sydney shopping
 

Strange request Iguess! We are going down to Sydney (from Brisbane) on the weekend of the 2nd June, for business. We find ourselves with Friday free and we were thinking some shopping may be in order. If it were Melb. I wouldn't have a problem, but I really don't Sydney at all. I was thinking something along the lines of Bridge st in Melb. or Stones Corner in Brisbane ie; a high concentration of outlet designer etc.

Also would love suggestions for Saturday. We are taking a staff member and his wife and they haven't been to Sydney since they were kids, so we thought perhaps a ferry ride to Manly or similar. Would appreciate input.

Thanks in advance.

Well if you are going shopping in Sydney.. then you just HAVE to go to the Queen Victoria Building, known affectionately as the "QVB ".

It is a MUST see building in Sydney>

Pierre Cardin,said that this was the "Most beautiful shopping (mall)in the world"

But then heck,whose is Pierre Cardin !!!

No really you HAVE to go to this shopping place and feast your eyes.

It is on the corner of York Street and Market Street.

I am Not a shopper (male) and I was impressed.!!

A ferry ride to Manly is nice but so it dinner at the revolving restaurant in the Sydney Tower....but it is expensive for four of you.

I am sure others will have suggestions about where to take your staff member.

BUT...you GO to the QVB ,okay!

Percy

Percy

The previous poster is right - QVB is a great destination, beautiful shopping mall.

If you wish to shop at a cluster of factory outlets in, check these out:

http://www.birkenheadsc.com.au/stores/

http://www.magpiebooks.com.au/DFO%20...in_DFO_NSW.htm

If you intend to shop Saturday, you need to get to these places early (about 8.30 am) for parking, especially at Homebush.

for outlet specific, birkenhead and DFO are the best. I think DFO may have a greater range, but birkenhead is much nicer - and closer to the city. also, birkenhead has alannah hill, which DFO does not!

on friday you should be fine at either outlet for crowds.

Lancefan is right about birkenhead; also it is more uniquely sydney - dfo is much like the one you find in brisbane.

I think it has a better concentration of high end brands as well.

What puzzled me is how come lancefan knows so much about the location of alannah hill. Its my wife's favorite store, gorgeous feminine stuffs for which I gladly pay the full asking prices.

For the extra day in Sydney, perhaps explore the Rocks precinct, walk to the Opera House and then catch a ferry to Manly.

Lancefan is a girl that's how she knows about alannah hill!

Oops!!!

I should stop visualizing posters.

In my mind Lancefan was a bronze aussie dude...
LizF a feisty straight talking lady you don't want to mess with...
Alan a grizzled larrikin...
peteralan, a distinguished looking gentleman....
fuzzylogic, a bohemian left field type...
Pat, a kindly motherly type...
Neil, a retired academic in elbow padded jacket,
and so on....

I just have to see a blank now whenever I read those posts...

Aussiedreamer, I don't want to hijack your thread but could you tell me which hotels (or which area) would be the closest to Suncorp Stadium - walking distance if possible.

thanks, as usual a wonderful aray of information. QVB is in and I will check out Birkenhead, Is it a taxi ride from Darling habour...staying at Northpoint by Sheraton.

No problem Prue, are you coming for Robbie or the State of Origin???/

We have comfortably walked to Lang Park (sorry Suncorp Stadium, old habits die hard) from both the city and southbank. There are hotels along Coronation Drive that would work and North Quay. If it were me, I would book a city hotel, much more central than the others. And if you are coming for an event, buses are free to the stadium.

Hope that helps.

Prue,

why don't you post it as a separate post - I'm sure you'll get some responses that way.

I don't know from experience, but I looked up www.whereis.com.au, did a search for Milton (where suncorp is, cnrs milton road, hale and castlemain) then picked the show accommodation buttonon the map - that gives you a good idea. looks like city accom would be easy to get to by train.

Prue, just had a thought.

http://www.abbeyhotel.com.au/

This is midway between the Stadium and the city and the transit cnt is across the road.

