Sydney reflections

I’ve been visiting Sydney all my life and, indeed, even lived in Sydney for a few months many years ago. So, I’m way, way past posting “first impressions”.    But perhaps a small number of reflections would be OK?

Light rail – you need to tap on and off at the stops, not inside the tram

First, the public transport seems to operate well – at least to the places we wanted to get to.  The buses aren’t always “user friendly” on the ground (compare London with its excellent maps at many stops), but with a little planning, they’re not too bad.   Frequencies aren’t too bad either, especially on the trains even later in the evening.    But the staffing levels seems very high: guards on every train as well as station assistants on many platforms.    And numerous people in “high vis” gear at the tram (sorry, light rail) stops and a whole crowd of them at the Bondi junction bus interchange.

The traffic often seems congested – partly because of the topography, of course –  and we noticed a few “frayed tempers”.

There are probably bitcoin ATMs elsewhere, but the first one I’ve ever seen was in Sydney (near Chinatown).  Just what it does or even dispenses, I don’t know, because I didn’t try to use it.

I was a little surprised when one of the restaurants at which we ate declined to split our bill between two credit cards.   I know that restaurants often state that they “won’t split bills”, and I can understand that it’s often a nightmare when people want to split an account according to what each person consumed, but this is the first time I’ve actually encountered an establishment that wouldn’t divide a not-insignificant bill equally between two credit cards.

Although the wearing of masks on public transport is “strongly recommended”, in fact few were to be seen (while we were there, before the latest scare).  However (as I’ve said), checking in with a QR code, especially at restaurants, was usually carefully enforced.

NSW has container deposit legislation, and I noticed a couple of machines to refund container deposits.

 

Mothers’ Day

We (well,  mainly S, I suppose) were very well looked after on Mothers’ Day, with a lovely meal provided by A for the whole family.    A few gifts from C and A, including some wine, completed the day.   All most thoughtful and much appreciated.

Contact Tracing

Well, it seems that while we were in Sydney, there was a case or two of Covid-19. We’re glad that we obeyed all the rules.  We were careful to scan in to venues that required it.   We thought scanning in to venues seemed to be taken more seriously in Sydney than in Melbourne, although the reverse seemed to apply to masks:   while we there, many fewer masks were worn on public transport in Sydney than in Melbourne.

Things in Sydney apparently changed after we left.   Seems we had our break at the right time.

We followed the procedures and applied for an “entry permit” when we returned to Victoria.  Consequently when the new case was reported in Sydney, we did indeed receive a text message alerting us to the fact and directing our attention to the “hot spots” that had been identified in Sydney.    So in that sense, the system worked.

I checked the hot spots, and although we had come close to one, it was on a different day to the day the location was “hot”.   If we had been in the area and made a different decision at the wrong time, we would have had to isolate and get tested.   Sigh of relief!

Manly

A ferry trip to Manly is, for us, almost obligatory on any trip to Sydney, so we headed off.    They’re still using the “Freshwater” class ferries, which are spick & span in spite of their age.  

The day was lovely, the trip was smooth, and we enjoyed some casual food on the South Steyne. We then walked around to Fairy Bower.   There were lots of people out and about, all shapes and sizes, and numerous dogs too!

Manly Beach

Manly’s Norfolk Island pines

On the harbour near Manly wharf

Scene from ferry on return trip

Accommodation in Sydney

I said in an earlier post that I was going to comment on our accommodation in Sydney.   We’re back now, but it’s worth recording that we were very satisfied with our accommodation at the Meriton Kent St complex.   We opted for a 1 bedroom unit.  We like the extra space, and we thought that the “deal” we found on the Meriton website was OK value for what we got.    Doubtless the absence of overseas students and business travellers has led to the rates being in the “good value” territory!

The Kent St complex is just a couple of minutes walk from the Town Hall station, so is easy to access by public transport, including the train from the airport, and the light rail.   There are other self-catering apartments in the vicinity, including another Meriton at Pitt Street (currently being used as quarantine accommodation), an Adina and a Fraser Suites .

We were within walking distance to Darling Harbour with its numerous restaurants and on the edge of Chinatown.  This is slightly a misnomer, as there are plenty of Korean, Japanese and other restaurants in the area as well.

The accommodation itself was good: quite spacious with lots of storage space, a full sized kitchen, and a balcony. The outlook was to the south west so the views weren’t anything to rave about, and at times there seemed to be a lot of traffic noise in spite of the height (we were on level 34). With the windows closed, the noise wasn’t intrusive, however.

Extensive view…but of not very much!

One of the features was that a daily “freshen up” service was offered.     Self-catering accommodation of this nature often doesn’t always come with this feature, so this was a bit of a bonus. However, we tended to leave the “Do Not Disturb” sign on until fairly late each morning, so perhaps we missed the first round, meaning that on at least one day, it was nearly 6 pm before the service was offered (which at that time of day, we declined).   However, this isn’t meant as a complaint, merely as comment.

 

Orthodox Easter Day

We celebrated Orthodox Easter Day with M and G by having a lovely lunch at Cafe del Mar, at Darling Harbour. The restaurant is on the upper level and we had a nice table, the service was good and the food was up to expectations.

It was a nice autumn day and lots of people were out and about.  However, the restaurants didn’t seem to be at full capacity, and we were left with the thought that the absence of overseas tourists is being felt.

Outlook from restaurant

View from Pyrmont Badge

Coogee by Night

We went out to Coogee to eat at a local Thai restaurant which we liked last time we stayed there, and weren’t disappointed.   After eating, we did a walk.   The place was certainly “alive” on Saturday night: all the venues were very busy.

Coogee Bay Road has been reduced to one lane, which perhaps adds a little to the atmosphere although you’d hardly say it was “transformative”.

Mrs Macquarie’s chair

Fortified by a coffee at the QV Building, I took the light rail to Circular Quay and then walked past the Opera House, around Farm Cove (through the Botanic Gardens) and then to Mrs Macquarie’s chair in the Domain, before heading back to our accommodation past the Art Gallery and St Mary’s.

QV Building

Freshwater class ferry – but not for much longer!

Opera House

Morton Bay fig

Numerous brides having photos at Mrs Macquarie’s chair

Inscription

Bondi

We headed out to Bondi. It was a lovely day, with no sign of the “possible shower” that had been forecast. There’s a frequent bus service from the city, although the roads can be congested which slows the trip down somewhat.

We went to the “Icebergs” for lunch. This is, of course, the surf club, with its sea pool. Although there’s a “fine dining” option, we headed to the bistro, which has the same view. It’s a typical club bistro, and the food, drinks and service were all fine. Afterwards, we adjourned to a cafe overlooking the beach for a coffee.

Bondi Beach

View from Icebergs Bistro

Pool

 

Flying

Our flight to Sydney was our first post-covid flight. All went well, although some differences were noticeable.

Security was a breeze

 Perhaps the first thing to notice was – no crowds. No queue at Qantas check in or security, and lots of space in the public areas.

I can’t comment about the lounges; we no longer qualify.

 

Quiet out on the tarmac

The flight itself was about 70% full (rough guess). My assessment of the people around us were that many were “leisure” travellers, and there was certainly a good representation of the “mature” demographic. Of course, we were reminded to wear facemasks, and the service was certainly minimal: a cookie, water and (optionally) juice. No hot drinks at all. I think this is merely a sign of the times, rather than a covid issue. There’s more price competition, so, on the principle that you “get what you pay for”, service has been cut back.

Our accommodation in Sydney is fine and we’ve settled in well. More about this soon.