to mention to the desk man that we were on honeymoon and he gave us eight free drink tickets for the airplane. Score! To be fair, I should mention that this was just after we realized we were supposed to apply for Visas to get into Australia and didn't do so prior to showing up at the airport... Thank goodness for B's mama's iPhone and the fact that the Visas are electronic!
After two short plane rides and a third, offering 15 PAINFUL hours in a seat from LA to Sydney - 1/4 sleeping 3/4 being pissed off that we couldn't - we arrived in the Sydney Airport. Customs was a breeze and we caught a bus to the hotel, no problem! We arrived at the hote
l around 10 a.m., but check-in wasn't until 3, so we walked around, went to some book stores (to find a travel book), and found a little piece of heaven called the Australian Square Food Court. There, we ate freshly made sushi rolls and Greek food, and drank fresh-squeezed strawberry-mango-orange juice. Yum! With full stomachs, we decided to find something to do. We found the Sydney Botanical Gardens where the entry sign read "Please walk on the grass, hug the trees, and talk to the birds." So we walked on the grass, took a bunch of pictures of birds and bats, and smelled the proverbial roses. Then went back to the hotel and promptly passed out cold for 13 hours... We woke up around 5 a.m. and could not possibly sleep any more.So we flipped on the TV, watched CNN, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and several other American programs before watching the sun rise over Sydney from our 22nd story hotel window. After about an hour of lounging, we
decided to get out of our room. We went outside to find no hustle or bustle... It took only a second to realize it is Saturday and no one is working! With most of the area closed, we went out in search of breakfast. There was a take away place right by the hotel, but it was 10 bucks a plate - a little more than we were looking to spend (after realizing it's going to cost us hundreds of dollars to get out of Sydney in a couple days), so on we walked... Downtown Sydney looks like any other big city - tall buildings, street sweepers, lots of concrete... We were walking around aimlessly and finally saw a McDonald's... so we caved and spent almost the same amount there. LOL...
After breakfast, we walked around the Circular Quay - the walkway along the harbour that offers views of the Opera House, Botanical Gardens, Harbour Bridge, ferries, restaurants, shops, etc. We went to the opera house and bought standing room tickets for the 1 p.m. showing of the Marriage of Figaro for 42 bucks! We walked around a bit more and when it opened at 10, went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which was free!
After the museum, a walk back to the hotel, and a quick lunch (more sushi and Thai food), we walked back over to the opera house. I
sweet-talked the usher into letting us sit down, so we got standing room prices for actual seats, which would have been $105! Thank goodness we did, as we would have been standing for four hours straight! The opera was magnificent - funny, witty, beautiful - a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yay!!After all that fun, we were looking for a good, cheap pub. We asked the hotel concierge where we could find one... He informed us that we were looking at $25 a plate for a plate of fish and chips - and beers would be expensive too. We couldn't really convey that we were poor, so we decided to walk somewhere else and
ask a random stranger... After about 15 minutes of walking, we asked a bookstore worker, and she told us to go to Newtown. Finally, some direction! After a 15-minute subway ride, here we are - at the Basil Bistro inside the Sandringham Hotel - where we had a HUGE plate of fish and chips for $12 and a glass of beer for $5. The band just stopped playing, but they were AWESOME! Two dudes with slide guitars, playing old blues covers. Fantastico!Now to get off of here and enjoy my brew!