AD

eshaton, I'm quite happy to be visualised as a distinguished looking gentleman but a bronze Aussie dude would be even better! LOL!

thank you for the Brisbane information - it is for my son & dil who are going to be there for the Bledisloe Cup Rugby and I know there will be a panic when they have not done anything about accomodation - but don't want to get people off your track of Sydney shopping -!

Eshkatan,

Pat is definetly kind but she didn't mother us! Just treated us damn well

Spent the better part of an evening trying to find Alan. He's definetly a "we seek him here we seek him there" kind of fellow and entertaining when finally caught up with

I will have a chance to observe Neil up close this summer and will post my impressions. I will also try to provide a link between the spy cam in our apartment to this site for readers amusement.

AndrewDavid

How wrong can you be???????

Eschaton said the following:
Oops!!!

I should stop visualizing posters.

In my mind Lancefan was a bronze aussie dude... WELL I DON'T KNOW HIM SO CANNOT COMMENT
LizF a feisty straight talking lady you don't want to mess with... MORE LIKE "GRANNY" FROM THE BEVERLEY HILLBILLIES ACTUALLY
Alan a grizzled larrikin... NO, HE IS THE ONE WHO IS A DISTINGUISHED LOOKNG GENTLEMAN WITH ELBOW PADDED JACKET
peteralan, a distinguished looking gentleman.... DUNNO ABOUT P
fuzzylogic, a bohemian left field type... SOUNDS GOOD TO ME
Pat, a kindly motherly type... THIS IS WHERE ESCH IS QUITE OFF THE MARK, PAT IS REALLY A CHARWOMAN WITH 'KERCHIEF' ON HEAD AND PINK RUBBER GLOVE WITH BUCKET IN TOW, AND FAG HANGING OUT OF MOUTH AND A GRIN FROM EAR TO EAR - REMEMBER SHE BREEDS DOGS WHO LOVE LADIES BRAS AND NOW HAVE TURNED TO DEHYDRATED TOADS TO DECORATE THE HOUSE AND GARDENS
Neil, a retired academic in elbow padded jacket,
and so on.... IT IS REALLY A STRAIGHT WHITE JACKET WITH THE ARMS THAT CROSS OVER AND IS TIED AT THE BACK TO STOP HIM HURTING HIMSELF :0)

Here are a few of mine though:

AD... bit of a larrikin we have here who loves to bait and writes erudite posts

Tropo: Kindly person who loves to wander around the bays and waterways of Southern Qld and is happy to let people into some of his secrets.

Marg-oz: straight shooter who says what she means and means what she says

Mucky: one of my favourites actually with his Welsh wit and sense of the ridiculous.

If I have missed anyone out then my apologies for that I am sure thast I will come up with something in the near future about them tho'.

Hot off the press: Pat's hired help is returning to work and now Pat will no longer be a Charwoman but a gracious hostess of a "Deep North" establishment.

mmm interesting. I may have disproved your summary of me.........as I had to look up the meaning of 'erudite'. But Larikin I like a lot. Not sure about the Baiting bit though???

I haven't spent a lot of time here in the Australian forum, but have formed many an opinion on the Europe thread...

'Granny from the Beverley Hillbillies,' Liz?

I don't believe you.

I had originally wanted to say: 'Fiery redhead in blue denim jeans and steel cap cowboy boots,' then held back when I imagined a steel cap heading my way.

aussiedreamer, sorry for this digression.
I note you mentioned catching taxi to birkenhead.
If you don't have a car, that's probably the best way to get there from Darling Harbour. Let's see if someone else knows a bus alternative.

Ooooo sorry Aussie dreamer it was only on reading your post that I discovered that you could have thought that I meant you when in fact I meant AndrewDavid ( AD for short) if you want to be a larikin then thats OK with me. The baiting bit may not translate well to American tho'.
Esch: I have not been able to get into my jeans for bloody years, probably ever since my red hair turned grey and the bunions stopped me wearing cowboy boots. But if it makes you happy I have been known to ride the bucking broncos in my time which actually led to me having a bad back and several operations because of the wretched things. Did manage to stay on one bull for 3.2 seconds once before being thrown into the wall.
AussieD: you can get a bus from Darling Harbour to Birkenhead but its a PIA because not all busses will stop where you want them to and you cannot tell when you actually get to the stop for Birkenhead. Probably better to get a Taxi. AND I still am more like Granny in the Beverley Hillbillies than anyone else.

