Monday 15th October 2012

I always knew this day was going to be difficult, but I never imagined I’d be leaving with unfinished business. That just added to my emotional torment as our boarding time approached.

We had planned to catch a taxi to Lidcombe train station (bypassing the train to hell) and travelling to the airport in our last spurt of Sydney luxury. When the taxi arrived and we told the driver where we wanted to go, he stated he could drive us all the way to the airport and it would only cost an extra $20 on what it would be to the train station. If it was only going to be that much extra, why not get driven all the way instead of having to lug heavy luggage on a train.

Did we get scammed! Not only was the driver picking his nose (it’s one thing to do it in private or using a tissue, but out in public with a finger.....), but the fare came to around $15 more than he quoted. Not happy!

But it gets worse – well at least for me it did and anyone who truly knows me will understand! I was hoping I could jump out of the taxi while he dealt with the fare, so I could get my suitcase out of the boot myself. I didn’t want his gross fingers touching my stuff!
But noooooooooo, he had to dive out of his seat and grabbed hold of my case before I could tell him to back the f**k off! And if that wasn’t bad enough, he had the hide to grab my handbag, laptop bag and my stuffed white bear that I left on my seat in my hurry to get to the boot. How rude that some stranger touches something so personal like a handbag. Good way to get your fingers broken! No one touches my stuff!
Fortunately I carry anti-bacterial gel and anti-bacterial wipes everywhere I go, so the first thing that I did was to sterilise everything he fingered. No wonder the world is so full of sick germy people when many go around doing disgusting things like that. Ok, my secret is out – now everyone knows I’m a germ-a-phobe! I’d rather be this way than dirty.

I’m not afraid of flying, but to look at me before boarding, you’d swear I was. I had so many emotions racing through me at a million miles an hour and I just wasn’t able to process them at that speed. Like everything, when something becomes full, the substance has to spill over and go somewhere. This is when I can no longer hide the fact that I’m struggling to deal with the overload and I may display nervous movements etc. Being Scorpio, I have always been highly emotional, but until the past couple of years I have been able to hide most of my emotions that I didn’t want others to see. I find it’s getting harder as I age. I’m going to be in trouble by the time I hit 40....lol.

Bro headed for the plane and doubled back when he realised I was nowhere in sight. I so didn’t want to leave Sydney, so had trouble moving from the terminal. My excuse – the third seat in our row (only 3 seats wide on either side of the plane) was the window seat which may have belonged to another passenger. Instead of having to stand up and get out of our seats to allow that person in, I used it as an excuse not to board so soon....hehe.
The plane was extremely hot when we first boarded which made it hard to breathe – especially when your heart is already racing and you’re having trouble catching your breath as it is. It didn’t take long before the plane cooled down and no third person showed up to claim the seat next to me! I chose to move to the window seat, even though we were right over the wing. I did manage to take a couple of photos on my mobile as we flew over QLD. Our flight back followed the shore line, whereas we flew inland on the way down. Next time, I want a seat whose view isn’t blocked by a large hunk of metal!

It was stinking hot in QLD and I was regretting being back before we even landed. We made it onto the airport train with a minute or two to spare and then had the joy of standing for a long trip after changing trains in the city.
I was glad to finally arrive at Caboolture station where mum greeted us. If I had to be back in QLD, I preferred to be home than on a train. I have to admit, I was looking forward to seeing my babies. It seems they missed me as much as I missed them. Naturally, Bundi was all over us as soon as we walked in the door. I couldn’t open my suitcase fast enough to pull out the two toys I had purchased him. He was happy all round...lol.
My cat was determined we weren’t going away again without her – she took up residency in bros case! 

I slept like a log back in my own bed. Problem was, for the next few days or so, I kept waking up between 6 – 7am with nowhere to go.

