We stayed six nights at the
Radison Hotel and Suites, 72 Liverpool St, Sydney. It is great to have an apartment rather than a hotel room as you can spread out and have your own space. We like to do our own exercises each morning and that is one reason why we prefer a little more space. Also treating yourself to a little more comfortable surroundings is a good luxury. The staff are pleasant and very professional.
The location is also terrific as you are only a few minutes walk to
Darling Harbour that has many great restaurants and an
Official Tourist Information Office.
What we also love is the location to
World Square that has a great shopping centre with a
Coles Supermarket to buy your groceries. There is also a
JBHiFi to check out any music bargains and a
Priceline for any personal products.
There are two stations within about five minutes walking distance, namely the Museum or Town Hall Station. If you are heading to say Newtown for example you may wish to go to Town Hall station to avoid going around the loop. Check out
Sydney Trains for more information. They are very clean and very efficient. Most impressed with their service and their lack of graffiti! The main criticism is the price of a day pass. They are pricey compared to other cities. I think $10 or $15 is a good price for a day's travel. Check out their website for the current prices.
We love having one sensational dining experience per year and
Rockpool at Bridge St was this year's selection. Sylvio the host was welcoming and warm. Steve our waiter was very attentive and friendly. Harry the sommelier was knowledgeable and very helpful. We loved the whole event as it is a journey of a taste sensation. The international staff enhance the best aspects of a gastronomic journey and create a theatrical event. The setting at Bridge St is superb. We suggest dining in the lower area.
Make sure you also take the time to explore Sydney for its history and culture. Each time we go we try to explore a new aspect of Sydney. This year we took a few day trips to meander through the magnificent
Botanical Gardens. I mean, treat yourself and take a full day to really explore the views and the scenery.
A special treat was going to
Government House on the Sunday. It is free and open to the public every weekend. Do take identification with you and get there early to give yourself the option to join one of the 45 minute tours. Note, that photography is only allowed in the last room, the Ballroom. I told our tour guide about the significance of the
pineapples in the Outer Hall which is the entrance room. Can you imagine standing there in the open area before they built the
porte-cochere? Look up and see the
pineapple's influence in the design of the Inner Hall's chandelier. Did you know that the pineapple is the symbol of welcome and hospitality?
The walk to
Mrs Maquarie's Chair on the Monday was brilliant and offers superb views of the
Sydney Harbour Bridge and the
Sydney Opera House. It was terrific to see the hikers doing the bridge climb from afar. That trek is on my Bucket List! What was also terrific was to see all of the tourists taking group photos of this iconic site. Do take your time to walk this section separate to the Botanical Gardens to really savour the views. We then went for a walk up to
Kings Cross and
Potts Point with a coffee on the way. It was a noticeably cleaner at Kings Cross than when were there years ago. We walked back via Liverpool St and take note it is quite hilly. A great circuitous route.
On previous trips we have gone to the
Art Gallery of NSW. This year we were disappointed that they have changed the Archibald Prize exhibition dates to later in the year. Oh well, you cannot do everything and it gives an excuse to go back! That is what is so good about Sydney there is always something new to do and experience.
Walking around Sydney we witnessed the new art installation by Jenny Holzer at 8 Chifley Square. According to the
Australian Financial Review (Sat may 17 2014 page 45) there are over 100 hours of words in her "I Stay" (Ngaya ngalawa) work. This includes poems, stories, biographies and song cycles. We knew it was special when walking past it and had no idea it was about to be officially opened. Make sure you take the time to marvel at the merging of simple with the complex messages. We wish we had spent more time observing some more of this moving work.
We went to see
"Strictly Ballroom" at the
Lyric Theatre. It is a fun show and a credit to the cast, crew and production staff to translate this show into a full scale Broadway Musical. Not an easy feat and it has lots of opportunities for audience participation. My main beef is to cut the "tag" of inviting the audience onto the stage after the finale. Don't leave the audience stranded as the cast disappears. Finish on a high and the audience wanting more.
