It's going to be a very long day....
Up at 0430 and worked on catching up on the blog (I was way behind). Too busy enjoying our adventure down under.
We're mostly packed up. Just a few remaining toiletry items to go after we're showered and dressed. Yesterday, we reserved a shuttle bus ride to the International Terminal leaving at 0710 this morning. Wasn't quite sure how things would go at the airport so, built in some cushion ahead of our 1030 scheduled takeoff to San Francisco.
Downstairs by 0650. Checked out. Our bill for these 2 days: $14AU - Go Reward Points - the cost of our shuttle bus ride! Shuttle ride tickets in hand, went to stand outside in the cool, clear blue sky day. There are 2 shuttles to the airport, 1 for domestic and 1 for international. They were both towing small covered trailers that are used to load your luggage into, instead of taking up space in the bus itself. Good idea.
Boarded and left on time via one other intermediate stop at another hotel to pick up a few more travelers. Traffic at this time of the morning was quite heavy. People going to work and plenty going to the airport. Our driver was pleasant enough and turned out to be a very aggressive driver... he'd obviously been doing this for a while. Thank goodness!
Because of all the construction to roads going on around the airport and heavy volume on this morning, the traffic queuing up for the International Terminal was backing way up! I could see why it might take you hours, according to our driver, just to get a few miles depending on conditions and why, one might pay through the nose using an Opal card to take a train 1 stop from Mascot Station to the International Terminal.
Fortunately, perhaps luckily, our driver waited until the very last moment to swerve across two lanes to get over to the far left into the on ramp leading to the International Terminal. He was aided by a large truck blocking some of the flow near the on ramp. It was certainly a 'sporty' move and there was some nervous laughter going on in the bus. Even still, the traffic flow into the departures area was very heavy. Our driver was finally able to find a spot to pull over and park at the very end of the departures terminal by 0740. We all got off, retrieved our luggage and went into the terminal - it was a mass of humanity!
Our ticketing counter was at the opposite end of departures, a good hike, and very slow going in the packed ticketing area. We went back outside, there was much more room to maneuver, and quickly made our way to ticket counter B.
Check in via kiosk wasn't bad. Had to check in separately because Rosie's passport info wasn't updated in this system. Took care of that at the kiosk, tagged our bags, printed out our boarding passes and, walked over to the bag drop area. They really do treat you deferentially when you're flying First Class or Business First. After we'd dropped our bags, we were passed 2 Express Gold tickets that put us on a separate, fast track, through Customs and Security screening. Much of the Customs processing is automated here in Sydney. Rosie made it through easily. I believe the screening device got annoyed with me because I had to remove my hat and it didn't like the fact that my sunglasses were hanging down on my chest. That, or my processing may have just taken too long. I was shunted over to the 'naughty' Customs manual processing line where an actual Customs officer reviewed by documents and passed me through. Not a big deal, just an extra step for me.
Security screening also took less time as Business First travelers. I only had to take out my laptops, any liquids and to empty my pockets before going through the full body x-ray machine. I was caught with a mechanical pencil in my shirt pocket (which I forgot about since we were moving so quickly) and the agent there just winked at me and put me through. As I was gathering my things, Rosie, who'd gone through a normal x-ray machine, was selected to be screened for explosive particulates - she passed just fine.
Both of us now through processing, we looked around. Once you come out of screening you're funnelled through one of the biggest, most sprawling Duty Free areas I've ever seen. It was just a pass through for us but, many travelers were availing themselves to the assortment of products being sold. After you get through Duty Free, things open up in the terminal and the sights and sounds become almost overwhelming. There's so much going on. Tons of shops and eateries will all types of interesting wares including one venue that was selling Tim Tams and Vegemite! We would have bought more of that but, we had no place to carry any more. Travelers all over the place! Continued walking, slowly, trying to decipher the signage over to our area of the Terminal.
As a Business First travelers, we were invited to take advantage of the associated lounges throughout the airport. We were allowed to use any of the lounges that were Star Alliance partners of United. United did not have a lounge here in the International Terminal. Eventually found the right path that took us towards our gate and where the Business First lounges were. The 3 lounges in our section of the terminal were up on the second deck, so we escalatored up. Of the 3 we could either pick from, the Air New Zealand lounge or the Singapore Air lounge, we chose to relax in the Singapore Air lounge and were greeted warmly at reception. Time 0810. We had 1+30 before boarding time at Gate 50.
Plenty of comfortable seating, restrooms with showers, reading material, large screen TV, flight alerts and, a great view to the workings of the airfield. As is true with most International lounges, the complimentary food/beverage offerings were so much better than in the U.S. Singapore Air's breakfast offerings were primarily Asian focused and delicious. You could chose from hot and cold items, pot stickers, noodles, a quiche, hot or cold cereals, pastries, all kinds of toppings and, plenty of hot and cold beverages and some Asian offerings I didn't recognize. They also offered up free WiFi which was much appreciated.
We left the lounge at 0930 to head down to Gate 50. Our ride today would be a B787-9 Dreamliner - took a few photos of her. Looking forward to it having never been on one. We were in row 2, seats K/L. As scheduled we would land in San Francisco 3hrs before we took off from Sydney on this Thursday, September 21! Messes with the mind a bit. As we approached the gate, there was an airline official inspecting travel documentation before admitting you in to the gate area. Rosie and I went to queue up in the Group 1 boarding line which was already starting to build. Boarding started right on time and we walked through a fairly long jetway into the plane and made a left. Our cubes were on the starboard side, way forward. I'm in aisle, Rosie in the window seat. It's still quite fun and spoiling to be flying in Business First and we took a few pics of ourselves. Once again we have an entire spacious overhead storage bin to ourselves, several blankets, a nice pillow, complimentary toiletry bag and, headphones. Sue, will be our hostess for the flight and, Dennis, who's in charge of the overall services provided, stopped by to introduce himself and make a bit of small talk.
I had my Skyroam on - really do love it, works great - so we could make a last few updates online and send out some photos and texts to friends and family. Mimosas for pre-taxi cocktails and we made our in flight food selections as we settled in.
Taxied out on time to Rwy 34L. We were in the position and hold area at 1055 followed shortly thereafter by takeoff roll. Airborne, WoW at 1056. Only 13hrs to go... goodbye Sydney, San Francisco here we come! Distance to San Francisco on the great circle route, 7,620mi. We'd initially be cruising at FL350. The Dreamliner would maintain Mach 0.85 during the flight.
I really like the Dreamliner. All the way up to cruising altitude, we didn't even notice the altitude change thanks to the pressurization enhancements made in this new aircraft - very nice and comfortable. You have the ability to dim the very large cabin port holes and the air is filtered so acquiring an airborne infection from some of the other 200+ Pax on board is greatly diminished. The Business First digs are great and, if you can afford to, really the way to go if you have a intercontinental flight. So glad we could pull this off with my son, Conor's help, and 340,000 miles!
Lunch started with:
- a refreshing hot towel;
- mixed nuts and a double Bailey's for me, wine for Rosie;
- followed by hot rolls, butter, a salad with balsamic dressing, and; chilled prawn cocktail;
- main course: I chose the chicken breast, veggies with smashed potatoes; Rosie, had the salmon with the same sides;
- after lunch: a cheese plate with grapes and a port wine; I also chose the chocolate sundae while Rosie went with little cakes the size of pettifores.
Excellent meal! Our flight attendant had been at it for over 32yrs, with Continental the longest time, and was still working through the challenges of being merged with United. She took very good care of us and made sure we had anything we needed. After the first meal service was completed, the cabin crew puts out water, snacks and, wine for you to self-serve yourself. Most of the cabin crew then disappears to crew compartments to rest themselves while a skinnied down cabin crew maintains service watch.
Rosie watched a movie at first and then retired to catch some shut eye. I ended up spending many hours catching up with this blog. At the halfway point of the flight, finally laid back and got a few hours of rest. Woke up and continued to blog until we got closer to the U.S.
After traveling approximately 8,700miles according to the flight tracker, we made our approach into San Francisco. We were all given Customs Declaration forms and filled them out. Turns out we purchased at least $500 of souvenirs/gifts! The cabin pressurization was so good that neither Rosie or I realized that the jet had descended from FL390 to 9,000ft! Amazing! Touched down at 0650 and taxied to the International Terminal. We had to wait for at least 15mins after we parked to deplane. They were having problems with the jetway.
Everyone had to go through Customs once again, part automated, part manual. We really didn't have much weird stuff to declare but, it did take time to get through the Customs agents - there were only 4 on duty this early in the morning. No issues with Customs. I did claim my kangaroo hide hat as an animal by-product but, it was waved off since the leather was tanned... nice to know.
Proceeded out of Customs to baggage claim 1, picked up our luggage and made our way out of the International Terminal. We found our way to United's domestic flight area in Terminal 3, which happened to be adjacent to the International Terminal and just a short walk away. Once there I took a look at getting on an earlier flight but, the options weren't good. The next two available flights we'd have been wait listed on and the first available flight with seats open was at 1230, just a 3hr savings, at more cost and only middle seats in Economy Plus. Just not worth the extra $75/person to do the change. So, kept our current reservations and checked in way too early for our 1520 flight. We were so early, there was no gate assignment. Checked our bags - I was concerned that they would all make it to Newark and was reassured by the bag porter that they would be fine (some foreshadowing here).
Some good news, both of us were TSA pre-checked so we'd be able to get through a much more reasonable security processing. Security turned out to be a breeze. Terminal 3 is pretty huge and did not appear to be packed. Since we had no gate, we made our way over to a spacious seating area, found a bench table with power for both laptops and USB and, made ourselves comfortable. I went and got us some coffees while Rosie started catching up on some social media.
I'm a broken record when it comes to this blog... still digging myself out of a hole and have made some good headway. Just after 1100, took a look at the Departures board and found out that our flight# UA2382 had been assigned to Gate 82. Still on time for a 1520 take-off. We were in row 22, center seat B and aisle seat C on the port side of the 757-200. At 1145 we packed up and headed off looking for some lunch. We were happy to see that most of the food venues were ones familiar to us and plenty of options. Unlike Newark's Terminal C, where none of the eateries are mainstream or recognizable, there were plenty of familiar favorites to chose from and some very local to the Bay Area like, Boudin's Sour Dough Bread. That was our choice for lunch and we both chose turkey sandwiches with: avocado for Rosie and cranberry for me with a cup of tomato soup. Delicious!
Lunch done by 1230, boarding time for our flight was at 1435 so, we were still in no burning hurry to get to the gate. Went back to the seating area where I resumed blogging while Rosie caught up on some phone calls back to the East Coast where everyone was comfortably awake and to Conor here in SoCal. I was starting to get a bit sleepy, as was Rosie. Shook it off and at 1400 we were at the gate and Rosie made sure we were the first in line for Group 2 boarding - which would turn out to be fortuitous since the flight was completely sold out and overhead carry-on space would be at a premium.
We boarded on time and easily got our 2 bags in overhead storage. I kept my backpack underneath the seats in front of us. Near the end of boarding, things turned into a bit of a 'scrum' to find places to stow carry-on. The last dozen or so pax had to have their larger carry-on checked at the gate. Boarding completed, doors closed and, we were pushed back from the gate and started to taxi. According to the flight crew, the winds had really picked up and that had resulted in having to change runways mid-stream. That resulted in a 1hr delay to our take-off time while all the aircraft already in queue had to be re-routed to the new westerly duty runway. We would never make up that lost hour. Airborne at 1620.
This time like last we were served a free meal. It paled in comparison with what we'd become accustomed to but, was a nice gesture. United has started providing free meals on transcontinental flights, which is nice. Rosie chose the chicken offering, I went with the Tortellini, mostly because no one else seemed to be chosing it. Was OK, not great. My main dish was half cold, half hot. The best part about this flight was the extra legroom you get in Economy Plus. Didn't sleep much, mostly dozed off while we were delayed on deck. For the first time on any of the flights on this trip, I watched 2 movies enroute: Tom Cruise's the Mummy and, Marvel's Dr. Strange. Both pretty good.
Twenty-five hundred miles and 5hrs later, we're back in New Jersey! On deck at 0020. We made it to baggage claim 6 fifteen minutes later. Rosie's bag showed up but not mine. I had just booked an Uber ride and contrary to what we were told to expect, a 20min delay until a car could show up, Melvin and his white Camry were there in less than 10min and I still had no checked bag. Melvin's grasp of English, understanding or speaking, wasn't very good. Rosie and I were having a hard time making him understand what was happening in baggage claim. Rosie went out and loaded up and got him to understand that I was still in the terminal and took another lap around the airport while I finally went up to Baggage Claim help and found out that my bag had arrived on an earlier flight from San Francisco! Would have been nice to know that when we landed! Retrieved my back and joined Rosie for the Uber ride back to Chez Nile. I wasn't impressed with Melvin. His driving was safe but annoying, particularly after he received a social call on this cell and talked for most of the drive. He was cycling between 50-65mph the whole way.
Side Note: Baggage Claim carousels. They do move in opposite directions! Clockwise in Australia, counter-clockwise back here in the States! I never did visually verify opposite flush flow while we were in country... Rosie may have.
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Reached the Niles at 0145 and had the Uber driver let us out on Skyline. It was a $56 ride - Uber claimed it was at peak time?! Really, oh well. While Rosie waited at the bottom, I walked up the driveway, woke up the girls inside, jumped into the car, drove down to Rosie, loaded up the car and drove back to Long Valley. Home at 0230. Unloaded the car and Rosie hit the rack. She had a Doctor's appointment in the morning - which she would end up missing because she'd set the alarm to 1930 vice 0730 in her tired, dazed state after 28hrs on the road! Regardless...
MOST AWESOME HOLIDAY TO DATE!!
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Wednesday, September 20, 2017: Last Day in Sydney
Slept in late for the 2 of us, 0545. Logged on to work just to do a few approvals. This entire holiday, I've yet to look at e-mail... there will be a ton when I get back - the price one pays to enjoy time off. (e-mail count after I got back to NJ when I finally looked: 650+.... better than I thought it would be).
A leisurely morning for us here in the Holiday Inn Airport. Agreed last night that we'd use this day to hit Sydney city center and see how much we could discover and visit. There were a handful of places Rosie wanted see/visit/shop at that had been called out and recommended by our friends and daughter, Meg, if we had the time and opportunity. Well, this was it. Dressed warmer than we needed to and left the hotel for Mascot Station at 0830. Was forecast to stay cool, in the low 60s, all day today.
Caught the first available train off platform 1 to St. James Station. St. James Station is located at one end of Sydney's famous Hyde Park. We hopped off there in order to walk over to the historic Strand Arcade (Arcade = shopping venue in Australia) known for it's Victorian style architecture. Would have liked to have spend more time in Hyde Park, I think of it as Sydney's version of New York City's Central Park, but will have to settle for the time spent at the ANZAC War Memorial.
Side Note: Hyde Park. Hyde Park, the oldest public parkland in Australia, is a 16.2-hectare (40-acre) park in the central business district of Sydney, New South Wales. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney city centre. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Sydney Harbour via The Domain and Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens. Hyde Park is approximately rectangular in shape, being squared at the southern end and rounded at the northern end. It is bordered on the west by Elizabeth Street, on the east by College Street, on the north by St. James Road and Prince Albert Road and on the south by Liverpool Street.
Around the park's boundaries lie the Supreme Court of New South Wales, St. James Church, Hyde Park Barracks and Sydney Hospital to the north, St Mary's Cathedral, the Australian Museum and Sydney Grammar School to the east, the Downing Centre to the south, the David Jones Limited flagship store and the CBD to the west. It is divided in two by the east-west running Park Street. Hyde Park contains well-kept gardens and approximately 580 trees; a mixture of Hills Figs, palms, and other varieties. It is famed for its magnificent fig tree lined avenues. Sandringham Gardens sit on the eastern side of the park, close to the intersection of Park Street and College Street.
Hyde Park was named after the original Hyde Park in London. The park is pock marked with drain lids, many of which lead down to Busby's Bore, the first large-scale attempt at a water source system after backing-up the Tank Stream, the Sydney colony's primary water source. Busby's Bore was built between 1827 and 1837 using convict labour and fresh water from Lachlan Swamp (later known as Centennial Park) to the city.
From the very early days of the colony, the open area to the south east of the settlement was a favorite place for sport and recreation. It was known variously as 'The Common', the 'Exercising Ground', the 'Cricket Ground' and the 'Race Course. On 13 October 1810, Governor Macquarie separated the area from the Domain to the north, named it Hyde Park and dedicated it for the "recreation and amusement of the inhabitants of the town and a field of exercises for the troops". He kept the Domain for his own exclusive use.
Many sports were played at Hyde Park, including cricket, rugby, horse racing, quoits and hurling. Sports people using the park grounds had to share it with the military, who trained on it and practised drill work, the general public, who cut paths across the playing fields, stray dogs, cattle, goats, sheep and other animals. Their activities sometimes clashed. The quoit players, in particular, used an area close to the cricket pitch and often damaged it.
In 2005 a number of disease-affected trees were discovered and felled. Following investigations a significant proportion of the trees were found to be infected with three different fungi. In 2006, a Tree Management Plan recommended the removal of about 230 diseased trees, to be progressively replaced over time.
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Side Note: Strand Arcade. The Strand Arcade is a Victorian-style shopping arcade in Sydney, New South Wales. It's located in the heart of the Sydney central business district, between Pitt Street Mall and George Street. The arcade was one of the first Victorian buildings in Sydney.
Being three storeys high, the arcade has the traditional-styled protruding galleries, cedar staircases, tiled floors, cast iron balusters and timber framed shop fronts, under a prominent, tinted glass roof to reduce glare. The arcade contains the preliminary boutiques that characterized the Sydney shopping experience of the 1890s.
When the arcade opened in 1892, it was said to be the very latest in shopping centre designs and was described as, "The finest public thoroughfare in the Australian colonies". The arcade has endured two depressions, two World Wars and two major fires. The restored shop fronts are an exact replica of the original internal shopping facades.
Designed by English architect John Spencer, The Strand was built in 1891 and opened on 1 April 1892, as the fifth and last of the arcades built in Sydney in the Victorian era. It is the only one remaining in its original form today. The arcade was to be 340 feet (or 104 metres) long, and three storeys high.
The Arcade was originally known as the 'City Arcade' and sometimes as 'Arcade Street'. In 1891 it was named after the famous London Street that links the City of London and the City of Westminster. The Strand was London's smartest theatre, hotel and shopping street in the early 1900s. The Nut Shop, which still operates today, opened in 1939.
The arcade became run down as time went by. Restoration work was carried out in the 1970s, but a fire broke out on the morning of 25 May 1976. The arcade was partly destroyed. Restoration began again and the arcade, now back to its original grandeur, re-opened in 1977.
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For the entire day, we referenced a really handy map of Sydney we'd picked up somewhere in the Rocks: Local Sydney Map & Guide. It's really excellent and displays all the major streets and places in Sydney from Circular Quay down to Surry Hills, a suburb of the City. Found the Strand pretty easily and passed right by the Sydney Tower doing so. Considered riding up to the top of the Tower but, decided not to... too many other places to visit/see.
Walked inside, most of the stores and coffee shops on the first floor were open and doing business, and just took in the view. It felt very high end with the shops inside exuding class. Considered doing breakfast here but, things were very busy so, we passed and continued to tour the building. Took the stairs up to the second and third levels to have a look, take some photos and admire the ornate architecture. Left the Strand for the Queen Victoria Building a few blocks away.
