Sydney Days 1 & 2

Well, you heard about our Uber trip to Melbourne Airport. The flight was good and we were served coffee and biscuits.We checked in at Melbourne Airport using the self check in and self bag drop and it worked, almost seamlessly. It was so much simpler to get to our Sydney accommodation using the airport train than it was in Melbourne. In fact, so much easier, we were early, and we jumped off the the train at Central to change my Opal Adult public transport card to an Opal Senior card. I left R on the platform while I went off in search of the place to change my card. I travelled up and down and along and eventually found a place on the Grand Concourse of Sydney Central where my card might be changed. Oh no, the chap told me. You need to go to the place under the clock tower to do that, and then he launched into a long diatribe about how his area can't do a thing and Sydney Trains are trying to get his department closed and leaving him without a job. Hello, I am feeling a bit stressed. I don't really want to know about this.

With the knowledge that the next train to Museum was soon due, I rushed back to R with our bags on Platform 21......or was that 22. My timing was perfect. Long walks, stairs, lifts and escalators were involved, but no Senior Opal card. Manyana.

I had decided to not wear a jacket to travel but just wear a long sleeved shirt. It wasn't that warm in Melbourne but I was feeling a bit warm. Because we delayed our arrival, I did not call our hostess 20 minutes before our arrival. The last time we stayed there she was quite late meeting us. I called her once we were at our accommodation. Her phone went to voice mail and I left a message. We sat in very comfortable chairs with me reading a book on my birthday present Kindle and R just stared around. Occasionally we spoke. After sitting there for so long, I called her again and she answered and was just a few minutes away. We did not realised at the time, but we saw her arrive earlier on a scooter, that is a foot propelled scooter. She had a new phone and did not get my message. She found my message as we went up in the lift. Our last visit had her chatting to us in great detail and showing us photos of her at Mardi Gras in an outfit. This time I was determined to cut her short and I did. She is nice Russian born lady and has a very dry sense of humour.

Gosh, it is warm in here. OMG, my phone tells me it 35 degrees outside. No wonder I was feeling hot and bothered. And then what I call in Melbourne a southerly buster, came through in Sydney, and it was suddenly cooled.

We went out for provisions. Rainbow flags in Oxford Street. No surprise about that..

Oh yes, I remember the glass swimming pool from our last visit.

We couldn't get the studio where have twice stayed, but this place was ok. Not flash, but adequate.

The next morning Google Maps gave me a step by step direction to Toast Cafe in Surry Hills. Grace of Perth Daily Photo was in Sydney visiting her son and grandchildren and we caught up with her for coffee, like two cups and nearly two hours later we left. Grace is just so lovely, warm and entertaining. From the cafe we walked on to Central Station. I had a mind to go to Chatswood, mainly because it is a big place in Sydney, but primarily because there are great Harbour views from the train on the trips back. But travel time on the train 41 minutes, forget it.

How good is the greenery on this building. Maybe I am looking across Railway Square.

The Grand Concourse of Sydney Central is grand. We have nothing like that at home at our train stations. Christmas trees were up already.

Oddly, on the Grand Concourse I easily found the place to get my Senior Opal Card, but I can't transfer my balance from my Adult Card. There will be more on that, but I then had my Senior Opal card, with public transport capped at $2.50 per day. Business done, we caught the train to Bondi Junction. It is worth clicking on this photo to see the accidently caught woman's expression. The mural was interesting too.

I think it was called The Harbour Food Court. The views from the Westfield shopping centre were amazing. R had forgotten to bring his tracksuit pants that he likes to slouch around in at home. I don't like them, but he found a cheap pair at the shopping centre.

Bus back home to our hotel and now we look at Jacarandas in bloom down Riley Street.

Then it was down the very steep Francis Street to Lord Robert's Hotel in Riley Street for dinner. It has a very pleasant outdoor area but it was cool enough for us to need jackets.

We are from Melbourne and we are not used to steep hills and they exhaust us. We enviously look at local residents walking up hills so effortlessly. I avoided walking back up Wentworth Avenue in the morning, instead walking on flat ground to Central. While we had to get back to our studio from the hotel, we took a longer route back with gentler slopes, up Riley Street and along Liverpool Street. We slept well.