Sydney....a rocky start

On arrival in Sydney the flight attendants had to use insecticidal spray in all of the overhead bins, a requirement of the Australian Department of Agriculture. The immigration process was very streamlined as it was all self-serve and everyone was processed quickly. I bought an Opal card at one of the shops as I had read that these could be used for all forms of transportation in Sydney....bus, light rail and ferry. I found my way to the light rail service and figured out which train I had to take and got off at the right station. Then my troubles began. The AirBnB host had given me instructions to find a lock box he had attached to a street pole. I found the pole but couldn’t see anything but a bicycle chained to said pole. I also realized I didn’t copy down the code to open the box that contained the condo key. So I walked down the block and found a young security guard sitting at a desk in the lobby of a very nice building. I explained my problem and asked if there was anyplace where I could access wifi to review the host’s instructions. After some thought he offered to share his data from his iPhone. While I was waiting for him to do this, I realized I was in the Church of Scientology! I was able to confirm the instructions and get the lockbox code. On my second attempt I did find the grey steel lockbox at the base of the pole behind the bicycle but it was difficult to find it as it was now dark out. This was a very unusual procedure for getting the keys. I was pretty exhausted but relieved to be in the comfort of the condo. The rental was $135 CAD/night which is nearly half the cost of most hotels here.

My home for the next few days is a studio on the 27th floor of what was once the tallest building in Sydney with 45 floors. I hope the fire alarm doesn’t go off, real or otherwise! Although it’s older, it is immaculate and furnished with modern IKEA-type items. It’s very small at about 500 sq ft but I think this is typical for downtown Sydney. The view is amazing.Read more