Quick holiday
We've tried a couple of times having short holidays: a couple of nights in a city hotel. The last one had been a bit of a mixed success, but it was two years ago.
This time we opted for the Pullman Quay Grand (which happens to be where Graham proposed to me). The weather was sunny but with quite a wind chill but we decided to walk to Manly for lunch before catching the ferry. The beach volleyball players didn't seem to feel the cold.
We arrived shortly after 2 o'clock and found our room - or rather, suite. It had nice views over the Botanical Gardens and a sideways glimpse of the Opera House. After settling in we went out and examined the pieces of stonework lying on the lawn across the road.
It was getting cold so we returned to the hotel for a swim. The pool was lovely and warm and had views over Circular Quay. Only problem was I didn't bring goggles and we got sore eyes after a while. Then Louka and I tried the in-room spa bath before dinner.
Unfortunately the hotel restaurant (which is in the Entertainment Book) was closed so we walked round to Peter Doyle's at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. It was really cold by this time and then we found that the building is being renovated and all the restaurants are closed! How hard can it be to find a meal in the city? We trudged back to the hotel to check out the Entertainment Book. Wolfies was just past where we'd walked to, so we rang to make a booking before venturing out again.
Breakfast was included in our hotel deal so at least we didn't have to go out early in the morning. It was a la carte rather than smorgasbord as seems to be common in hotels. Then Graham looked for something in the Entertainment Book that we could do that day.
I would never have thought of doing a Rocks Walking Tour (and I thought Louka would probably be bored) but in fact it was very interesting and I visited parts of the Rocks I hadn't before. Louka found it interesting too, which made all the difference. All the narrow little alleys and staircases made it fun for her. We had lunch in the Rocks then walked around Barangaroo to Darling Harbour, had an ice-cream then walked back over the Pyrmont Bridge through the CBD to the hotel.
After so much walking we wanted a rest so we sat and read or watched TV for half an hour then went down to the pool and spa. It was getting dark, and the pool and spa are tiled in black, which gave it a slightly mysterious night-swimming feel.
We went to book a table at the restaurant only to find it was closed again! The Customs House Bar was cold and the music very loud, so we retreated to the Italian restaurant downstairs from the hotel. We didn't have much luck with dinners on this break. They were acceptable, but we had hoped for something special.
This morning after breakfast we checked out but before taking the ferry back to Manly we went to check out the MCA's kids holiday offering. They handed us a worksheet requiring finding all sorts of objects in the current exhibition and guessing three riddles about artworks. It was too hard for me. Louka eventually decided she'd finished the worksheet and allowed us to go to the "creative studio" where she was given a sheet of paper to draw a portrait on, as well as various triangles of different coloured paper. When she'd drawn a self-portrait (complete with wolf ears) it was cut into more triangles and stuck together with the other coloured pieces to make an interesting artwork. We had lunch at the MCA Café then headed for the wharf where the ferry had just left. So we rode up and down the lifts to the Cahill Expressway walking path till the next ferry arrived.
Walking home from Manly, Louka got very tired. In fact we were all pretty tired. It was good to get home.
This time we opted for the Pullman Quay Grand (which happens to be where Graham proposed to me). The weather was sunny but with quite a wind chill but we decided to walk to Manly for lunch before catching the ferry. The beach volleyball players didn't seem to feel the cold.
We arrived shortly after 2 o'clock and found our room - or rather, suite. It had nice views over the Botanical Gardens and a sideways glimpse of the Opera House. After settling in we went out and examined the pieces of stonework lying on the lawn across the road.
It was getting cold so we returned to the hotel for a swim. The pool was lovely and warm and had views over Circular Quay. Only problem was I didn't bring goggles and we got sore eyes after a while. Then Louka and I tried the in-room spa bath before dinner.
Unfortunately the hotel restaurant (which is in the Entertainment Book) was closed so we walked round to Peter Doyle's at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. It was really cold by this time and then we found that the building is being renovated and all the restaurants are closed! How hard can it be to find a meal in the city? We trudged back to the hotel to check out the Entertainment Book. Wolfies was just past where we'd walked to, so we rang to make a booking before venturing out again.
Breakfast was included in our hotel deal so at least we didn't have to go out early in the morning. It was a la carte rather than smorgasbord as seems to be common in hotels. Then Graham looked for something in the Entertainment Book that we could do that day.
I would never have thought of doing a Rocks Walking Tour (and I thought Louka would probably be bored) but in fact it was very interesting and I visited parts of the Rocks I hadn't before. Louka found it interesting too, which made all the difference. All the narrow little alleys and staircases made it fun for her. We had lunch in the Rocks then walked around Barangaroo to Darling Harbour, had an ice-cream then walked back over the Pyrmont Bridge through the CBD to the hotel.
After so much walking we wanted a rest so we sat and read or watched TV for half an hour then went down to the pool and spa. It was getting dark, and the pool and spa are tiled in black, which gave it a slightly mysterious night-swimming feel.
We went to book a table at the restaurant only to find it was closed again! The Customs House Bar was cold and the music very loud, so we retreated to the Italian restaurant downstairs from the hotel. We didn't have much luck with dinners on this break. They were acceptable, but we had hoped for something special.
This morning after breakfast we checked out but before taking the ferry back to Manly we went to check out the MCA's kids holiday offering. They handed us a worksheet requiring finding all sorts of objects in the current exhibition and guessing three riddles about artworks. It was too hard for me. Louka eventually decided she'd finished the worksheet and allowed us to go to the "creative studio" where she was given a sheet of paper to draw a portrait on, as well as various triangles of different coloured paper. When she'd drawn a self-portrait (complete with wolf ears) it was cut into more triangles and stuck together with the other coloured pieces to make an interesting artwork. We had lunch at the MCA Café then headed for the wharf where the ferry had just left. So we rode up and down the lifts to the Cahill Expressway walking path till the next ferry arrived.
Walking home from Manly, Louka got very tired. In fact we were all pretty tired. It was good to get home.
posted by Liz + Louka at 5:10 pm
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