The Queen Victoria building is massive and takes up what looks to be a full city block. At the moment there's a lot of construction going on around the building that appears to have something to do with Sydney's 'Light Rail System.' It's another Victorian era building (guess one could tell that from the architecture of the building and name) that has, over the years, been transformed into a place of commerce. On my last visit to Australia in 2010, my friend Hoa took a photo of me standing near the building, I never went in. This time Rosie and I went in to take in the sights and to have coffee and breakfast inside.
There was a sizable coffee/food vendor right in the middle of the building's floor with lots of tables and chairs. Passersby could walk around the vendor on either side of the wide hall. Ordered our hot beverages and breakfasts: spinach roll for Rosie and a sausage roll and meat pie for me, and took a seat at one of the tables to enjoy the fare and people watch. We needed the boost. Over breakfast we planned out our next target: Hyde Park and the ANZAC War Memorial.
The ANZAC War Memorial, opened in 1934, is a fitting tribute to the New South Wales men and women who lost their lives and/or contributed during World War I (WWI) in a supporting role. Over 120,000 died in that war and all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice are represented inside the Memorial by the 120,000 stars imprinted on the inside of the domed roof. We chatted up the on duty docent, David, a Vietnam Vet himself, about the Memorial and all of its symbolism. He was very passionate and full of his subject. Did a great job of answering all of our questions and explaining the ongoing construction around and behind the Memorial. The City was expanding the Memorial to incorporate all the various conflicts Australians have been involved with since WWI. The renovation and additions must be completed by November 2018, the 100th anniversary of WWI. A somber, contemplative visit, we nonetheless enjoyed our visit to the Memorial.
Side Note: ANZAC War Memorial. The ANZAC Memorial, completed in 1934, is the main commemorative military monument of Sydney, Australia. Listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register, the monument was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned with monumental figural reliefs and sculptures by Rayner Hoff.
The memorial is located at the southern extremity of Hyde Park on the eastern edge of the Sydney central business district, and it is the focus of commemoration ceremonies on Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and other important occasions.
It was built as a memorial to the Australian Imperial Force of World War I. Fund raising for a memorial began on 25 April 1916, the first anniversary of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landing at Anzac Cove for the Battle of Gallipoli. It was opened on 24 November 1934 by His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.
A competition for the design of the memorial was commissioned in July 1929 and a month later the prize-winning entries were announced by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Philip Game. Third prize was awarded to Peter Kaad, second prize to John D. Moore and the winner was Bruce Dellit. The successful contractors for the building works were Kell & Rigby.
The building is constructed of concrete, with an exterior cladding of pink granite, and consists of a massed square superstructure with typically Art Deco setbacks and buttresses, punctuated on each side by a large arched window of yellow stained glass, and crowned with a ziggurat-inspired stepped roof. It is positioned atop a cruciform pedestal within which are located administrative offices and a small museum.
The interior is largely faced in white marble, and features a domed ceiling adorned with 120,000 gold stars – one for each of those men and women from New South Wales who served during World War I. Access to the main hall is provided via broad stairways on each side of the building's north-south axis, while ground-level doorways on the east and west sides offer entry to the lower section.
The main focus of the interior is Rayner Hoff's monumental bronze sculpture of a deceased youth, representing a soldier, held aloft on his shield by a caryatid – three female figures, representing his mother, sister and wife. The male figure's nudity was considered shocking at the time of the monument's opening, and it is said to be the only such representation of a naked male form within any war memorial. Two other even more controversial figural sculptures designed by Hoff—one featuring a naked female figure—were never installed on the eastern and western faces of the structure as intended, partly as a result of opposition from high ranking, reactionary local Catholic Church representatives.
The building's exterior is adorned with several bronze friezes, carved granite relief panels and twenty monumental stone figural sculptures symbolizing military personnel, also by Hoff. Immediately to the north of the ANZAC Memorial is a large rectangular "Lake of Reflections" flanked by rows of poplars. The poplars, not native to Australia, symbolize the areas of France in which Australian troops fought. Original plans called for the construction of similar pools on each of the other sides of the building, but these were never built.
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We left the Memorial and Hyde Park to make our way down to famous Paddy's Market located in the Chinatown area of Sydney, about a 5-10min. As advertised, this is the place to purchase souvenirs of all types and hugely discounted home and office products of all types. It also houses a sizable fresh vegetable market that, if we lived near or in Sydney, we would buy all of our veggies from. There was also a really interesting spice vendor you just don't see in the U.S. Rosie and I took a good deal of time just walking up and down the numerous aisles of the market. Ended up making quite a few souvenir purchases. I even bought a piece of rolling carry-on luggage for $35AU. We needed it to help lug home some of the bulkier souvenirs we'd picked up along the way. Glad we actually made it to Paddy's!
Stepped out of Paddy's and walked right over to the arched entrance into Chinatown. Before going too far, since it was a bit after noon, we found a hotel on an adjacent street corner with a bar, some outside chairs, tables and sat down with our beverage order to just chill and people watch. I've decided my favorite beer in Australia is a Victoria Bitter or VB for short. It may not be the most favored by the locals, but I liked it a lot. Rosie's go to beverage has been wine. While we were relaxing, right across from where we were sitting, a lot of people were queuing up to a window in a Chinese Bakery buying something called Emperor's Puffs. Turnover was very quick but, the line seemed to persist with interested and eager shoppers. So, Rosie went and stood in line and after about 5min came back with 1/2 dozen 1 inch round pastries, each one filled with hot custard, all for $2AU - they were quite delicious. Not too sweet or heavy. Rosie told me that there was a automated machine that was 'spitting' out a lot of these little balls directly into a vat of oil, like Krispy Kreme donuts are made, and as soon as they were done, being packaged and sold by the handful or box full to enthusiastic patrons. Pretty cool.
We didn't spend much time in the Chinatown area. Enough time to encounter an odd site: a woman lying on her side outside of a building along the main drag. Was just strange, couldn't tell why she was lying there but, she was being kept company by a couple of folks. As we were passing her on the way out, an 'ambulance' was making it's way up the pedestrian thoroughfare to her location. I put ambulance in quotes because it was actually a little bitty smart car all marked up with ambulance decals and flashing lights being driven by 1 guy - we assumed he must be a paramedic or the like. The utility of such a vehicle came to our minds but, it could certainly make it's way into areas a normal ambulance couldn't. Interesting... we hoped the lady on the ground was ok.
Left Chinatown and made our way back to Central Station, the closest Station to Chinatown, and made it back to the hotel by 1400. Wanted to relax and refresh before getting cleaned up and heading over to CQ and the Opera House for dinner with Erica.
Our dinner reservation at Bennelong was for 1730. We left the hotel at 1600 and made it to CQ by 1620. Rosie and I are really getting the hang of the train system here in Sydney, just as we get prepared to leave it, typical. Besides the 'rip off,' in my opinion, the owners of the train lines pull on unsuspecting air travelers, the system's really very good. The only place I would rate higher on a scale of ease of use and design would be Singapore's train system. Made our way slowly towards the Opera House Bar, we thought, taking photos of many of the circular bronze plaques embedded within the walkway around the Quay. They are of famous Australian writers or writers who have lived in or visited Australia. Didn't take photos of all of them, just a few we recognized.
Side Note: Sydney Writers Walk. The Sydney Writers Walk is a series of plaques from around the International Passenger Terminal on West Circular Quay, down to the walkway between the ferry jetties and the train station, and all the way to the side of the Sydney Opera House forecourt on East Circular Quay. The plaques contain an excerpt of the author's writing as well as a brief biography.
The writers represented on Writers Walk include not only Australians but also those who lived in, or visited, Australia, such as D. H. Lawrence, Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain.
Here's the total list of writers on the plaques: Thea Astley, Faith Bandler, C. E. W. Bean, Christopher Brennan, Peter Carey, Joseph Conrad, Peter Corris, Eleanor Dark, Charles Darwin , C. J. Dennis, Arthur Conan Doyle, Umberto Eco, Miles Franklin, May Gibbs, Mary Gilmore, Germaine Greer, Xavier Herbert, Dorothy Hewett, A. D. Hope, Robert Hughes, Barry Humphries, Clive James, George Johnston, Thomas Keneally, Rudyard Kipling, Ray Lawler, D. H. Lawrence, Henry Lawson, Jack London, Dorothea Mackellar, David Malouf, James A. Michener, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Ruth Park, A. B. "Banjo" Paterson, Henry Handel Richardson, Nevil Shute, Kenneth Slessor, Christina Stead, Robert Louis Stevenson, Douglas Stewart, Kylie Tennant, Anthony Trollope, Ethel Turner, Mark Twain, Morris West, Patrick White, David Williamson, and Judith Wright
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Eventually found our way down to the Opera House Bar area, or where we thought the bar area was. Turns out we were in the Opera House Kitchen area, not the Bar. As far as I could tell, the distinction isn't one that's patently obvious to your basic visitor to the Opera. The area appears to be just one long, curved stretch of seating, tables and bars along the CQ seawall. Anyway, ordered cocktails for Rosie and I, started a tab, found a table and took a seat. Time was around 1645. Texted Erica and found out that she was also at the Bar having just ordered a beer. We spent the next few minutes looking for each other and finally made eye contact. She was in the relative same place we were, just farther down, closer to the piers. She made her way over to where we were with her drink in hand and we immediately started getting the 'stink eye' from the bar staff!? Odd. Our waiter, Rick, came over to let us know that people were not allowed/supposed to bring drinks from the Opera Bar area over to the Opera Kitchen area and vice versa - even though it all looked the same to the 3 of us. Rick tells us that there's some local ordinance covering such a rules violation and that they could tell by the type of drinking vessel Erica was drinking from (not to mention they saw her walk over to us). Erica was trying to finish her beer quickly when Rick said he's go down to the Kitchen bar and get a glass for Erica to pour her Bar area beverage into. When he got back, the glass he had was exactly like the one Erica was drinking from? WTF? He was at a loss for words. Erica finished her beer and I ordered us all another round - all was right in the world again. Geeze....
Side Note: I've tried, when I remember, to jot down odd sayings we hear from local Aussies. We were speaking about Aussie slang and Erica had one (she had others like 'bogan'): 'Mad as a cut snake' - meaning: very angry, very upset; crazy; furious. Insanity or anger so extreme, you don't want to get near it.
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We enjoyed catching up with Erica and wished Simon, her brother who couldn't join us, a speedy recovery. Finished our drinks and made our way up to the restaurant at 1725. Erica remembered how to get there from underneath the Restaurant. We found the lift and took it up to the Restaurant level. It takes you right up to the entrance in to Bennelong, how convenient! It's definitely fancy and very upscale.
Erica, nor we, had never been in the restaurant. We were greeted at the door by a gent I suspected was the restaurant manager for this evening. He made a bit of small talk with us, inquired of our reservation, "three now, not four?" and, had one of the waiters take us to the appropriate table. We passed the bar, it was up and left of where we entered, as we were escorted to our table. Ours was on the lower level, right up against the tinted windows with a view to the Botanical Gardens and Navy Piers. There's really not a bad table in the place.
For early reservations the restaurant only offered a 3 course meal (sure seemed like a lot more than that). I ordered a nice Malbec for the table, turns out to be Erica's favorite type of wine, and we all ordered different items off the menu. Bread/butter was brought out with our wine and Erica had the fun of sampling it prior to general table pour. Our mains: Erica, beef cheek (melted in your mouth); Rosie, the quail to start and red snapper (she enjoyed the quail and all of us loved the fish); I went with the eggplant. The food was delicious, service spot on, company excellent and, the ambiance memorable. We had a really enjoyable few hours over just 3 courses! Near the end the staff were politely asking if we'd like to move to the bar - there were other guests waiting to be seated - in order to make our table available. Not sure where the 2+30 we spent enjoying the dinner went? We declined, settled up and made our way out. It was a bit of a pricey night but, well worth it if you're interested in making a memory and enjoying some great food, well prepared, in a singular venue!
Was definitely one of my top 5 dinner reservations ever! We all walked back to CQ and caught the train headed to Mascot Station via Central Station where we said our farewells to Erica. So glad she could join us for dinner and we're looking forward to - as long as her itinerary allows it - seeing her in the U.S. sometime in October. Made it back to our hotel by 2100.
What a most excellent day, our evening out being the 'cherry on top!'
Fuji
A leisurely morning for us here in the Holiday Inn Airport. Agreed last night that we'd use this day to hit Sydney city center and see how much we could discover and visit. There were a handful of places Rosie wanted see/visit/shop at that had been called out and recommended by our friends and daughter, Meg, if we had the time and opportunity. Well, this was it. Dressed warmer than we needed to and left the hotel for Mascot Station at 0830. Was forecast to stay cool, in the low 60s, all day today.
Caught the first available train off platform 1 to St. James Station. St. James Station is located at one end of Sydney's famous Hyde Park. We hopped off there in order to walk over to the historic Strand Arcade (Arcade = shopping venue in Australia) known for it's Victorian style architecture. Would have liked to have spend more time in Hyde Park, I think of it as Sydney's version of New York City's Central Park, but will have to settle for the time spent at the ANZAC War Memorial.
Side Note: Hyde Park. Hyde Park, the oldest public parkland in Australia, is a 16.2-hectare (40-acre) park in the central business district of Sydney, New South Wales. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney city centre. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Sydney Harbour via The Domain and Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens. Hyde Park is approximately rectangular in shape, being squared at the southern end and rounded at the northern end. It is bordered on the west by Elizabeth Street, on the east by College Street, on the north by St. James Road and Prince Albert Road and on the south by Liverpool Street.
Around the park's boundaries lie the Supreme Court of New South Wales, St. James Church, Hyde Park Barracks and Sydney Hospital to the north, St Mary's Cathedral, the Australian Museum and Sydney Grammar School to the east, the Downing Centre to the south, the David Jones Limited flagship store and the CBD to the west. It is divided in two by the east-west running Park Street. Hyde Park contains well-kept gardens and approximately 580 trees; a mixture of Hills Figs, palms, and other varieties. It is famed for its magnificent fig tree lined avenues. Sandringham Gardens sit on the eastern side of the park, close to the intersection of Park Street and College Street.
Hyde Park was named after the original Hyde Park in London. The park is pock marked with drain lids, many of which lead down to Busby's Bore, the first large-scale attempt at a water source system after backing-up the Tank Stream, the Sydney colony's primary water source. Busby's Bore was built between 1827 and 1837 using convict labour and fresh water from Lachlan Swamp (later known as Centennial Park) to the city.
From the very early days of the colony, the open area to the south east of the settlement was a favorite place for sport and recreation. It was known variously as 'The Common', the 'Exercising Ground', the 'Cricket Ground' and the 'Race Course. On 13 October 1810, Governor Macquarie separated the area from the Domain to the north, named it Hyde Park and dedicated it for the "recreation and amusement of the inhabitants of the town and a field of exercises for the troops". He kept the Domain for his own exclusive use.
Many sports were played at Hyde Park, including cricket, rugby, horse racing, quoits and hurling. Sports people using the park grounds had to share it with the military, who trained on it and practised drill work, the general public, who cut paths across the playing fields, stray dogs, cattle, goats, sheep and other animals. Their activities sometimes clashed. The quoit players, in particular, used an area close to the cricket pitch and often damaged it.
In 2005 a number of disease-affected trees were discovered and felled. Following investigations a significant proportion of the trees were found to be infected with three different fungi. In 2006, a Tree Management Plan recommended the removal of about 230 diseased trees, to be progressively replaced over time.
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Side Note: Strand Arcade. The Strand Arcade is a Victorian-style shopping arcade in Sydney, New South Wales. It's located in the heart of the Sydney central business district, between Pitt Street Mall and George Street. The arcade was one of the first Victorian buildings in Sydney.
Being three storeys high, the arcade has the traditional-styled protruding galleries, cedar staircases, tiled floors, cast iron balusters and timber framed shop fronts, under a prominent, tinted glass roof to reduce glare. The arcade contains the preliminary boutiques that characterized the Sydney shopping experience of the 1890s.
When the arcade opened in 1892, it was said to be the very latest in shopping centre designs and was described as, "The finest public thoroughfare in the Australian colonies". The arcade has endured two depressions, two World Wars and two major fires. The restored shop fronts are an exact replica of the original internal shopping facades.
Designed by English architect John Spencer, The Strand was built in 1891 and opened on 1 April 1892, as the fifth and last of the arcades built in Sydney in the Victorian era. It is the only one remaining in its original form today. The arcade was to be 340 feet (or 104 metres) long, and three storeys high.
The Arcade was originally known as the 'City Arcade' and sometimes as 'Arcade Street'. In 1891 it was named after the famous London Street that links the City of London and the City of Westminster. The Strand was London's smartest theatre, hotel and shopping street in the early 1900s. The Nut Shop, which still operates today, opened in 1939.
The arcade became run down as time went by. Restoration work was carried out in the 1970s, but a fire broke out on the morning of 25 May 1976. The arcade was partly destroyed. Restoration began again and the arcade, now back to its original grandeur, re-opened in 1977.
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For the entire day, we referenced a really handy map of Sydney we'd picked up somewhere in the Rocks: Local Sydney Map & Guide. It's really excellent and displays all the major streets and places in Sydney from Circular Quay down to Surry Hills, a suburb of the City. Found the Strand pretty easily and passed right by the Sydney Tower doing so. Considered riding up to the top of the Tower but, decided not to... too many other places to visit/see.
Walked inside, most of the stores and coffee shops on the first floor were open and doing business, and just took in the view. It felt very high end with the shops inside exuding class. Considered doing breakfast here but, things were very busy so, we passed and continued to tour the building. Took the stairs up to the second and third levels to have a look, take some photos and admire the ornate architecture. Left the Strand for the Queen Victoria Building a few blocks away.
The Queen Victoria building is massive and takes up what looks to be a full city block. At the moment there's a lot of construction going on around the building that appears to have something to do with Sydney's 'Light Rail System.' It's another Victorian era building (guess one could tell that from the architecture of the building and name) that has, over the years, been transformed into a place of commerce. On my last visit to Australia in 2010, my friend Hoa took a photo of me standing near the building, I never went in. This time Rosie and I went in to take in the sights and to have coffee and breakfast inside.
There was a sizable coffee/food vendor right in the middle of the building's floor with lots of tables and chairs. Passersby could walk around the vendor on either side of the wide hall. Ordered our hot beverages and breakfasts: spinach roll for Rosie and a sausage roll and meat pie for me, and took a seat at one of the tables to enjoy the fare and people watch. We needed the boost. Over breakfast we planned out our next target: Hyde Park and the ANZAC War Memorial.
The ANZAC War Memorial, opened in 1934, is a fitting tribute to the New South Wales men and women who lost their lives and/or contributed during World War I (WWI) in a supporting role. Over 120,000 died in that war and all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice are represented inside the Memorial by the 120,000 stars imprinted on the inside of the domed roof. We chatted up the on duty docent, David, a Vietnam Vet himself, about the Memorial and all of its symbolism. He was very passionate and full of his subject. Did a great job of answering all of our questions and explaining the ongoing construction around and behind the Memorial. The City was expanding the Memorial to incorporate all the various conflicts Australians have been involved with since WWI. The renovation and additions must be completed by November 2018, the 100th anniversary of WWI. A somber, contemplative visit, we nonetheless enjoyed our visit to the Memorial.
Side Note: ANZAC War Memorial. The ANZAC Memorial, completed in 1934, is the main commemorative military monument of Sydney, Australia. Listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register, the monument was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned with monumental figural reliefs and sculptures by Rayner Hoff.
The memorial is located at the southern extremity of Hyde Park on the eastern edge of the Sydney central business district, and it is the focus of commemoration ceremonies on Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and other important occasions.
It was built as a memorial to the Australian Imperial Force of World War I. Fund raising for a memorial began on 25 April 1916, the first anniversary of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landing at Anzac Cove for the Battle of Gallipoli. It was opened on 24 November 1934 by His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.
