Well I thought it would never happen. Some may remember some of my earlier posts asking about sights, restaurants and hotels in Sydney and Melbourne.

For the past month I have been trying to secure business class frequent flyer seats using my United miles, but i didn't have much luck. Sometimes i would find seats to AUS (on Air New Zealand or United) but I could never find a seat home (that's important!).

I had planned to leave the second week of April (that's next week, but I ditched that because everything got too close and I had no seats or reservations). This week I made a big switch and moved my trip to the second week of April and requested First Class seats instead of Business Class.

A couple day ago I called United and they worked out a schedule and found me seats in First Class for MOST of the trip. One catch, the return was in economy. Sorry folks I am not doing 13 hours in an economy seat, especially since this is costing me 120,000 miles. So anyway, the agent made the reservation and put me on the waitlist for 1st class seats for the SYD-LAX portion of the flight. No one told me I could do that when I tried the other 2 million times! This morning guess what I woke up to? Sunny Spring skies in New Jersey and an invitation to upgrade from coach to First Class. I feel like one of the Jeffersons! Movin' on up!

Now the panic sets in! I need hotels, info, clothes, cars, books, etc. , and I have 2 weeks to do it. What the hell do I know about Australia anyway?

So here's the schedule...

Wednesday, Apr 13 - early morning flight from Newark to San Francisco arriving at SFO at about 10am. My United flight to Melbourne (via Sydney) doesn't leave until 10pm so I have 10 hours to kill in san Francisco. Yes, I purposely asked for this flight because I wanted time to chill after the 6hr flight. I think I will get a cheap hotel room to clean up and nap before I move onwards.

Wednesday, Apr 13 - 10pm, flight from SFO to SYD. United First Class. I am really looking forward to this flight because the seats are lie flat sleeper seats, so i can get a good nites rest.

Friday, Apr 15 - Arrive at Sydney and then continue to Melbourne on United. What happens to april 14th? Do I just loose that day to all eternity?

Friday, Apr 15 to 19 - Melbourne. Don't ask what I am doing cause I don't know yet. I am open for suggestions!

Tuesday, Apr 19 - Fly to Sydney (on United 747)

Tuesday, Apr 19 to Monday, Apr 25 - Sydney. Once again I have no palns yet but I do know I want to do a day trip to the Hunter Valley.

Tuesday, Apr 26 - Is it over already? Time for the long journey home to Newark (with pit stops in Los Angeles and Chicago)

Hows that?

OK question time!

1. Monday, Apr 25 is Anzac day and I think its a holiday like Memorial Day in the USA. What can I expect? Shops and restaurants open? Parades? Street Fairs?

2. At this last minute hotels are at a premium. I was rejected on numerous Priceline bids (damn I wanted to stay at the Marriott for US$110!)

Here is what I found...

Melbourne - Rydges Melbourne, 186 Exhibition Street. I think this is near Little Bourke Street and Chinatown. The location seems good and the price was AUS$140 for a deluxe king room.

http://www.rydges.com/locations/Rydg...t=CitySuburban

Sydney - Rydges Jamison, 11 Jamison Street. AUS$175 a night, tax included for a deluxe king room with balcony. This was a little higher than my budget but it got such good comfort and location reviews compared to other hotels in that range. Plus I see this use to be the Le Meridien so how bad can it be?

http://www.rydges.com/locations/Rydg...p;cat=Boutique

Does anyone know about these hotels or areas?

Anyway, if anyone wants to offer me any more advise such as shopping, restaurants (I love to eat!), sights, etc., I would refuse the thoughts!

By the way, while on my trip I will be blogging LIVE! using my Blackberry and websight so you can follow along if you like. In November I blogged from Paris and London and it was a big hit with the Fodorites on the Europe board. I was getting around 1000 hits a day plus constant emails while I was there! Fodors blog also made note of my trip.

If you want to see my "I Heart Paris" blog, visit...

http://richardab.typepad.com/iheartparis

OK, thats all for now....

Richard,
good on you for your perseverence in getting frequent flyer tickets - not easy as we all know. The Rydges in Melbourne is fine, it's not the best nor the worst hotel in town. It is a few mins walk from the free city circle tram stop, also close to Chinatown and the theatres. The Producers has closed (what a great show) and Dirty Dancing is starting soon. Check on Ticketek for tickets if you are keen, you can also buy tickets direct from the theatres.
The Flower Drum in Chinatown consistently wins best restaurant in Melbourne and has been there seemingly forever (not cheap) but you must book ahead to get in. Otherwise lots of good chinese/asian places to eat in that area. There is also a supermarket across the road, downstairs I think. Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens are close as well and there are usually possums at dusk, take some apples to give them.

