alohacheryl

The Harbour Rocks is a little cheaper then the Russell. The Russell was too much compared with the Lord. I am booking today and appreciate all the postings, especially LizF, Alan, judy C, mpoll, etc. You have given me so much tips I can only imagine sydney will be wonderful. I will collect my tips and show them to my friend, so she can see all the exciting things we are going to do! And all the things we will get to avoid becuase of your suggestions! A few more questions before I leave this post and get my book on Australia.
1. Is it true you can take the ferry with a day pass and not pay for the special ferry tours, like LizF says...seems too good to be true!

2. Where can I have an elegant afternoon tea service with an opera house/harbour view? I wouldn't mind spending a bit, as I love tea time and we do not do afternoon tea in Hawaii, so I have tea every where I travel.

3. What time is the BEST time to do the harbour stair climb? Early early like 9am-10am? Please advise.

4. And finally: What australia book do you recommend for me to buy? I will be in Sydney, then Melbourne, Torquay and Adelaire. Fordors?
Mahalo and Aloha from Hawaii. Cheryl

Judy_in_Calgary

>>>>>>What australia book do you recommend for me to buy?<<<<<<

Lonely Planet's books on Australia are great.

>>>>>>Adelaire<<<<&l t;<

Adelaide

This is getting off topic as far as Sydney is concerned, but a nice place to have afternoon tea in Melbourne is the elegant old Windsor Hotel on Spring Street, more or less opposite the Parliament Buildings.

But you should be able to get a pleasant afternoon tea almost anywhere you go. Look out for signs that say "Devonshire Tea." That's your passport to tea, scones, whipped cream and strawberry jam.

lizF

1. Is it true you can take the ferry with a day pass and not pay for the special ferry tours, like LizF says...seems too good to be true!XXXXXXXXXX Even if you can't now get a day pass you can, for only a few dollars, get a very good harbour trip on a ferry and you can see exactly the same as you would if you paid $$$$$$$$ more. If you get a return to somewhere then you can get off and see a bit and get back on again. Has anyone suggested to you to do the Spit walk to Manly? That takes you past some wonderful little bays, aboriginal paintings and breathtaking views - you get to manly and have a meal and then you can get the Manly Ferry back to Circular Quay. Don't take the hydrofoil.

2. Where can I have an elegant afternoon tea service with an opera house/harbour view? I wouldn't mind spending a bit, as I love tea time and we do not do afternoon tea in Hawaii, so I have tea every where I travel.XXXXXXXXX Not too sure about this one but I think that the Sir Stamford still does a high tea but I am not sure that they have very good views. Perhaps the Hyatt does and that most certainly does have views. It is on line so you could check that one.


3. What time is the BEST time to do the harbour stair climb? Early early like 9am-10am? Please advise.XXXXXXXXXXXX
Sunset

4. And finally: What australia book do you recommend for me to buy? I will be in Sydney, then Melbourne, Torquay and Adelaire. Fordors?
Mahalo and Aloha from Hawaii. Cheryl
XXXXXXXX I would buy Bill Bryson's book myself - at least its humourous. If you want a book as a guide then I don't think any of them are much good because they don't give enough information.
Bye the way you asked about only 2 hotels. If you had added The Russell I would have put that before The Lord Nelson. I would wait until 2 weeks before you are here and get on www.wotif.com.au - if you couldn't get it then I would go the other route.
When you have your high tea somewhere see if they have any Australian teas as we do make some very nice ones. Also try some Australian coffee - the one grown near Mareeba in Queensland is quite lovely.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

lizF

PS Thought I would check myself about the passes and you most certainly can get them: Here is a site that I think will give you a lot of answers and also tell you about the different passes you can get - amongst other things:http://www.atn.com.au/nsw/syd/trans-c.htm

johhj_au

Cheryl

Are you flying with Hawaiian?

Judy_in_Calgary

>>>>>>If you want a book as a guide then I don't think any of them are much good because they don't give enough information.<<<<<<

LizF, you've got to be kidding. We lived in Melbourne for 2.5 years. In addition to getting recommendations from local friends, we consulted our Lonely Planet guidebook on Melbourne, and on many a Saturday or Sunday went on an outing described in it. In 2.5 years we failed to exhaust Lonely Planet's suggestions.

alohacheryl

Besides suset for the bridge walk (as it is very expensive! almost double the price)
should we do the walk on the bridge right before the price goes up durinng twilight like 3pm?

I am flying on Air Canada 600USD roundtrip.

I have not found the Lord on wotif yet, but I will continue to look. Mahalo!

I will

lizF

No Judy I am not kidding when I say that none of the guide books tell a real story - very rarely do they mention the best things and only usually the main tourist places. As for the Lonely Planet I find that it appeals to back-packers mostly. I doubt that any of the guide books talk about the Spit to Manly walk, lunch at Watson's Bay, etc etc or being able to get a hamper from David Jones and make a wonderful picnic near the Harbour. 3 things that I find are really wonderful to do.
I think that a person who is computer savvy is much better searching the local www sites for information which is not only up-to-date but also broader information as well.
ALoacheryl: I don't think you will find Lord Nelson on wotif. However there are other last minute sites so try and do a search for them.

lcuy

Cheryl-
I'd go with the last "day" trip and save the money.

We did the bridge climb at 2 or 2:30 pm in mid-June (winter, so it got dark earlier). It is about an hour of prep before you start your climb, and about 1/2 hour till you reach the top. We were happy to go up in daylight--and be able to see all the sights--and then have some of the city lights come on as we neared the end.