A competition for the design of the memorial was commissioned in July 1929 and a month later the prize-winning entries were announced by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Philip Game. Third prize was awarded to Peter Kaad, second prize to John D. Moore and the winner was Bruce Dellit. The successful contractors for the building works were Kell & Rigby.
The building is constructed of concrete, with an exterior cladding of pink granite, and consists of a massed square superstructure with typically Art Deco setbacks and buttresses, punctuated on each side by a large arched window of yellow stained glass, and crowned with a ziggurat-inspired stepped roof. It is positioned atop a cruciform pedestal within which are located administrative offices and a small museum.
The interior is largely faced in white marble, and features a domed ceiling adorned with 120,000 gold stars – one for each of those men and women from New South Wales who served during World War I. Access to the main hall is provided via broad stairways on each side of the building's north-south axis, while ground-level doorways on the east and west sides offer entry to the lower section.
The main focus of the interior is Rayner Hoff's monumental bronze sculpture of a deceased youth, representing a soldier, held aloft on his shield by a caryatid – three female figures, representing his mother, sister and wife. The male figure's nudity was considered shocking at the time of the monument's opening, and it is said to be the only such representation of a naked male form within any war memorial. Two other even more controversial figural sculptures designed by Hoff—one featuring a naked female figure—were never installed on the eastern and western faces of the structure as intended, partly as a result of opposition from high ranking, reactionary local Catholic Church representatives.
The building's exterior is adorned with several bronze friezes, carved granite relief panels and twenty monumental stone figural sculptures symbolizing military personnel, also by Hoff. Immediately to the north of the ANZAC Memorial is a large rectangular "Lake of Reflections" flanked by rows of poplars. The poplars, not native to Australia, symbolize the areas of France in which Australian troops fought. Original plans called for the construction of similar pools on each of the other sides of the building, but these were never built.
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We left the Memorial and Hyde Park to make our way down to famous Paddy's Market located in the Chinatown area of Sydney, about a 5-10min. As advertised, this is the place to purchase souvenirs of all types and hugely discounted home and office products of all types. It also houses a sizable fresh vegetable market that, if we lived near or in Sydney, we would buy all of our veggies from. There was also a really interesting spice vendor you just don't see in the U.S. Rosie and I took a good deal of time just walking up and down the numerous aisles of the market. Ended up making quite a few souvenir purchases. I even bought a piece of rolling carry-on luggage for $35AU. We needed it to help lug home some of the bulkier souvenirs we'd picked up along the way. Glad we actually made it to Paddy's!
Stepped out of Paddy's and walked right over to the arched entrance into Chinatown. Before going too far, since it was a bit after noon, we found a hotel on an adjacent street corner with a bar, some outside chairs, tables and sat down with our beverage order to just chill and people watch. I've decided my favorite beer in Australia is a Victoria Bitter or VB for short. It may not be the most favored by the locals, but I liked it a lot. Rosie's go to beverage has been wine. While we were relaxing, right across from where we were sitting, a lot of people were queuing up to a window in a Chinese Bakery buying something called Emperor's Puffs. Turnover was very quick but, the line seemed to persist with interested and eager shoppers. So, Rosie went and stood in line and after about 5min came back with 1/2 dozen 1 inch round pastries, each one filled with hot custard, all for $2AU - they were quite delicious. Not too sweet or heavy. Rosie told me that there was a automated machine that was 'spitting' out a lot of these little balls directly into a vat of oil, like Krispy Kreme donuts are made, and as soon as they were done, being packaged and sold by the handful or box full to enthusiastic patrons. Pretty cool.
We didn't spend much time in the Chinatown area. Enough time to encounter an odd site: a woman lying on her side outside of a building along the main drag. Was just strange, couldn't tell why she was lying there but, she was being kept company by a couple of folks. As we were passing her on the way out, an 'ambulance' was making it's way up the pedestrian thoroughfare to her location. I put ambulance in quotes because it was actually a little bitty smart car all marked up with ambulance decals and flashing lights being driven by 1 guy - we assumed he must be a paramedic or the like. The utility of such a vehicle came to our minds but, it could certainly make it's way into areas a normal ambulance couldn't. Interesting... we hoped the lady on the ground was ok.
Left Chinatown and made our way back to Central Station, the closest Station to Chinatown, and made it back to the hotel by 1400. Wanted to relax and refresh before getting cleaned up and heading over to CQ and the Opera House for dinner with Erica.
Our dinner reservation at Bennelong was for 1730. We left the hotel at 1600 and made it to CQ by 1620. Rosie and I are really getting the hang of the train system here in Sydney, just as we get prepared to leave it, typical. Besides the 'rip off,' in my opinion, the owners of the train lines pull on unsuspecting air travelers, the system's really very good. The only place I would rate higher on a scale of ease of use and design would be Singapore's train system. Made our way slowly towards the Opera House Bar, we thought, taking photos of many of the circular bronze plaques embedded within the walkway around the Quay. They are of famous Australian writers or writers who have lived in or visited Australia. Didn't take photos of all of them, just a few we recognized.
Side Note: Sydney Writers Walk. The Sydney Writers Walk is a series of plaques from around the International Passenger Terminal on West Circular Quay, down to the walkway between the ferry jetties and the train station, and all the way to the side of the Sydney Opera House forecourt on East Circular Quay. The plaques contain an excerpt of the author's writing as well as a brief biography.
The writers represented on Writers Walk include not only Australians but also those who lived in, or visited, Australia, such as D. H. Lawrence, Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain.
Here's the total list of writers on the plaques: Thea Astley, Faith Bandler, C. E. W. Bean, Christopher Brennan, Peter Carey, Joseph Conrad, Peter Corris, Eleanor Dark, Charles Darwin , C. J. Dennis, Arthur Conan Doyle, Umberto Eco, Miles Franklin, May Gibbs, Mary Gilmore, Germaine Greer, Xavier Herbert, Dorothy Hewett, A. D. Hope, Robert Hughes, Barry Humphries, Clive James, George Johnston, Thomas Keneally, Rudyard Kipling, Ray Lawler, D. H. Lawrence, Henry Lawson, Jack London, Dorothea Mackellar, David Malouf, James A. Michener, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Ruth Park, A. B. "Banjo" Paterson, Henry Handel Richardson, Nevil Shute, Kenneth Slessor, Christina Stead, Robert Louis Stevenson, Douglas Stewart, Kylie Tennant, Anthony Trollope, Ethel Turner, Mark Twain, Morris West, Patrick White, David Williamson, and Judith Wright
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Eventually found our way down to the Opera House Bar area, or where we thought the bar area was. Turns out we were in the Opera House Kitchen area, not the Bar. As far as I could tell, the distinction isn't one that's patently obvious to your basic visitor to the Opera. The area appears to be just one long, curved stretch of seating, tables and bars along the CQ seawall. Anyway, ordered cocktails for Rosie and I, started a tab, found a table and took a seat. Time was around 1645. Texted Erica and found out that she was also at the Bar having just ordered a beer. We spent the next few minutes looking for each other and finally made eye contact. She was in the relative same place we were, just farther down, closer to the piers. She made her way over to where we were with her drink in hand and we immediately started getting the 'stink eye' from the bar staff!? Odd. Our waiter, Rick, came over to let us know that people were not allowed/supposed to bring drinks from the Opera Bar area over to the Opera Kitchen area and vice versa - even though it all looked the same to the 3 of us. Rick tells us that there's some local ordinance covering such a rules violation and that they could tell by the type of drinking vessel Erica was drinking from (not to mention they saw her walk over to us). Erica was trying to finish her beer quickly when Rick said he's go down to the Kitchen bar and get a glass for Erica to pour her Bar area beverage into. When he got back, the glass he had was exactly like the one Erica was drinking from? WTF? He was at a loss for words. Erica finished her beer and I ordered us all another round - all was right in the world again. Geeze....
Side Note: I've tried, when I remember, to jot down odd sayings we hear from local Aussies. We were speaking about Aussie slang and Erica had one (she had others like 'bogan'): 'Mad as a cut snake' - meaning: very angry, very upset; crazy; furious. Insanity or anger so extreme, you don't want to get near it.
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We enjoyed catching up with Erica and wished Simon, her brother who couldn't join us, a speedy recovery. Finished our drinks and made our way up to the restaurant at 1725. Erica remembered how to get there from underneath the Restaurant. We found the lift and took it up to the Restaurant level. It takes you right up to the entrance in to Bennelong, how convenient! It's definitely fancy and very upscale.
Erica, nor we, had never been in the restaurant. We were greeted at the door by a gent I suspected was the restaurant manager for this evening. He made a bit of small talk with us, inquired of our reservation, "three now, not four?" and, had one of the waiters take us to the appropriate table. We passed the bar, it was up and left of where we entered, as we were escorted to our table. Ours was on the lower level, right up against the tinted windows with a view to the Botanical Gardens and Navy Piers. There's really not a bad table in the place.
For early reservations the restaurant only offered a 3 course meal (sure seemed like a lot more than that). I ordered a nice Malbec for the table, turns out to be Erica's favorite type of wine, and we all ordered different items off the menu. Bread/butter was brought out with our wine and Erica had the fun of sampling it prior to general table pour. Our mains: Erica, beef cheek (melted in your mouth); Rosie, the quail to start and red snapper (she enjoyed the quail and all of us loved the fish); I went with the eggplant. The food was delicious, service spot on, company excellent and, the ambiance memorable. We had a really enjoyable few hours over just 3 courses! Near the end the staff were politely asking if we'd like to move to the bar - there were other guests waiting to be seated - in order to make our table available. Not sure where the 2+30 we spent enjoying the dinner went? We declined, settled up and made our way out. It was a bit of a pricey night but, well worth it if you're interested in making a memory and enjoying some great food, well prepared, in a singular venue!
Was definitely one of my top 5 dinner reservations ever! We all walked back to CQ and caught the train headed to Mascot Station via Central Station where we said our farewells to Erica. So glad she could join us for dinner and we're looking forward to - as long as her itinerary allows it - seeing her in the U.S. sometime in October. Made it back to our hotel by 2100.
What a most excellent day, our evening out being the 'cherry on top!'
Fuji
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Tuesday, September 19, 2017: Uluru to Sydney
Slept poorly again. Woke up a lot and got up for good at 0500. I'm so far behind on my blogging.... Rosie got up at around 0600. We have another busy morning planned.
We were showered, dressed and all packed up by 0730. Way to early. Made ourselves just relax out on our balcony until a little after 0800 at which time we left the room for the lobby. Checked our luggage in with the porters to hold on to and waited for our ride to the airport for our helicopter outing.
Had a bit of a panic moment when I noticed that the date on our helicopter tickets was for the date we set-up the flight, 9/17 - Sunday! Rosie reconfirmed the timing via the Porters calling PHS. Shortly thereafter, a van with appropriate markings pulled up outside the lobby to pick up not only Rosie and I but, 3 other Pax. Clint and Dave were the 2 pilots shepherding us around on this day. Clint would actually be flying us around while Dave would act as ground crew.
Both nice guys, they gathered our weight and balance info and drove us out to the airport and the helicopter pads. There was no one else in sight. They would be performing all the duties required to get a helicopter off the ground. Reminded me of the days when I used to fly around the country on 'training' flights just to burn OPTAR in the F-14. A whole lot of fun. These guys had a pretty cherry job, granted in the middle of nowhere but, they could really rack up some flight time on a busy day.
Dave provided us with a safety briefing before we all headed out to the helicopter while Clint took care of all the pre-flight checks. The guys were good about taking photos of all of us in front of the helicopter. Seating in this particular helicopter was 2 in front, 4 in the back. A woman got the front left seat. Myself and the only other guy got the rear window seats; me on the right, the other guy on the left, and; our wives took up the middle 2 seats. A bit cramped but fine.
This would be Rosie's first helicopter ride and she didn't even blink and eyelash. I could tell she was enjoying it and that made me happy. We took a fair amount of photos before we even got airborne. All strapped in and headphones donned, Clint started the bird up and we were airborne in no time headed directly towards Uluru. Along the way Clint gave us some pretty good views to Yulara and Ayers Rock Resort, pointing out interesting features along the way. The flight didn't take long to get to Uluru and we stayed north and west of the rock, not sure why... may have been what we paid for or, just avoided flying over sacred areas and the Aborigine town southeast of the rock. Regardless, made for some really excellent views of the rock. It's also fun being back in the air in a tiny aircraft - even if it's a helicopter! Good fun.
Uluru done we headed west towards Kata Tjula. We'd be doing a couple of fly-bys of that much bigger rock formation. We just didn't have enough time to include a road trip to this site. Kata Tjula is a very sacred site for male Aborigines, no women allowed. The name means 'many heads.' Two passes by the formation so each side of the craft had good views and we headed back towards the airport, gradually descending along the way, all eyes out for wild camels - didn't see any on this day. Before we knew it, Rosie's first helicopter ride was over and we were on our way back to the Resort. Glad we were able to squeeze this in.
Side Note: Kata Tjula. Kata Tjuṯa, (Pitjantjatjara: Kata Tjuṯa, lit. 'many heads'), also known as the Olgas, is a group of large, domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 365 km (227 mi) southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, located 25 km (16 mi) to the east, and Kata Tjuta form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. The park is considered sacred to the Aboriginal people of Australia.
The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuṯa cover an area of 21.68 km2 (8.37 sq mi), are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone. The highest dome, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above the surrounding plain 198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluru). Kata Tjuta is located at the eastern end of the Docker River Road.
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Back just after 1000. Rosie has been hinting at taking another visit to the camel riding area... she really would like to touch at least one of them. So, decided we could squeeze in a HoHo ride to go visit them again. Unfortunately, the HoHo service didn't start until 1030 each day. Regardless, we'd be pressing our luck and timing if anything went sideways. The HoHo actually showed up a bit early but, didn't intend to leave until 1030. There were at least 4 other people who wanted to go visit the camels along with us so, that's a stop the bus driver included on this trip around. Once at the camel enclosure we all jumped off and Rosie made sure the driver planned on being back in 20min.
Rosie was definitely excited! There was a huge caravan of camels preparing to leave on a multi-hour trip into the outback as we started poking around the gift shop and reservation shack. Rosie found out that for $15AU, you could take a 10min ride on a camel AND, those 4 camels were just getting back to the boarding chute! Well hell, sign her up!! We did and she was off and running. The camel herder, a young lass we believed from France, was taking her time reviewing how to get on and off a camel with the 6 riders going on this next ride. I nervously watched for the HoHo while taking photos of Rosie thoroughly enamored by the pending experience. Not only was she petting camels, she was going to ride one too!
After a few mumbled 'hurry ups' from me - heard by no one - the 4 camel train was underway, just as the huge caravan of camels was headed out to the Outback. The 10min ride felt like one of the longest spans of time I could remember. I really didn't want us to miss the HoHo back to the resort. As Rosie and the camels pulled back into the loading chute, the HoHo was just turning down the dirt road for pickup. We had time to walk into the main shack and out the front as the HoHo pulled up - couldn't have timed it better had we planned it! Quite relieved.
We got back to the Desert Garden Hotel by 1130, plenty of time left, a whole 30min! We wandered around the gift shop and up to the Aboriginal Museum. Rosie ended up buying a few native made gifts before heading back to the lobby just as our AAT Kings bus pulled up for loading and boarding. The porters had already pre-positioned our luggage outside for us to help stow aboard and we followed suit. The bus got us to Connellan Airport just after 12 noon. As soon as we got our bags, we queued up to check in and check our luggage. All of that went very smoothly and off to the security check area we went.
Security was pretty easy. Once we were inside the small boarding area, both Rosie and I did some last minute shopping in the 1 gift shop in the airport and then I bought us some lunch at the only food vendor there. Michael and Madeline, who we met and did dinner with the other night at 'Sounds of Silence,' were also in the Terminal waiting to get on the same flight with us. Chatted them up for a while and Rosie passed them some pics and a video of that evening by Airdropping to Michael's phone. They appreciated it.
Starting at 1350, we once again boarded, first come, first aboard. That meant walking out to the A320 and climbing up either the front ladder or aft ladder, depending on your aisle number. Rosie and I were in seats 9D/E so, we boarded forward. This flight's definitely not packed and we ended up having a spare seat between us. It let Rosie stretch out for a bit during the flight back to Sydney. Taxied on time and took off from runway 13. This time around, we had the perfect view to Uluru out the right side of the plane. We eventually climbed up to FL370 for our 2+45 flight back to Sydney.
Just after takeoff a young lady in our aisle on the opposite side of the aircraft started to hurl. Her husband was doing what he could and all we could do was pass over more barf bags. Not pleasant. Fortunately, after we got settled out in the air, she got cleaned up in the forward head and spent the rest of the flight laying down in aisle 6, seats A/B/C. It was empty and available. Rosie and I both settled back for short naps.
Awake. I never can or have slept well in flight, just fitfully. There's another hour before we land close to our scheduled time of 1745. Weather is clear and windy in Sydney. Made our approach into Sydney and landed to the south. Deplaning was easy and baggage claim carousel 4 had our luggage. Picked up our bag and headed down to the train station in the Terminal to ride a train 1 stop up to Mascot Station. Before we hopped on the train, we topped off our Opal cards with $20 each.
We had no idea that the Opal/Train system is rigged to hose down unwary travelers who use the train to get anywhere after landing in Sydney. Both Rosie and my Opal cards were docked about $9AU for a 1 stop ride!!! Apparently, this is done on purpose (found that out from Erica the next evening). Just doesn't seem right. We will definitely book the hotel shuttle bus for our ride into Sydney's International Terminal on Thursday!
Left Mascot Station and walked back to the Holiday Inn, checked into the hotel, retrieved our 3 pieces of luggage and went up to our room, 816. Thought we'd give room service a chance on this evening but after reviewing the menu, found it completely uninteresting. Decided to go out and find a place to dine. We noticed a Thai place right across from Mascot Station when we were exiting and thought we'd check that out.
As we approached the Thai restaurant, saw that it was sandwiched between a Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant. Went inside and immediately saw numerous signs stating the credit card machine was broken and they only took cash. It was obvious that those signs had been up for quite some time and that this particular Thai restaurant only wanted to deal with cash so, we left - I had a serious low Aussie cash light. Didn't feel like Vietnamese or Chinese food so, just kept walking. Didn't have to go far and ran into what would turn out to be a wonderful Japanese Restaurant, Taisho.
We ordered: edamame; veggie tempura; chicken teriyaki, and; a spicy tuna sushi roll. While I was perusing the menu I noticed the cover page to all the sushi options stamped with, "Jumbo Sushi." Wasn't sure what that meant. Wasn't printed anywhere else. Went ahead and ordered my sushi anyway. The edamame came out first followed by my sushi... it was HUGE! At least twice the size of a normal sushi roll, sliced into 9 round medallions of deliciousness! I loved it. Rosie's teriyaki chicken came next, missing rice but, we fixed that. Was a great meal and we left happy and very sated.
Had a nice leisurely stroll back to the corner of Bourke Road and O'Riordan Street - Holiday Inn Airport's address. We'll spend the rest of the evening sorting through our bags, clothing and souvenirs... and I'll continue to do some blogging.
Nice to be back in Sydney - at least for 1 day.
Fuji
Goodbye Uluru and Ayers Rock Resort!! Until we meet again........
We were showered, dressed and all packed up by 0730. Way to early. Made ourselves just relax out on our balcony until a little after 0800 at which time we left the room for the lobby. Checked our luggage in with the porters to hold on to and waited for our ride to the airport for our helicopter outing.
