The alarm was set for 6.15 and we forced ourselves out of bed and did the last bit of packing, so that we left with Jill for the station at 7.10. We got there in plenty of time, said goodbye to Jill, and bought our multi-day tickets.
People walking past us on the platform asked us whether the holiday was beginning or ending, or commented that we were going somewhere exciting, which was fun. The train was one of the shinier Sydney trains, and we got seats in the vestibule, opposite each other, with the luggage out of everyone's way. I was a bit worried about the feasibility of dragging all our luggage around Sydney, but many of these misgivings were eliminated when I found out that the train we were on continued on to Wynyard anyway.
We got off at Wynyard, and took the lift to the concourse, where we had breakfast in a cafe. We then ventured out into George Street and went in search of the Rackspace office. We found it without difficulty, and went up to meet Bruce. After staying for an interesting chat and tour, and leaving our luggage in the storage room, we went back out (our load much lighter) and investigated O Bar and Australia Square. O Bar wasn't open until 5pm, and wouldn't let us in without smart clothing anyway, so we moved further up George Street to QVB and explored it a little.
From there we went across to Pitt Street and to Centrepoint, or whatever they call it these days. We asked about lunch, and found out we could pay $27 to go up to the observation deck, or $30 for one course of an a la carte lunch. No prizes for guessing which we chose, despite not exactly being dressed for a posh lunch. We were given a card and shown to the lift. It was a strange wedge shape, and there was a camera to see into another lift. At the top, we emerged and studied the lay of the land. The central section, with the lifts, the kitchen, and the desk staying still, but two rows of tables rotating. The window section obviously stayed still.
We were shown to a table against the window, and took our seats. I ordered salmon, and Christian ordered pork belly and a beer. The waiter brought us bread and oil/vinegar and we settled down to watch the view. It was lovely having the view brought to us. It was cloudy and not the clearest of days, but we saw lots and put the geography in perspective. The lunch was very good as well. Our photos won't be brilliant, but they'll be fun.
We headed back down to the real world, and made our way south to meet Cheryl (Ange couldn't make it). We had tea/coffee, resisting attempts from beggars to divest us of our money, and had a lovely catch up - it was very good to see her, and as we hadn't seen each other since school, we gave potted histories of ourselves to catch up. Good quality time.
Christian and I then made our way to the King St ferry wharf, on the Cockle Bay side of Darling Harbour, and got a ferry across the 400 metres or so of water to the other side. We wandered past the Maritime Museum and had a look at the boats, and then had a look at other things like fountains and street performers, before going into Harbourside and buying some appropriate souvenirs. We then walked around to Cockle Bay, looking at a crazy mirrored climbing wall thingo for kids, and then walked up through a restaurant complex that had whales hanging from the ceiling, to the Pyrmont Bridge, and then back into the city, via the post office to send my bank card back to Dad.
It was 4.30 by now, and there wasn't time to do anything else, so we wandered back down Pitt St, stopping in the mall to listen to a good busker, and then went back to Rackspace, collecting our luggage and thanking Bruce. We walked to Wynyard station, bought a gatepass to the international airport station, and got on the next train. Getting seats was easy enough, despite it being commuter hell time. At the airport, Christian investigated getting my tenor wrapped in plastic, but all the airport could offer was strapping, which was good enough, really. We dropped off our luggage, thankfully didn't have our hand luggage weighed, and then went through security. We had loads of time, and so sat at a bar and had a sherry, and then had an overpriced and average Chinese meal. It was then time to go to the gate, and so made our way to the right place for the 9.50 flight. As we boarded, we were told that our seats had been changed, so instead of being in a double seat near the back, we'd been moved to a bulk head, where admittedly we had more leg room, but which was a bit annoying. We had a meal, and then both of us slept for much of that flight, until a child having an enthusiastic screaming fit. I tried to get back to sleep but failed. Then came breakfast, and we landed soon after in Abu Dhabi.
People walking past us on the platform asked us whether the holiday was beginning or ending, or commented that we were going somewhere exciting, which was fun. The train was one of the shinier Sydney trains, and we got seats in the vestibule, opposite each other, with the luggage out of everyone's way. I was a bit worried about the feasibility of dragging all our luggage around Sydney, but many of these misgivings were eliminated when I found out that the train we were on continued on to Wynyard anyway.
We got off at Wynyard, and took the lift to the concourse, where we had breakfast in a cafe. We then ventured out into George Street and went in search of the Rackspace office. We found it without difficulty, and went up to meet Bruce. After staying for an interesting chat and tour, and leaving our luggage in the storage room, we went back out (our load much lighter) and investigated O Bar and Australia Square. O Bar wasn't open until 5pm, and wouldn't let us in without smart clothing anyway, so we moved further up George Street to QVB and explored it a little.
From there we went across to Pitt Street and to Centrepoint, or whatever they call it these days. We asked about lunch, and found out we could pay $27 to go up to the observation deck, or $30 for one course of an a la carte lunch. No prizes for guessing which we chose, despite not exactly being dressed for a posh lunch. We were given a card and shown to the lift. It was a strange wedge shape, and there was a camera to see into another lift. At the top, we emerged and studied the lay of the land. The central section, with the lifts, the kitchen, and the desk staying still, but two rows of tables rotating. The window section obviously stayed still.
We were shown to a table against the window, and took our seats. I ordered salmon, and Christian ordered pork belly and a beer. The waiter brought us bread and oil/vinegar and we settled down to watch the view. It was lovely having the view brought to us. It was cloudy and not the clearest of days, but we saw lots and put the geography in perspective. The lunch was very good as well. Our photos won't be brilliant, but they'll be fun.
We headed back down to the real world, and made our way south to meet Cheryl (Ange couldn't make it). We had tea/coffee, resisting attempts from beggars to divest us of our money, and had a lovely catch up - it was very good to see her, and as we hadn't seen each other since school, we gave potted histories of ourselves to catch up. Good quality time.
Christian and I then made our way to the King St ferry wharf, on the Cockle Bay side of Darling Harbour, and got a ferry across the 400 metres or so of water to the other side. We wandered past the Maritime Museum and had a look at the boats, and then had a look at other things like fountains and street performers, before going into Harbourside and buying some appropriate souvenirs. We then walked around to Cockle Bay, looking at a crazy mirrored climbing wall thingo for kids, and then walked up through a restaurant complex that had whales hanging from the ceiling, to the Pyrmont Bridge, and then back into the city, via the post office to send my bank card back to Dad.
It was 4.30 by now, and there wasn't time to do anything else, so we wandered back down Pitt St, stopping in the mall to listen to a good busker, and then went back to Rackspace, collecting our luggage and thanking Bruce. We walked to Wynyard station, bought a gatepass to the international airport station, and got on the next train. Getting seats was easy enough, despite it being commuter hell time. At the airport, Christian investigated getting my tenor wrapped in plastic, but all the airport could offer was strapping, which was good enough, really. We dropped off our luggage, thankfully didn't have our hand luggage weighed, and then went through security. We had loads of time, and so sat at a bar and had a sherry, and then had an overpriced and average Chinese meal. It was then time to go to the gate, and so made our way to the right place for the 9.50 flight. As we boarded, we were told that our seats had been changed, so instead of being in a double seat near the back, we'd been moved to a bulk head, where admittedly we had more leg room, but which was a bit annoying. We had a meal, and then both of us slept for much of that flight, until a child having an enthusiastic screaming fit. I tried to get back to sleep but failed. Then came breakfast, and we landed soon after in Abu Dhabi.
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