SYDNEY—THE PREQUEL

• This is a “prequel” because we arrived today (February 23rd), two days ahead of our ship.  We have much planned for the next few days here in Sydney, so this will be a quick entry.
• We left rainy Auckland this morning and flew 3 hours to SYDNEY!!  This is the first time I felt this nervous excitement about arriving somewhere.  (Iguazu Falls and Rio come in shortly behind Sydney.)  We had no car and no hotel room, but life’s an adventure, right?  The weather was perfect – sunny and warm, but not too warm!  And it’s only mildly humid.
• We found a car in short order and made our way to the city, looking for a hotel where I had a replacement ATM car sent (I lost the first one).  Here, we found “Adventures in Driving II”.  I read that Sydney had about 4 million people, so I was expecting something similar to San Diego.  Not even close.  We got to the city at about 5 p.m., right in the middle of the evening “rush”.  There were people, cars, cabs and busses everywhere!  I’ve driven through the worst L.A. traffic, and through the narrow streets of Santa Barbara and Yosemite in a large RV.  None of these driving experiences compared to the city streets of Sydney.  Remember, they drive on the left (something I’ve now practiced in New Zealand).  After much effort, I located the hotel, but there was no pull-up and no parking.  Nor was there a valet.  I had to stop in a bus lane, so Bill could run in and ask where we park.  We found out, they don’t have a parking lot; one must park at a public lot (and they cost a lot).  Many of the buildings here were apparently erected without a parking garage.  They directed us to a street, which we did not see.  I tried finding a place to turn around to come back and try again, but only cabs and busses are allowed in the far left “bus” lane, where one would need to be in order to turn left onto another street.  All the streets said I couldn’t turn right.  I finally just hopped into the bus lane and made a left, trying to find my way back (without any luck).  We finally gave up and pulled into the Sheraton at Hyde Park, which had a turn-in and parking . . . reason enough to stay here!  The park view from our hotel room is gorgeous!  But no matter how nice the hotel may be, I cannot recommend it for smokers, because they don’t let you smoke in your room.  Instead, you should try the Establishment Hotel, a nice place in downtown that has a smoking floor (you’ll have to park at a nearby Four Seasons for “only” $55/day)!
• After checking in, I went to have my hair done (much needed after 3 days in hot/humid Moorea and 3 days in rainy New Zealand).  From there, we walked across the street to a Westfield Mall (which also houses the Sydney Sky Tower).  We got there a few minutes before its 9 p.m. closing time.  The prices here are phenomenal!  Bill wanted to buy a pair of dress shoes, but they were all $350 to $400+.  At home, they’d be about $100.  At the duty-free store, a bottle of Bacardi which costs about $10 at home went for $25.  City hotels all seem to cost more than $300/night.  Bill finally got lucky and found a pair of shoes for about $100, thanks to a friendly store clerk who directed us to the second floor, with the good prices.
• We then headed back to try again to retrieve my ATM card and found the driving a bit easier at night.  We even managed to park about a block away, and the parking lot attendant didn’t charge us, since I was only going to pick up my card and then leave.  Nice.  We made our way down to the “Rocks” area, home to numerous trendy bars and restaurants and a vibrant night life.  We found the Australia Hotel, with a whole bunch of exuberant people sitting outside, eating, drinking and smoking.  This was obviously the place for me!  We managed to park right across the street.  Double score!  They sold kangaroo and alligator pizza, among other things, along with their own stock of beer.  Bill had a “Blonde Ale” (how appropriate), and we shared a “large” pizza (which would be considered an individual pizza back home).  It was really yummy (no, I didn’t eat a kangaroo – I just couldn’t).  I asked for a “cocktail” and was told they don’t make those there.  She explained, I can get a “spirits drink” (e.g., rum and coke), but not a blended drink like a long island iced tea.  She found it funny that we call all mixed drinks “cocktails”.
• From there, we took a short drive around the city and got our first glimpse of the iconic Bridge and Opera House, at night of course.  This is just a “sneak peak”, as I’m sure plenty more photos will follow . . . probably in daylight hours.  I’m sitting out on the first floor bar, where I can smoke.  Some guys at the bar found it hilarious to see the large plaster tumbler that I used to make a rum and coke.  What, haven’t you ever seen a big cup before?  Ha.