Had a bit of a panic moment when I noticed that the date on our helicopter tickets was for the date we set-up the flight, 9/17 - Sunday! Rosie reconfirmed the timing via the Porters calling PHS. Shortly thereafter, a van with appropriate markings pulled up outside the lobby to pick up not only Rosie and I but, 3 other Pax. Clint and Dave were the 2 pilots shepherding us around on this day. Clint would actually be flying us around while Dave would act as ground crew.
Both nice guys, they gathered our weight and balance info and drove us out to the airport and the helicopter pads. There was no one else in sight. They would be performing all the duties required to get a helicopter off the ground. Reminded me of the days when I used to fly around the country on 'training' flights just to burn OPTAR in the F-14. A whole lot of fun. These guys had a pretty cherry job, granted in the middle of nowhere but, they could really rack up some flight time on a busy day.
Dave provided us with a safety briefing before we all headed out to the helicopter while Clint took care of all the pre-flight checks. The guys were good about taking photos of all of us in front of the helicopter. Seating in this particular helicopter was 2 in front, 4 in the back. A woman got the front left seat. Myself and the only other guy got the rear window seats; me on the right, the other guy on the left, and; our wives took up the middle 2 seats. A bit cramped but fine.
This would be Rosie's first helicopter ride and she didn't even blink and eyelash. I could tell she was enjoying it and that made me happy. We took a fair amount of photos before we even got airborne. All strapped in and headphones donned, Clint started the bird up and we were airborne in no time headed directly towards Uluru. Along the way Clint gave us some pretty good views to Yulara and Ayers Rock Resort, pointing out interesting features along the way. The flight didn't take long to get to Uluru and we stayed north and west of the rock, not sure why... may have been what we paid for or, just avoided flying over sacred areas and the Aborigine town southeast of the rock. Regardless, made for some really excellent views of the rock. It's also fun being back in the air in a tiny aircraft - even if it's a helicopter! Good fun.
Uluru done we headed west towards Kata Tjula. We'd be doing a couple of fly-bys of that much bigger rock formation. We just didn't have enough time to include a road trip to this site. Kata Tjula is a very sacred site for male Aborigines, no women allowed. The name means 'many heads.' Two passes by the formation so each side of the craft had good views and we headed back towards the airport, gradually descending along the way, all eyes out for wild camels - didn't see any on this day. Before we knew it, Rosie's first helicopter ride was over and we were on our way back to the Resort. Glad we were able to squeeze this in.
Side Note: Kata Tjula. Kata Tjuṯa, (Pitjantjatjara: Kata Tjuṯa, lit. 'many heads'), also known as the Olgas, is a group of large, domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 365 km (227 mi) southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, located 25 km (16 mi) to the east, and Kata Tjuta form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. The park is considered sacred to the Aboriginal people of Australia.
The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuṯa cover an area of 21.68 km2 (8.37 sq mi), are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone. The highest dome, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above the surrounding plain 198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluru). Kata Tjuta is located at the eastern end of the Docker River Road.
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Back just after 1000. Rosie has been hinting at taking another visit to the camel riding area... she really would like to touch at least one of them. So, decided we could squeeze in a HoHo ride to go visit them again. Unfortunately, the HoHo service didn't start until 1030 each day. Regardless, we'd be pressing our luck and timing if anything went sideways. The HoHo actually showed up a bit early but, didn't intend to leave until 1030. There were at least 4 other people who wanted to go visit the camels along with us so, that's a stop the bus driver included on this trip around. Once at the camel enclosure we all jumped off and Rosie made sure the driver planned on being back in 20min.
Rosie was definitely excited! There was a huge caravan of camels preparing to leave on a multi-hour trip into the outback as we started poking around the gift shop and reservation shack. Rosie found out that for $15AU, you could take a 10min ride on a camel AND, those 4 camels were just getting back to the boarding chute! Well hell, sign her up!! We did and she was off and running. The camel herder, a young lass we believed from France, was taking her time reviewing how to get on and off a camel with the 6 riders going on this next ride. I nervously watched for the HoHo while taking photos of Rosie thoroughly enamored by the pending experience. Not only was she petting camels, she was going to ride one too!
After a few mumbled 'hurry ups' from me - heard by no one - the 4 camel train was underway, just as the huge caravan of camels was headed out to the Outback. The 10min ride felt like one of the longest spans of time I could remember. I really didn't want us to miss the HoHo back to the resort. As Rosie and the camels pulled back into the loading chute, the HoHo was just turning down the dirt road for pickup. We had time to walk into the main shack and out the front as the HoHo pulled up - couldn't have timed it better had we planned it! Quite relieved.
We got back to the Desert Garden Hotel by 1130, plenty of time left, a whole 30min! We wandered around the gift shop and up to the Aboriginal Museum. Rosie ended up buying a few native made gifts before heading back to the lobby just as our AAT Kings bus pulled up for loading and boarding. The porters had already pre-positioned our luggage outside for us to help stow aboard and we followed suit. The bus got us to Connellan Airport just after 12 noon. As soon as we got our bags, we queued up to check in and check our luggage. All of that went very smoothly and off to the security check area we went.
Security was pretty easy. Once we were inside the small boarding area, both Rosie and I did some last minute shopping in the 1 gift shop in the airport and then I bought us some lunch at the only food vendor there. Michael and Madeline, who we met and did dinner with the other night at 'Sounds of Silence,' were also in the Terminal waiting to get on the same flight with us. Chatted them up for a while and Rosie passed them some pics and a video of that evening by Airdropping to Michael's phone. They appreciated it.
Starting at 1350, we once again boarded, first come, first aboard. That meant walking out to the A320 and climbing up either the front ladder or aft ladder, depending on your aisle number. Rosie and I were in seats 9D/E so, we boarded forward. This flight's definitely not packed and we ended up having a spare seat between us. It let Rosie stretch out for a bit during the flight back to Sydney. Taxied on time and took off from runway 13. This time around, we had the perfect view to Uluru out the right side of the plane. We eventually climbed up to FL370 for our 2+45 flight back to Sydney.
Just after takeoff a young lady in our aisle on the opposite side of the aircraft started to hurl. Her husband was doing what he could and all we could do was pass over more barf bags. Not pleasant. Fortunately, after we got settled out in the air, she got cleaned up in the forward head and spent the rest of the flight laying down in aisle 6, seats A/B/C. It was empty and available. Rosie and I both settled back for short naps.
Awake. I never can or have slept well in flight, just fitfully. There's another hour before we land close to our scheduled time of 1745. Weather is clear and windy in Sydney. Made our approach into Sydney and landed to the south. Deplaning was easy and baggage claim carousel 4 had our luggage. Picked up our bag and headed down to the train station in the Terminal to ride a train 1 stop up to Mascot Station. Before we hopped on the train, we topped off our Opal cards with $20 each.
We had no idea that the Opal/Train system is rigged to hose down unwary travelers who use the train to get anywhere after landing in Sydney. Both Rosie and my Opal cards were docked about $9AU for a 1 stop ride!!! Apparently, this is done on purpose (found that out from Erica the next evening). Just doesn't seem right. We will definitely book the hotel shuttle bus for our ride into Sydney's International Terminal on Thursday!
Left Mascot Station and walked back to the Holiday Inn, checked into the hotel, retrieved our 3 pieces of luggage and went up to our room, 816. Thought we'd give room service a chance on this evening but after reviewing the menu, found it completely uninteresting. Decided to go out and find a place to dine. We noticed a Thai place right across from Mascot Station when we were exiting and thought we'd check that out.
As we approached the Thai restaurant, saw that it was sandwiched between a Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant. Went inside and immediately saw numerous signs stating the credit card machine was broken and they only took cash. It was obvious that those signs had been up for quite some time and that this particular Thai restaurant only wanted to deal with cash so, we left - I had a serious low Aussie cash light. Didn't feel like Vietnamese or Chinese food so, just kept walking. Didn't have to go far and ran into what would turn out to be a wonderful Japanese Restaurant, Taisho.
We ordered: edamame; veggie tempura; chicken teriyaki, and; a spicy tuna sushi roll. While I was perusing the menu I noticed the cover page to all the sushi options stamped with, "Jumbo Sushi." Wasn't sure what that meant. Wasn't printed anywhere else. Went ahead and ordered my sushi anyway. The edamame came out first followed by my sushi... it was HUGE! At least twice the size of a normal sushi roll, sliced into 9 round medallions of deliciousness! I loved it. Rosie's teriyaki chicken came next, missing rice but, we fixed that. Was a great meal and we left happy and very sated.
Had a nice leisurely stroll back to the corner of Bourke Road and O'Riordan Street - Holiday Inn Airport's address. We'll spend the rest of the evening sorting through our bags, clothing and souvenirs... and I'll continue to do some blogging.
Nice to be back in Sydney - at least for 1 day.
Fuji
Goodbye Uluru and Ayers Rock Resort!! Until we meet again........
Monday, September 18, 2017: Uluru!
Didn't sleep well last night - not sure why, the beds are comfortable. May have been due to the late supper?
Rosie's phone went off at 0410. We have a hotel wake-up call for 0430. We have a 0515 appointment for a sunrise viewing ride out to Uluru - set up yesterday for $49/person. Our ride out into the National Park and Uluru will be via the HoHo mini-bus. Showered and dressed in plenty of time to walk over to the lobby and wait for our charter. While waiting we met and chatted up a very tall blonde woman my age, Dee, who was an American from Minnesota (I guessed correctly based on the Twin Cities t-shirt she had on under her sweat shirt) who'd been living in Australia for the past 35yrs. She was a lecturing professor at a University in Sydney (can't recall which one). She was here on half play, half work. Turns out she would be leading a seminar within the Desert Garden Hotel the next day for some native Aboriginal leaders of certain Australian companies who were flying in. Nice, interesting person.
When our ride showed up, there were 8 of us headed out on this charter to the sunrise locale just south and east of the monolith called: Talinguru Nyakunytiaku... no idea what this means! About a 15min ride in the dark. We first needed to purchase 2 National Park passes from our bus driver for $50AU cash. We'd need them to legally enter the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National park system. We all boarded and headed out. Our driver was a bit chatty, not a bad thing, and described how this charter worked. He was very accommodating within the bounds of what we'd paid for: a ride out to Uluru; a drop off, and; a pick up to come back. Once we reached the Park Entrance and slowed to enter, the driver asked all of us to hold up our tickets and wave them at the Park Ranger watching us from a building 50 feet away. Was mildly amusing but we did so and she waved us in.
Arrived at the parking location and we were definitely not the first. There were already several large buses parked, some smaller vehicles and a handful of tents set up caring for the breakfast needs of those particular charters' pax... we were obviously on the 'skinnied' down version of a charter. :-) We parked just a little after 0600. The hiking paths were lit with red and green lights on the ground. There were already a lot of folks perched atop the viewing platform waiting on sunrise, soaking in the crisp morning air and taking a lot of photos. Our bus driver asked us to all be back by 0700 and off we went. He also advised that there were some very good vantage points along the hiking paths out in front of the viewing platform - which was going to get very packed with visitors.
This location also housed 1 of the 3 toilets within the park complex - so we availed ourselves to them before making our way up to the viewing platform. When we got up to the 2 level viewing platform, some folks had already parked themselves in strategic locations for sunrise pictures. We politely maneuvered in and around them taking a bunch of photos of Uluru ourselves. It's really massive and imposing. As the morning continued to brighten, Uluru started gaining more character. It's not just 1 huge smooth monolith. It's got all kinds of caves, fractures and other distinctive geological features including wear lines due to rain - when it does rain here. Stayed on the platform until a little after 0630 and decided to get away from the crowd and head down and out onto the hiking paths to find less hindered views to the rock. It really is a striking sight. Rosie and I are still pinching ourselves to make sure we're really here and not dreaming!
Side Note: Uluru. The local Anangu, the Pitjantjatjara people, call the landmark Uluṟu. This word is a proper noun, with no further particular meaning in the Pitjantjatjara dialect, although it is used as a local family name by the senior Traditional Owners of Uluru.
On 19 July 1873, the surveyor William Gosse sighted the landmark and named it Ayers Rock in honor of the then Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Since then, both names have been used.
In 1993, a dual naming policy was adopted that allowed official names that consist of both the traditional Aboriginal name and the English name. On 15 December 1993, it was renamed "Ayers Rock / Uluru" and became the first official dual-named feature in the Northern Territory. The order of the dual names was officially reversed to "Uluru / Ayers Rock" on 6 November 2002 following a request from the Regional Tourism Association in Alice Springs.
Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural landmarks. The sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high, rising 863 m (2,831 ft) above sea level with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 mi). Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush food and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.
Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour at different times of the day and year, most notably when it glows red at dawn and sunset.
Kata Tjuta, also called Mount Olga or the Olgas, lies 25 km (16 mi) west of Uluru. Special viewing areas with road access and parking have been constructed to give tourists the best views of both sites at dawn and dusk.
Uluru is an inselberg, literally "island mountain". An inselberg is a prominent isolated residual knob or hill that rises abruptly from and is surrounded by extensive and relatively flat erosion lowlands in a hot, dry region. Uluru is also often referred to as a monolith, although this is a somewhat ambiguous term that is generally avoided by geologists. The remarkable feature of Uluru is its homogeneity and lack of jointing and parting at bedding surfaces, leading to the lack of development of scree slopes and soil. These characteristics led to its survival, while the surrounding rocks were eroded. For the purpose of mapping and describing the geological history of the area, geologists refer to the rock strata making up Uluru as the Mutitjulu Arkose, and it is one of many sedimentary formations filling the Amadeus Basin.
Sunrise was amazing and awe inspiring. Took a lot of photos and at 0655 headed back to the mini-bus. After everyone was back aboard, our driver (never offered up a name and we didn't ask) set out to stop at the 4 locations any of us could get off at to start our individual tours. We chose to be dropped off at the last of the 4 stops, the Cultural Center. Time was 0730. This is where the bike rentals happen via the proprietor, Levi, a real character, representing 'Outback Cycling'. Cost: ~$92 for 2 bikes and 3hrs usage. Levi was there getting set up and renting to a family of 4. He claims to have returned all of the calls we placed yesterday, none that we received, including the call from the lobby desk. Didn't matter, he had 2 bikes available and by 0745 we'd rented them and were off to the Cultural Center to take a quick peek and buy some coffee and light breakfast (a meat pie and sausage roll). I've told you they are ubiquitous in Australia!
Our total ride on this day would be just under 15km from the Cultural Center to Uluru, around the Rock and back to the Center. The ride's all flat with a few soft spots on the south side. It's 2.2km from the Cultural Center to get to the Mala parking area. This is where hardy adventurers make the ~3km assent up the 10% grade climb to the top of Ulura - it's steep! We just didn't have enough time to attempt a full climb - I was definitely up for it but, I wanted to be sensitive to Rosie and didn't want to abandon her to ride around the base of Uluru by herself. We did scale the rock up to the top of the rock fall and took some pictures while we were there... Rosie followed me up - incredible effort. She did experience some vertigo issues part way up and needed just a bit of help getting back down but, many points for the attempt. Climbed back down, passed a few climbers going up on the way down, got back on our bikes and started our counter-clockwise ride around the base of this massive rock.
What an amazing ride! Relatively speaking there weren't that many visitors on this day, at least on the walking/bike trail. We were happy with that. Made us feel a bit closer to Uluru as we went around. We stopped quite a few times around the base for photo ops and to visit designated points of interest. There are a handful of locations around the base that are very sacred to the Aborigine and signs are posted to please not take photos - we honored those. We also, when the opportunity presented itself, took pictures for other visitors to Uluru. Just the neighborly thing to do. The first 'big' stop along the way was at the Mutitjulu water hole on the south side of Uluru. We parked our bikes and trekked in to a wide, tree lined crevice in the mountain that narrows into a small canyon. You cross a couple of man-made bridges and eventually get to an amazing standing pool of water at the base of the rock. A small oasis that stands out in this arid region. It's hard to describe the enormity of the furrow cut into the rock by millennia of rain water all running down into this pool of life giving water. Was quite moving.
Left feeling a bit awed by where we were and continued on around to the next major viewing location, the Kuniya Piti at the eastern most point of Uluru. It's one of several sacred locations around the rock and you're reminded to be respectful and not to take photos. These sacred places are called 'areas of cultural significance.' Continued on around the northern edge of Uluru past some stunning and unique geological features, most notably a huge area on the north face pock marked and resembling a brain. So interesting.
Before we knew it, we were back at the Mala Parking area, where you can climb the rock, and it was just 1000. Even with all of the stopping we'd done on this day, we'd be back to the Cultural Center in plenty of time not to incur a $$ penalty for a late return. Got back to the Center by 1015 with a good half hour left on our rental, turned the bikes back in and spent a good 20min back inside the Center's gift shop. Our HoHo would be here to pick us up by around 1050. Purchased a couple of waters and headed back out to the dusty bus stop to wait for our ride. Our vacation friend, Dee, showed back up and we spent some collegial minutes just sharing experiences before our bus showed up to carry us back to the Resort. Back at the hotel at 1130. That's a bike ride we won't soon forget!
On the ride back we had talked about getting some lunch from the restaurant in our hotel, Desert Garden. Dee, having had more time onsite than we, recommended doing lunch at the restaurant over in the Sails in the Desert Hotel - so we did! We HoHo'd it over to the hotel and got seated by the bar adjacent to the lobby. Ordered some cocktails and 2 club sandwiches: a veggie one for Rosie and a normal, well relatively normal, turkey club for me. For some reason they put an egg in their club sandwiches over here? Still, very tasty. After lunch we hopped back on the HoHo and took a quick ride out to the Camel riding area just for a look see. They have quite a few camels and a small petting zoo. Spent about 20min wandering around before our HoHo was back and we returned to our hotel.
By the time we got back to our room, it was 1400 and we were both dragging a bit so, took a little nap until about 1500. Felt much better for doing so. We got up, cleaned up and just puttered about. We had no plans for our 2nd and last evening in the Resort. Decided to go check out the other venue we considered, the Outback Pioneer, and jumped on to the HoHo for the short ride there. At this time of day, after 1600, many of the day shift workers were on the bus headed back to their 'residences.' Was interesting to see where many of them were housed/bunked, quite a few dormitory settings. We got to see a couple of the areas including the single family units - primarily for the managers of the Resort. A little insight to the behind the scenes world of Ayers Rock Resort.
We eventually made it to the Outback Pioneer. Rosie had considered this part of the of the Resort during planningi but, discounted it because of some reviews she'd read about it being very basic with very few amenities and lots of do it yourself. Some questionable accommodations also... buggy. Those reviews seemed to fit what we were seeing. Having said that, no one was complaining and seemed to be doing just fine. We were very happy to be at the Desert Gardens. Most meals you could purchase here seemed to be BBQ style, do it yourself and, outdoors - there was 1 indoor buffet - with limited windows of availability. We stopped for a beer, wine and some cocktail nuts at the outdoor bar before catching the HoHo back to our hotel.
Thought we'd try the restaurant at our hotel on this evening, it was about 1730, but when we said we didn't have a reservation, they turned us away and said they had openings starting at 2000, much too late for our needs. The place was empty. We didn't wait. They apparently had two large groups showing up for chow in the next 1/2 hr. Oh well. Decided to walk over to the Towne Center to see what was open there. Ended up in the Gecko Cafe with salads and a margherita pizza. Was ok.
We were back in our room by 1930 and started to go through our re-packing routine. We have to be checked out earlier than normal tomorrow morning to make our helicopter tour and have our bags stored and pre-positioned until we get back from the helicopter outing. Our carry-on and 1 suitcase will be just a bit heavier - we did make a handful of souvenir purchases over the course of the last 2 days. We have a 0855 pick-up tomorrow by PHS for our 'copter ride. Our flight tomorrow on JetStar flt#661 takes off at 1415 and we need to be back from the helicopter tour in time to make a 1200 AAT Kings ride back to the airport. Shouldnt be a problem.