Hi AussieDreamer,

You can take a ferry from Circular Quay to Birkenhead Point :)

www.accessibility.com.au/ sydney/shopping/innerwest/bheadp.htm

Happy Shopping.

AussieDreamer, I do not know of a 'Northpoint Sheraton', but if you meant Four Points, then Bokhara has just given you the best advice.

Four Points is on sussex street side of Darling Harbour,about a km walk to the Quay. It would not be the quickest way to get to Birkenhead, but certainly the most pleasant.

If you are not in hurry, you can actually walk through Queen Victoria Building on the way.

But if time is of the essence then it's back to the cab option - it would cost around $28 one way (I used a 'cab fares estimator')

I used to go to Redfern for fashion retail outlets, and before that, Surrey Hills, both a short train hop from Sydney city, although I'd drive to them . Bokhara, nice to see you back here, do they still exist?

Hi Pat,
I used to go to the ones in Redfern (cnr Botany Rd) too. Think they're still there, but now tend to go a bit further down Botany Rd (near McEvoy, I think), where Events, Gordon (?) & a couple of others have factory outlets. There's also a Mikasa shop down there which is excellent.

For a visitor, though, I'd take the Birkehead Point option. Most of the major chains are represented in a pretty venue at the end of a ferry/jetcat ride. And, of course, there are some nice eateries there as well. Might do it myself on the weekend :)

Envy you the FNQ weather at the moment - nearly froze my wotzits off on the sunrise trek around Long Reef the other day :o

Sorry, yes Idid mean Fourpoint..oops.

I thought I read on the Birkenhead site, that the ferry not longer stopped there?

As I don't know Sydney "at all", I was wondering for we could be 'dropped off' on the way to Darling Harbour from the Airport......or is it in the complete oposite direction?

Just spoke with Sydney Ferries.
C.Quay - B'head point. Mon - Friday
7.10; 7.50;8.30; 9.20 then 3.20; 4.35; 5.10 and last at 5.45pm. There's no weekend service. Excellent planning NSW Gov't - that's a good way to minimise tourist & local traffic to an obvious drawcard on the weekend - drop the best public transport & then bitch that too many people use cars!

You could be dropped off at B'Head Point on the way in from the airport but if you've got bags, it would probably make more sense to drop them at Darling Harbour (which is where the 4 points (ex Nikko) is located) & go to B'head Point from there.

Bokhara, thank you so much. New plan, cab from Airport to B/head. The cab can continue on to D/harbour with bags and DH's and perhaps a ferry on the trip from B/head to D/harbour. Hows that sound?

Thanks again.
AD

Spot on! Send the boys with the bags & leave the girls to get on with the shopping :)

NB
we did have a chance to meet the entertaining margo_oz. Quite charming, but prone to loosing things like cats and aunts

john-j is our resident cricket expert and has tremendous amounts of enthusiasm and intellect as well as an extremely charming wife

AndrewDavid

andrewd, you'll be pleased to know Margo-oz has found her aunt and they're both here with me right now. About to take off to the wilds of Kakadu.

You might want to note that Mon-Fri, most shops at Birkenhead don't open until 9.30am (9am at weekends).

depending on what time you get in, there are a couple of nice places you could go for breakfast around Darling Harbour (not actually in the Harbourside Centre, on the Pyrmont Streets). Pen Cafe (cnr Pyrmont St & Pyrmont Bridge Road - I think it's opposite ... Quarrymans Pub) in Pyrmont is a fave of mine and only a short walk from the DH hotels. check out www.whereis.com.au if you need to see how close.

If your boys aren't going shopping with you, it would only be a 10-15 min walk down to the fish markets from DH as well. Good spot for beer and fish and chips!

