Days 1 and 2

Between Easter and Karen’s birthday we took a quick trip up to Sydney. Back in January I’d secured flights with frequent flyer points during a sale. 

We flew up on the Friday afternoon. Our flight had been a morning one but of course QANTAS sent us a message the day before letting us know our flight was delayed until the afternoon. I suppose it gave us more time to drive up to the airport and leave our car in the long term car park. It was actually raining a sun shower when we landed.

We quickly jumped on the airport train into the city. By the time we got off the train in the city the rain had stopped. Loved this old building.

That night we ordered in grilled chicken and salads for dinner and had a good chat.

The next morning after breakfast we walk along Falcon Street to Neutral Bay to attend an Open For Inspection. Jay was looking for a new apartment as the landlord at the current one had indicated the rent was going up 20%, by $100 to $625 a week. This one was smaller but cheaper. The only problem was about 50 others were looking too! Here’s a snap of the view from the apartment balcony towards Sydney Harbour. 

Needless to say Jay wasn’t that hopeful and his thoughts proved right when he received an email the following Monday saying he had been unsuccessful and the apartment was now rented.

Inspection finished we took a bus across to Mosman. There we crossed through Rawson Park and down to Headland Park after checking the signboard. 

At George’s Head Lookout we had great views across the water.

We followed the road 

down to a signboard.

From there we took the downhill trail to Chowder Bay, which is part of Sydney Harbour National Park.

At the top of the steps leading down to the little bay we had a good view of this massive navy ship docked at the mouth of the bay. 

As you can see it was a peaceful little bay.

There were a number of eating options in the area. We discounted the two restaurants as we intended going out that night and ordered some ciabattas at the little kiosk, which we ate at one of the nearby tables.

After lunch we walked to the top of the bay across the sandy beach.

There was also a small pier to walk along.

From there we retraced our steps back past the cafes, restaurants and navy ship. 

At the bottom of the trail there was a bus stop. We only waited a short time and a bus came along which was good because we felt more like taking a nap than walking back up the trail.

That night we went out to a Japanese bbq restaurant in nearby Neutral Bay, Nikaido with Jay and my cousin and her partner. The restaurant is partitioned into lots of little booths. The wait staff take your drink orders then you use a touch screen to order your food. The food is either delivered to you by wait staff or a cute robot. (Sorry was too busy watching to take a photo.) You then cook the steak, seafood or vegetables on a little bbq grill at your table.

It was a fun night.