My final thoughts: I love Sydney. Maybe I wouldn’t think it was so special if I lived there (if you abuse something too much, it loses its special-ness) and got to see/experience it every day or whenever I wanted to, but I think it’s fantastic to visit. 
It may have been an even better experience if I knew someone who lived there and was willing to show me around. It’s not easy to find things in a city like Sydney if you’re a stranger. Even so, I still enjoyed finding my way around.
The people – I don’t have too much to say except, if you’re single and not what is classed as ‘hot’, forget looking for a guy in Sydney. I can only comment on what I noticed, but guys in Sydney seem to appear shallow when it comes to the opposite sex. I’ve also found the same online with Sydney men. But when you get a look at the females in Sydney, you’ll understand why!  Sydney may have the girls, but QLD definitely has the guys!
Only one thing comes from going after someone solely for looks.
Normally I would say, live and learn, but so many don't learn and continue to make the same mistake over and over again.

 

 

 

Sunday 14th October 2012

I was hoping our final full day in Sydney would bring the last thing I really wanted to achieve while there. Again, I was let down. I have to take some of the blame, as I talked myself into believing something that wasn’t true. It just makes me believe more that trust will often get you hurt.

It was a quiet day in the apartment. I spent it packing everything but the final items and cleaning. The original plan was to eat out at another fancy restaurant, but I was hardly in the mood for going out.

It was a pretty useless day and night!

Saturday 13th October 2012

Fortunately, Saturday turned out to be a rather nice day, as bro and I chose to visit Taronga as our last tourist trip. Even though I had already been, I enjoyed it more than enough to go again and I knew bro wouldn’t bother to go on his own. Would have been a waste of his online ticket and I wanted him to see the zoo.  

We caught the ferry over to Circular Quay, but before catching the Taronga Zoo ferry we wandered around the harbour to the Opera House. I was still determined to find that Sydney printed zip up jacket and was sure I had seen one on our travels. The Opera House gift shop was the only place I hadn’t double checked. To my disappointment, I wasn’t to find what I was after. Every store seemed to have jumpers with Sydney printed on them and I scored an over-sized one with Manly on it, but no jackets. I went overboard and purchased 4 Sydney printed t-shirts and bro bought himself a Harbour bridge travel mug.

Once loaded up with goodies, we made our way back to the wharf and off to Taronga Zoo for the day. Before entering the zoo, we decided to leave our shopping in the supplied lockers instead of lugging it around. It costs $5 for a number of hours, but it was well worth it!

This time around I was able to capture a few of the animals who were elusive on my visit. There were tracks that we chose not to follow – I don’t think bro was enjoying all the walking like I was. Instead of having lunch at the zoo, we went for ice-blocks and drinks, as the day became rather warm. The second trip certainly was a real treat. We approached the chimps as one horny male got a hankering for some sexual activity! Unfortunately I missed the beginning part, but was able to score the end on video. Turns out, they don’t have very long sessions at all, but he looked rather proud of himself as she raced off as fast as she could at the end. It was almost like she was giving him dirty looks from a distance as he recovered from the experience. Sex education at the zoo!

We stopped at the gift store half way through the zoo where I purchased a zip up fleecy Taronga Zoo jacket (sometimes we just have to settle) and a Gibbon (monkey) toy for my little boy. We worked our way down to the exiting gift store. There were no other major highlights like the chimp show, but I still enjoyed my second round. At the gift store I had a couple of photos taken with a massive stuffed koala, which is meant for children. That’s probably why the staff were looking at me strangely....lol. I’m a big child at heart – does that count?
I then purchased another zoo badge for my hat (a better one than I got on my first visit) and a zoo pen. When exiting the shop, there is a huge stuffed gorilla that I so would have loved to buy for my boy. But I’m guessing one that size would easily be $600+ and would have taken up an entire row of seats on the plane.

There were a few photos taken by the Taronga Zoo sign before we got on the ferry back to Circular Quay. By the time we arrived there, it was around 5pm. We grabbed fish and chips for dinner and headed for the wharf to catch the ferry over to Luna Park. As we entered the wharf, I commented on all the t-shirts the little shop there had. That’s when bro remembered we had forgotten to go back to the entrance of the zoo to get our belongings out of the locker. Do’h!

I couldn’t believe we had completely forgotten them, but at least one of us did eventually remember. Unfortunately we had to catch the next ferry back to the zoo, only to find it was closed. Luckily for us, they had a camp out planned for that night so we were able to line up with the campers until they opened the gate to allow them in. The staff must have thought we were bright sparks, but at least we were able to get our gear back! By the next day, the locker timer would have expired and we more than likely would have lost our stuff.
It was then a wait for the next bus to arrive and back on the ferry to Circular Quay.

