After lasting 15 years working for the same company, I deserved a treat, plus we get long service leave after 15 years so I needed to use it and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this milestone, than a trip to Sydney for a holiday and some shopping in the brand-new biggest Lego store in the world. Turned out this was a great way to celebrate and everything was awesome with many highlights, there were no disappointments and everything went as planned or even better than I hoped for.

Day One – Tuesday 27th of February

Up super early to drive myself to the airport and check in to the Park & Ride car park, it was raining and there were many holdups on the way so when I got there and found a spot I was very relieved. So relieved I didn’t really take much notice of where I had parked till I saw a huge reminder notice asking everyone if they had taken note of where they parked, so I took a photo of the area where my car was focussing mainly on the big black building in the background (more on this at the end of this blog). Luckily it had stopped raining so I didn’t get wet while dragging my bag to the bus stop. The bus turned up after a minute of waiting, I got on and the very kind bus driver even grabbed my suitcase so I didn’t have to try and lift it. And so my holiday officially begun where I can start to sit back and relax, everything going forward is out of my hands and I had plenty of time to relax and grab breakfast after dropping off my bag and clearing security.

Great flight over and as luck would have it, the lady seated next to me was very skinny and took up no room at all. After clearing customs etc I went in search of the pick up point for Uber cars, however that was harder than I thought and not that cheap so I ended up catching the train to Central Station and an $11 Uber to Darling Harbour where the Park Royal hotel was excited to see me (even at 2:00 rather than 3:00) and a fabulous upgrade to the Club Floor awaited. The upgrade was on a standby if available basis for only $60 extra and you had to accept the offer a few days in advance. The upgrade gave me access to the Club Lounge with stunning views, fully cooked breakfasts, snacks and refreshments throughout the day and 2 hours of free drinks from 5:00 – 7:00 every night. My suite had TWO toilets!

After falling in love with my room I had a whole afternoon ahead of me and I wanted to suss out how long it would take me to get to the Opera House in time for tomorrow morning’s tour, so I set off up the hill from Darling Harbour to George St, jumped on the light rail train and went all the way to Circular Quay. When I turned a corner and saw the Opera House I was filled with joy, even though I have seen it several times before I still get goosebumps when I see it in real life. I took a walk around it, took some photos and headed along the wharf to find somewhere to eat. I ended up in Wahlburgers, had never been before even though we have one in Auckland now. It had a really cool concept where you sat at the table, downloaded the app, ordered food and paid for it all within the app. However the app didn’t like my card so I had to use ApplePay which was mega easy and cool, but that meant I was paying in NZ dollars and there would be an exchange rate difference & comission – oh well I’m on holiday, so never mind. The food was great and the beer very refreshing.

After that I wandered around Circular Quay then headed for the train to take me to Town Hall Station (nearest stop to the hotel) & Woolworths to buy beer and snacks. Shockingly that Woolworths wasn’t licensed to sell alcohol, but luckily right next door was a small liquor store attached to a pub so I bought beer from there and I’m pretty sure I bought beer from there back in 2015.

Day Two – Wednesday 28th of February

Wide awake very early I think because of the time difference & the excitement of trying out the free cooked breakfast in the Club Lounge and then the Sydney Opera House Tour. The breakfast was amazing and the view was great.

After that I had a nice leisurely stroll up to the train which took me all the way to the Opera House. This was the second time I have done the Opera House tour and it was really different from the first time which was cool and this time I finally got to see inside the main Concert Hall, which has been a bucket list item since 1981 (not that I had a bucket list back then). Loved the tour and I’d definitely do it again if I ever go back to Sydney.

After the tour I headed back to the hotel to collect my bag then set off for a wander around the shops mainly to check out the Apple Store and the brand new Lego Store. This was my third attempt at checking out this particular Apple Store, in 2015 we were too early and didn’t have enough time to wait for it to open before we needed to check out of the hotel and in 2020 it was being renovated, so this time it was open and I could buy stuff!

The Lego store (biggest in the world) was everything I hoped it would be, but I left my Lego passport back in the hotel so decided to just wander around but come back tomorrow with my passport and buy something then.

Day Three – Thursday 29th of February

Today a heatwave was scheduled for Sydney, so just as well my plan for the day revolved around shopping in airconditioned stores. The heatwave was even on the news last night warning everyone to take care and stay hydrated and the high was going to be 39 degrees. It only got to 35 but that was way hotter than anything I’m used to, but it sure did look like a stunning day outside.

After an amazing complimentary breakfast, I headed out to Darling Harbour and the Chinese Friendship Garden which I figured would be a nice cool and shaded spot to start off while waiting for the shops to open. However that plan was very short lived coz there was a long walk to the garden and none of it was undercover and it was already 25 degrees and way too hot for me. I found out what the cool shaped building next to my hotel was (above left pic) – it’s simply called the W and they use words starting with W to name their rooms, such as the Wow suite and the Wonderful room. After seeing that the walk to the gardens without cover was too much, I headed for the nearest bridge which was the Pyrmont Bridge (a heritage-listed swing bridge) to get me to the heart of the shops.

