Mostly Fine in Sydney

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As expected, we arrived in Sydney very early and not quite so bright eyed and bushy tailed!  What do you expect after a 14 hour flight?  I did get to see a few good movies and even sneak in a few hours of sleep.  Not too bad I think.

We headed straight away for the Lord Nelson.  Being so early in the morning, the pub was not open yet, but we managed to get in the side door.  Our friends Steve and Tanya  were up and raring to go.  Thank goodness they were patient enough to let us shower and freshen up before starting the day.

Do you have Vermouth?

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Most people would think that after a 14 hour flight that started at 11:00 pm would mean we might take a rest....well, who needs to think anyway!  We headed straight out to the Rocks weekend market.  Lots of kitchy stuff and yummy samples to treat along the day.  Our first meal started with Pure Bavarian Fun! (or so the restaurant would have us believe.)  The schnitzel was good though, especially with beer!

Once our stomachs were satisfied we headed off to Olympic park for a stroll in the Chinese gardens.  Somehow when we were here last time, we missed them.  They were lovely, and we had perfect weather.  You'd never know it was winter here!  It was a strange mixture of serene garden in the middle of a busy cosmopolitan city with sky scrapers lining the trees and bamboo.

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By now, I was beginning to feel every hour I'd been awake the last few days.  I couldn't slow down yet, because we were meeting with some friends from California who had recently moved here.  We walked to a great bar at the Australian hotel nearby in the Rocks, had pizza and of  course more good beer.   Todd, recently getting into the mixed drink scene checked out the bar and was disappointed to find they didnt' stock vermouth.  Oh well, no manhattans for him! Greg and Linda made sure we tried some of the best beer at the bar, so his disappointment didn't last long.

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I must say, even though we got back to our rooms at only 9pm, I went straight to sleep and stayed that way for some time!  Thankfully I woke up refreshed and ready to go the next morning (well, maybe not my feet)

Day 2 we lucked out again and had beautiful weather.  Knowing we could get bad weather, Todd and I set out for the shopping district to look for a jacket for him.  Being sunday and early, there wasn't much to be found.  The QVB was a nice experience though.  Later, we met Linda and Geoff again and we took the ferry out to Telstra stadium for a Rugby game (Bulldogs vs Raiders).  It was fun, but we all felt bad for the Raiders.  The final score was 54 to 4.  Ouch!  Little known fact about getting to Telstra, the ferry may be beautiful, but the walk from the ferry station to the stadium is a few miles...ooh! no rest for the weary feet!  Next time, we take the train!  Geoff and Linda took us to a favorite restaurant of theirs - Nepalese.  Ymm!

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Day 3 we split up a bit.  Tanya and Steve headed to the Taronga zoo while Todd and I headed back to the Botanical gardens and Hyde park.  Cant beat the home of 11,000 fruit bats!  We found a bar in the CBD to eat lunch, and they actually had Vermouth.  Although the bartender was a little confused as to what would be made with it.  At 3pm we met with Steve and Tanya for the Opera house tour. By now, the wind was kicking up, and a little drizzle was making an appearance.  This was a great time for an inside tour.  The opera house was as beautiful on the inside as out, and Tanya even got the opportunity to sing! (Might I say, much better than I would have!).  Coming back that evening we decided to get caught up in a total tourist trap and pay way too much $$ to go into a bar for 30 minutes.  It was called 5 below.  We all had to don winter coats with fur hats, gloves and special boots to enter.  Everything inside was ice, including the edible glasses.  Was it surprising we all drank Icebreakers inside?

Day 4 saw us traveling to the Blue Mountains.  Todd and I had been before, so it was mostly the same.  We did get to stop off at a non organized spot with an amazing view and no rails (look ma!  No Hands!).  We also got to stop at a park with Kangaroos wandering about.  It seemed strange to get so up close to them.  No one even got boxed!  Most of the day was cold and overcast, but we all dressed well and enjoyed the view.  We ended the day in a pub for dinner - no vermouth!

Finally we have made it to Manly beach.  The ferry ride here was very cold and overcast and we definitely made use of our raingear.  Fortunately, the clouds cleared quickly and we have another beautiful day.  My hat is happily getting a work out, but I don't think I'll join the surfers today.  Tomorrow we are off early to Cairns and much warmer weather.  I think we'll finally be able to break out the shorts!