By this stage both of us had just about had enough for the day....lol. But we wanted to visit Luna Park to say we had been there. It’s far prettier at night when it’s all lit up like a christmas tree. I was rather disappointed once there. We wandered down what I believe is the only strip to the park – unless we missed something. I had no intentions of buying any tickets to rides, as they look like they’re mostly for children. When you come from QLD where we have all the top theme parks like Dreamworld, Movie World, Sea World, Wet ‘n’ Wild etc, Luna Park (sorry if this insults Sydney residence) is just lame! Although, I did have my best Sydney ice-cream from there!

Within 15 minutes (that included time to buy and eat the ice-cream) we were back at the wharf waiting for the ferry over to Circular Quay. There was a rather cool breeze coming off the harbour and there was a reasonable wait.
It wasn’t too long before the ferry back to the apartment arrived.

Apart from having to return to the zoo, it was a pretty great day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday 12th October 2012

Fortunately today was a free day, as it was cold, miserable and started raining before too long. It turned out to be a good thing it wasn’t a grand day, as I received my first holiday migraine. It wasn’t a real bad one, but I still wouldn’t have wanted to be out sightseeing with a head like that.

By early afternoon, bro had decided to catch the ferry over to Meadowbank to purchase a cylinder for transporting his EB games poster back home. I had taken some pills and couldn’t help but fall asleep. Next thing I hear is bro coming back into the apartment after missing the ferry. I fell asleep again and woke a couple of hours later to find the apartment empty.

Often after having a migraine I crave ice-cream – mind you, I already had a major ice-cream craving since being in Sydney. I called bro who was on his way back to the apartment from being over at Meadowbank and met him down at the local convenience store for munchies.

It felt like a total waste staying in the apartment all day, but it also gave me time to clean and start packing my suitcase. I have to admit, I really did need that nana nap in the afternoon!

Thursday 11th October 2012

Our morning was going to start by getting on the ferry at 10:10am so I could hopefully find a store to purchase a pair of tights. Most days seemed to bring icy winds that went right through me and I had packed for warm weather! But for whatever reason, I had trouble getting myself ready even though I’d been up since 7:00am.
By 10:30am I was ready for our stroll to the wharf to catch the 11:10am ferry over to Darling Harbour. We had 30 minutes to kill before our Fusion Harbour lunch cruise was due for boarding and I was determined to find a jacket with Sydney printed on it, so I revisited the Madame Tussauds gift store. I was positive I saw one somewhere on our travels, but couldn’t for the life of me recall where it was, or perhaps I wanted one so badly that I imagined I saw one. I went back to every store and gift shop we had been in since arriving and no luck. There seem to be plenty of jumpers, so I’m assuming tourists prefer jumpers to jackets.

Soon after returning to the Fusion cruise wharf, it started to spit and unfortunately they only have an extremely small sheltered area. When I say small, it’s only really big enough for about four people to huddle under. We happened to start chatting to a couple who were also waiting for the same cruise who were more than happy to share their umbrellas with us. They were such a lovely couple that they somewhat changed my opinion of Sydney – there are some really friendly and helpful people there!

The boat was late and didn’t arrive at the wharf until just after the sailing time of 12:30pm. Bro and I bought our tickets from Scoopons for only $27 each which ended up being well worth it. The sheltered top level of the boat only had 15 to 17 of us dining, while downstairs was loaded with a large tour group. We must have left Darling Harbour close to 1pm. I have no idea on whether they had food downstairs or not, but there was constantly people from that group wandering up to the top level while everyone in our section were eating. We feasted on as much as we wanted to eat of penne pasta salad, samosas pastries, seafood flake salad, other types of salad and prawns. It was topped off with a piece of chocolate cake. We also got a free drink of our choice. Being that bro and I had never tried champagne before, we went for that over soft drink or orange juice. It wasn’t the best day (initially) for photos with it being rather overcast and still spitting slightly.

