Walking with Wombats Tour- Day One

I have decided to hijack this food blog and use it at as a travel blog for Walking with Wombats, our trip to the other side of the world. I realize it may be long but feel free to skip around or ignore it completely. I will post a few photos here. If you want to see more go to my Facebook page.

May 1-2
I won't bore you with how we got to LAX, I will say in involved several different means of public transportation.
We left LAX  for Sydney after midnight on May 2nd. The flight was delayed slightly and with other flights leaving at similar times from nearby gates, the waiting area was packed with people wall to wall, no place to sit, stuffy and crowded. Yuck.
We were glad to finally board our Qantas plane but somewhat intimidated by the 15 hours we were about to spend there. Bob won the award for the most sleeping. Every time I looked over he was snoozing away. I was not sleepy at first so watched   TV crime dramas on the little screen in front of me.

Dinner was the usual airplane fare, over cooked and boring, luckily I had packed smoked turkey and cheese sandwiches on crusty baguettes, figuring they would hold up well. They did and were welcome in the wee hours between meal service.

I will say Qantas did everything it could to keep us hydrated, an important thing on long flights. We were given bottles of water, offered an array of beverages with meals and in between the flight attendants walked the aisles with pitchers of water, peppermint tea, coffee etc... I  especially enjoyed an Australian Ginger Beer.

May 3
While 15 hours is a long time to sit in one place both of us managed to get up and stretch plenty of times. We arrived in Sydney at 7:30 AM on May 3rd having crossed the International Date Line somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. We were glad to off our butts and moving. Getting our luggage* was simple, customs quick and easy. We road the train/subway into Sydney to a stop just a couple of blocks from our hotel near Hyde Park. I can't say enough about the location of our lodgings. So close to everything and we love to walk !!  It was still too early to check in, so after changing into clean clothes we stashed our stuff and headed out to explore. The weather was gorgeous, blue sky with big white clouds and mild.

We walked through Hyde Park admiring the  large Australian White Ibis that wandered about on their stilts and long beaks. We also saw  Noisy Miners, a type of honey eater bird. The trees were full of them and their racket !! We love that the Australians are so simple and descriptive with their naming.

Our destination was the visitors center in The Rocks, the area known as the "birthplace of Australia" . You can tell this is the old part of town by the charming buildings. We got a few inspirations at the visitors center, bought some sushi to go and looked for a bench along Sydney Cove to dine. As I mentioned earlier the weather was exquisite and the view of the Sydney harbor and the famed opera house was breath taking. We watched the ferries going in and out as we ate. We had been told by several people that the ferries were a great way to see Sydney harbor and get a feel for the city. I had been concerned about being seasick but when I saw the size of the ferries and the calmness of the bay I decided we should give it a try.

We went to the Circular Quay where all the ferries and water tours depart from. The people at the visitors center recommended we take the ferry to Manly, a beach town about 30 minutes away, so we did !! Great views of this amazing fractal of a bay, lots of arms and inlets. Manly straddles a peninsula that protrudes south  into the Pacific Ocean, it is at the north entrance to Sydney Harbor. It's such a narrow bit, you can walk from beaches on the harbor side to beaches on the Pacific side in only three blocks.

 Manly beach was inviting so we slipped off our shoes and socks for a stroll long the tide line. People surfed, splashed in the waves or sunned on the beach,
because it was a weekday it was relatively quiet. The Laughing Gulls, were aptly named and in abundance, begging for food as gulls do everywhere.
After our beach stroll we explored a neighborhood with it's tropical plants, hibiscus, plumeria, mixing with the banksia and Norfolk Pines.

The ferry took us back to the Circular Quay, from there we walked back to our hotel.
It was the YMCA, but not quite like you would imagine. It did have young people hanging around the small lobby and other budget travelers like ourselves. This Y has "suites" with king-size beds, a large private bathroom, kitchenette and floor to ceiling window looking at downtown Sydney. The hotel does offer dormitory accommodations as well but mostly it offers an amazing location at a cheap price in this very expensive city. We are very pleased to be staying here for four nights !!

After setting in and showering the plan was to go out to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

Bob's shower did him in or maybe it was the very long day,he was asleep by 6:30. I was hungry and after a lovely conversation with a friend who lives here, I went out searching for some take out. Oxford Street had a place with the words "Eat  Well, Be Well" on the window, that sounded good to me. It was simple wholesome fare that was perfect for my tired body. I fell asleep soon after dining with pleasant thoughts of our first day down under.

* ( We did end up each checking our rolling suitcases. On their website Qantas made such a big deal about your carry-on weighing only 15 pounds. We were concerned with Bob even weighing his day pack at home. No one at any airport we went through ever weighed our carry on, oh well.)

Bird List for the day:
Australian White Ibis
Noisy Miner
Laughing Gull
Common Myna
Australian Magpie
Rainbow Lorakeet
Australian Pelican