A great place on Saturday morning is the Queen Victoria Market, you can walk or catch the free tram then walk a bit. There are good buskers, food galore, clothes, coffee etc etc. Lots of people and atmosphere. The market is open other days too.

Anzac Day is a public holiday here and is usually a sombre day with a dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. No parades as such. Some things will be closed but you shouldn't have any trouble getting a meal. A good place to eat, have a drink and people watch, is Southbank. Also trips along the Yarra River start from here.

If you are after hotels at the last minute, have you tried:
www.wotif.com.au
www.lastminute.com.au
www.needitnow.com.au
www.standbyrooms.com.au

Hope this helps, freel free to email if want more info.
Kay
(and yes, you do lose that day after the International Date line. What a strange concept, even worse is if you fly from Melbourne to Hawaii - you arrive before you left!)

Well, don't worry about losing April 14 - you'll find it (or rather it's equivalent) going home again.
Now re Anzac Day - there will be parades all around Australia in the morning. You could go to the local dawn ceremony which is usually very emotional. The shops, cinemas, touristy things are usually open in the afternoon but why not check if there is an AFL football match. This is so different to American football.
In Melbourne, your hotel is in a good location. Things to do - lots of nice parks and gardens around town; Queen Vic market is huge and open most days and great for souvenirs, clothes, food etc; Melbourne Zoo is good and only ten minutes away by tram from the CBD; take the ferry down river to Williamstown; on Sunday take the tram to St Kilda and check out the art/craft market on the Esplanade and walk a bit further to Acland Street for the cake shops; visit Federation Square and go to the Ian Potter Gallery for a great collection of Australian art; check out the visitors' centre in Federation Square; visit the Victorian National Gallery just across the road and the river for another great collection; take the free city circle tram around to town to get your bearings; take the BBQ boat down river to see the penguins in Port Phillip Bay; do a coach tour (or hire a car) and visit the wineries in the Yarra Valley or have a tour of the Dandenong Ranges - really pretty in autumn. Does this give you some suggestions?
For good food, wander along the Yarra River at Southbank for a bewildering array of restaurants; visit Chinatown for Chinese food (have you ever had yum cha?); or get the tram to Lygon Street for Italian food.
Hope you enjoy your visit to our country.

Glad to hear you were diligent and got your tickets Richard. Australia will be well worth the effort.

Yes, I remember some of your posts. The funny thing I remember from them is that I noticed lots of detailed answers, but not many responses (or thanks) from you. I don't mean that to sound snide (so please don't take offense...but you're a NYer, so I reckon you have a thicker skin than most- a good thing). The Aussie posters here are some of the best I've seen on fodors, and I am sure they would appreciate a word of thanks here and there.

Anyway, back to your question...

You and I will be in the air at the same time. I leave from LAX on the 13th (alas, flying coach!) and arrive at around 6 am.

The reason I mention this is because I have a friends and family certificate that I don't need, since I have accommodation. The Marriott on College Street (across from Hyde Park) has a friends and family rate of 175AUD a night (that includes all taxes). I checked and it is available for the duration of your stay. I think that may be slightly out of your price range but thought I'd mention it, and it's a good rate considering the cheapest I've seen after that is 230 a night for that hotel. The Marriott Sydney Harbour (near the Rocks) does not have the rate available.

You can check out the hotel at http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/SYDCC . This is not in the famed Rocks area, but it is central to many things.

If you are interested, let me know and I will send you an email on how to book the room. I will then drop off the certificate, which they require, at the hotel for you. Or I can tell you what I will be wearing, in case you see me in customs, and I can hand it over.

If this is too high a rate, I was going to recommend wotif.com.au too. I see all kinds of hotels listed in a decent price range.

Enjoy your stay, and have a toast to Margo on the 17th with the rest of us...it's her birthday!

Duh, I see you booked your sydney hotel already. Sorry! I only saw the melbourne one. But I also see the rates are the same as the one I told you about, so the offer is still open.

OK, I looked up your hotel...looks like a better location than the marriott and a great rate for that hotel (wotif.com is showing it at way more.) Hopefully it works out for you!

Sydney portion
Anzac day

I do the Anzac day thing about once every 5 years. I cry each time even though it holds no link to my particular past. It somehow reaches you in an emotional way no matter how poor the local band is, how poor the bugle is or how poor the speaker is. Gets you every time.