The cruise goes for an hour and a half. After returning to Darling Harbour wharf, bro and I made our way over to Myers near Westfield mall. Their Myers is very different from any Myers I have ever been in before. This store had mini stores throughout its numerous levels with the first one being all about perfumes. Eventually I found a store to buy a pair of leggings, tights and an expensive knitted jacket to go with my evening dress that night. I wasn’t looking to spend $70 on it, but I also wasn’t about to freeze my nipples off with the icy weather Sydney was coping. I was desperate!

Afterwards, it was a mad dash to catch the ferry back to the apartment with enough time to shower, dress and get back to Circular Quay by ferry, where we caught a taxi to our classy dinner for the evening – Glass Brasserie. Thank goodness for the knitted jacket!

The restaurant was absolutely perfect. Everyone there was dressed decently to formally, which is what we had hoped for. It seems that, in Sydney, even a classy restaurant is happy to accept people who choose to go in casual wear. Living in the sticks leaves no opportunity to dine at an expensive classy restaurant and I was determined to find a place with true class. Glass Brasserie has it and the fact that we only ended up eating out classy once, I’m very glad we chose there. I will certainly be dining there again next time I’m in Sydney – assuming I have someone to dine with.

For the entree, I went with the roasted scallops, smoked hock ravioli, cabbage, piquillo pepper puree, guanciale and XO sauce for $29. I normally refuse to eat cabbage, but there was so little of it and it blended in with the rest that I didn’t notice it. It was also my first time trying scallops. My main was roasted jewfish with eggplant tortellini, goats curd, king mushroom, charred onion and citrus at $43. It was also very nice, but the only way I can describe the jewfish is, it has a slight dirty taste and is strong. It’s not a fish I would choose again, but at the same time it wasn’t repulsive. The meals may look small, but they are very filling. I honestly didn’t need dessert and wasn’t even sure I could fit it in, but I had planned on what one I wanted back when we were planning the holiday months ago. It was the Affogato with hazelnut macaroons - Frangelico for $18. It features a cup of vanilla ice-cream, a small cup of Frangelico and a small cup of ultra strong (I wasn’t aware of this) coffee. When you receive it, you pour both the alcohol and coffee over the ice-cream and enjoy. I’m not a regular coffee drinker, but when I do have one it’s certainly not strong in any way. I should have tried it and only used a couple of teaspoons at the max of the coffee mixture. One mouthful almost had me bouncing off the restaurant walls! I had to drain the liquid mixture off each spoon of ice-cream and even then it was coffee overkill. I won’t order that one again, but it was an experience.

I also enjoyed two cocktails: Toblerone and a Caribbean Slinger.

Once bro had enjoyed an after dinner coffee, we decided to catch a bus back to Circular Quay. From where our table was in the restaurant, we were able to study the frequency of the buses...lol. Problem is, if you aren’t aware of land marks of where your stop is, then you don’t know where to get off as the driver doesn’t tell you what each stop is. The ride was awfully rough. Neither bro or I knew we were at Circular Quay where everyone got off and the driver called “last stop”. When bro and I didn’t move, he said it again....lol. Because it was night and it was in a part of Circular Quay that we hadn’t been before, I thought maybe we had gotten on the wrong bus even though it had Circular Quay on the bus sign. Just like the train stations, buses aren’t tourist friendly. Perhaps using the monitors on each bus to bring up what the next stop is would be ultra handy!

I’m always relieved to be boarding the ferry – I know exactly where I am and where I’m going. Each wharf at Circular Quay and Darling Harbour has an electric board before entering that tells you exactly when the next ferry to each stop will arrive and on which wharf you need to catch the ferry from. The ferries have an awesome system that everyone can understand.

It was horribly freezing when we arrived back at Olympic Park wharf and had to wait 10 to 15 minutes for a taxi to arrive. My nice heels were killing my feet just standing there, let alone walking 1.7kms. Besides that, it was 11:15pm and icy cold.

Other than my aching feet, it was a totally amazing day all round!

                   My main taken with my mobile.

                   My dessert.

               Bros main.

