Day 2 in of Our Sydney Breakation
By traveltripz on Aug 26, 2007 in Australia
Slept in and went down to the restaurant for late buffet breakfast. Customary fare, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausages, fruit of many varieties, cereals breads, cheeses and cold meats.
Then off to the Concierge to collect the car and head off to Northbridge to purchase the ARA shoes that we have been trying to buy for quite some time. Those who read this blog regularly will remember that we brought our first pair of ARA sandals in Florence, and they are amazingly light to wear and pack when travelling. Got a little carried away, I brought 3 pair of shoes and Paula brought 2, and while we are delighted with our purchases, the lady in the store is absolutely over the moon.
We also found a kitchen shop that was relocating and had some absolute bargains that we couldn’t resist.
Then its back across the Sydney Harbour Bridge into Sydney City. There are 250,000 cars that traverse the bridge every day. Sydney’s population is 4 million, quite small when you think that Manhatten Island which is about the size of Sydney has 20 million, and at the opposite end of the scale, Sydney’s population is as much as the total population of New Zealand. Matt our Guide on the Skywalk took much delight in relaying a number of anecdotes about the rivalry between NZ and Australia, one of my favourites was about when Bob Hawke, the Prime Minister of the time, mentioned to Robert Muldoon, the Prime Minister of NZ that there were too many Kiwi’s coming to Australia and Muldoon retorted that it was a good thing as it raised the IQ of both countries.
After dropping the car and purchases off at the hotel, we headed off to have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and to purchase some pins, something we started to do when we were in the US recently.
Well we couldn’t find the cafe to start with and were just about to give up when we decided to ask at a car rental place if they knew where it was. And sure enough we were on the right street but just needed to walk a bit further up the road. The signage is minimal so unless you were really looking hard for the place you would miss it.
Nearly collapsed at the prices of the drinks but we wanted a glass to match the one we brought in Miami so we ordered drinks and I had an Aussie Burger and Paula had a cheeseburger. Both lived up our expectations. The decor is the customary Hard Rock paraphanalia and the music was at a nice level, we were still able to talk to each other unlike in Miami where you couldn’t hear yourself think.
After lunch we each brought a Hard Rock Cafe pin, there wasn’t much to choose from.
Then it was off to Myer to buy a Jamie Oliver frypan. I have been looking for a new pan for sometime and after reading the reviews on the internet, I decided on a Jamie Oliver pan for quality and design.
We also wanted to pick up some pins from Planet Hollywood, so we set off to try and find the restaurant with the intention of also having dinner there. Well it’s gone, so I think Planet Hollywood should update their website. It is now Star Bar and although the customary planet trademark still shows outside, inside is now just a bar. They have kept some of the costumes etc but no pins and no restaurant. So that was disappointing.
By now it was getting dark and we headed back to the hotel, didn’t want to miss Dr Who. We are both fans and this was the second episode of story. Not much of an excuse to cut an evening short but good enough for us.
Next morning after breakfast we head off to the Rocks street market. Walking around Circular Quay we stop to watch Emma, a contortionist who manages to fit herself into a 16″ perspex box. Absolutely amazing to watch and she is very entertaining, so next time you are in Circular Quay keep an eye out for Emma and don’t forget that these artists rely on donations from the crowd for their living, so if you enjoy what you see make sure you give the act a small gratuity of appreciation.
At the market we find a chap who is selling pins from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games so we buy a few. There is such a lot of interesting stuff at the market so it’s well worth a visit.
All too soon its time to check out, get the car and head off back to Canberra, and after a 3 1/2 hour drive we arrive home. Back to work tomorrow but at least we work from home so a sleep in is order.