Usually arrive to the dawn service (which seems to be held 3 hours before dawn btw) then have free breakfast and a chat with the old diggers and locals. People start drinking at this time, believe it or believe it not... before 7.00am !! But I do too because that is what is done! Go with the flow as they say!!

Then about 9.00am they bring out the two-up mat and everyone starts to gamble with each other over a toss of the coin. This is a game only legal one day a year and respects the memory of the time when soldiers played this for their entertainment.

After this everything turns feral and it is advised to leave the area!

Meanwhile downtown the old diggers are congregating for their annual reunion and they march the streets proudly displaying their medals. However as time marches past them more and more are represented by surviving grandkids.

It is a cultural event that may be of interest to holiday makers..if they get it.. It is not about war, pro or anti, it is just respect for people that felt so strongly about freedom they fought for it.

Each area throughout Australia has it's own services (usually in the memorial parks) and conducted by the RSL Clubs.

The choice is between the big downtown event or a smaller suburban area.

I recommend giving it a try if you feel it may give you insight into Australia and it's people and how a small country continually tries to punch above it's weight (whether you agree or not you have to give kudos for effort).

Meanwhile you may be hungry.

You can do what the Aussie does and head for Newtown, Balmain, Oxford Street, or a hole in the wall local Thai restaurant, have Italian down Leichhardt way or Greek at Brighton. Yum Cha or BBQ King at Chinatown or great value seafood at the Fishmarkets.

For fast food try a meat pie at a good bakery or a burger with beetroot, egg and pineapple. Aussie burger...yeahh.

You can visit David Jones food hall and go silly over yumm yumm stuff. Like a posho deli in the US.

Meanwhile the foodies change favorite eating places by the minute (fickle bunch) but recently have heard great reviews about Marque (apparently steak with chocolate sauce is actually very good),and always Tetsuya.

To get rid of all the calories from the food do a walk around about the harbour and go swimming at North Sydney pool. Afterwards pop into Luna Park for some silly fun then catch the ferry back CBD side.

Get connected with nature, Sydney is surrounded by national parks. North, South and West.

Go shopping where the masses go ...Pitt Street Mall or a Suburban Westfield Mall or Oxford Street/Paddington Markets for trendy or Paddy's for downright cheap and sometimes nasty. Check out Queen Victoria Building right down town. Very nice, stop for a coffee.

You should not need a car for downtown Sydney unless you are suicidal. Buy a travel pass and curse the public transport system the way us locals do.

Have fun !

Are United's First Class seats the bed type ?.That's what BA use in Business Class.
I've got 120k Air Miles with the One World Alliance so I was thinking of using them to fly with BA to Oz.

Thanks everyone for the info, I feel like you are doing my itinerary for me! A this point I am so rushed, I wouldn't mind!

crazymina - Sorry that I did not offer formal "thanks" for the other posts, I guess I just got all hung up in reading them and researching my trips. By the way, I live in New Jersey, not New York so I guess I can't formally call myself a New Yorker. Actually, I am sort of an Angelino because I moved here from Los Angeles about 2 1/2 years ago. To be more specific, from "the Valley" (yes, "that" valley). Thanks also for the offer of the certificates. Right now I am going to stay put and try for a cheaper room on Priceline as i get closer to my trip. I really want the harbour Marriott.

Lesg - Yes the first class seats on United are the lie falt bed type seats called First Suit or something like that. I like the layout on Uniteds 747's because many of the seats are singles so you don't have to feel like you are "sleeping with" that business man from Detroit. I had a look at those British airways Business sleeper seats and I think its weird that half the seats face the rear of the plane. Like riding backwards. The nice thing about belonging to United Airlines Mileage Plus is that awards require less miles than on other airlines or alliances. For example on United, R/T Newark/Sydney flights are 90,000 miles in business and 120,000 miles in first. On BA from the UK, its 100,000 for coach! 200,000 bix and 300,000 first! Even on American Airlines (as a Qantas award) its 125,000 for biz, 145,000 for first, and thats only included the transpacific portion. I think it more if you connect. United also allows you to make 1 stopover and connection, so I do my whole plan (including a day stop in San Francisco, connection to Melbourne, MEL to SYD flights and return (via LAX and ORD) all for the same amont. Oh I forgot they give free feet massages and do my dirty laundry too.

Anyway, if anyone wants to add more info, please feel free and I will try to thank you. I am still seeking info for transportation on a day trip to Hunter Valley, wine trips from Melbourne, good moderately priced restaurants (what do Australians eat anyway?), transportation from airport to hotels (and back), etc, etc....

