Sydney 2025

Wednesday, 19 February, 2025 / BeeJayGe / Leave a comment

Day one – Monday 10th of February 2025

This February has a very big birthday in it. So a friend and I decided to spend a week in Sydney celebrating it.

I booked an Uber to get me to town then we caught the Sky Drive bus to the airport, which was a lovely feeling because from that moment on everything would happen without needing to organise it or stress about it – our holiday had begun.

According to the weather forecast and concerned friends the weather in Sydney was stormy with massive downpours affecting all travel, but about 30 minutes before landing all that cleared up and we arrived in sunshine.

Passport control and immigration was incredibly easy and fast and bag collection was amazing – our bags turned the corner the second we arrived at the carousel. The airport train turned up two minutes after arriving on the platform and the hotel was only a 5-minute walk from Wynyard Station.

After checking in and discovering our rooms we headed out in search of a liquor store so I could buy beer. Strange thing about the Sydney CBD – none of the supermarkets are licensed to sell alcohol, but luckily there was a liquor store not too far from the hotel – turns out everything was not far from the hotel – this hotel is in an awesome location.

Day two – Tuesday 11th of February

Big huge day of shopping. We started out with breakfast in a Martin Place cafe, then straight to the Lego Store. From there we went up to a fancy shoe store and then a wander round David Jones.

Lunch in a cafe up from the Myers food court, clothes shopping in Uniqlo (where they even do fast free alterations), then over to the Apple Store. Lastly Dymocks then back to the hotel to relax.

No idea why WordPress decided the Apple logo should be that huge, and I can’t adjust it.

Day three – Wednesday 12th of February

Today we had a couple of tours booked so we were very excited and up early, but first – breakfast on the landing in the hotel lobby – most fabulous indeed.

First was a backstage tour of the Opera House and this time I even got to sit inside the main concert hall, the tour was awesome, and we learnt so much. After this we wandered around Circular Quay and filled in time till our 12:30 Long Lunch Harbour cruise this was on a large multi storied Captain Cook boat, the food was great and the staff were lovely.

After the cruise we caught a ferry across the harbour to check out Luna Park, but when we got there, we found out it closed at 2:00 so we missed out by about 20 minutes. Instead, we wandered around the waterfront and caught a train across the bridge back to the hotel.

Day four – Thursday 13th of February

The big birthday – this required a special breakfast in the hotel lobby restaurant before setting off for the Rocks area and the Art Gallery.

After enjoying the air-conditioning in the art gallery we headed for the bridge, walked under and around it getting some great shots of the Opera House and harbour.

From there we headed for the QVB building to have lunch and buy a new Penhaligon’s fragrance.

For dinner we had reservations in the O Bar & Dining revolving restaurant, on the 47th floor of Australia Square. Because it was my birthday we received a free glass of bubbles each when we arrived plus they gave me a really lovely birthday card and exquisite dessert.

The views were amazing, the staff we awesome and the food was sensational. We were also incredibly lucky with the weather – it was a beautiful sunny day and after our two-hour time limit they found us a table in the bar so we could watch the sunset and enjoy a cocktail.

Day five – Friday 14th of February

Our last day was all about getting home. My hotel tv had a cool alarm feature, you could pick a time to wake up and what channel you wanted to wake up to, so I chose Channel 7 for the breakfast tv. I woke to the stressful news that the Sydney train staff were on strike and there were hour long queues to get on an airport train and traffic in the city would be gridlocked. So, we decided to check out early and get an Uber around 9:30 – this was a great plan and we got to the airport without incident and in plenty of time.

About 30 minutes after we got inside the terminal it started to rain – the first time since we arrived on Monday and the rain was so heavy there was flooding, however it didn’t affect take off and apart from the screaming babies in rows near us the whole trip home was great.

Hamilton Gardens & the Good George Brewery Tour

Saturday, 13 November, 2021Saturday, 13 November, 2021 / BeeJayGe / Leave a comment

Back in February on the 20th a friend and I did an awesome tour of Hobbiton and then we drove to Hamilton to check out what’s new in the Hamilton Gardens. They have created several fantasy gardens and they were amazing, loved them.

The rest of the gardens were beautiful and well worth checking out.

After the gardens, we drove across town to the Good George Brewery, where we made it just in time for a free tour. Good George is the brewery that provides the Green Dragon in Hobbiton its beer, so we had to check it out. This was quite possibly the best brewery tour EVER! Before the tour starts you are handed a glass of beer to taste what the beer you are about to learn about tastes like. Then near the end of the tour you get to sit down in the boardroom and sample as much cider as you like, while learning all about the history of the brewery and the many awesome things they do, like making free hand sanitiser for charity.

I think that was a cunning ploy to make you buy more beer on your way out. We stayed for a late lunch/early dinner in the bar and ended up buying glasses, beer and a whole lot of cider.

What a fantastic big day out.

Sydney 2020 Day Two

Wednesday, 1 April, 2020Wednesday, 1 April, 2020 / BeeJayGe / Leave a comment

February 12 – Wednesday

Very exciting morning, I went on a tour of the Sydney Opera House. The tour was fun, educational and well worth taking the time to do – I loved it.

At the start of the tour you have to put on these headsets and receiving devices which was not a good look or a good feel and I said to the guide “do I really have to“. He explained the device was so I could hear him talking no matter which way he was facing or how far away from him I got, which is perfect for someone like me who always straggles behind the pack, taking photos and looking at things just that little bit longer than everyone else. After only a couple of minutes I was loving the headphones.

We got to see inside several of the different theatres and learnt how all the different stages work and watched a video on the history of the Opera House.

From there I went back to the hotel to enjoy my incredible room and view and then headed out to Bondi Junction on a bus. The bus departed from a stop right across the road from the hotel so it was easy, with no wait time and I got to see a lot more of the real Sydney than if I’d caught the subway.

My reason for going out to Bondi was not for surfing (ha ha) but to find the Lego Shop and some hard to find Australian TV show DVDs in JB-Hifi.

Interestingly the Sydney Lego Shop wasn’t any better than the one we have in Auckland and I was disappointed they no longer sold the Sydney Skyline architecture set, apparently it’s a retired set and I’d missed out. I never really wanted it before now, because the Opera House in the set looks weird and there is a building I didn’t recognise.

While there I found a great place for a very late lunch called Lobster Tail Seafood with a great view of the Sydney skyline from an outdoor deck.

I did manage to find a couple of the DVDs on my list in JB-Hifi but I didn’t manage to find my way out of the 5 floor Westfield mall. I had to consult a directory map touch screen several times. Exit is not a search option, but Bus or Train is!