From Perth to Sydney

I woke up early this morning at 4am. But as I was feeling awake and realising it is 6am in the time zone in which I'll end the day, I get up and started catching up with loading the flight and Perth photos to Flickr - there are quite a number and we haven't had a few spare minutes on this holiday yet. Drew keeps mentioning it is a holiday, when most people rest!! (He said most sane people, so I may have a way out 😂)  

At 6am I brush my teeth, shower and shave, Drew gets up when I come out of the shower and does the same. 

We go down for breakfast at 6.30am and have our usual selection of food, with the addition of two fried eggs (from the Omelette station) for me.

Haydn's First Course

Drew's First Course

Haydn's Second Course with Fried Eggs

Back up to the room by 7.05am we do our final checks complete our packing (the bulk of which we did last night after dinner) and check-out from the hotel at 7.35am. It has been a very comfortable stay. 

We walk the ten minutes up to Perth Train Station 

and use the ticket machines to buy a ticket to Redcliffe Station. While the train network does to Terminal 1 and 2, it doesn't (yet) reach terminals 3 & 4. Instead we get off at the nearest station, Redcliffe and plan to walk the 10 minutes to the Terminal. We are departing from Terminal 4. 

The train for High Wycombe, it's final destination, arrives at the platform as we do and at 7.52am the train departs.

The Train to High Wycombe

We arrive at Redcliffe at 8.10am and the 292 bus arrives outside the station at the same time we do. It turns out that our train ticket $5.20 (£2.60) each, covers both the train and the bus fare, so we change our minds about walking and jump on the bus. We arrive at the terminal at 8.18am.

My boarding card appears on my phone (having added it to Google Wallet when checking in yesterday) so I click the link and the QR code appears. Holding the phone screen down gives us a print of luggage label 1, we click a button for the second luggage label and then for a print out of the bag details, just in case. With the labels attached we go to another simple machine, except this time the phone has to be held screen upwards and it weighs each bag in turn. 10.5kg for me, 12.5kg for Drew. Though at this point of the holiday we have a dirty clothes bag and a clean clothes bag, rather than separate bags, as we did when we began the journey. (The first launderette stop is tomorrow morning in Sydney). This part of the process was over by 8.22am. 

We move on to security and this is a simple process too. We have our bags and ourselves scanned and are complete by 8.25am. 

By 8.35am we are sitting in an Airport Cafe with a Americano and a Latte. It is worth saying that it is a lovely Italian Coffee made with Segafredo Zanetti coffee, a lovely tangy expresso roast. 

The flight is at 10.40am, boarding begins at 10.20am, so we have plenty of time to relax with this coffee and another one. 

Boarding is also very efficient, again just the QR code through a self scan machine and we are on the plane. The plane pulled away from the gate at 11.00am. 

When booking this flight, which is not a part of the main package, we decided that as it was only 4 hours we would be happy travelling in economy and we were. We did get a meal on the flight. a light Japanese Rice and Chicken with red pepper, sweetcorn kernels and spinach dish which was fresh, tasty and really delicious. The Australian Local Kitchen company pack them for Qantas. 

After lunch we are served a cup of Tea. 

During the flight I use BBC Sounds on my phone to listen to four days of the Archers and four Newscast episodes, plus Americast and Ukrainecast which I had downloaded. Time slips by quickly. Drew continues his reading, finishing his current book and moving on to another. 

The arrival into Sydney Airport is at 4.55pm, local time (2.55pm Perth time) and we exit the plane by 5.10pm. Then collect our luggage at 5.25pm. We both notice that the Avis Car Hire desk, from which we will collect our car next Monday, was right next to the luggage carousel. So, we know our way back ready for next week. 

It was now time to try Sydney's Public Transport network. The Airport Station is next to baggage and two floors down. Easily accessible.

The first step of the journey is to catch the T8 (A double decker underground and overground train) to Central Station at 5.35pm 

and change at Central Station for the T4 to Kings Cross arriving at 5.58pm.

At Kings Cross station the lift from the concourse to street level is immediately on the right of the hotel entrance. 

We check into the room, room 816 and are in the room by 6.05pm. What a room it is, with a sitting room, separate bathroom and toilet, with a bath and shower and a large bedroom. 

The windows in both the sitting room and the bedroom have wonderful views over Sydney. With the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House very visible. A site you would never tire of.

We settle in, I edit and upload some photos - still plenty more to do I'm afraid, and then look for places to eat. Here in Potts Point, next to Kings Cross and not far from Darlington we have a wide selection of options. We find a reasonable looking one called Bistro Rex and booked a table for 7.30pm.

What a lovely place Bistro Rex is, a really French feel and wonderful French food, yet only 0.3 of a mile from the hotel.

My starter was a hibachi grilled baby octopus with ligurian olives, capsicum and pine nuts. It had lovely flavours and really juicy pieces of octopus. It is a while since I've had octopus and this reminds me why I like it so much.

Drew opted for the Triple Cheese Souffle, the three cheeses being Comté, Cantal and Camembert. Drew loved this, the rich background level of cheese was enhanced by the souffle which was freshly baked. Light, fluffy and salty - all that Drew needs.

For mains Drew went for the Rex wagyu burger with pickles, raclette and french fries. This is Drew's first burger of this holiday and he does it in style.

I went for that most French dish Confit Duck Leg. Here it was served on a bed of Braised Lentils, Winter Greens and Jus Gras. It was melt in the mouth gorgeous. Soft lentils carrying the amazing flavour of the jus and perfectly cooked duck with crisp skin. 

We shared a side of Cavolo Nero Salad with Currants and Hazelnuts - This fresh side salad had a lovely crunch from the hazelnuts.

Having enjoyed the cheese soufflé so much, Drew was tempted to finish the meal with another soufflé. This the Chocolate soufflé in buffalo yogurt with vanilla bean ice cream. This was a a rich, well raised chocolate souffle which Drew loved. 

With the excuse of Drew having a dessert I was able to have a cheese course. This was made up of two chesses. A Tre Latte an italian soft cheese made from sheep, cow and goat milk - very tangy but very soft. It also had a Blue d'Avergne, a France cow cheese - a perfect example of good blue cheese, so delightful to eat.

With dinner complete we made our way back to the hotel by 10pm and I worked on loading up more of our photos to Flickr until 11pm, when we went to bed - one last push in the morning and I should catch-up with ourselves!