I suggested that it was time we went back to the Hotel and started getting ready to go out for our last supper in Sydney.

We went back to the Meat and Wine Co. on Darling Harbour. We had garlic bread for our entrée, then Ade had Angus Steak and King Prawn kebab (it was on a scewer that was about 16 inches long and served with chips!), and I had…..wait for it…...Kangaroo!

I had to have a go at eating poor laal Skippy, and let me tell you, it was fantastic!

Came back to our hotel and started packing for our journey home. A lightning storm passed as we were packing, so had to go out onto our balcony to watch. After it had passed, we came back in, continued packing and toasted our final night with a glass (or two) of our favourite tipple - James.

26th Oct - A Dark Day!

Well, the end of our holiday is upon us. We had a walk round Darling Harbour and Paddy’s Market before setting off to Sydney Airport with yet another maniac driver!

We got to the Airport and checked in our cases and had a look round the Airport while we waited for our flight. The new Airbus landed into Sydney last night, and was due to take off on it’s first voyage from Sydney at 4pm today. We walked round towards the departures lounge and there it was, waiting to set off to Singapore. As we waited for our flight, another thunder storm came across Sydney, which meant all the ground crew walked off the tarmac and this delayed our flight by 90 minutes (and also the departure of the Airbus). Eventually, the storm passed and we got on our plane to Bangkok. While we were taxi-ing along the runway, we watched the Airbus take off. We followed and headed for Bangkok.

Just before we got to Bangkok (10 hours or so after leaving Sydney), we were told by the Pilot that we would have 30 minutes to remove all our belongings from the plane, and go to the departure lounge to get back on the plane with all our belongings for the next leg of our journey. We managed to get 3 ciggies in and pay a visit to the duty free before going to the departure lounge and still having to wait 45 minutes to get back on the plane and head for London.

Eventually we made it onto the plane, and the Pilot said that he would try and make some time up so that we could catch our morning flight from London to Manchester. This time wasn’t made up and we ended up missing our connecting flight. We went to the British Airways desk (after being sent to Terminal 3 instead of Terminal 1 by a stupid woman, that was another 40 minutes), after standing in a queue for 35 minutes we were informed that the earliest flight that they could get us on to Manchester was 1pm. Well you could imagine what our faces looked like. After ringing Dave (Adrian’s dad, who was waiting outside Manchester airport), to inform him that we would not be in Manchester till 2pm Ade was not in the happiest of moods, especially with missing his sleep. We managed to find the way out of the Terminal to have a few cigs which calmed us down a little.

We went back in the terminal and had a couple of Latté’s while we waited for mid-day to arrive (when we were supposed to start boarding our plane). Mid-day came and passed and there was no mention of us boarding our plane, so we just went to the gate and waited. And Waited a little more, some more and then alas! The gate opened, we boarded and sat on the plane for 45 minutes until we got clearance to take off. We were in the air for about 30 minutes, and started making our decent into Manchester. We went to pick our cases up from the baggage area, and while we waited, and waited, and waited, and watched a single black case go round on it’s own a few times, we decided to go to the baggage claim desk to see where our cases were. ‘It’s possible that they might be in London’ we were informed by the most pleasant woman we had seen in 27 hours (well, she had a big grin). So, that was that. We had arrived into Manchester, case-less and in need of a good shower, shave and sleep. We phoned Adrian’s Dad to let him know that we were in Manchester and ready to be picked up (it’s possible that our cases might follow).

At this minute, we are sat in the back of Dave’s car heading North towards the Lake District. The ground looks wet and there is water falling from the sky. Welcome Home!?