Melbourne to Sydney

View from our Melbourne Appartment

Today we departed for Sydney, which was a relatively easy trip of ten or so hours. The streets of Melbourne were quiet due to the Public holiday which was great for us. The traffic was light, and our path was easy in comparsion to our arrival. Barring the tram only stop that Swanston Street suddenly become unbeknowns to the GPS.  Melbourne has great freeways in and out of the city, so apart from the multitude of speed cameras and frequent speed changes due to road works, it is a great system of roads.

We were sad to leave Melbourne, as it is a friendly, and interesting city. We all had a handle on the lay of the land, which is a credit to the city planners. Our accommodation was fine, good price, fantastic location, great rooms, friendly folks, but the building is ten years old and needs some maintenance. Last night was not so pleasant as the building air conditioners failed and were unreliable both News Year's night and last night.  Last night was particularly bad and very warm. Also, our balcony door lock was tempremental and washing machine was not the same as ours. Generally the building needs some tender loving care. We were told that the folks who leased the building didn't own maintain airconditioners etc on a public holiday.  They were very apologetic. Hmm.

The road to Sydney was broad and well sign posted. Almost all the towns have been by-passed, which lead to a quick trip. Given the time of the year we saw a police presence on the roads, about same as one would normally see between Toowoomba and Brisbane (150km). NSW and Victoria both seem to use more automated and hidden speed cameras, so hopefully we don't have any surprise speeding tickets waiting for us. There shouldn't be, as we stuck to the speed limit all the way. The Victorian landscape was very dry, but the county got greener as we moved closer to NSW.

Travel to Sydney Day 7

First impressions of Sydney is it is like LA, very spread out, lots of people and grubby. The roads seem to be fine, but not as well designed or maintained as their Victorian couter-parts. Our accommodation seems well placed in Haymarket on the CBD edge. We are staying at the Sydney Citigate Centre Hotel, and it is a four star establishment. The room and facilities are plush and modern in comparion to our Melbourne room, but lacks a kitchen/dinning/lounge, laundry and seperate rooms. It is just a hotel room made for a family.

Tonight we walked the streets near our hotel, and found that we are just 5 minutes from Sydney Cental Railway station. We should be able to visit the CBD with out too much problem. After checking out the Train station, we walked along historic streets lining with dozens of eating establishments. We settled on a busy Thai place were the food was outstanding, and the price was fair. Very enjoyable.

More photos to come.

Tomorrow we hope to catch up with Elessa and Marie.