For your saturday, staying at darling harbour, get up early (!) and walk down to Pyrmont Bay Park, on the water opposite the Star City Casino and have a leisurely look around the SMH Growers Markets, which happen on the first Saturday of the month. you can get a bacon and egg roll down there and tobys estate coffee (sometimes a wait for the coffee) and it's a lovely thing to do. lots of intersting produce (cheese, nuts, meat, flowers) from around sydney and nsw. goes from 7-11am and it's normally busy by 9am, so my tip is to go before 9am. (down murray st past the maritime museum and onto star city) http://events.smh.com.au/view_event.asp?intid=11

Lancefan.........thank you. Thats perfect. A Growers market is perfect for DH and I. What a great plan. Thank you. And as for the coffee.......yes please we are both coffee nuts......so if you are recommending good coffee, we're there. We may even 'sneek' off before the other couple wake up, we're early rises and love to just walk. So thanks again.

Aussiedreamer you may like to make a call to "Peters of Kensington" which is in Anzac Parade because if they are having a sale it is always a terrific one. You probably know that they carry one of the best International selections of kitchenwear and other goods you can get. There is limited parking on site but at least there is parking in the side streets. If you don't have a car then any bus going to Maroubra or Maroubra Junction would drop you off outside or near enough anyway but I cannot remember what the suburb is that they are in. I do know they have a web site and you can see what they have for sale there. I love that shop to bits.

Liz, I believe that Peter's of Kensington is in Kensington.

(57 Anzac Pde - www.petersofkensington.com.au

No, eschaton, I'm the grizzled larrikin - Alan is the distinguished-looking gent. And LizF is is actually the retired academic in the patched jacket, cunningly disguised on this forum as a stroppy right-winger from Queensland.

What! Peter's of Kensington is in Kensington???????????????????
But which suburb is near Kensington Neil and where would Aussiedreamer get off the bus?
You are in denial Neil = you are the one in the straight jacket
As for me being stroppy - I never did think much of him actually till Paul became famous.

Hmm. "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas any more", and that's for sure.

Well, aussiedreamer can take the Yellow Brick Road or better still, assuming the bus still goes down Anzac Parade as it did when ah were a lad, keep an eye out for a big intersection with Alison Road (left, goes to Coogee) and Dacey St (right) and get off about 6 blocks further on. With a bit of luck the bus driver might know the shop. If you see Todman Avenue you've gone too far.

Going South (as you will be from town) it's on Anzac Pde between Ascot & Goodwood Sts - cross over Anzac Pde & it's a huge pink building. Near Balfour Lane. If you miss it, you'll be needing a guide dog!

Personally, I think the shop's ok, but those check out lines drive me crazy - so viva la internet shopping ... pick, pay & they deliver :)

Just a quick update. The weekend was great. Although Sydney was wet and cold (we are very spoilt up here...sunshine and clear skies).

We got the cab to drop the dh's and bags at the hotel and continued on to Birkenhead. Not a big fan, but I know it depends on what your looking for. We managed to 'fill' in two hours. Back to hotel, check in freshin up and hit the city shops........now thats what I'm talkin about!! Awsome, managed to get myself a little something for the 'Stradbroke' race day this Saturday.

Drinks at the 'Watershed' bar D/Harbour while watching the rain, very pleasent.

Pre-dinner drinks at the Pontoon bar and then dinner at 'I'm Angus'. Food was good, service a little ordinary. Post-dinner drinks at the Pontoon bar.

Fall into bed.

One of the better breakfasts at the hotel..........and off sightseeing. Walked to Circular Quay, the Rocks, the bridge around past Susannah house and into the Shangrila hotel for a 'light refreshment' as we had heard the view was spectacular, too early, couldn't get up there.
Back to the Quay and a ferry ride to Manly.....choppy ride. Cold and very windy at Manly. Lunch at the Steyne pub. Pre-ferry drinks at the Manly Wharf Hotel. The ride back was extremely choppy.

Time for a nap, before the seafood buffet at the hotel.......very good I might add. I thought a little expensive at $70 a head, but well worth it. Dh's off to Casino, wives back to their rooms for Room Service desert, coffee and a movie. Lovely way to end the day. (Broke Back mountain for me!!!)


Just enough time for one more look in the great shops before a car service ride back to the airport. Purchased the manditory Krispy Kreams for the kids and home we go.

Thanks for helping on my 'little' weekender.

AD :-)