After 4 fun and some sun filled days, it was time to move on to Sydney. Checkout time was at 10am and we caught the bus at 10.30am for our 12pm flight. Nothing much to report here – small terminal, quick check-in process, our bags were tagged as heavy even though it was under 23kg, flight was 2 hours.

The waiting game.

The obligatory FT tag shot.

As the gate agent came in, people started to line up. Shortly thereafter, boarding was called.

Qantas bird.

Our bird.

Our descent into Sydney. Excellent views.

Took the Airport Express. Excellent way to commute.

Got off at Wynyard station and walked over to the Shangri La Hotel.

Walked right up to the first agent who immediately helped us to check-in. We booked the hotel through Virtuoso (@DavidO) and received appropriate benefits. I originally booked in a Executive Darling Harbour View room but was upgraded to the Executive Opera House City View room – their exactly the same in design and layout but just a better view. Other benefits included daily breakfast, $100 USD food/beverage credit, fruit plate, late check out and free WIFI.

Champagne gift to celebrate our anniversary.

Lovely view.

Canadian consulate right below us. Now I know where to go in case I lose my passport.

At this point, it was around 5pm and we needed to get ready for date night. I told Mrs.I that I was taking her to see a “play” but did not tell her the name of the play – she was excited nonetheless.

Full house tonight. As the opera was in Italian (duh), there were ticker boards placed throughout the auditorium translating in english. It can get annoying after a while to look up to see the translation and look back down to see the action.

Inside of the opera house.

Taking a break after the 2nd act. I will be honest and say that I pretty much lost interest in the opera after this point. Yes, I am a neanderthal but at least Mrs.I was happy.

It was around 10.15pm when the play ended and we wanted to go for dinner near the Rocks area. When we got there, we found out that restaurants were closed or closing. We also noticed that most restaurants near the Circular Quay area were also closed with the exception of fast food joints. I am not sure if anyone can comment on this but the downtown area felt like a ghost town at night – maybe it was the area we were in but we did walk quite a bit and it was dead wherever we went.

Headed down for breakfast the next morning which is located on the 2nd floor at Cafe Mix.

Hot cross buns underneath the heat lamps.

After breakfast, we walked around the harbour and took the fast ferry to Manly. Once there, we took our time strolling down to the beach area and along the Marine Parade.

Carnival Spirit getting ready for another cruise.

Our ride to Manly.

Point us to beach please.

Reached the beach. Damn, the waters were rough.

Walking down the Marine Parade.

A local.

Rock Pool. Dude in the pic jumped off the rocks with this surf board.

The end of the parade. Much better beach with calmer waters.

All the walking and the heat made us hungry and thirsty. Time for a pit spot. Whipped out the phone, checked Yelp and picked the restaurant with the most reviews.

Ended up here.

A cold one.

Mrs.I chose the grilled barramundi while I chose the grilled calamari. Mrs.I’s choice was the hands down winner.

After dinner, we took the ferry back to Circular Quay and went around the Rocks area.

Park Hyatt.

Walking under the bridge.

Decided to take a short cut back to the hotel. Bad choice. 😀

This brings us to the end of the Sydney portion of the trip. Time to leave Australia and head to Bali … the long way. 🙂

Next up – Singapore Airlines Suites Class.