Our last night in Ayers Rock Resort!!!
Fuji
Rosie's phone went off at 0410. We have a hotel wake-up call for 0430. We have a 0515 appointment for a sunrise viewing ride out to Uluru - set up yesterday for $49/person. Our ride out into the National Park and Uluru will be via the HoHo mini-bus. Showered and dressed in plenty of time to walk over to the lobby and wait for our charter. While waiting we met and chatted up a very tall blonde woman my age, Dee, who was an American from Minnesota (I guessed correctly based on the Twin Cities t-shirt she had on under her sweat shirt) who'd been living in Australia for the past 35yrs. She was a lecturing professor at a University in Sydney (can't recall which one). She was here on half play, half work. Turns out she would be leading a seminar within the Desert Garden Hotel the next day for some native Aboriginal leaders of certain Australian companies who were flying in. Nice, interesting person.
When our ride showed up, there were 8 of us headed out on this charter to the sunrise locale just south and east of the monolith called: Talinguru Nyakunytiaku... no idea what this means! About a 15min ride in the dark. We first needed to purchase 2 National Park passes from our bus driver for $50AU cash. We'd need them to legally enter the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National park system. We all boarded and headed out. Our driver was a bit chatty, not a bad thing, and described how this charter worked. He was very accommodating within the bounds of what we'd paid for: a ride out to Uluru; a drop off, and; a pick up to come back. Once we reached the Park Entrance and slowed to enter, the driver asked all of us to hold up our tickets and wave them at the Park Ranger watching us from a building 50 feet away. Was mildly amusing but we did so and she waved us in.
Arrived at the parking location and we were definitely not the first. There were already several large buses parked, some smaller vehicles and a handful of tents set up caring for the breakfast needs of those particular charters' pax... we were obviously on the 'skinnied' down version of a charter. :-) We parked just a little after 0600. The hiking paths were lit with red and green lights on the ground. There were already a lot of folks perched atop the viewing platform waiting on sunrise, soaking in the crisp morning air and taking a lot of photos. Our bus driver asked us to all be back by 0700 and off we went. He also advised that there were some very good vantage points along the hiking paths out in front of the viewing platform - which was going to get very packed with visitors.
This location also housed 1 of the 3 toilets within the park complex - so we availed ourselves to them before making our way up to the viewing platform. When we got up to the 2 level viewing platform, some folks had already parked themselves in strategic locations for sunrise pictures. We politely maneuvered in and around them taking a bunch of photos of Uluru ourselves. It's really massive and imposing. As the morning continued to brighten, Uluru started gaining more character. It's not just 1 huge smooth monolith. It's got all kinds of caves, fractures and other distinctive geological features including wear lines due to rain - when it does rain here. Stayed on the platform until a little after 0630 and decided to get away from the crowd and head down and out onto the hiking paths to find less hindered views to the rock. It really is a striking sight. Rosie and I are still pinching ourselves to make sure we're really here and not dreaming!
Side Note: Uluru. The local Anangu, the Pitjantjatjara people, call the landmark Uluṟu. This word is a proper noun, with no further particular meaning in the Pitjantjatjara dialect, although it is used as a local family name by the senior Traditional Owners of Uluru.
On 19 July 1873, the surveyor William Gosse sighted the landmark and named it Ayers Rock in honor of the then Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Since then, both names have been used.
In 1993, a dual naming policy was adopted that allowed official names that consist of both the traditional Aboriginal name and the English name. On 15 December 1993, it was renamed "Ayers Rock / Uluru" and became the first official dual-named feature in the Northern Territory. The order of the dual names was officially reversed to "Uluru / Ayers Rock" on 6 November 2002 following a request from the Regional Tourism Association in Alice Springs.
Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural landmarks. The sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high, rising 863 m (2,831 ft) above sea level with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 mi). Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush food and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.
Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour at different times of the day and year, most notably when it glows red at dawn and sunset.
Kata Tjuta, also called Mount Olga or the Olgas, lies 25 km (16 mi) west of Uluru. Special viewing areas with road access and parking have been constructed to give tourists the best views of both sites at dawn and dusk.
Uluru is an inselberg, literally "island mountain". An inselberg is a prominent isolated residual knob or hill that rises abruptly from and is surrounded by extensive and relatively flat erosion lowlands in a hot, dry region. Uluru is also often referred to as a monolith, although this is a somewhat ambiguous term that is generally avoided by geologists. The remarkable feature of Uluru is its homogeneity and lack of jointing and parting at bedding surfaces, leading to the lack of development of scree slopes and soil. These characteristics led to its survival, while the surrounding rocks were eroded. For the purpose of mapping and describing the geological history of the area, geologists refer to the rock strata making up Uluru as the Mutitjulu Arkose, and it is one of many sedimentary formations filling the Amadeus Basin.
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Sunrise was amazing and awe inspiring. Took a lot of photos and at 0655 headed back to the mini-bus. After everyone was back aboard, our driver (never offered up a name and we didn't ask) set out to stop at the 4 locations any of us could get off at to start our individual tours. We chose to be dropped off at the last of the 4 stops, the Cultural Center. Time was 0730. This is where the bike rentals happen via the proprietor, Levi, a real character, representing 'Outback Cycling'. Cost: ~$92 for 2 bikes and 3hrs usage. Levi was there getting set up and renting to a family of 4. He claims to have returned all of the calls we placed yesterday, none that we received, including the call from the lobby desk. Didn't matter, he had 2 bikes available and by 0745 we'd rented them and were off to the Cultural Center to take a quick peek and buy some coffee and light breakfast (a meat pie and sausage roll). I've told you they are ubiquitous in Australia!
Our total ride on this day would be just under 15km from the Cultural Center to Uluru, around the Rock and back to the Center. The ride's all flat with a few soft spots on the south side. It's 2.2km from the Cultural Center to get to the Mala parking area. This is where hardy adventurers make the ~3km assent up the 10% grade climb to the top of Ulura - it's steep! We just didn't have enough time to attempt a full climb - I was definitely up for it but, I wanted to be sensitive to Rosie and didn't want to abandon her to ride around the base of Uluru by herself. We did scale the rock up to the top of the rock fall and took some pictures while we were there... Rosie followed me up - incredible effort. She did experience some vertigo issues part way up and needed just a bit of help getting back down but, many points for the attempt. Climbed back down, passed a few climbers going up on the way down, got back on our bikes and started our counter-clockwise ride around the base of this massive rock.
What an amazing ride! Relatively speaking there weren't that many visitors on this day, at least on the walking/bike trail. We were happy with that. Made us feel a bit closer to Uluru as we went around. We stopped quite a few times around the base for photo ops and to visit designated points of interest. There are a handful of locations around the base that are very sacred to the Aborigine and signs are posted to please not take photos - we honored those. We also, when the opportunity presented itself, took pictures for other visitors to Uluru. Just the neighborly thing to do. The first 'big' stop along the way was at the Mutitjulu water hole on the south side of Uluru. We parked our bikes and trekked in to a wide, tree lined crevice in the mountain that narrows into a small canyon. You cross a couple of man-made bridges and eventually get to an amazing standing pool of water at the base of the rock. A small oasis that stands out in this arid region. It's hard to describe the enormity of the furrow cut into the rock by millennia of rain water all running down into this pool of life giving water. Was quite moving.
Left feeling a bit awed by where we were and continued on around to the next major viewing location, the Kuniya Piti at the eastern most point of Uluru. It's one of several sacred locations around the rock and you're reminded to be respectful and not to take photos. These sacred places are called 'areas of cultural significance.' Continued on around the northern edge of Uluru past some stunning and unique geological features, most notably a huge area on the north face pock marked and resembling a brain. So interesting.
Before we knew it, we were back at the Mala Parking area, where you can climb the rock, and it was just 1000. Even with all of the stopping we'd done on this day, we'd be back to the Cultural Center in plenty of time not to incur a $$ penalty for a late return. Got back to the Center by 1015 with a good half hour left on our rental, turned the bikes back in and spent a good 20min back inside the Center's gift shop. Our HoHo would be here to pick us up by around 1050. Purchased a couple of waters and headed back out to the dusty bus stop to wait for our ride. Our vacation friend, Dee, showed back up and we spent some collegial minutes just sharing experiences before our bus showed up to carry us back to the Resort. Back at the hotel at 1130. That's a bike ride we won't soon forget!
On the ride back we had talked about getting some lunch from the restaurant in our hotel, Desert Garden. Dee, having had more time onsite than we, recommended doing lunch at the restaurant over in the Sails in the Desert Hotel - so we did! We HoHo'd it over to the hotel and got seated by the bar adjacent to the lobby. Ordered some cocktails and 2 club sandwiches: a veggie one for Rosie and a normal, well relatively normal, turkey club for me. For some reason they put an egg in their club sandwiches over here? Still, very tasty. After lunch we hopped back on the HoHo and took a quick ride out to the Camel riding area just for a look see. They have quite a few camels and a small petting zoo. Spent about 20min wandering around before our HoHo was back and we returned to our hotel.
By the time we got back to our room, it was 1400 and we were both dragging a bit so, took a little nap until about 1500. Felt much better for doing so. We got up, cleaned up and just puttered about. We had no plans for our 2nd and last evening in the Resort. Decided to go check out the other venue we considered, the Outback Pioneer, and jumped on to the HoHo for the short ride there. At this time of day, after 1600, many of the day shift workers were on the bus headed back to their 'residences.' Was interesting to see where many of them were housed/bunked, quite a few dormitory settings. We got to see a couple of the areas including the single family units - primarily for the managers of the Resort. A little insight to the behind the scenes world of Ayers Rock Resort.
We eventually made it to the Outback Pioneer. Rosie had considered this part of the of the Resort during planningi but, discounted it because of some reviews she'd read about it being very basic with very few amenities and lots of do it yourself. Some questionable accommodations also... buggy. Those reviews seemed to fit what we were seeing. Having said that, no one was complaining and seemed to be doing just fine. We were very happy to be at the Desert Gardens. Most meals you could purchase here seemed to be BBQ style, do it yourself and, outdoors - there was 1 indoor buffet - with limited windows of availability. We stopped for a beer, wine and some cocktail nuts at the outdoor bar before catching the HoHo back to our hotel.
Thought we'd try the restaurant at our hotel on this evening, it was about 1730, but when we said we didn't have a reservation, they turned us away and said they had openings starting at 2000, much too late for our needs. The place was empty. We didn't wait. They apparently had two large groups showing up for chow in the next 1/2 hr. Oh well. Decided to walk over to the Towne Center to see what was open there. Ended up in the Gecko Cafe with salads and a margherita pizza. Was ok.
We were back in our room by 1930 and started to go through our re-packing routine. We have to be checked out earlier than normal tomorrow morning to make our helicopter tour and have our bags stored and pre-positioned until we get back from the helicopter outing. Our carry-on and 1 suitcase will be just a bit heavier - we did make a handful of souvenir purchases over the course of the last 2 days. We have a 0855 pick-up tomorrow by PHS for our 'copter ride. Our flight tomorrow on JetStar flt#661 takes off at 1415 and we need to be back from the helicopter tour in time to make a 1200 AAT Kings ride back to the airport. Shouldnt be a problem.
Our last night in Ayers Rock Resort!!!
Fuji
Sunday, September 17, 2017: Sydney to Uluru, the Red Center of Australia
0530 start to our day. Another beautiful, clear sky day in New South Wales _ I sound like a broken record. The weather has been extraordinary for us! Both Rosie and I were feeling fairly worn down but happy to be on this adventure. We've been going long every day since arrival, as planned, but we were definitely feeling it on this morning.
All packed up and checked out of the hotel by 0715. We've really enjoyed the overall experience we've had with the Holiday Inn. Their location is ideal, prices competitive and, unless you're looking for an uber luxurious hotel (along with the associated cost), it was the perfect choice for us. We'd highly recommend this Holiday Inn location to anyone!
There's a marathon being run this morning in Sydney starting and ending near the Opera House. Fortunately, we're walking and not driving. Many of the street access points are barricaded off for most of the morning as thousands of runners participate. Pedestrians just needed to find a hole and time to cross making sure not to interfere with the runners. Made our way down to CQ and platform 2. Waited about 15min for our train to the Domestic Terminal. We are really getting the hang of Sydney's commuter train system!
A handful of stops later, we were exiting the train and and taking the escalator up to the Domestic Terminal. Found the JetStar kiosks, checked in and tagged our 1 suitcase. For some reason Rosie and I had to check in individually, wasn't a problem. Done, we moved over to the bag drop queue. We were turned away! Apparently, JetStar doesn't check anyone in for a flight before exactly 2hrs prior to takeoff. The time was 0810 and we were 20min early for a 1030 take off to Ayers Rock Airport in the Northern Territory. Oh well, so much for being early. Walked off, found some seats, and bought some coffees and breakfast to enjoy before we re-queued up. Bought Rosie a ham and cheese croissant and a spinach feta cheese roll for me. I really love the variety of food types there are in airports outside of the U.S. Tons of fascinating options to choose from and, oh, they even have McDonald's here in Sydney airport as an option, right next to more fancy food venues - love it!!
Finished up our morning repast and queued back up at the bag drop line. We got to the counter a little after 0829 and the JetStar employee there literally waited until the clock struck 0830 before she started processing us through - incredible! She weighed our suitcase, well below 23kg (15ish) and she weighed all of our carry-ons too. They had to be no more than 7kg/person. We were fine and our carry-on was tagged as such. Next, security.
Wasn't bad at all. Security for domestic flights once in country, in my experience, tended to be quicker, more straight forward and just easier. So it was with JetStar here in this airport. No need to show passports. Shoes and belts stay on. You do take out laptops, take off hats, take out liquids and aerosols, empty pockets and, go through the x-ray portal. Felt much easier than in the U.S. Of course, we have good reason to be much more deliberate with our security protocol... recall 9/11/01.
The Domestic Terminal is a bustle of activity with lots of interesting shops and food vendors. Rosie immediately went in hunt of the elusive Wiggles. Eureka! She finally found a Wiggles book for Ben in the first store she popped into! Much relief all around. :-)
Our flight today: JetStar flt#660, an A320, leaving out of Gate 55, direct to Ayers Rock. We're in seats 8D/E. I'm surprised at how many flights, 5, there are on the board to the center of this country, the middle of nowhere and colloquially known to Aussies as their 'red centre' in the Northern Territory. It's a half day's drive from Alice Springs the nearest 'big' town - which lies to the north of Yulara, the small town near Uluru.
Boarding started right at 1010 - it's a controlled free for all. Seating in JetStar aircraft just drives how you board: if you're seated in the forward half, aisle 1-15, you board via the jetway. In the back half, aisle 16-30, you walk out and down to the tarmac and board via stairwell at the rear of the plane. It's not bad at all. They are sticklers for bag size... if it doesn't look right at the gate, even after passing through bag drop, they will pull you aside and check it again. Seating in the plane is all 1 class, 3 x 3, configuration.
JetStar definitely reminds me of some of our low fare, low service airlines in the States: JetBlue, Southwest and the like. No frills, all 1 class and, you pay for everything with JetStar - water and other beverages alike (not sure about this with our U.S. carriers). We had pre-ordered some food to have on the ~3hr flight out to Ayers online. The JetStar cabin crew knew that. All aboard, we taxi'd out and were weight-off-wheels by 1056. We do have someone in the window seat, 8F, next to Rosie, a nice lady from Seattle, Ann. I'm sure Rosie and Ann will get along fabulously.
Anyway, we get airborne and I'm talking to Rosie about how exactly would the cabin crew know we ordered food for this flight? As we're speaking, a male flight attendant - nice young gent, Luke - tells us that the food we ordered for this flight: meat pies and sausage rolls for both of us, isn't available?? What? You gotta be kidding me! He was very apologetic (I still don't know why the food wasn't onboard? Why the heck would you have that as an offered service and muck it up!?) and asked us if we'd like to pick something else? So we did, the ramen noodles... turns out that wasn't available either!? Now, I'm starting to get just a bit 'on my ear' and the measured sarcasm starts coming out. All I want is my meat pie and sausage roll! Of all the food in Australia, EVERYONE has meat pies and sausage rolls! You can't swing a stick without hitting a food vendor that sells them!
Luke took it all well, pretty sure it wasn't his fault. We finally decide on and chose something that is onboard the airplane, egg salad sandwiches. He knows I'm a bit ticked so, I said how about tossing in some pringles and a beverage? His response: "I can make that happen." - Perfect. He did, all on JetStar. All is right in the world again. Still, would have preferred my meat pie and sausage roll.
As we began our enroute descent into Ayers Rock airport aka: Connellan Airport, excitement started to build for sightings of Uluru. We were on the wrong side of the plane. Pax on the port side would be front and center. A very nice young girl in the seats just a row up on the port side was good enough to snap a few beautiful pics of Uluru with Rosie's iPhone as we made to land. Touched down at 1321 local time on runway 31. Uluru's time zone is 30min earlier than Sydney so, time in Sydney at landing was 1351. There's only the 1 baggage carousel in the tiny airport so, that's where everyone queued up for bags. There are very large AAT King buses parked outside ready to spirit us away to Ayers Resort once they fill up. It's a complimentary lift to the various venues, there are 4, within the Resort.
A short 10min ride later, we're at the Desert Gardens Hotel time: 1415. Reception was expecting us but our room wasn't ready to be released to us until 1500. We had a little time to wander so, we walked over to the Towne Center where there were some shops selling all your necessities and souvenirs, some eateries, a coffee shop, a post office, bank and, an IGA food store. We went into the IGA first. Pretty well stocked for such a remote locale. Bought a 5litre jug of water so we'd be able to refill our water bottles throughout our stay. Rosie tells me that the town of Yulara and this Resort gets replenished twice a week via massive Aussie overland hauling trucks. Things are very expensive here because of the location and logistics to keep things civil. They do make a third of their own electricity via solar panels and get their water from underground aquifers. They have all the amenities, services and challenges, albeit scaled down, that any modern city does including: waste water treatment, waste management, police, emergency services, fire department, post office... this list goes on. Pretty amazing.
While we were in the Towne Centre, walked into the Visitor's center and started talking up the rep there. Had a ton of questions which he was able to answer easily... he's obviously heard our questions before. I really wanted to make this excursion memorable for Rosie so started asking about helicopter flights to view Uluru. There were several options and after a little bit of deliberation in my own mind, chose to book through Professional Helicopter Services (PHS). Set up a 30min excursion to both Uluru and Kata Tjula on Tuesday morning, the day we leave, pick up at 0855. Cost $450. Looking forward to the ride!
Walked back to the lobby of our hotel and picked up the keys to our room, 358. Our luggage had already been moved to the room on the 2nd deck of our building, nice! I'm not sure what we were expecting but, our room is quite nice with a view to Uluru, partially obscured by some rolling red mounds and trees. 2 King size beds, A/C, huge bathroom, balcony with a table and chairs, plenty of drawer/closet space, coffee/hot water making gear and, a small refrigerator. Purchased 3 days of Wifi access through the hotel for $30 and then remembered I have Skyroam! Oh well, no harm. (The hotel would take this off my bill when we checked out. Wifi was complimentary)
Another free service the Resort provide guests is a hop on, hop off (HoHo) bus service that circumnavigates the property about once every 20min. During the day it stops at all 4 Resort venues and the Camel Excursion/Riding center when asked to do so by a guest. Very convenient. It also stops at the unmarked Staff housing areas during early morning and late evening shift changes. They have to stay/live someplace. There's also some housing in the nearby town of Yulara. We're told that things are a bit slow here at the Resort at this time. That being said seems to us that there's a lot of people here all throughout the Resort... 'course, we wouldn't know busy vs not busy. This past weekend had to have been very busy because we weren't able to book the days we wanted at first and had to go with these 3days/2nights - actually worked out better for us.
