2 days in Sydney – no problem!

Sydney is a familiar haunt of mine and if you want to keep close to the city with one excursion plus some fun walks this is what I recommend.

There are many great hotels in Sydney with views but occasionally it is good to choose a city hotel in the hub of where the action is and I recommend QT this is a chic, quirky, art hotel with a wonderful vibe and a superb in-house restaurant called GOWINGS BAR & GRILL under the creative direction of Sean Connolly is spectacular and truffles are in season so it was an absolute pleasure to enjoy the tantalising menu. You might be lucky to be greeted by the Director of Magic Sarah Rugg who manages to make all things possible. Check out the pics below:

The ART GALLERY OF NSW is a must and with its new North wing it shows off the fabulous collection of contemporary and Aboriginal art. It boasts a couple of cafe’s and shows off beautiful views of Sydney harbour and surrounds. Whilst there I caught the ARCHIBALD WYNNE & SULMAN 2023 exhibition which is accessible from the Botanical Gardens and from Macquarie Street. I had a personal tour by Gallery guide and friend Betty Kim.

Hop on a ferry and take a tour of TARONGA ZOO this is one of my favourite ferry trips. If you have visited the zoo previously you would have enjoyed a cable car ride either up or down through the park — I recently learnt this is out of action for approx five years as the ride is being upgraded and will extend into the sea — can’t wait to try this out. Once you arrive there are two entries either use your bus pass/OPAL or you can tap on/off with your credit card. It is great to use the bus to get up the hill / or go in from the bottom, either way you can obtain an info guide or download the app and see when all the feeding times are of the animals. I love the majestic giraffes and the Seal talks and show. There are cafes throughout the zoo — do take care if you are eating outside there are some pesky ibis and birds that look forward to any unattended food.

When on the FERRY you can obtain some wonderful pics if you sit on the top deck. Coming out of Circular Quay you can frame a superb pic of the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE and the SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE – very instagramable and a selfie is easy.

In the evening a short walk to ANGEL PLACE is fun and there are some wonderful restaurants in this hideaway from French, Italian to Chinese and even the IVY hides at the end. I love FELIX as you can sit outside and imagine you are in a French laneway.

THE ROCKS are just a short walk or tram ride away with cobbled streets, hidden cafes, beautiful and fun restaurants such as this fun Tex-Mex hidden above a German restaurant called El CAMINO CANTINA– definitely a superb area to walk around all steeped in history. At the weekend there is a huge outdoor market which is a must see full of Australian artisan products and a great place to pick up presents for home.

Top tips

• Buy your Taranga Zoo tickets online and save up to 20%
• The Archibald Prize is a regional touring art exhibition so check out the website to find out where it is when you want to visit.
• Gowings Bar & Grill – you must book ahead to get a reservation.
• Sydney Opera House – it is their 50th birthday so do check out their website to see what is on.
• Sydney Harbour Bridge you can not only walk over using the Cahill Walk lookout. You can do a Bridge Climb (it has a spectacular view in the early morning climb) book on their site.
• Most links are embedded within this blog for your ease for bookings and updates.

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