Australia Trip Day 6 Sydney

Following our diving and outback adventures and lack of city life we headed to Sydney to experience a real Australian city. We very much enjoyed the quiet solitude of the desert, but were happy to get into a "Western" style city where we could experience the food, the people, and the familiar sights and sounds of a city.

We flew in over the ocean and got glimpses of the harbour of Sydney, which really is what makes Sydney so special and so inviting. The cool, clear water is really inviting and if it wasn't so cold I would have loved to spend more time at the beach.

After landing at the airport we headed to the tourist information counter to get advice on the best way to get into the city centre. The nice gentleman at the desk immediately asked me about American Football and the 49ers. Oddly enough an Australian bloke who was into American football which I found odd because Australians already play about three different sports that are unique to their country alone, so how anyone had time to also follow American sports just tells you how sports crazy the Ozzies really are.

The same gentleman asked if we had a lot of luggage because this would influence his recommendation of travel options. Seemingly he couldn't believe that Americans could travel with only one backpack and one carry on sized rolling suitcase per person. He looked at our luggage like it was inadequate and recommended the Airport Express Connect shuttle which was a very inefficient but scenic tour around Sydney before dropping us off at our hotel. If you travel fairly light I would suggest taking the train as we did on the way from Sydney back to the Airport. If you are not traveling light take a taxi.

Once we had checked into our hotel we headed to the Rocks area of Sydney, which is a historic area now known for restaurants, bars, and shops. This night was a real treat as we got to meet up with a dear friend of mine, Kevin Browne, who had been living and working in Sydney for about a year and was leaving the next day to head back to the US. It took about 12 months and a trip from Singapore to see him even though he used to live in LA, my world suddenly feels much smaller. We had dinner at Lord Nelson Brewery which had excellent food and was a great pub for drinking as well. I very much enjoyed my first night in Sydney despite the Airport Non-Express Connect.