When we were planning this excursion within Australia, Rosie had booked us on a 5hr dinner called 'Sounds of Silence' in the Outback on our first evening in the Resort. We were looking forward to that in a few hours time. Now that we were here, we tried to reserve some bikes for tomorrow, Monday's, visit to Uluru but, we were having challenges. No one was picking up the phone at wherever the bike rental was. We went back to the lobby to see if they could help but, no luck there either. We were told that since things were a bit slow, shouldn't be a problem to rent the bikes right at the Cultural Center within the National Park tomorrow morning. While Rosie was at the lobby, she also booked rides for us into and out of the National Park through the Hotel's smaller HoHo service for $49/person.
Time was now 1645 and we'd spent most of it coordinating other events for the rest of our stay. Headed back to our room to get cleaned up for our 'Sounds of Silence' dinner this evening. We weren't sure what to expect and 5hrs seemed to be a long time for dinner... but we were definitely looking forward to it! To book this event cost: $199/person.
We were informed to be in the lobby by 1725 for the 15min ride out into the Outback. There werer enough guests waiting in the lobby to fill 2 large AAT Kings coach buses! Definitely getting interesting. As we waited to board, we met and chatted up a very nice couple, Graham and Shirley, in the lobby who were also headed out to dinner. He was from New Zealand and she was from Africa, Zimbabwe (hadn't been back since she left and married Graham). They now hailed from Brisbane, Capital of Queensland. They'd already been here for 4 days and this was their last evening before flying back home on the 'morrow.
Well, the overall dinner did last 5hrs and was just fantastic! A really good, fun, magical experience and we felt tickled and privileged to have been a part of it. I know the Resort puts this event on once a night but, they go out of their way to make it an remarkable event. We couldn't have been more pleased and impressed. Highlights:
- Loaded up both buses and made our way out to a remote location via red dirt roads. About a 15min ride and felt quite mysterious.
- We were all discharged at the base of a remote rise in the landscape with a great view to Uluru. We needed to make a short hike up to a loosely cordoned off prepared platform where they greeted us with beers, champagne and wine along with a selection of canapes. The canapes included a slice of smoked kangaroo on a cracker, delicious. There was also a canape with crocodile as it's main ingredient. It wasn't bad either. So far, the not so very silent crowd of just under 100 guests were milling about, enjoying the views and cocktails, making introductions and just enjoying the moment. We met 3 other couples, all a bit older than us (at least I think they were older than us :-) ), one couple, Graham and Shirley, we'd already become acquainted with. One couple was from Saskatchewan, Canada, and the other couple, Michael and Madeline, were from Sydney - all very nice. The sunset was spectacular and as the sun faded away, our hosts announced that we would be walking down to the dinner venue and to follow the lighted path. They also asked us to announce how many were in each group so that they could arrange seating on the walk down.
- we colluded with our new holiday friends to make 2 groups of 4 and when we got down to the dining area, we got a table for just the 8 of us. There were about 10 tables for 10, not all completely filled but, filled enough. This dinner was Outback 'tucker' themed: kangaroo, crocodile, barramundi, chicken, potatoes, other veggies, salad, and rice. All the meats were being BBQ'd on sight. The other sides were most likely prepared offsite and then heated here. Food would be served buffett style and served up table by table. While we were being served our wine by our table's host for the evening, 'Ossie' - he was great by the way - we were serenaded by a didgeridoo. Very cool. The night sky as it darkened was crystal clear. The Milky Way right over our heads! We had mood lighting at each table, candles, and there were space heaters strategically located around the seating area. It was a chilly evening and the added warm was appreciated. Dinner was great and so was the company. Everyone at our table were friendly, gregarious and engaging. So much fun listening and talking to one another!
Side Note: The didgeridoo. The didgeridoo (also known as a didjeridu) is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia potentially within the last 1,500 years and still in widespread use today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe". Musicologists classify it as a brass aerophone.
There are no reliable sources stating the didgeridoo's exact age. Archaeological studies of rock art in Northern Australia suggest that the people of the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory have been using the didgeridoo for less than 1,000 years, based on the dating of paintings on cave walls and shelters from this period. A clear rock painting in Ginga Wardelirrhmeng, on the northern edge of the Arnhem Land plateau, from the freshwater period (that had begun 1500 years ago) shows a didgeridoo player and two songmen participating in an Ubarr Ceremony.
A modern didgeridoo is usually cylindrical or conical, and can measure anywhere from 1 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) long. Most are around 1.2 m (4 ft) long. Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower its pitch or key. However, flared instruments play a higher pitch than unflared instruments of the same length.
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- After we all went up and got dessert and had a bit of time to enjoy them, the crew came around and started turning everything off. It got very dark. We were now treated to the 'Sounds of Silence' portion of the dinner... a very interesting and amusing astronomy lesson provided by the local Astronomer. Most of the presentation was focused on the skies above us and how we fit into the larger scheme of things. Very interesting and so cool. He had a laser pointer, the kind Conor and I have, and was pointing out the various constellations and some related Aboriginal stories associated with the stars here in the Southern hemisphere. Ever since we arrived in Australia, whenever I've had the opportunity, I've tried to locate and identify the Southern Cross made famous by Crosby, Stills and Nash's song "Southern Cross". I thought I might have picked it out but, it wasn't until this evening that I knew for certain what I was looking at. In fact 6 of the 7 stars on the Australian flag are representative of the Southern Cross - just in case you were wondering.
- Everyone really enjoyed the presentation and the Service provided on this night. Really top notch! Before we realized it, almost 5hrs had passed and all that was left was the bus ride back to the Desert Gardens Hotel.
What an incredible experience on our first evening in town! We got back to the hotel at just after 2200. Well worth every penny and would highly recommend partaking in the 'Sounds of Silence' dinner if you ever get the chance to here at the Ayers Rock Resort.
Fuji
All packed up and checked out of the hotel by 0715. We've really enjoyed the overall experience we've had with the Holiday Inn. Their location is ideal, prices competitive and, unless you're looking for an uber luxurious hotel (along with the associated cost), it was the perfect choice for us. We'd highly recommend this Holiday Inn location to anyone!
There's a marathon being run this morning in Sydney starting and ending near the Opera House. Fortunately, we're walking and not driving. Many of the street access points are barricaded off for most of the morning as thousands of runners participate. Pedestrians just needed to find a hole and time to cross making sure not to interfere with the runners. Made our way down to CQ and platform 2. Waited about 15min for our train to the Domestic Terminal. We are really getting the hang of Sydney's commuter train system!
A handful of stops later, we were exiting the train and and taking the escalator up to the Domestic Terminal. Found the JetStar kiosks, checked in and tagged our 1 suitcase. For some reason Rosie and I had to check in individually, wasn't a problem. Done, we moved over to the bag drop queue. We were turned away! Apparently, JetStar doesn't check anyone in for a flight before exactly 2hrs prior to takeoff. The time was 0810 and we were 20min early for a 1030 take off to Ayers Rock Airport in the Northern Territory. Oh well, so much for being early. Walked off, found some seats, and bought some coffees and breakfast to enjoy before we re-queued up. Bought Rosie a ham and cheese croissant and a spinach feta cheese roll for me. I really love the variety of food types there are in airports outside of the U.S. Tons of fascinating options to choose from and, oh, they even have McDonald's here in Sydney airport as an option, right next to more fancy food venues - love it!!
Finished up our morning repast and queued back up at the bag drop line. We got to the counter a little after 0829 and the JetStar employee there literally waited until the clock struck 0830 before she started processing us through - incredible! She weighed our suitcase, well below 23kg (15ish) and she weighed all of our carry-ons too. They had to be no more than 7kg/person. We were fine and our carry-on was tagged as such. Next, security.
Wasn't bad at all. Security for domestic flights once in country, in my experience, tended to be quicker, more straight forward and just easier. So it was with JetStar here in this airport. No need to show passports. Shoes and belts stay on. You do take out laptops, take off hats, take out liquids and aerosols, empty pockets and, go through the x-ray portal. Felt much easier than in the U.S. Of course, we have good reason to be much more deliberate with our security protocol... recall 9/11/01.
The Domestic Terminal is a bustle of activity with lots of interesting shops and food vendors. Rosie immediately went in hunt of the elusive Wiggles. Eureka! She finally found a Wiggles book for Ben in the first store she popped into! Much relief all around. :-)
Our flight today: JetStar flt#660, an A320, leaving out of Gate 55, direct to Ayers Rock. We're in seats 8D/E. I'm surprised at how many flights, 5, there are on the board to the center of this country, the middle of nowhere and colloquially known to Aussies as their 'red centre' in the Northern Territory. It's a half day's drive from Alice Springs the nearest 'big' town - which lies to the north of Yulara, the small town near Uluru.
Boarding started right at 1010 - it's a controlled free for all. Seating in JetStar aircraft just drives how you board: if you're seated in the forward half, aisle 1-15, you board via the jetway. In the back half, aisle 16-30, you walk out and down to the tarmac and board via stairwell at the rear of the plane. It's not bad at all. They are sticklers for bag size... if it doesn't look right at the gate, even after passing through bag drop, they will pull you aside and check it again. Seating in the plane is all 1 class, 3 x 3, configuration.
JetStar definitely reminds me of some of our low fare, low service airlines in the States: JetBlue, Southwest and the like. No frills, all 1 class and, you pay for everything with JetStar - water and other beverages alike (not sure about this with our U.S. carriers). We had pre-ordered some food to have on the ~3hr flight out to Ayers online. The JetStar cabin crew knew that. All aboard, we taxi'd out and were weight-off-wheels by 1056. We do have someone in the window seat, 8F, next to Rosie, a nice lady from Seattle, Ann. I'm sure Rosie and Ann will get along fabulously.
Anyway, we get airborne and I'm talking to Rosie about how exactly would the cabin crew know we ordered food for this flight? As we're speaking, a male flight attendant - nice young gent, Luke - tells us that the food we ordered for this flight: meat pies and sausage rolls for both of us, isn't available?? What? You gotta be kidding me! He was very apologetic (I still don't know why the food wasn't onboard? Why the heck would you have that as an offered service and muck it up!?) and asked us if we'd like to pick something else? So we did, the ramen noodles... turns out that wasn't available either!? Now, I'm starting to get just a bit 'on my ear' and the measured sarcasm starts coming out. All I want is my meat pie and sausage roll! Of all the food in Australia, EVERYONE has meat pies and sausage rolls! You can't swing a stick without hitting a food vendor that sells them!
Luke took it all well, pretty sure it wasn't his fault. We finally decide on and chose something that is onboard the airplane, egg salad sandwiches. He knows I'm a bit ticked so, I said how about tossing in some pringles and a beverage? His response: "I can make that happen." - Perfect. He did, all on JetStar. All is right in the world again. Still, would have preferred my meat pie and sausage roll.
As we began our enroute descent into Ayers Rock airport aka: Connellan Airport, excitement started to build for sightings of Uluru. We were on the wrong side of the plane. Pax on the port side would be front and center. A very nice young girl in the seats just a row up on the port side was good enough to snap a few beautiful pics of Uluru with Rosie's iPhone as we made to land. Touched down at 1321 local time on runway 31. Uluru's time zone is 30min earlier than Sydney so, time in Sydney at landing was 1351. There's only the 1 baggage carousel in the tiny airport so, that's where everyone queued up for bags. There are very large AAT King buses parked outside ready to spirit us away to Ayers Resort once they fill up. It's a complimentary lift to the various venues, there are 4, within the Resort.
A short 10min ride later, we're at the Desert Gardens Hotel time: 1415. Reception was expecting us but our room wasn't ready to be released to us until 1500. We had a little time to wander so, we walked over to the Towne Center where there were some shops selling all your necessities and souvenirs, some eateries, a coffee shop, a post office, bank and, an IGA food store. We went into the IGA first. Pretty well stocked for such a remote locale. Bought a 5litre jug of water so we'd be able to refill our water bottles throughout our stay. Rosie tells me that the town of Yulara and this Resort gets replenished twice a week via massive Aussie overland hauling trucks. Things are very expensive here because of the location and logistics to keep things civil. They do make a third of their own electricity via solar panels and get their water from underground aquifers. They have all the amenities, services and challenges, albeit scaled down, that any modern city does including: waste water treatment, waste management, police, emergency services, fire department, post office... this list goes on. Pretty amazing.
While we were in the Towne Centre, walked into the Visitor's center and started talking up the rep there. Had a ton of questions which he was able to answer easily... he's obviously heard our questions before. I really wanted to make this excursion memorable for Rosie so started asking about helicopter flights to view Uluru. There were several options and after a little bit of deliberation in my own mind, chose to book through Professional Helicopter Services (PHS). Set up a 30min excursion to both Uluru and Kata Tjula on Tuesday morning, the day we leave, pick up at 0855. Cost $450. Looking forward to the ride!
Walked back to the lobby of our hotel and picked up the keys to our room, 358. Our luggage had already been moved to the room on the 2nd deck of our building, nice! I'm not sure what we were expecting but, our room is quite nice with a view to Uluru, partially obscured by some rolling red mounds and trees. 2 King size beds, A/C, huge bathroom, balcony with a table and chairs, plenty of drawer/closet space, coffee/hot water making gear and, a small refrigerator. Purchased 3 days of Wifi access through the hotel for $30 and then remembered I have Skyroam! Oh well, no harm. (The hotel would take this off my bill when we checked out. Wifi was complimentary)
Another free service the Resort provide guests is a hop on, hop off (HoHo) bus service that circumnavigates the property about once every 20min. During the day it stops at all 4 Resort venues and the Camel Excursion/Riding center when asked to do so by a guest. Very convenient. It also stops at the unmarked Staff housing areas during early morning and late evening shift changes. They have to stay/live someplace. There's also some housing in the nearby town of Yulara. We're told that things are a bit slow here at the Resort at this time. That being said seems to us that there's a lot of people here all throughout the Resort... 'course, we wouldn't know busy vs not busy. This past weekend had to have been very busy because we weren't able to book the days we wanted at first and had to go with these 3days/2nights - actually worked out better for us.
Time was now 1645 and we'd spent most of it coordinating other events for the rest of our stay. Headed back to our room to get cleaned up for our 'Sounds of Silence' dinner this evening. We weren't sure what to expect and 5hrs seemed to be a long time for dinner... but we were definitely looking forward to it! To book this event cost: $199/person.
We were informed to be in the lobby by 1725 for the 15min ride out into the Outback. There werer enough guests waiting in the lobby to fill 2 large AAT Kings coach buses! Definitely getting interesting. As we waited to board, we met and chatted up a very nice couple, Graham and Shirley, in the lobby who were also headed out to dinner. He was from New Zealand and she was from Africa, Zimbabwe (hadn't been back since she left and married Graham). They now hailed from Brisbane, Capital of Queensland. They'd already been here for 4 days and this was their last evening before flying back home on the 'morrow.
Well, the overall dinner did last 5hrs and was just fantastic! A really good, fun, magical experience and we felt tickled and privileged to have been a part of it. I know the Resort puts this event on once a night but, they go out of their way to make it an remarkable event. We couldn't have been more pleased and impressed. Highlights:
- Loaded up both buses and made our way out to a remote location via red dirt roads. About a 15min ride and felt quite mysterious.
- We were all discharged at the base of a remote rise in the landscape with a great view to Uluru. We needed to make a short hike up to a loosely cordoned off prepared platform where they greeted us with beers, champagne and wine along with a selection of canapes. The canapes included a slice of smoked kangaroo on a cracker, delicious. There was also a canape with crocodile as it's main ingredient. It wasn't bad either. So far, the not so very silent crowd of just under 100 guests were milling about, enjoying the views and cocktails, making introductions and just enjoying the moment. We met 3 other couples, all a bit older than us (at least I think they were older than us :-) ), one couple, Graham and Shirley, we'd already become acquainted with. One couple was from Saskatchewan, Canada, and the other couple, Michael and Madeline, were from Sydney - all very nice. The sunset was spectacular and as the sun faded away, our hosts announced that we would be walking down to the dinner venue and to follow the lighted path. They also asked us to announce how many were in each group so that they could arrange seating on the walk down.
- we colluded with our new holiday friends to make 2 groups of 4 and when we got down to the dining area, we got a table for just the 8 of us. There were about 10 tables for 10, not all completely filled but, filled enough. This dinner was Outback 'tucker' themed: kangaroo, crocodile, barramundi, chicken, potatoes, other veggies, salad, and rice. All the meats were being BBQ'd on sight. The other sides were most likely prepared offsite and then heated here. Food would be served buffett style and served up table by table. While we were being served our wine by our table's host for the evening, 'Ossie' - he was great by the way - we were serenaded by a didgeridoo. Very cool. The night sky as it darkened was crystal clear. The Milky Way right over our heads! We had mood lighting at each table, candles, and there were space heaters strategically located around the seating area. It was a chilly evening and the added warm was appreciated. Dinner was great and so was the company. Everyone at our table were friendly, gregarious and engaging. So much fun listening and talking to one another!
Side Note: The didgeridoo. The didgeridoo (also known as a didjeridu) is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia potentially within the last 1,500 years and still in widespread use today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe". Musicologists classify it as a brass aerophone.
There are no reliable sources stating the didgeridoo's exact age. Archaeological studies of rock art in Northern Australia suggest that the people of the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory have been using the didgeridoo for less than 1,000 years, based on the dating of paintings on cave walls and shelters from this period. A clear rock painting in Ginga Wardelirrhmeng, on the northern edge of the Arnhem Land plateau, from the freshwater period (that had begun 1500 years ago) shows a didgeridoo player and two songmen participating in an Ubarr Ceremony.
A modern didgeridoo is usually cylindrical or conical, and can measure anywhere from 1 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) long. Most are around 1.2 m (4 ft) long. Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower its pitch or key. However, flared instruments play a higher pitch than unflared instruments of the same length.
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- After we all went up and got dessert and had a bit of time to enjoy them, the crew came around and started turning everything off. It got very dark. We were now treated to the 'Sounds of Silence' portion of the dinner... a very interesting and amusing astronomy lesson provided by the local Astronomer. Most of the presentation was focused on the skies above us and how we fit into the larger scheme of things. Very interesting and so cool. He had a laser pointer, the kind Conor and I have, and was pointing out the various constellations and some related Aboriginal stories associated with the stars here in the Southern hemisphere. Ever since we arrived in Australia, whenever I've had the opportunity, I've tried to locate and identify the Southern Cross made famous by Crosby, Stills and Nash's song "Southern Cross". I thought I might have picked it out but, it wasn't until this evening that I knew for certain what I was looking at. In fact 6 of the 7 stars on the Australian flag are representative of the Southern Cross - just in case you were wondering.
- Everyone really enjoyed the presentation and the Service provided on this night. Really top notch! Before we realized it, almost 5hrs had passed and all that was left was the bus ride back to the Desert Gardens Hotel.
What an incredible experience on our first evening in town! We got back to the hotel at just after 2200. Well worth every penny and would highly recommend partaking in the 'Sounds of Silence' dinner if you ever get the chance to here at the Ayers Rock Resort.
Fuji
Saturday, September 16, 2017: Last Day in Sydney Before Uluru
Up at 0430 this morning... Rosie said I crashed last night. I was beat.
Our primary goal on this day would be to hook up with Rosie's cousin, Gearoid, and his two children, Maeve (10yrs) and Sam (8yrs). We hope to squeeze in a lot of activities and prep for our upcoming trip to the 'red center' of Australia, Uluru aka, Ayers Rock.
