Day 1 Australia - Sydney

January 2015 - Sydney Australia

We upgraded to business class for the eight hour flight. Vietnam Airlines were amazing. Food was good and even better the seat turned into a bed.
We both watched part of a movie, Chef (boring) for me and then went to sleep.

1. Sydney NSW, Australia is 16 hours ahead of Toronto, ON, Canada

   2:49 PM Monday, in Toronto, ON, Canada is
   

   6:49 AM Tuesday, in Sydney NSW, Australia

We landed around 10:15 after an eight hour flight and we lost four hours.
Once we figured out the automated custom process we got a sim card , some money and a taxi to the hotel $60AU.

The automated custom process was amazing, swipe your passport answer three easy questions and you are through. There are, however, many customs officers scouring the crowd and I did notice them approach several people and ask for passports.

As Australia's largest city, Sydney embraces its harbour, taking the sea and natural waterways to its
heart. The grand style of the Sydney Opera House has made the city the landmark of the South Pacific.


Sydney, with some 4 million people is the oldest, biggest, and liveliest city in Australia. Sydney's
facilities for sightseeing and holiday activities are unequalled by any other Australian city. It is a
paradise for surfers, swimmers, yachtsmen, fishermen, and golfers. Full of history and great
nightlife, the choice of things to do in Sydney is endless.

The Swissotel Sydney is strategically located in the heart of Sydney, offering commanding views
and is just minutes from Sydney Harbor, setting new benchmarks in the world of value-oriented
business and leisure travel. The hotel enjoys ease of access and transportation; underground
walkways conveniently connect the hotel to Sydney's railway hub at Town Hall as well as the
stylish shopping arcade and Queen Victoria Building.

The hotel is considered five star but the room is small and merely functional, with the TV mounted away from the bed so you can't really watch from there.
Do love a corner room though.

Out our window.

The rest of the day we have to ourselves. It is now around noon as we check in.

We showered and changed and then took a walk through the pedestrian mall on Pitt St. We were looking for a drug store and a camera shop.

This is the pharmacy on Pitt St.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson Co first occupied premises at 177 Pitt Street. In 1873 the business moved to larger premises at 158-160 Pitt Street where it remained until the building burnt down in 1886. By 1887 the building was replaced with a new store named Phoenix Chambers (attributed to a design by the Mansfield Brothers). This remains the company's head office and flagship Soul Pattinson store.

The building contained several innovative measures including an American-style soda fountain that survived until 1948 and a Ladies Department run by a nurse.

 Many of the buildings have been painted as they would have been.

This building has stunning architectural details that I will feature another time.

We found the camera store and had John's Nikon checked and it is definitely an issue with the camera not the batteries. We will address that when we return home. He bought a new Canon for now.

After we dropped the stuff back at the hotel we headed out to find a pub, Hart's. I forgot to get a photo so this is from their website.

Originally a private residence spanning three terraces, Harts Pub survived the post-bubonic plague demolitions in The Rocks to become home to a range of characters, including Margaret Fulton – one of Australia’s greatest gourmet pioneers.

The figures represent their craft beers. This was an expensive place for a pub and not that great as evidenced by the lack of a crowd. We had wings and chips, the chips were really good!

We followed the signs for the Bridge and found a whole area of pubs and restaurants called The Rocks.
A really great area to hang out in.

We come upon the Sunday market.

Our first great view of the Bridge!

And the Opera House!!

It is an incredibly warm Sunday afternoon and everyone was out. The area along the harbour is wall to wall bars and restaurants.

It is now 4PM and we stroll back to the hotel. It's been a long day.

Back at the hotel by 5 we relax and John falls asleep, I sleep at 6. The plan is to nap for a couple of hours and then go out for dinner. Nope, I woke at 8:45 looked at the clock and went back to sleep. We both woke around midnight, read for a while and finally got up at 8:45!!