As for guide books, we found Frommer's very accurate and useful. Make sure you read Bill Bryson's book too, before you go!

alohacheryl

Aloha All:
Made reservations like suggested for the bridge tour at 315p, right before the twilight tour. This way, I will save on the cost and hopefully see some of the twilight as we descend. Thank you for the suggestion lcuy! I was glad to know about the prep time as well. Any suggestions for a decent bite to eat after the 3 hour bridge tour in that area? Nothing fancy, not too touristy most essential, good food for our assumingly large appetties after the bridge. Mahalo! Cheryl

Neil_Oz

alohacheryl, I'm struggling to think of anywhere that's not touristy in the inner city, but as some posters keep reminding me, we Canberrans are out of touch (and happy that way, I might add!)

I'd grab a cab and head the mile-and-a-bit to Chinatown (Dixon Street and surrounds). The fare ranges from cheap roast and noodle joints to classy stuff prepared by top Hong Kong-trained chefs. It's bright and bustling (of course), and while some Chinese waiters seem convinced that we laowai can't appreciate anything more sophisticated than sweet-and-sour pork, you can always insist on getting that great-looking dish that the large Chinese party at the next table is tucking into with gusto.

Most Chinese food in Australia is Cantonese, which in any event is probably the best overall, but you will find Sichuan and other regional styles. Many restaurants in Chinatown have tanks containing live fish, prawns etc. to choose from, but that's a case of "you gets what you pays for".

If you're prepared to invest another 10-15 minutes of cab time, Newtown and Leichhardt are good value.

You might decide that you want to eat not too far from the Bridge, but at least you can keep the above areas in mind for another occasion.

Closer to the Bridge, Sailors Thai, West Circular Quay, is excellent - but not if you're after a cheap 'n cheerful meal. There are pubs and other places in The Rocks which can handle that, but the names escape me.

leniram

Aside from Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. (Sydney HBr bridge is truly awesome!!!), look out for the Macquaries chair in Botanic Gardens. Good view of Sydney from that point.

Alan

After the descent from the Bridge, why not just walk down to the Mercantile Hotel in the Rocks and have a Beef and Guinness Pie, or any other of their Irish meals? It's a funny old place: noisy, full of conviviality, a bit primitive -- a capsuled Australia, which isn't surprising as there's so many Irish settlers here. Otherwise, that taxi that Neil suggested might well be used to take you to one of the nearby clubs: the RSL in George St, or the North Sydney RSL across the Bridge. This is where the Aussies go out to eat, and rightly so, as the meals are big (in some clubs, it's just a huge buffet and you can eat till you drop)and the prices reasonable -- frankly, they probably don't even go close to covering their costs in some of the outer suburban ones. The more I think of it, the more I think that the North Sydney one is the best, as you can then get a bus back across the Bridge and see Sydney by night from this vantage point (if you're not too tired, get off before the Bridge and walk back across -- much less strenuous than the climb to the top, but very pleasant).

obrien641

Are you able to purchase the sweaters (Coogi Sweaters)that Judy mentioned earlier any where? Will be traveling to Australia in November with two girlfriends and we are coming from Vermont, so any sweaters would be great for us. Wondering what is so special about them and where can we purchase.

Neil_Oz

I like Alan's pub suggestion. The clubs certainly provide a uniquely Australian experience, just bear in mind though that in most cases we're not talking about what you might think of as a "clubby" atmosphere here, and you wouldn't go to one to pick up any ideas for tasteful interior design either. There's a special place in hell for the designers of club carpets. That said, I haven't been to the ones Alan mentions and may be letting my personal bias intrude.

The rationale for a typical Oz licenced club may be to support a sporting team, the Returned Servicemen's League (RSL) or something else, and they're financed by poker (slot) machines, or "pokeys" - lots of them. Some of the clubs are huge and have more money than they know what to do with, which explains the cheap eats. But if you want to avoid touristy venues the clubs certainly fit the bill.

Judy_in_Calgary

>>>>>>Are you able to purchase the sweaters (Coogi Sweaters)that Judy mentioned earlier any where?...... Wondering what is so special about them and where can we purchase.<<<<<<

When I was in Australia I saw these sweaters in Coogi's own stores as well as in other stores, e.g., in stores at airports.

Here's a website that I found by doing a Google search for Coogi that will give you an idea of what the sweaters look like.

http://www.sydneyscopeartwear.com/

This concept has been copied elsewhere. One can get cheaper sweaters that immitate the Coogi look here in Calgary. The cheaper knock offs, however, do not approach authentic Coogis, either aesthetically or from a quality point of view, in my opinion.

Alan

Neil, I can't remember the carpets at either of those two clubs, but I am sure they are just as awful as the Clubs whose carpets I DO remember. I think it's to cover up any traces of cockroaches -- I mean, you could even lose a medium-sized dog on some of the patterns! But talking of bad taste -- where, in Hell, would you send the person who designed the ceiling of the theatre at Star City Casino? Maybe it's always the same person -- on work ecperience from the School for the Blind!

Neil_Oz

Alan, casinos aren't my favourite places anyway, so thanks for the warning about Star City. The only one I know that isn't tacky is Adelaide's. But even that wouldn't be enough to get me back to that blackjack table.

pat_woolford

Don't know if this was a coincidence but the day after an episode of Kath and Kel sporting their Coogi tops - I think this was the ill-fated honeymoon to Daintree Eco Lodge and SPA episode - Coogi knitwear in local shops was reduced by 50%! Sorry, Cheryl, you'll be sorry you started this - referring to an incredibly popular Oz TV programme - Kath & Kim - half the country is into "Kath & Kim speak".

ClayF

Look at maeeeeeee Pat, look at mae, look at mae!
What is the name of the Pub, in the Rocks area folks, that has the crocodile pizzas? I had one and they were lovely - the place is up near Cumberland Street and it also has rooms to let too which although 1900 Circa Aussie Pub design are very clean and if I remember correctly, quite large. Tables are outside too so you can eat your croc pizza and drink your beer al fresco.