Chose to have breakfast at Guylians, a Belgium Chocolate shop nearby on George Street, that also does amazing pastries and a tasty breakfast. Pedestrian traffic this early in the morning, 0630, was very light. Vendors having spots within the Rock for their weekend Market were up and about getting their stalls set-up and stocked. This is our first time in Guylians. There's a sign as you walk in that states, 'please wait to be seated.' I bring this up because most places we've gone, service has been different. I asked our waiter about being served or ordering for oneself and he told us that if the 'please wait to be seated' sign is up, you should expect to have your order taken and delivered to your table. No sign, expect to go to the bar, place your order and you may or may not have to pick up your food/beverages. Well, that helps some moving forward.
We both ordered spinach omelets and a cappuccino for Rosie and a latte for me. I also substituted my toast with a ham and cheese croissant. Excellent breakfast. After breakfast we headed back up to our room to organize our luggage for Uluru. JetStar, Qantas' low fare/1 class/low service airline, has very stringent rules on checked luggage and carry-on. We only paid for 1 checked bag weighing up to 23kg/50# and our carry-on, per person, could not exceed certain size limits and a total of 7kg/15#. So, we ended up scaling way back and packing only essentials for our 3day/2night side trip to the Northern Territory. Turns out most hotels, including the Holiday Inn, have scales that you can weigh your bags on - which we would do - to ensure our luggage and carry-on would all be under limits. We had also ordered some food ahead of time online for the flight out. You pay for everything on JetStar, nothing is free. We will take our excess luggage via train to the Holiday Inn at the airport for storage while we're in Uluru.
Packing done around 0930, we headed down to the Market expecting things be still be in flux for a 1000 'official' start time. We were wrong, there were plenty of people shopping and vendors selling. So, we joined in. After making a preliminary pass around the main Market stall area we ended up making the following purchases:
- some really cool oils - Frangipani and Emu Oil. Frangipani, also known as Plumeria, is one of our favorite scents. Emu Oil, according to the very nice Chinese lady we purchased it from, was great for a variety of maladies and ailments. What the heck, couldn't hurt to give it a shot;
- bought 2 very cute, self-propelled, wooden kangaroos for Ben;
- a clear lucite paper-weight of the iconic symbols of Sydney, the bridge and Opera House, and;
- a really cool 'singing' bowl made in and brought from Nepal.
We were expecting Erica Brown to join us around 1100, so Rosie walked back towards the Holiday Inn to meet her there and ended up running in to her on the way. We did some more strolling around the Market and decided to do lunch at the Tea Cosy, a cute restaurant near the Mercantile right along Market row. Turns out they served a mini-version of the High Tea we enjoyed way back when in Scotland - that's what we ordered. Picked out our various teas and the finger sandwiches and scones, with local jams, they served up were quite good.
After lunch we wandered around the Market for a while longer with Erica until we bid her goodbye at 1230. We needed to head back to the Hilton to wait on the Ryans. Before she left, we invited Erica and her brother, Simon, if interested and available, to join us upon our return from Uluru for our last night's dinner in Sydney. I was going to try to make a reservation at the Sydney Opera House's Bennelong Restaurant. Back at the Holiday Inn, the folks at reception were helping me with making a reservation at Bennelong for 1730 on Wednesday, 9/20, for 4. Texted that to Erica and she said she'd love to make it and would check on Simon.
As I was in the middle of doing this at the lobby's reception desk, I felt a tap on my shoulder... I turned my head to look and saw a familiar face that did not immediately register, until I did a double-take - it was Gearoid! Offered up my apologies for not being able to chat some at the moment and he headed over to some lobby chairs to wait. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rosie come out of the elevator at that moment, having stashed our Market 'booty' in our room. She spotted Gearoid and kids and made over for a joyous reunion - they haven't seen each other since Rosie was bouncing Gearoid on her knee when back when in Ireland!
Needless to say Rosie was extremely excited and happy to finally see Gearoid after all these years, as was I, and to meet his kids: adorable and mature, Maeve, and; precocious and mischievous, Sam! We took a little time in the lobby to get re-acquainted and shared the gifts we'd brought along for the 3 of them. Sam loved his candy and dinosaur egg but, he was more interested in Maeve's sequined purse Rosie had gotten for her. That purse would end up being 'footballed' around for most of the day. We'd heard that the kids, particularly Maeve, really loved the Botanical Gardens so that's the direction we decided to head towards via CQ and the Opera House. On our way to the Gardens, took advantage of at least one of the celebrity impersonators at CQ, 'Crocodile Dundee.' Took a group photo of all the kin.
Sam's got a ton of energy, much of which he directs towards tormenting his big sister. You can see that they're best of friends and thorns in each others sides, all at once. Although, superficially, it would seem that Sam gets the best of Maeve most often, I wasn't fooled, Maeve can give as good as she gets. As the day wore on, we had a lot of fun interacting with them throughout the Gardens. I was very cognizant of the fact that Rosie and Gearoid were enjoying each others company catching up, filling in the history gaps time tends to create when you're away from loved ones and, wanted to do what I could to keep distractions - Sam primarily - out of their bubble. Did so by rough housing with Sam quite a bit. Believe I enjoyed playing as much as he did - at least I hope so.
Gearoid is a great guy and better father. I likely him immediately. He's easy-going with an engaging personality. Patient and loving with his kids, he cares for them deeply. As we meandered our way through the Botanical Gardens, the kids were starting to get hungry as it was past noon. Headed over to the Cafe and treated everyone to lunch: Gearoid chose a cChicken sandwich; Rosie, the pumpkin feta wrap; me, the beef brisket burger; Maeve, the fish and chips (x2), and; Sam, the chicken fingers (x2) - they were hungry. While they went to find a nice place to sit and have lunch on the Garden's grounds, I waited for and picked up our lunches. Rosie had picked the exact spot we picnicked at yesterday with Jan. It's the perfect spot, tree shade and plenty of sun too. We made a short video and Rosie posted it to Facebook for all of our families to see. Lunch consumed, we continued with our stroll.
Made our way towards Mrs. Macquarie's bench - it's becoming a familiar stopping point for us - taking photos all along the way including a great family photo of Gearoid, Maeve and Sam all on the old seawall. Continued on around the boardwalk back to the Opera House, carousing around the entire way. By the time we'd reached the Opera House, Sam needed to take a biology break, so we went down to the public toilets by the Opera House Kitchen. On the way out, we'd gone about 75yds away when I realized I'd left my camera on a table back on the lower concourse! We all took off running back to the table and, with immense relief, found the camera was still there! Was a very crowded day and I was amazed the camera hadn't walked.
At the top of the Quay, treated the kids to some gelato which held them until we made it back to the Mercantile where Gearoid treated Rosie and I to a round of adult beverages. We'd talked about the difference between exported Guinness and Guinness in Ireland. Guinness in Ireland was smooth, full-bodied, no after taste and, just buttery good. The Guinness I'd had in the U.S. always reminded me of burnt soy sauce - not good. But, just to see how Guinness fared in Australia, we both gave it a go. It wasn't very good, Gearoid agreed. Tasted just like Guinness in the U.S. No matter was still good enough but, nothing I'd request again here in Oz. while we were relaxing in the Mercantile's outside bar area, Rosie was able to successfully call Una Ryan, Gearoid's sister, via the Facebook messenger app... one of them started crying, believe it was Una first, and then the next thing you know, Rosie's crying and all the grown ups are getting teary-eyed. Heartfelt tears of Joy! It was a very sweet moment, even though we couldn't hear Una well - there was a very good and loud Irish lass singing in the Mercantile bar - while we passed the iPhone around to say hello and send our love.
We also called Gearoid's mum, Aunt Peggy, she was in bed and we couldn't hear her over the noise either. She tried calling us back but, we all missed the call because we didn't hear her ringing in! The Ryan's have an amazing, loving and supportive family. They are good people and I'm glad to be a part of the family!
It was getting late in the afternoon and a bit cooler. After finishing our drinks, we walked back to the Holiday Inn, retrieved the other gifts we had for Maeve and Sam, Gearoid's Gerber multi-tool,
and bid them a happy/sad farewell with our best wishes and prayers. Another really memorable visit!
Rosie and I hurried back upstairs and quickly separated out the luggage we'd be leaving behind at the Holiday Inn Airport near Mascot Station for safe keeping while we visited Uluru. Excess baggage in hand, walked over to CQ and jumped on the T2 train to Mascot Station. We exited Mascot Station and made a left onto Bourke Street. Three blocks later we were in the lobby of the Holiday Inn having our 3 pieces of luggage tagged and stored for us. We were relieved... even though we'd been reassured by the staff at Holiday Inn, the Rocks, that it wouldn't be a problem, until we actually made it happen, we'd had some doubt. Relieved of our burden, headed back to Mascot Station and trained back to CQ. Back at the hotel for our last night in downtown Sydney by 1930.
We weren't hungry after the great day we'd had with Erica and the Ryans so, passed on dinner. Worked on this blog and retired a little early. It's gonna be another long, busy, adventurous day of travel and discovery for us on the 'morrow!!
Fuji
Our primary goal on this day would be to hook up with Rosie's cousin, Gearoid, and his two children, Maeve (10yrs) and Sam (8yrs). We hope to squeeze in a lot of activities and prep for our upcoming trip to the 'red center' of Australia, Uluru aka, Ayers Rock.
Chose to have breakfast at Guylians, a Belgium Chocolate shop nearby on George Street, that also does amazing pastries and a tasty breakfast. Pedestrian traffic this early in the morning, 0630, was very light. Vendors having spots within the Rock for their weekend Market were up and about getting their stalls set-up and stocked. This is our first time in Guylians. There's a sign as you walk in that states, 'please wait to be seated.' I bring this up because most places we've gone, service has been different. I asked our waiter about being served or ordering for oneself and he told us that if the 'please wait to be seated' sign is up, you should expect to have your order taken and delivered to your table. No sign, expect to go to the bar, place your order and you may or may not have to pick up your food/beverages. Well, that helps some moving forward.
We both ordered spinach omelets and a cappuccino for Rosie and a latte for me. I also substituted my toast with a ham and cheese croissant. Excellent breakfast. After breakfast we headed back up to our room to organize our luggage for Uluru. JetStar, Qantas' low fare/1 class/low service airline, has very stringent rules on checked luggage and carry-on. We only paid for 1 checked bag weighing up to 23kg/50# and our carry-on, per person, could not exceed certain size limits and a total of 7kg/15#. So, we ended up scaling way back and packing only essentials for our 3day/2night side trip to the Northern Territory. Turns out most hotels, including the Holiday Inn, have scales that you can weigh your bags on - which we would do - to ensure our luggage and carry-on would all be under limits. We had also ordered some food ahead of time online for the flight out. You pay for everything on JetStar, nothing is free. We will take our excess luggage via train to the Holiday Inn at the airport for storage while we're in Uluru.
Packing done around 0930, we headed down to the Market expecting things be still be in flux for a 1000 'official' start time. We were wrong, there were plenty of people shopping and vendors selling. So, we joined in. After making a preliminary pass around the main Market stall area we ended up making the following purchases:
- some really cool oils - Frangipani and Emu Oil. Frangipani, also known as Plumeria, is one of our favorite scents. Emu Oil, according to the very nice Chinese lady we purchased it from, was great for a variety of maladies and ailments. What the heck, couldn't hurt to give it a shot;
- bought 2 very cute, self-propelled, wooden kangaroos for Ben;
- a clear lucite paper-weight of the iconic symbols of Sydney, the bridge and Opera House, and;
- a really cool 'singing' bowl made in and brought from Nepal.
We were expecting Erica Brown to join us around 1100, so Rosie walked back towards the Holiday Inn to meet her there and ended up running in to her on the way. We did some more strolling around the Market and decided to do lunch at the Tea Cosy, a cute restaurant near the Mercantile right along Market row. Turns out they served a mini-version of the High Tea we enjoyed way back when in Scotland - that's what we ordered. Picked out our various teas and the finger sandwiches and scones, with local jams, they served up were quite good.
After lunch we wandered around the Market for a while longer with Erica until we bid her goodbye at 1230. We needed to head back to the Hilton to wait on the Ryans. Before she left, we invited Erica and her brother, Simon, if interested and available, to join us upon our return from Uluru for our last night's dinner in Sydney. I was going to try to make a reservation at the Sydney Opera House's Bennelong Restaurant. Back at the Holiday Inn, the folks at reception were helping me with making a reservation at Bennelong for 1730 on Wednesday, 9/20, for 4. Texted that to Erica and she said she'd love to make it and would check on Simon.
As I was in the middle of doing this at the lobby's reception desk, I felt a tap on my shoulder... I turned my head to look and saw a familiar face that did not immediately register, until I did a double-take - it was Gearoid! Offered up my apologies for not being able to chat some at the moment and he headed over to some lobby chairs to wait. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rosie come out of the elevator at that moment, having stashed our Market 'booty' in our room. She spotted Gearoid and kids and made over for a joyous reunion - they haven't seen each other since Rosie was bouncing Gearoid on her knee when back when in Ireland!
Needless to say Rosie was extremely excited and happy to finally see Gearoid after all these years, as was I, and to meet his kids: adorable and mature, Maeve, and; precocious and mischievous, Sam! We took a little time in the lobby to get re-acquainted and shared the gifts we'd brought along for the 3 of them. Sam loved his candy and dinosaur egg but, he was more interested in Maeve's sequined purse Rosie had gotten for her. That purse would end up being 'footballed' around for most of the day. We'd heard that the kids, particularly Maeve, really loved the Botanical Gardens so that's the direction we decided to head towards via CQ and the Opera House. On our way to the Gardens, took advantage of at least one of the celebrity impersonators at CQ, 'Crocodile Dundee.' Took a group photo of all the kin.
Sam's got a ton of energy, much of which he directs towards tormenting his big sister. You can see that they're best of friends and thorns in each others sides, all at once. Although, superficially, it would seem that Sam gets the best of Maeve most often, I wasn't fooled, Maeve can give as good as she gets. As the day wore on, we had a lot of fun interacting with them throughout the Gardens. I was very cognizant of the fact that Rosie and Gearoid were enjoying each others company catching up, filling in the history gaps time tends to create when you're away from loved ones and, wanted to do what I could to keep distractions - Sam primarily - out of their bubble. Did so by rough housing with Sam quite a bit. Believe I enjoyed playing as much as he did - at least I hope so.
Gearoid is a great guy and better father. I likely him immediately. He's easy-going with an engaging personality. Patient and loving with his kids, he cares for them deeply. As we meandered our way through the Botanical Gardens, the kids were starting to get hungry as it was past noon. Headed over to the Cafe and treated everyone to lunch: Gearoid chose a cChicken sandwich; Rosie, the pumpkin feta wrap; me, the beef brisket burger; Maeve, the fish and chips (x2), and; Sam, the chicken fingers (x2) - they were hungry. While they went to find a nice place to sit and have lunch on the Garden's grounds, I waited for and picked up our lunches. Rosie had picked the exact spot we picnicked at yesterday with Jan. It's the perfect spot, tree shade and plenty of sun too. We made a short video and Rosie posted it to Facebook for all of our families to see. Lunch consumed, we continued with our stroll.
Made our way towards Mrs. Macquarie's bench - it's becoming a familiar stopping point for us - taking photos all along the way including a great family photo of Gearoid, Maeve and Sam all on the old seawall. Continued on around the boardwalk back to the Opera House, carousing around the entire way. By the time we'd reached the Opera House, Sam needed to take a biology break, so we went down to the public toilets by the Opera House Kitchen. On the way out, we'd gone about 75yds away when I realized I'd left my camera on a table back on the lower concourse! We all took off running back to the table and, with immense relief, found the camera was still there! Was a very crowded day and I was amazed the camera hadn't walked.
At the top of the Quay, treated the kids to some gelato which held them until we made it back to the Mercantile where Gearoid treated Rosie and I to a round of adult beverages. We'd talked about the difference between exported Guinness and Guinness in Ireland. Guinness in Ireland was smooth, full-bodied, no after taste and, just buttery good. The Guinness I'd had in the U.S. always reminded me of burnt soy sauce - not good. But, just to see how Guinness fared in Australia, we both gave it a go. It wasn't very good, Gearoid agreed. Tasted just like Guinness in the U.S. No matter was still good enough but, nothing I'd request again here in Oz. while we were relaxing in the Mercantile's outside bar area, Rosie was able to successfully call Una Ryan, Gearoid's sister, via the Facebook messenger app... one of them started crying, believe it was Una first, and then the next thing you know, Rosie's crying and all the grown ups are getting teary-eyed. Heartfelt tears of Joy! It was a very sweet moment, even though we couldn't hear Una well - there was a very good and loud Irish lass singing in the Mercantile bar - while we passed the iPhone around to say hello and send our love.
We also called Gearoid's mum, Aunt Peggy, she was in bed and we couldn't hear her over the noise either. She tried calling us back but, we all missed the call because we didn't hear her ringing in! The Ryan's have an amazing, loving and supportive family. They are good people and I'm glad to be a part of the family!
It was getting late in the afternoon and a bit cooler. After finishing our drinks, we walked back to the Holiday Inn, retrieved the other gifts we had for Maeve and Sam, Gearoid's Gerber multi-tool,
and bid them a happy/sad farewell with our best wishes and prayers. Another really memorable visit!
Rosie and I hurried back upstairs and quickly separated out the luggage we'd be leaving behind at the Holiday Inn Airport near Mascot Station for safe keeping while we visited Uluru. Excess baggage in hand, walked over to CQ and jumped on the T2 train to Mascot Station. We exited Mascot Station and made a left onto Bourke Street. Three blocks later we were in the lobby of the Holiday Inn having our 3 pieces of luggage tagged and stored for us. We were relieved... even though we'd been reassured by the staff at Holiday Inn, the Rocks, that it wouldn't be a problem, until we actually made it happen, we'd had some doubt. Relieved of our burden, headed back to Mascot Station and trained back to CQ. Back at the hotel for our last night in downtown Sydney by 1930.
We weren't hungry after the great day we'd had with Erica and the Ryans so, passed on dinner. Worked on this blog and retired a little early. It's gonna be another long, busy, adventurous day of travel and discovery for us on the 'morrow!!
Fuji
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Friday, September 15, 2017: The Blue Mountains
Good morning!
The 1 'hiccup' in service we experienced with Holiday Inn this trip: Decided on breakfast downstairs located on the first floor. Opened at 0600. We were there checking it out and placing our omelet orders by 0610. There was no cook to be seen so, the waitress took our hot omelet orders. In the meantime, we selected some other breakfast goodies from the buffet and chose a table to sit at and wait for our omelets. Fifteen minutes go by... I go to the grill, no cook. I ask the waitress about our omelets, she says she'll check with the cook and goes into the back. Ten minutes later, still nothing. I ask the waitress again and she tells me the 'chef is coming.' By this time several other patrons have put in hot food orders including a mother with 2 children and nothing. So, we get up and turn in our marker and go to leave. As we're leaving the 'chef' shows up. Didn't matter, we continued down to the front desk to provide them with some feedback and to have a postcard mailed out. The night crew was still on at this hour, 0640, and the young man at the desk had no clue how to handle our feedback/experience nor did he know how to communicate to us how a postcard would be handled by the hotel. He disappeared into the back for about 5min, came back with a colleague who was equally bewildered, and still had no idea how to deal with our queries. He also had difficulty finding us a post office location we could walk to on his computer. Anyway, frustrated, we politely said thank you anyway, please make note of our feedback and we went back upstairs. (To his credit, he did pass along our compliant, we were credited the breakfast charge of $29AU/person and, $2.95AU later, our postcard was mailed off). They could invest a bit more time training their after normal hours staff....