First stop was Myers – I figured they would have a nice air conditioned cafe for me to sit and enjoy an iced coffee. But on the way to the cafe I discovered they had Penhaligon’s fragrances which you can’t buy in NZ so I checked them out and discovered they now have their very own shop in the QVB mall, so I decided to go there on the way back to the hotel. The cafe was great, their Lego store was cool and the Westfield mall was all decked out in rainbow colours for Sydney Mardi Gras.

From there I headed out the back door and ended up on Castlereagh Street, this was symbolic because yesterday while I was wandering around the Apple Store a friend in Australia messaged me asking me if I was anywhere near Castlereagh St coz there had been a shooting there and I should avoid the area. But I had no idea where it was and everyone around me was carrying on like nothing was wrong so I figured it was quite far from where I was – turns out it was just one block away! I saw straight ahead there was a beautiful park and a massive cathedral so I headed for that and stood in the shade for a bit.

From there I had a wander around the stunning David Jones department store. It was like stepping back in time to the fifties glamour era. It had a wonderful Lego shop, a massive bank of about 10 lifts all in a row and the most visually stunning shoe store like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I only ended up on the shoes floor coz I was looking for the men’s loo.

After that I headed to the Lego store and found something to buy – this time I had my Lego passport and when I told the salesperson she said, “Oh I hope it’s not your real passport”. Apparently a lot of adults see the sign and think they can get a Lego stamp in their real passport. I bought the Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit set, (a) because it wasn’t that heavy and (b) because it wasn’t that big and would easily fit in my suitcase, plus I’d never seen it before and didn’t know it existed. Next I went to Uniqlo for clothes that a couple of friends recommended big time, but by then I was hungry and so hot and the crowds were beginning to annoy me, so I found a pair of shorts to buy and escaped. On the way to the QVB building I stopped into Dymocks and enquired if they had a book I’ve been trying to find in NZ for years and they actually had one copy left yay.

To finish off my fantastic shopping experience I found the Penhaligon’s shop in the QVB building and it was stunning and they had exactly what I was looking for in several sizes (Myers only had the big size) and when I told the salesperson I was from NZ so going on her mailing list probably was not a good idea she loaded up my bag with many free samples!

Once back in the hotel I had several beers and enjoyed the view while I contemplated what to do next. Then I realised I hadn’t been to the Club Lounge yet to try out the free snacks and all day beveridges, I was the only person in there so that was nice.

After checking the time and cooling off I headed out for one last walkabout to Darling Harbour and the Madame Tussauds exhibition.

The ticket guy thought I was a bit strange trying to get in that late in the day – it was about 4:30 and they closed at 5:00, but I knew that would be plenty of time for me and there wouldn’t be any crowds. It was cool but often felt eerie because I constantly felt like someone was watching me and I’d turn around and it would just be a wax figure. The pic above right where someone is taking a photo of something had me fooled for ages – I waited very patiently for them to take the pic so I could get past them.

From there I thought it would be cool for old times sake to catch a ferry from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay – check out my 2015 & 2020 blogs. As soon as I turned up to the ferry peer and got on, it took off and the breeze was lovely. Once at Circular Quay I got some frozen yoghurt something that’s hard to find now in Auckland, then took a really long walk all the way around the quay and under the bridge. After that I headed back to the hotel.

Day Four – Friday 1st of March

My last day in Sydney – I thought about going for a walk around Darling Harbour one last time but in the heat without shade and not a whole lot of time left before I headed to the airport, I figured it was best to have a very leisurley luxurious breakfast in the Club Lounge and then take my time doing coffee while packing my bag.

Air NZ sent me an email saying my OneUp bid had been sucessful so I had been upgraded to Premium Economy OMG – I’ve only ever flown Economy Class, so this would be my first time experiencing something a bit better than Economy Class.

It was sad leaving my fabulous hotel suite behind (how will I cope with just the one loo when I get home LOL). The Uber came quickly and there was only a little wait for the train from Central to the airport. Check in was easy and so was passport control and security. The flight was delayed about 30 minutes but as I was flying Premium I got to board early so it really didn’t matter and for the first time ever I got to turn left after boarding!

Premium Economy was indeed quite classy, with proper cutlery, glasses and plates, bigger meals, lots of drinks, big comfy seats, flash headsets and only 21 seats in the cabin.

Passport control and security was fast and easy, and the Park and Ride bus turned up as soon as I got to the stop. But the bus actually stops to let everybody off at a different stop from the one you board after parking your car, but I thought I was at the same stop and headed for my car in completely the wrong direction. Once I got to the spot where my car was supposed to be I realsied I was definitely not in the same area I had dropped my car off at. Luckily I had taken a photo of where I parked but it focused on the large black building in the background – and in the dark that couldn’t be seen and I had no idea where my car was. The car park was massive and dark and I was the only person wandering around dragging a big suitcase behind them – thank goodness it wasn’t raining! I took a closer look at the photo I took of where my car was parked and noticed a tiny sign saying I was in the Blue Zone C – but I was in the Z zone – the other end of the car park, that’s when I realised there are two bus stops!