I woke up this morning and thought, "Oh my god, I'm going to Australia!".

I can't wait to see the water in the toilet swirl the opposite direction!

No dramas at all Richard...like I said, everyone here is great and loves to help.

I also should thank YOU...I checked out your hotel a bit more yesterday and really like it. I may switch over. So if you don't get the Harbour Marriott, you might see me hanging around in the lobby of the Rydges.

And your comment on the toilet made me laugh. Alas, I was looking for the same thing, and most of the toilets I checked out seemed to swoosh straight down, and not counterclockwise.

TassieTwister - great comments! I wish I could get an Aussie burger & an ice cold XXXX here in Miami!

Richardab - the water really does go the other way! We took a picture (http://www.sd4.com/australia/picbody1.asp?id=65)

Also, many hotels will have a little slot just inside the front door where you insert the keyring. If you don't, the power in the room does not work. Four of us spent a comical 30 minutes trying to figure out how to turn the lights on. We didn't want to call the front desk and reveal we were Americans on our first overseas trip! We fumbled around in the dark, flipping the little switches on the sockets on and off, trying to make the power come on. Finally my wife figured it out!

You could spend a lifetime seeing all there is to see in Oz. My advice would be to get yourself somewhere off the "tourist" path and meet some real Aussies. Go to a sporting event or stop into a country pub and have a beer. (If you do this and someone buys you a beer, you are expected to reciprocate!)

Aussies are some of the warmest, friendliest people you are ever likely to meet. Kind of like the US used to be 25 years ago.

Have a great trip!

Richard...aussie toilet bowl design tends to be the straight flush method....so the low bowl,swirl (and clear demonstration of the coriolis effect) you see in the usa is not nearly as evident here.

Well thats a damn shame, now I am not coming.

JohninMiami - thanks for the write-up!

Mina - Richard will be in Melbourne for my birthday, so he'll misss the communal piss-up! I'm still aiming for Seans - but anywhere will do!
Wanna have a cool drink - [email protected] - I've forgotten the dates you're here!

Rydges Jamison is a good location - pretty quiet - but close to most things. I was just looking at wotif.com. Heavens, Sydney is expensive! I was in Melbourne last week, and stayed much more cheaply using wotif.com.

Where do Sydneysiders eat - pretty well anywhere.
For good Thai food - Sailors Thai, in teh Rocks, and my favourite, Longrain, up near Central Railway. REally intersting, not your usual suburban, food.

Margo, since I'd really like to go to Seans, let me know if you end up going on your bday, and I will see if my friends would go for lunch or dinner. Be happy to buy you a drink for all the help and humor you provide here. If I can't make it, I will still raise a glass to your health.

Hi Richard
Endorse the advice of John in Miami re attending a sporting event.
On Friday 15th April there is a night match of Aussie Rules football at the MCG between Collingwood and North Melbourne, a real taste of Australia. Great atmosphere, have a drink at a pub after the game and you are sure to meet up with locals. Game starts around 7pm, finishes 10pm (ish). No real need to book tickets, just buy one at the gate.
MCG is walking distance from your hotel or you can take a tram in Flinders St to the ground. Weather should not be too cold either-it is 30C here today
Enjoy

"communal piss-up", that frightens me. Whats the heck is that?

Regarding sports events - no interest at all.

Regarding Thai food - I love it and will look for a great place!

Richard - a "communal piss-up" is a party where people drink. Sounds a lot more fun to say "piss-up" than "party!"

If one person is describing another as pissed, (as in "Mate, look at that Margo, she's as pissed as a parrot!&quot it doesn't mean that Margo is angry. They are saying that Margo might have had a little too much to drink! And if someone is "getting pissed," they are well on their way to getting drunk.

Oh if i am "pissed" it means I am really mad so stay away from me.

JohninMiami - who's been eavesdropping~!!!

Richard - not in Australia! If you're not aware of the local lingo, you'll miss out - and the variant use of "pissed" is quite important!

We've often wondered about Murricans being drunk in unusual places, according to their reports.

If you become angry here - you'll be "pissed off".

If you (most unlikely) display boorish behaviour - you'll be "pissed on", by the natives.

If you leave in a hurry, or unexpectedly, or sometimes just leave, you'll "piss off".

Again, if you display inappropriate behaviour, someone will "take the piss" out of you! This may only be verbal, and may be in fun, but...a more severe version is "knock the piss out of you"

Beware shades of language.

Mina - Sean's is looking unlikely - rats! My elderly aunt is coming to town for my birthday, and she prefers somewhere closer to home. May get there Saturday, but....