Luggage Tag...: Sydney

Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Woolloomooloo

Trip date: February 2017

It was hard leaving Hayman Island but the upside was I had three more days in Sydney! Gail and I had rented a very cute Airbnb in the Woolloomooloo neighborhood, which besides being a great location is also pretty fun to say!

It was easy to walk down to the wharf that first night back to browse the various restaurants. We chose Otto and had a very nice dinner outside on their terrace. Sitting outside in February... ahhhh!

Gail and I both spent the next morning working from the coffee shop on the corner with a couple of flat whites. Flat whites are what everyone in Australia drinks; I couldn't tell you exactly how they differ from my typical latte but they are delicious!

After ditching the laptops we headed out for a nice long walk from our 'hood to Circular Quay and then over to The Rocks, a cute area with lots of shops and restaurants.

We stopped for a glass of wine and took in the scenery before heading to the ferry landing and catching one of the cute boats to Manly. The ferry ride was gorgeous and Manly has a lot of activity going on.

We walked down the main street, the Corso, past lots of shops (many of them selling men's swim bikinis known as Budgy Smugglers!) The Corso leads straight to the beach where sunbathers, surfers, and swimmers all share the sand and the sea.

Our lunch table at The Pantry gave us a great view of it all. Add in some cold rosé and delicious fish and chips, it was a great stop!

After lunch, we grabbed a quick mani/pedi and then Uber'd over to Mosman to spend the evening at Dave & Rachel's. Some friends of theirs came over and we had a great night drinking champagne and eating pizza. As you do!

The next morning, after Gail and I got some work done at our coffee shop, we walked to Willie's apartment in Darlinghurst. It's a very nice neighborhood and not very far from Woolloomooloo. The three of us Uber'd to Bronte Beach where we started one of the most stunning walks I have been on!

On the 3km walk, we passed incredible views of the sea, surfers, rock formations, and stunning homes. We arrived at Bondi Beach and headed to the terrace at Icebergs for a spritz before going downstairs into the swank dining room for a fabulous lunch.

The dining room looks over the stunning oceanside pool which is open year around. It doesn't get much prettier than this view! Paired with a decadent lunch, wines, and friends... a slice of heaven!

Fueled by a bit of wine, we did a little shopping in Paddington before Gail and I returned to Woolloomooloo to pack. Ugh, my 3 weeks in Australia was quickly coming to an end. But not before we headed back out with Willie for cocktails at The Barbershop. Which you enter, you guessed it, from an actual barbershop.

The bar is dim and offers a huge list of gins. Our cocktails were great and even though The Barbershop hasn't made it onto The World's 50 Best Bars, I much preferred it to The Baxter Inn.

We had a really lovely last dinner at Felix Cafe, a cute French bistro with outside tables, down a little side street in the CBD. The entire day was just super fun and a great way to wrap up my trip.

The next morning we checked out of our Airbnb and made our way to Rachel's, who would be driving me to the airport. Gail and I walked down to The Beach House at Balmoral Beach where we had some lovely breakfast and flat whites while getting our morning work done.

Rachel drove me to the airport where I checked into the Quantas Business Class lounge to do a bit more work with a glass of champagne. The trip had been so much fun, and I obviously just scratched the surface of Australia. But not to worry as I already have a list started for the next trip!

It was an easy trip home, comfy in my Quantas pj's on the 747 with a spacious 2-2 seat configuration. I experienced major delays in SFO but nothing like my trip over!

Thanks for a great time Australia!

All Sydney photos here

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

An American Down Under

Trip date: February 2017

I was 1 ½ days late but I was finally in Sydney! And I was staying at Dave and Rachel's beautiful home in Mosman with stunning views of Balmoral Bay. Very, very lovely.

After picking me up from the airport Dave had some errands to run so I took a very refreshing swim in their pool, unpacked, and relaxed.

That evening Rachel and I took the incredibly cute Mosman ferry across Sydney Harbor and into the city. Sydney is obviously well known for its iconic skyline and for good reason, it is beautiful!

We were going to a movie at the St. George OpenAir Cinema and had a bit of time to wander around the waterfront and stop for a drink at the Opera House outdoor bar first.

Then we made our way around the park to the theater grounds. Rachel had gotten us special tickets so we were able to have dinner and wine in the outdoor lounge before seeing the show, the premiere of the documentary Whiteley.

It was an absolutely gorgeous night, the film was super interesting, and the 30-foot screen which rose from the harbor was a bit surreal. I barely noticed my jet lag! If you get a chance to get tickets to a film here it is really a special experience and I'd absolutely recommend it!

The next morning, after a few hours of work, I walked down to Balmoral Beach and had some sun, sand, and sea time. The beach was almost mine to myself; unheard of! I also had to walk back up the fairly steep hill so I had some exercise too!

Dave took me to The Boathouse for lunch. It sits right on the pier and is super cute and casual. And my fish and chips were delicious! Great spot if you are in Balmoral.

It was Rachel's birthday and that evening they were having some people over for drinks and a casual dinner, so after our lunch, Dave and I ran around the neighborhood picking up things from the deli, florist, bakery, etc. The area is filled with cute shops!

