For some reason, we only booked 2 night in our Bondi apartment and left ourselves the joy of booking further accommodation in Sydney when we got there. Our STA travel agent had convinced us that as we had a camper van we didn't need to waste money on a hotel. This is actually incorrect. Do not listen to your STA travel agents. There wasn't really anywhere for us to park our camper van and no campsites in Sydney that were suitable. So that was silly.
We eventually decided to Airbnb it. I'd never used this site before but I had heard only good things so we gave it a go. We found a lovely little apartment in the suburb of Paddington. It was an excellent location, and just what we were looking for. It was also very well priced (can't remember exactly what we paid but as normal we were probably being stingy).
One of the reasons we chose this one was because it said there was unrestricted parking available. This is where things went a little bit wrong. When we arrived we couldn't see any parking, and the whole area was 2 hours or residents permits. In our room I found a printed out map from Google, with some streets highlighted. This was the unrestricted parking. So we set off to find a space and soon discovered that there was, in fact, no spaces left in any of these places. Each area had about 3 unrestricted spaces and they were all pretty far away from where we were staying.
We spent HOURS driving around the streets in the hope that a space would appear. We got hold of a working phone and gave the host a call. He explained that the spaces were all busy because locals used them when they all went to work - this was not mentioned in the listing - we were under the impression that there was parking available. Eventually, after a lot of stress, we finally found somewhere. Unfortunately, due to our parking issues, we basically missed out on a whole day of exploring Sydney, which was incredibly frustrating.
Once we had sorted ourselves out, we took a walk to Darling Harbour to find something to eat. Darling Harbour is a beautiful area with a shopping mall and a big selection of restaurants - you guessed it - overlooking a harbour.
After a couple of weeks living off pizza and burgers, we decided to mix it up a little and went for Thai curry in the excellently named restaurant Thai Foon. I'm easily pleased. The food was delicious! Although the service could use some improvement as they forgot some of our order and were a little slow - we were the only people in the restaurant.
After dinner, we had a stroll around the harbour and a browse in the shops. We then headed back for an early night ready for a big day of sightseeing.
The next day we were up bright and early and jumped on the bus to Sydney Harbour. It was time to see the Opera House! One of the most important things to see when travelling to Australia. It was different from what I had imagined - don't ask me why because I cannot answer - but it was still incredible. We spent some time getting the perfect photos of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge (another important landmark for Australia). It was a challenge trying to get a photo without other tourists in the background. And also finding the right angle. The closer you get, the harder it is to get a good picture.
Next, we hopped the on a ferry and headed over to Watson Bay to grab some lunch. The ferry journey alone was really fun. The boats go pretty fast so you get a lovely breeze which is great on a hot day! We went to Watson's Beach Club which was a great location overlooking the beach. We had fish and chips and it was the biggest portion I have ever had. I'm pretty sure there were 4 full sized pieces of fish. The place, in general, had a really good vibe. The decor was good and the staff were really friendly.
You can use your Opal card to ride on the ferry, and this is a lot cheaper than paying for any of the tourist ferries. There is a choice of destinations that you can head to from the harbour, including Manly Beach, which unfortunately we didn't have time to visit, but would definitely add to my to-do list if I ever return to Sydney.
We headed over to Milson's Point on the other side of the harbour to visit Luna Park. Unlike the Melbourne park, this one was free to enter and you just pay for the rides. It was interesting to look around. The park is based on Coney Island in NY and has a retro feel to it. It has some old-school fun such as distorted mirrors, death slides, and photo props. It was really quiet there which I was surprised to see, as the Melbourne one had big queues.
We walked back to the city over the Harbour Bridge and ended up in a really cute area of Sydney - The Rocks. There was a market running, with arts and crafts as well as a selection of food stalls. There were also a lot of small boutiques in the area.
In the evening we headed to The Clock Bar in Surry Hills for dinner and drinks. Bet you can't guess what I had to eat..
One demolished pizza and a bottle of wine later, we found ourselves in a nightclub nearby (which I think was the upstairs area in The Beresford, however, I'm not 100% sure) dancing to some old school R&B. There was a brilliant moment when a bouncer pulled Hollie to the side and asked her for some ID. Later in the night, we discovered that this guy was in fact not a bouncer, just a random guy that thought he was hilarious. And although Hollie may not agree, I think he actually was.
After we drunkenly stumbled home and debated in depth whether a bouncer could actually ask for ID once you are already in the club - our Sydney adventure had come to an end. I was a little disappointed that we didn't have longer. I felt Sydney had a lot to offer, and I'm so annoyed that one of our days was ruined. I would definitely recommend a longer trip, but again, the accommodation is pretty expensive compared to other cities. I think it could be worth the splurge though...
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