Departed the hotel at 0815 via the front desk. The day shift was aware of our experience and had done the right thing and taken the postcard for post. Not quite as cold on this morning. We did dress a bit warmer, just in case. Caught the 0830 train out of CQ for Central Station. Arrived at ~0840 and went in search of platform 7. Jan had pre-wired us with all the details we needed to rendezvous with her further out towards Katoomba. Got to platform 7 and our train, a 4 car train, was already waiting there, doors open. Departure time would be at 0918. We settled into the 2nd car and realized we had no good way of messaging Jan without a wifi connection and I'd forgotten to bring along my Skyroam. We'd continue as planned and hope Jan finds us at the Penrith Station.
The train pulled out right on time and we were off. Four stops later, I spied Jan coming through the 3rd car towards us and she saw me. Even though this was what we'd planned, what a relief when we finally hooked up!! Well, we kept each other company all the way up into the Blue Mountains. During the ride we were all chuckling over a handful of Aussie slang Jan shared with us:
-Earworm: when a song someone starts singing or humming starts a ripple effect with everyone else around. Neil Diamond songs tend to be ones that when 1 person starts singing/humming one, others suddenly jump in. It's contagious.
-Cheesed off: Fed up, angry (verb). Irritated, annoyed (adj).
-You're a 'Dag': This one can go either way, insulting or affectionate.
--Urban definitions:
1. A turd hanging off the rear end of a sheep (caught in the fleece).
2. Someone who is daggy, i.e. uncool. This can be meant insultingly or affectionately. (Much like that other well-known Australianism, "you old bastard".) On the face of it, it's an insult, but there are ways in which it is seen as admirable to be a dag – having one's own style, not caring for public opinion, being outrageous, being a source of friendly amusement, being original.
1. "About time the farmer cut off those dags."
2. (a) Insulting: "I wouldn't go out with him, he's the biggest dag around."
(b) Affectionate: "She's such a dag, we always have heaps of fun."
It's at least 18 stops before Katoomba Station appears, about a 2hr ride out from Central Station. Hopped off the train and right into the top and center of the town. Turns out that 20yrs ago, Jan had spent a year in Katoomba attending Bible Studies School so, she was very familiar with the town. Jan spent a little while trying to find an old 'haunt' she used to frequent along the main street back in the day but, couldn't find it. We tried sorting out which Opal bus might ferry us down to the viewing area but, quickly decided just to hoof it.
About a 3km walk, mostly downhill to get to the viewing area. We didn't get very far before I felt like a hot chocolate and we stepped into a cafe called the Paragon... according to their own promotion: 'The Paragon is arguably Australia's oldest cafe and certainly one of the most opulent ever built in the country.' Opulent, perhaps but definitely dark and the young lady working the reception really put Jan off with her demeanor. We agreed she did not, at least on this day, possess a very accommodating Services provider persona. So, 2 not very hot chocolates later (Jan did enjoy the chocolate powder covered marshmallows that I passed on), we left and continued on our trek to see the 3 Sisters.
Side Note: The Paragon in Katoomba. Open since 1916 and situated in the heart of Katoomba, The Paragon is an iconic landmark in Katoomba. The three rooms that comprise the Cafe, Formal Dining Room and Banquet Hall are some of the finest and most richly detailed Art Deco interiors any where in the world. Lunch, morning and afternoon teas are available 7 days per week, with dinner available Friday and Saturday nights.
The Paragon is best known for its range of hand made chocolates. The Paragon’s brand is one of the oldest in Australia and unique, with its logos and much of its packaging unchanged in 80 years. Its world famous Warratah Bar is probably the oldest chocolate bar in Australia; its presentation, packaging and even manufacture unchanged in over 70 years.
===============
The wind was quite stiff on this particular day adding a bit of a chill to the air however, the sky was clear blue and the company was fantastic. Along the way we stopped at the location where the Bible School she attended used to be. Unfortunately, it was gone, replaced by a much different venue, the Blue Mountains YHA - a youth hostel. The hotel she and her classmates stayed in was still there, the Palais Royale, and we did make time to go in, wander around some and enjoyed some of Jan's recollections back then. Left after a bit and continued our way down to the tourist viewing area, Echo Point, via Lilianfels Park and the Waradah Aboriginal Center.
It wasn't overly crowded on this particular day however, the wind was blowing pretty hard and that was definitely making the ambient temperature feel much colder. After spending time on the upper viewing level, we took the switchback walk down to the Queen Elizabeth lookout area. The spot has a plaque on a concrete pedestal commemorating the Queen's visit and viewing of the 3 Sisters. Decided to forego the trek down to the 3 Sisters via the walking track and stepped into the Visitor's Center to do a little souvenir shopping. It hasn't changed much since my last visit and that felt reassuring to me for no particular reason.
Visit completed we queued up for the Opal 'blue bus' to take us back up near the Katoomba Train Station so we could catch the next train to Leura for lunch. Didn't have to wait long for the train, hopped on and made the quick ride to Leura Station. Hopped back off and walked down the very familiar and steeply inclined Main Street until we found an interesting place for lunch: the Leura Gourmet. We were all a bit 'peckish' and thoroughly enjoyed our meals - even though my first choice, eggplant parmigiana, was not available. Settled for my second choice, a chicken pot pie. Jan enjoyed some corn fritters and Rosie had turkey/avocado/brie on a baquette with cranberry sauce. Not sure how we got on the subject of sweet peppers but, found out that Aussies call 'bell peppers' by their more generic name: Capsicum.
Lunch consumed, we leisurely made our way back up to the Station, via an arcade (arcades in Australia are not gaming venues, they are shopping venues). Jan wanted to check out a 'lolli' shop (candy store) there. I was hoping we'd take the next train to Wentworth Falls Station to re-create the photo I took back in 2010 but, after talking it out and with the day going 'long in the tooth,' decided to pass on it. Primarily due to the fact that this area has had so little rain, we hypothesized that the falls wouldn't be more than a trickle. Maybe next time.
Had a very pleasant train ride back and had to bid Jan a sad farewell at Penrith Station. She had another busy day coming up hosting another friend and we planned on spending the next day with Rosie's cousin, Gearoid and his 2 kids. It's been wonderful seeing and spending time with Jan over the last 2 days. The conversations, history and, laughs we've shared will hold me until the next time we meet up and I dearly hope we stay in more frequent contact. Jan's a remarkable person, great friend, good soul and, talented artist. We do so hope to be reading her novel(s) in the not too distant future. Love, hugs & kisses, Jan!!
Our train ride continued and instead of staying on until Central Station, we hopped off at Parramatta Station, based on a recommendation we'd received from Mary at the Holiday Inn, George Street. She said if we'd never done it, would be an interesting way to see more of Sydney's waterways than just training it the whole way. So, what the heck, we'd give it a go! Left the train at Parramatta Station around 1645 and once we got our bearings, made our way towards the Ferry dock. We had no idea what to expect and it was getting late in the day.
When we got down to the dock, it was a little after 1700. The signage wasn't very good but, there was a boat tied up to the pier. We wandered around a bit and found a Ferry schedule. The next ride was in about 15min... if we missed it we'd have to wait 2hrs for the next one. Strangely, this particularly ferry only went down the Parramatta River to the next available Ferry Station. We'd have to disembark and wait for a different Ferry coming upstream to take us back down to CQ. Besides a nice lady and her son, there was no one else around. About 1710 we noticed a young man approaching who appeared to be headed out onto the boat. We quickly intercepted him and asked him whether or not this Ferry was the one we were looking for. He confirmed that question and 5min later the lady, her son, Rosie and I and, one inebriated Aussie 'bogan' boarded the Ferry for the short ride to the next Pier. Light was fading quickly.
Side Note: Aussie slang, 'bogan'. The term 'bogan' is a derogatory Australian and New Zealand slang word used to describe a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplify values and behaviour considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating.
=====================
We cruised down the river, passed under 2 low bridges (our Ferry had a very low profile) and pulled up to the Rydalmere Wharf and disembarked. Didn't have to wait long until we saw a Ferry coming up the Parramatta River to pick up the 5 of us. To make a long story short, after a dozen or so stops along the way, picking up and discharging Pax and having to put up with the obnoxious 'bogan' (he kept threatening some Asian tourists for taking some 'selfie' flash photography out on the prowl of the ferry apparently because it irritated him), we pulled into CQ at 1930 after over 2hrs of cruising down the river! Definitely not something I'd do again, at least in the dark but, glad we did it just because it was different.
Couldn't decide on what to have for a late dinner so, just headed back over to the Mercantile just up from the Holiday Inn and sat down for dinner there. A nice Irish lass from Galway was our waitress and served us up some fish & chips, chicken wings, wine and Victoria Bitter (VB) to wash it all down. We were starting to drag and after dinner went directly up to our room and called it a night.
Side Note: When we got back to the hotel, we had a package waiting for us. The AirBnB we stayed out in Kirribilli had returned my power converter! So thoughtful of them to do so and thanks again to Avril and Ross for communicating our left behind article to the management of that property.
========================
By the way, it's our son, Conor's, 30th birthday here today in Australia... Happy Birthday, Conor, from the land down under! Have a great day. Love, Mom and Dad!
Fuji
The 1 'hiccup' in service we experienced with Holiday Inn this trip: Decided on breakfast downstairs located on the first floor. Opened at 0600. We were there checking it out and placing our omelet orders by 0610. There was no cook to be seen so, the waitress took our hot omelet orders. In the meantime, we selected some other breakfast goodies from the buffet and chose a table to sit at and wait for our omelets. Fifteen minutes go by... I go to the grill, no cook. I ask the waitress about our omelets, she says she'll check with the cook and goes into the back. Ten minutes later, still nothing. I ask the waitress again and she tells me the 'chef is coming.' By this time several other patrons have put in hot food orders including a mother with 2 children and nothing. So, we get up and turn in our marker and go to leave. As we're leaving the 'chef' shows up. Didn't matter, we continued down to the front desk to provide them with some feedback and to have a postcard mailed out. The night crew was still on at this hour, 0640, and the young man at the desk had no clue how to handle our feedback/experience nor did he know how to communicate to us how a postcard would be handled by the hotel. He disappeared into the back for about 5min, came back with a colleague who was equally bewildered, and still had no idea how to deal with our queries. He also had difficulty finding us a post office location we could walk to on his computer. Anyway, frustrated, we politely said thank you anyway, please make note of our feedback and we went back upstairs. (To his credit, he did pass along our compliant, we were credited the breakfast charge of $29AU/person and, $2.95AU later, our postcard was mailed off). They could invest a bit more time training their after normal hours staff....
Departed the hotel at 0815 via the front desk. The day shift was aware of our experience and had done the right thing and taken the postcard for post. Not quite as cold on this morning. We did dress a bit warmer, just in case. Caught the 0830 train out of CQ for Central Station. Arrived at ~0840 and went in search of platform 7. Jan had pre-wired us with all the details we needed to rendezvous with her further out towards Katoomba. Got to platform 7 and our train, a 4 car train, was already waiting there, doors open. Departure time would be at 0918. We settled into the 2nd car and realized we had no good way of messaging Jan without a wifi connection and I'd forgotten to bring along my Skyroam. We'd continue as planned and hope Jan finds us at the Penrith Station.
The train pulled out right on time and we were off. Four stops later, I spied Jan coming through the 3rd car towards us and she saw me. Even though this was what we'd planned, what a relief when we finally hooked up!! Well, we kept each other company all the way up into the Blue Mountains. During the ride we were all chuckling over a handful of Aussie slang Jan shared with us:
-Earworm: when a song someone starts singing or humming starts a ripple effect with everyone else around. Neil Diamond songs tend to be ones that when 1 person starts singing/humming one, others suddenly jump in. It's contagious.
-Cheesed off: Fed up, angry (verb). Irritated, annoyed (adj).
-You're a 'Dag': This one can go either way, insulting or affectionate.
--Urban definitions:
1. A turd hanging off the rear end of a sheep (caught in the fleece).
2. Someone who is daggy, i.e. uncool. This can be meant insultingly or affectionately. (Much like that other well-known Australianism, "you old bastard".) On the face of it, it's an insult, but there are ways in which it is seen as admirable to be a dag – having one's own style, not caring for public opinion, being outrageous, being a source of friendly amusement, being original.
1. "About time the farmer cut off those dags."
2. (a) Insulting: "I wouldn't go out with him, he's the biggest dag around."
(b) Affectionate: "She's such a dag, we always have heaps of fun."
It's at least 18 stops before Katoomba Station appears, about a 2hr ride out from Central Station. Hopped off the train and right into the top and center of the town. Turns out that 20yrs ago, Jan had spent a year in Katoomba attending Bible Studies School so, she was very familiar with the town. Jan spent a little while trying to find an old 'haunt' she used to frequent along the main street back in the day but, couldn't find it. We tried sorting out which Opal bus might ferry us down to the viewing area but, quickly decided just to hoof it.
About a 3km walk, mostly downhill to get to the viewing area. We didn't get very far before I felt like a hot chocolate and we stepped into a cafe called the Paragon... according to their own promotion: 'The Paragon is arguably Australia's oldest cafe and certainly one of the most opulent ever built in the country.' Opulent, perhaps but definitely dark and the young lady working the reception really put Jan off with her demeanor. We agreed she did not, at least on this day, possess a very accommodating Services provider persona. So, 2 not very hot chocolates later (Jan did enjoy the chocolate powder covered marshmallows that I passed on), we left and continued on our trek to see the 3 Sisters.
Side Note: The Paragon in Katoomba. Open since 1916 and situated in the heart of Katoomba, The Paragon is an iconic landmark in Katoomba. The three rooms that comprise the Cafe, Formal Dining Room and Banquet Hall are some of the finest and most richly detailed Art Deco interiors any where in the world. Lunch, morning and afternoon teas are available 7 days per week, with dinner available Friday and Saturday nights.
The Paragon is best known for its range of hand made chocolates. The Paragon’s brand is one of the oldest in Australia and unique, with its logos and much of its packaging unchanged in 80 years. Its world famous Warratah Bar is probably the oldest chocolate bar in Australia; its presentation, packaging and even manufacture unchanged in over 70 years.
===============
The wind was quite stiff on this particular day adding a bit of a chill to the air however, the sky was clear blue and the company was fantastic. Along the way we stopped at the location where the Bible School she attended used to be. Unfortunately, it was gone, replaced by a much different venue, the Blue Mountains YHA - a youth hostel. The hotel she and her classmates stayed in was still there, the Palais Royale, and we did make time to go in, wander around some and enjoyed some of Jan's recollections back then. Left after a bit and continued our way down to the tourist viewing area, Echo Point, via Lilianfels Park and the Waradah Aboriginal Center.
It wasn't overly crowded on this particular day however, the wind was blowing pretty hard and that was definitely making the ambient temperature feel much colder. After spending time on the upper viewing level, we took the switchback walk down to the Queen Elizabeth lookout area. The spot has a plaque on a concrete pedestal commemorating the Queen's visit and viewing of the 3 Sisters. Decided to forego the trek down to the 3 Sisters via the walking track and stepped into the Visitor's Center to do a little souvenir shopping. It hasn't changed much since my last visit and that felt reassuring to me for no particular reason.
Visit completed we queued up for the Opal 'blue bus' to take us back up near the Katoomba Train Station so we could catch the next train to Leura for lunch. Didn't have to wait long for the train, hopped on and made the quick ride to Leura Station. Hopped back off and walked down the very familiar and steeply inclined Main Street until we found an interesting place for lunch: the Leura Gourmet. We were all a bit 'peckish' and thoroughly enjoyed our meals - even though my first choice, eggplant parmigiana, was not available. Settled for my second choice, a chicken pot pie. Jan enjoyed some corn fritters and Rosie had turkey/avocado/brie on a baquette with cranberry sauce. Not sure how we got on the subject of sweet peppers but, found out that Aussies call 'bell peppers' by their more generic name: Capsicum.
Lunch consumed, we leisurely made our way back up to the Station, via an arcade (arcades in Australia are not gaming venues, they are shopping venues). Jan wanted to check out a 'lolli' shop (candy store) there. I was hoping we'd take the next train to Wentworth Falls Station to re-create the photo I took back in 2010 but, after talking it out and with the day going 'long in the tooth,' decided to pass on it. Primarily due to the fact that this area has had so little rain, we hypothesized that the falls wouldn't be more than a trickle. Maybe next time.
Had a very pleasant train ride back and had to bid Jan a sad farewell at Penrith Station. She had another busy day coming up hosting another friend and we planned on spending the next day with Rosie's cousin, Gearoid and his 2 kids. It's been wonderful seeing and spending time with Jan over the last 2 days. The conversations, history and, laughs we've shared will hold me until the next time we meet up and I dearly hope we stay in more frequent contact. Jan's a remarkable person, great friend, good soul and, talented artist. We do so hope to be reading her novel(s) in the not too distant future. Love, hugs & kisses, Jan!!
Our train ride continued and instead of staying on until Central Station, we hopped off at Parramatta Station, based on a recommendation we'd received from Mary at the Holiday Inn, George Street. She said if we'd never done it, would be an interesting way to see more of Sydney's waterways than just training it the whole way. So, what the heck, we'd give it a go! Left the train at Parramatta Station around 1645 and once we got our bearings, made our way towards the Ferry dock. We had no idea what to expect and it was getting late in the day.
When we got down to the dock, it was a little after 1700. The signage wasn't very good but, there was a boat tied up to the pier. We wandered around a bit and found a Ferry schedule. The next ride was in about 15min... if we missed it we'd have to wait 2hrs for the next one. Strangely, this particularly ferry only went down the Parramatta River to the next available Ferry Station. We'd have to disembark and wait for a different Ferry coming upstream to take us back down to CQ. Besides a nice lady and her son, there was no one else around. About 1710 we noticed a young man approaching who appeared to be headed out onto the boat. We quickly intercepted him and asked him whether or not this Ferry was the one we were looking for. He confirmed that question and 5min later the lady, her son, Rosie and I and, one inebriated Aussie 'bogan' boarded the Ferry for the short ride to the next Pier. Light was fading quickly.
Side Note: Aussie slang, 'bogan'. The term 'bogan' is a derogatory Australian and New Zealand slang word used to describe a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplify values and behaviour considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating.
=====================
We cruised down the river, passed under 2 low bridges (our Ferry had a very low profile) and pulled up to the Rydalmere Wharf and disembarked. Didn't have to wait long until we saw a Ferry coming up the Parramatta River to pick up the 5 of us. To make a long story short, after a dozen or so stops along the way, picking up and discharging Pax and having to put up with the obnoxious 'bogan' (he kept threatening some Asian tourists for taking some 'selfie' flash photography out on the prowl of the ferry apparently because it irritated him), we pulled into CQ at 1930 after over 2hrs of cruising down the river! Definitely not something I'd do again, at least in the dark but, glad we did it just because it was different.
Couldn't decide on what to have for a late dinner so, just headed back over to the Mercantile just up from the Holiday Inn and sat down for dinner there. A nice Irish lass from Galway was our waitress and served us up some fish & chips, chicken wings, wine and Victoria Bitter (VB) to wash it all down. We were starting to drag and after dinner went directly up to our room and called it a night.
Side Note: When we got back to the hotel, we had a package waiting for us. The AirBnB we stayed out in Kirribilli had returned my power converter! So thoughtful of them to do so and thanks again to Avril and Ross for communicating our left behind article to the management of that property.
========================
By the way, it's our son, Conor's, 30th birthday here today in Australia... Happy Birthday, Conor, from the land down under! Have a great day. Love, Mom and Dad!
Fuji
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