The night was filled with lots of champagne, wine, sausage sizzles, and celebrating! It was great to be there for Rachel's birthday and so fun to catch up with friends!

It had been really hot since I landed and the next day was a record scorcher at 102F! Rachel and I took her youngest daughter to ballet and then did a short walk along the cliffs of Georges Heights, it was much too hot to do one of the longer cliff hikes; there were actual warnings to keep kids and pets inside.

The next morning I was heading to Melbourne (I'd be back in Sydney in about 1 ½ weeks) so that night Dave, Rachel, and I headed out on the Mosman ferry again and into the city.

First up were cocktails at the newly opened PS40 that Dave had just heard about. We had really delicious drinks here and the service was super nice! They were still in the process of building their full program which I'm sure is completely running now. I'd check it out if you're in the Central Business District (CBD) area.

Round two was the much-lauded Baxter Inn which is hidden in an alley and down a set of grimy stairs. I was excited to try this cocktail bar as it has been on the World's 50 Best Bars for the last couple of years, this year coming in at 45. But for me, it was too loud, too American, too old west, too theme-y. The drinks were very good and their Scotch list is ridiculous so YMMV.

We had a really delicious dinner at Mr. Wong also in the CBD. The space here is uber cool, and the menu was fun. Not to mention my top-notch tour guides!

I still hadn't eaten kangaroo, Pavlova, or an Aussie meat pie but I had had a small taste of this beautiful city and I was looking forward to coming back after traveling around a bit, and trying more!

Sydney photos here

Sunday, October 29, 2017

The Longest Way to Oz

Trip date: February 2017

Sometimes I feel like I haven't been to the "normal" places that people travel to, such as the case with Australia. But I knew I'd go, especially as a small group of friends who I met when they lived in Seattle has been moving back to their homeland over the last years. And with one of them having a birthday approaching I announced my plans to finally travel down under!

With a 15 hour flight from the west coast, crossing the international dateline, and a 17 hour time difference I decided to splurge and purchased a Business Class ticket on Qantas (which I had never flown before.) I was excited!

The Monday morning I was to fly SEA to SFO to SYD I woke up to snow! Anyone who's ever been in Seattle when there is snow knows that everyone freaks out and the city pretty much closes down. I sat in the Alaska Air 1st class lounge for 2 hours before they announced my flight was going to be delayed 5 hours and I most likely would not make my connection in SFO. Ugh.

A friend of mine drove down to the airport and met me for wine and dinner which helped to break up the time. Finally the flight took off and as we landed in SFO we were told that the Quantas flight had been delayed and was still at the gate! Great news! But after 2 more hours of sitting in the (crap) Business Lounge, they announced that due to mechanical issues the flight was canceled and we'd have to stay overnight.

Instead of queuing up to have the airline shuttle me to some random hotel, I used the Hotel Tonight app and booked my own within the guidelines of the reimbursement amounts.

I checked into the Sheraton 4 Points near SFO and was finally in bed at 2:30am. So far it had been 10 hours and I'd made it from Seattle to San Fran.

Tuesday I woke up, had some breakfast in the restaurant, did some work from my room, and tried desperately to get a hold of anyone at Quantas who could tell me the status of my flight and also where my luggage was.

Finally an agent on the phone suggested that I rebook as she felt that the rescheduled flight was going to be canceled again, still due to mechanical issues. If I wanted to stay Business Class I'd need to fly SFO to LAX to Brisbane to Sydney. Jesus.

I had negotiated a 4pm checkout and at that time I took the hotel shuttle to the airport where my first task was to track down my bag. Since no one from Quantas was at the airport (they had indeed canceled the only flight out) I went to the Alaska Air office and talked them into finding my bag. Success!

Next to the American Air check-in counter where I checked my bag, got my boarding passes to LA and then on to Brisbane, and then talked my way into a pass at the American Admiral Club. I had 2+ hours to wait and I was focused on the guacamole bar and drinking for free during my wait!

7:45pm I flew to LAX. I had another 2 hours before my flight to Australia which I passed in the very nice Qantas Lounge.

11:30pm Tuesday night, time to board my 747 to Oz. My Business Class seat was very cushy. I was handed a Kate Spade toiletries bag and also a pair of cotton pajamas. PAJAMAS!!! And after my multi-course dinner, wine, and cognac the flight attendant set up my lay-flat chair with a mattress!!!

32 hours after leaving my house in Seattle I was finally on my 14-hour flight to Brisbane. It was a very comfortable flight, most of it spent asleep in my Qantas pajamas on my lay-flat mattress.

I landed in BNE on Thursday and even though they have an automated customs process which is super quick, I had to recheck my bag and get to a different terminal for my domestic flight and it was too close of a connection. So the flight was missed but luckily they run flights hourly.

I had some breakfast and coffee in the Business Lounge before my last 2-hour flight of the journey and finally landed in Sydney. 1 ½ DAYS LATE!

My friend Dave met me at baggage with a luggage cart, a bottle of champagne, and a bouquet of flowers. And somehow that made the 2 canceled flights, 2 delayed flights, 1 missed flight, 4 actually flown flights, 1 hotel, and 5 airports not really matter much. I was in Australia for pretty much the month of February and couldn't wait to catch up with my friends and see their country!