Sydney - Day 1 - Beaches, Royals and food

LATE FLIGHT

Last Friday I flew to Sydney to spend a few days with my husband (who is working there for a while). 

My flight from Perth airport was meant to leave at 3.30h, but boarding time came and went and passengers weren't getting called, so some of us went to the help desk to find out what was happening.

We were told that the plane coming from the Eastern states was late getting in and that meant that our flight would be getting to Sydney after curfew time, so the flight was being delayed until 11,30pm.  I had not booked the red-eye flight on purpose, it's a little bit cheaper, but at my age it's a killer as I don't get to sleep at all on the 4 hour flight to Sydney.

Some people managed to get onto another flight whose departure was delayed, but I wasn't one of the lucky ones.

People were upset at not being notified, because if the plane was late leaving the Eastern states they would have 3 or 4 hours notice...but we were told sms's or emails had been sent to us. I didn't get any nor did most of the others.
I was offered a $25 meal voucher to be used at the any of the airport eateries on the day. 
Since I don't live far away instead of waiting for 9 hours I decided I was going home and  would later claim taxi expenses from the company.

When I came down from the Departures area one of the flight assistants asked if I needed any help. I told her my flight was delayed and she asked if they had checked me in to the later flight upstairs?  No, not done! She checked me in, suggested I check my hand luggage in and get taxi vouchers at the Help counter down the hall. I joined the long queue and 45 minutes later I obtained 2 taxi vouchers and went home to rest. On the way home I got a text saying the flight was being changed! 

When I returned to the airport at 10pm I used my food voucher.

On departure the pilot apologized for the delay due to a mechanical fault. So that explains why we didn't get notified in time! 
Luckily the flight was half full and most of us had at least 2 seats to stretch, but I still only slept about 3 hours.

My husband picked me up at 7am from Sydney airport and we drove home to drop my bag and refresh myself.

BALMORAL BEACH & ROCKY POINT island

Shortly after we drove to the seaside suburb of Mosman on Sydney's north shore, and parked the car at Balmoral Beach.  When I went to get a parking ticket for the car I was flabbergasted when I saw the hourly price - 9$ per hour!!!

Wow, we are so lucky we don't pay parking on Perth beaches!

Balmoral Beach, the fancy McLaren's parked on the foreshore

Parking paid for, we went to have breakfast at The Boat House, a very cosy seaside cafe.

Nine McLaren's were parked near us, at a cost of upwards of 350,000 each... there must have been an owner's coffee meeting at one of the cafes on the foreshore 😁.

Even though it wasn't that warm (23C) and the water temperature was only (19C) a lot of people were swimming in the netted swimming bay, others surfing, lots of kids playing on the sand or on the playground.

The Boat House, coffee & hot chocolate, boat containers full of plants on the front garden

Before returning to the car we crossed the small bridge onto Rocky Point, a tiny rocky island between the north and south side of the beach.
Back to the seashore and past the white Rotunda. In front of it a bronze statue of "Billy" (1959-1978), a tribute to a loyal dog who during 17 years accompanied his master Cliff Williams (Inky), on his rounds as a city sweeper with the Mosman council during 30 years.

The white rotunda, a wishing well, Balmoral Beach and Rocky island, statue of Billy the dog 

 Rocky Point Island and bridge

BRADLEY's HEAD

Next we drove to the Taronga Zoo area where we found free parking and took some photos of the city across the bay.

Taronga Zoo entrance, Taronga Zoo ferry terminal, the view of the city from the jetty

Back in the car, we drove into Sydney Harbour National Park until we reached Bradley's Head.  At the bottom on the amphitheatre where scenes from Mission Impossible 2 were filmed, a wedding was taking place with lovely views of Sydney harbour. On the other side is the mast of the cruiser HMAS Sydney that took part in World War I.

An unknown (to me) turkey like bird - the Brush Turkey (also known as Scrub or Bush turkey) calmly strutted by. Other birds I saw there were the white cockatoo, the ever present Indian Myna and a Kookaburra.

The HMAS Sydney mast, a wedding taking place on the amphitheater with views of Sydney

A white cockatoo, an Indian myna, a Brush Turkey and a Kookaburra

KIRRIBILLI

Our next stop a few kms away was the suburb of Kirribilli, one of Sydney's most affluent neighbourhoods  just 3km north of the CBD.
The suburb is home to Admiralty House, built in 1842 and the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia (Sir Peter Cosgrove) and Kirribilli House, next door, the secondary official residence to  Australia's Prime Ministers (when not at The Lodge in Canberra, the nations capital) and where Commonwealth visitors usually stay.

Kirribilli - Art Deco houses, welcoming British flags, Admiralty House gates and view from the harbour (top and bottom right) (top right photo from net)

Kirribilli Street where the ministerial residences are located was full of policemen and their cars, but we managed to find a parking spot nearby and as we walked down the street to the Beulah street wharf we could already spot views of the Opera House and cityscape on the other side of the bay.

Views from the top of Beulah st wharf

When we reached the wharf there were lots of people with their cameras, some with huge lenses, cardboard cutouts of the royals, people on the balconies, all pointing to the Kirribilli jetty. 
We realized we had arrived just in time to see Prince Harry and Meghan leave the house to get onto a private vessel on the way to Cockatoo Island for the Invictus Games, which were created by Prince Harry in 2014. 
I managed to get a photo from the Royals about to board the vessel. From what I heard from the Royal watchers on the jetty, the Royal couple had waved to them. 

Royal cut-outs, big lenses, houses next to Admiralty house, jetty with royal watchers

I managed to just get the Royal couple almost boarding the vessel. (bottom right photo from Matrix pictures)

LUNCH 

We returned to the car, drove under the Harbour Bridge past Wendy's Secret Garden and happened to drive onto a street with small restaurants and businesses.

We found a parking spot and chose the first restaurant as the menu appealed to us - Piato Restaurant at 123 Blues Point road, in McMahons Point.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

A Brazilian waitress brought us the menu and got our orders and I spotted a TV star behind the counter - George Houvardas.

When George delivered our drinks I said hello and mentioned I remembered him from the role he played on "Packed to the Rafters" a much loved TV series, and that I hadn't seen him on TV in a while. 

He said he was now doing some films, and apart from acting he works with his Dad and brothers in the family restaurant too. 

I wanted to ask for a photo with him, but I was a bit shy to ask and felt he was a bit embarrassed at being recognized too.

A lot of the customers seemed to be local and were on first name basis with the family.

Service was good, food was tasty, prices were reasonable, what more can you ask?

Piato Restaurant, Seafood Tagliatelli and Chocolate Fondant with ice cream and berry coulis 

The actor George Houvardas

NORTHBRIDGE BATHS

Northbridge Baths - seawater pool

On the way home at about 5pm we made a detour to Northbridge Baths, as my husband lives nearby and was curious to see what it was. 

There is a netted swimming area with swimming lanes and a boardwalk all around, a shallow area for the kids to swim, some grass and steps to sit on. Just behind is a small waterfall and houses above it.

There was free parking for 4h and the baths are free to use.

The seawater pool is apparently very much loved and well used by the locals, the only worry was the sign that warned against pollution...there are boats just on the other side of the netted area... not sure I would swim there.

And after such a full day of driving around and not having slept much the night of my flight I was exhausted by the time we got home and after a cup of tea and a snack was in bed by 8pm!

Map of our day tour