Wednesday 10th October 2012

The day started off with catching the ferry over to my favourite wharf - Circular Quay. From there we caught the train down to Central station. Here I was thinking the city for sure would have the luxury trains like the one from the airport. I have to say that QLD does have better trains than the city ones, but we have nothing on the luxury ones. Sydney would be totally spoilt if all trains were that classy!
Silly me forgot to take the map directions with us, so we weren't totally sure what we were actually doing. Bro was relying on me to know and of course, I'd had holiday brain since before even arriving in Sydney...lol.
Instead of going all the way to Central from Circular Quay, we were supposed to get off at Town Hall. It meant walking a good distance, in who knows what direction, or getting back on the train to Town Hall and walking 700 meters to Chinatown for lunch.

I wasn't impressed with Chinatown and being accosted every few steps by waitresses basically throwing menus in our face, wanting us to choose their restaurant. Then we got conned into signing some partition. Fortunately it wasn't long before we were through the entire 'town'. Bro was eager to have lunch, but I honestly didn't feel right about eating in any of the places there. We decided to wander through the market building located opposite, but found there were no price tags on anything. I was interested in a handbag, but naturally with no price tags, I assumed the stall girl would approach and offer assistance. Instead, she chose to help out someone else who came along a few minutes later, who also happened to be Asian. Perhaps I just wasn't the right nationality...lol.
I couldn't understand the no price tag thing, until bro pointed out they can charge different people different prices that way. To me, that's just wrong and a turn off.

On the way back, we raced through Chinatown, not knowing where to go if we were to walk around it. But we got suckered into a restaurant that looked ok from the outside. We asked to dine inside, as I prefer not to be breathing in cigarette smoke, and we were taken upstairs. Instantly I had a bad gut feeling about this place. It was such a strong feeling that I couldn't ignore it and eat there. It wasn't any one thing I could put my finger on, it wasn't the cleanest but not filthy either and it didn't smell bad, but you have to listen to a gut instinct that strong! I would have hated getting food poisioning or anything and ruin the holiday.

Bro was getting antsy by this stage and fortunately we stumbled upon a kebab store where he had lunch. It's weird, but I'll only eat lamb kebabs and it wasn't an option at this store. I chose to get Hungry Jacks, seen as how it's something we don't have in good old Kingaroy. I can't say it's something I'm a fan of, but it's 'ok' as a change once in a blue moon.

After lunch, it was back on the Town Hall train (once again the train stations are confusing as to which track you actually require) to Circular Quay.
I for one, was grateful to be back on a ferry on our way over to Manly. It was more of a case of being able to say "been there", than anything else. Once there, I was glad we had made the trip over. Manly is rather different to the city. Because I had forgotten the map, I wasn't sure on how to get to Manly beach from the wharf, so we walked in the complete opposite direction until things just didn't look right. You have to laugh, but I don't think bro saw it that way....lol.
Neither of us were in a grand mood due to the Chinatown failure, but things started looking up once we were on the right track and we found Ben And Jerrys ice-cream store.
Hot damn, do they know how to charge or what! I went with a cherry flavoured ice-cream in a waffle cone which was ok, but nothing to really write home about. Way over priced!
I had been super excited to go to that store since planning the holiday. There's a fuel station between home and Brisbane who sells small and large tubs of Ben and Jerrys. We often like to stop there for a small tub treat. But I found the actual store to be a little disappointing.

We ate our ice-creams on the beach and were amused watching the seagulls almost taking off with someone's (who wasn't paying attention) lunch. At the time, I couldn't be bothered taking my shoes off and paddling in the water, but I wish I had of. We followed the beach a reasonable way looking for a fish and chips shop that had been recommended. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure which end it was located and bro wasn't interested in walking the whole length of the beach and back. On our way back to the wharf, we came across what the locals call 'The Corso' where you can find almost anything you want - plenty of chemists and yay .... clothes shopping! I came back from there with a lighter credit card and more baggage.

We caught the ferry back to the apartment from Circular Quay. On the journey home, a gorgeous little boy (no older than 18 months) came up from behind my seat and started tickling me. So cute! I got chatting to his mum who was rather embarrassed about her son's new found hobby....lol.
In the end, the day turned out much better than it started!

 

Tuesday 9th October 2012

It was an absolutely beautiful sunny day and Taronga Zoo was on the plans for the day. Unfortunately, bro had hit rock bottom with his chest cold and was in no shape to be going out, let alone walking around all day. We had already paid for our admission and it was suppose to be rather misreable, weather wise, the rest of the week.
I was determined to enjoy my zoo day and took the plunge to go alone. Even though Sydney had me up early each morning, I've never been a morning person, so it tends to take me awhile to get ready and going. For some reason, being on holidays had me taking longer than normal.

By 11:10am I was on the ferry heading for Circular Quay, where I took the Taronga Zoo ferry over to Mosman. I chose to travel up the hill to the zoo via the bus rather than the gondolas. Those things give me the hebby gebbies and I'm not a fan of heights.

Even with a map, I found it confusing at first as to what path to do and if I had done each one or not. I didn't want to miss a thing! It was unfortunate that I missed out on any of the shows. I would have loved to attend the penguin one.
The poor camera was working overtime until it came time to sit down to a lunch of zero coke, chips and a chicken/salad wrap. There really wasn't a whole range of meal choices (in my opinion) at the main dining spot.

The main path around the zoo features large green spots so you know where you are according to the map. I found I doubled back on a number of the paths so I could see everything possible. It's a lot of walking, but when you're admiring amazing animals and camera happy, you really don't notice the distance.

The main entrance (unless you take the gondola) is at the top of a hill and you work your way down to the wharf. Before you enter the actual zoo, there is a large gift shop that I cruised through, thinking I would come back that way when existing. Half way through your zoo journey is another smaller gift shop. I decided to buy mum an elephant mug for a souvenir and a white stuffed bear for myself. I actually intended it to be for my pup, but it wouldn't take him long to distroy it for a price of $20. Also, the toy sort of looks like him when he was only 9 weeks old.
I also found a zoo badge for my hat.

For whatever reason (I no longer required the entrance gift shop), once I got near the bottom of the zoo, I decided to take the track back up to the top instead of exiting down at the wharf. Mind you, all the walking was doing me good!
I did start to regret the decision when the bus was over 10 minutes late from what the timetable stated. Although I wasn't the only one who was confused. In the end it worked out quite well as I got chatting to a nice Pommy guy who was also touring Sydney. Perhaps the trick is to hit on the tourists down there - you might have more luck than with the locals...lol.
The bus finally turns up and because it was late, we had a 25 minute wait for the next ferry back to Circular Quay. The wharf was quite full by the time the ferry was due and it was a mad scramble as everyone gets in each other's space while the crowd boards.
By this stage, I had learnt to just go for it instead of standing patiently for a chance. That chance will never come until everyone else is already on the ferry!
In the city, it's everyone for themselves and the sooner you learn it, the better off you''ll be....lol.
I found it hard being pushy and feeling selfish at first, but seriously, no one else gives it a second thought.

The ferry trip from Circular Quay to the apartment was a rather pleasant one (more than usual), as most of the passengers were guys in business suits....hehe. One of my top favourite sights is a guy in a suit - add a delicious cologne and I'm a gonna!

Instead of getting off at my usual Olympic Park stop, I had to pick up a forgotten key ingredient for dinner that night from IGA at Meadowbank. Loaded with more than just a few items, I only just made it back to the wharf in time for the ferrry pulling up. Miss one and you have an hour wait for the next one. Only 3 minutes on the ferry and I was at my home stop where the 1.7km walk began while carrying shopping, as well as my purchases from the zoo.

Once back at the apartment, I loaded my photos onto the laptop to check how well they turned out before having my shower and setting the lamb Curry Royale on to cook.

Another well accomplished day that left me feeling confident and proud of my efforts. It may not be a cheap zoo to visit, but it's certainly well worth going at least once if you're ever in Sydney!

 

                              Komodo Dragon

                                     Sailfin Lizard

                                    Green Iguana

                                    Himalayan Tahr

Meerkats 

 

 Gorilla

 

Lawson's Bearded Dragon flaunting his stuff!  

 

                                    

                                         Spider Monkey

                               Tasmanian Tigers