Whale Watching Sydney

~ Welcome to Sydney :)

It so happened that a good fine Friday night I thought to myself, "I want to go whale watching." So after finishing some work on Saturday, I made an impromptu online booking for whale watching the next day.

The company seem to be the popular one around, and if the cruise does not see any whale, one could return on another cruise within the year as a standby passenger. There was complimentary biscuits, coffee/tea and apples onboard.

There was two departure points - Circular Quay or Darling Harbour, also two types of boats - 3 hours bigger boat, or the 2 hours smaller boats. I poked online a little and decided on the bigger boat, reason being bigger boat would be more stable. I was worry of motion sickness.

I took the morning departure at 9.45am. The boat departs from Darling Harbour, and headed to Circular Quay to pick up more passengers. So it was like boat cruise + whale watching, hit 2 birds with one stone.

~ Under the Harbour Bridge

~ Around Circular Quay

~ The obligatory picture on Opera House :P

Then off we went to chase the whales! We were informed of the wind speed and all, in case we changed our mind and want to go another day. Also that there is a safety distance that boats have to be away from whales to protect the whales, something like 100m from adult whales and 300m from their calf.

The one we saw as a mommy whale and her calf. I didn't have the kick ass camera like the guy from the whale watching company, unfortunately. Not even a SLR. His camera was like those you see in football matches, the superbly long ones.

Anyway, here are some measly pictures I took.

And no, just to make things clear. The whales did not jump as high as Willy in Free Willy, though at one point, the calf did breached but I only caught the water splashing in my shot. Still not as high as Willy, over the boy.

Unfortunately, I did experience some motion sickness but fortunately, it was towards the end of the cruise. I read that ginger would be helpful, example ginger candy or some sort but I didn't have any, except a bottle of grated ginger in the fridge. I didn't bring that along, if you are curious. However I overheard some moms telling their children that apples helped with motion sickness. So I went down and grabbed an apple, probably that was the reason why they dished out complimentary apples. I am not sure if it does help but I felt better when the boat started making it's way back to shore.


Side note: I wonder how to carry a 45cm floor fan back by train, and working out how to discard the old spoilt one... hmm..

Sydney Opera House Open Day 2011

~ Don't bash me but I still think Opera House is more beautiful from far :P

Sydney Opera House held its annual Open Day last month on 16th October 2011. I missed the Open Day last year as I was in Maroochydore. It gives visitors a chance to see the inside of the famed Opera House for free :)

It opened at 10am and closed at 4pm. I remember leaving home at 10am, thinking it even if I reached by 11am, it was still fairly early. However the queue already has built up.

I remember being in line for a fair bit and it was a fairly warm day. Or how Aussies would say "It's a lovely day.". Grin. Anyway, so I keep myself amused by taking some pictures.

~ father and son enjoying the sea view

After a while, we were ushered in to the Opera House.

They put up some costumes on the stage in the hall. There was no scheduled concerts or shows on that day.

After leaving the hall, we were given time to see the remaining area.

There was also some lookout area where you can look out to the Harbour Bridge and more water view.

Side note: I am so peckish, I wish there's some chips to munch. Mental note to stock up my snacks. *bite*

New York: Food

Alright... last post of USA travel log :)

(1) Manhattan Chillies 
Grand Central Terminal
Lower Level Dining Concourse
New York, NY 10017
(212) 682-6644

Texas Chain Gang: All natural coarse ground beef, kidney beans, plum tomatoes, fresh jalapeños and chipotles

The Real McCoy - "No beans, no tomatoes, no bull." Chilli the way they made it in the Lone Star State: Chunks of all natural beef and 5 kinds of chilli powder

side dish of mini corn muffin

We had it on two different occasions - both times for lunch. The first time I had it with rice, not the second time though. However I do find it weird to have it as it is.. not accompanied with rice.


(2) T.G.I. Friday's
We went to the one in Times Square area.

Jack Daniel's burger

I read somewhere that Jack Daniel's sauce is the signature sauce of TGIF, so I thought I'll give it a go... but the calories were at some alarming numbers.


(3) Magnolia Bakery
Grand Central Terminal
Lower Level Dining Concourse

Magic cookie bar with graham cracker crust

My bad. So apparently Magnolia Bakery is famous for their cupcakes, not for this cookie. We saw a long queue and thought it would be promising. Maybe, just maybe if I had a cupcake I might say differently but this magic bar - sickly sweet, even for my sweet tooth.


(4) Avra
141 East 48th Street
New York, NY 10017
212 759-8550
fax: 751-0894

Grilled fillet of wild Pacific salmon served with marinated grilled vegatables

This was good, fresh fish and nicely cooked. Thanks to N and husband for buying dinner.


(5) Junior's Cheesecake
Restaurant
Lower Level
Dining Concourse
(212) 983-5257

Raspberry swirl cheesecake

I love this. Nice, dense cheesecake. Not sweet, just nice with complement of raspberry. We did a takeaway.


(6) Sweet Grass Grill
24 Main Street
Tarrytown, NY 10591
914.631.0000

Sweet Grass Grill - Pancake suzette style

This cafe is located in Tarrytown. It was the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and we were told it would be safer to avoid going into the city, hence we had our brunch in Tarrytown. Very generous portion of food.


(7) BBQ at home ^_^
We bought some sausages, yakitori and corns, there was also salad...

(8) Hotdog
Street food. I had this while shopping in Woodbury Common Premium Outlet. Um.. streak of shopaholic in making? LOL. I won't post up any further on Woodbury Common as friend drove us there, and the only activity we did was of course, shopping :P

Side note: I wish Saturdays are longer...

New York: Downtown

If there was uptown, then there was downtown. The first day with bright blue sky in New York - we seized the opportunity to tick off the places we wanted to see. Also, the first time I get to at the roof of the bus. There were reminders after reminders of sitting down and beware of head hitting the traffic lights and trees.

So, despite all the friendly reminders, we got lucky! The bus stopped at the traffic light and I got to stand up for a picture of this beautiful piece of architecture - the Flatiron Building.

Here's another picture of the building... Just because :P

Another skyscapper - Empire State Building. Probably also made famous by the movie King Kong and Sleepless in Seattle... and no, I did not embark on some movie themed tour or something. Just so happen a lot of Hollywood productions were filmed in United States itself, and I believe many movies shot in the Big Apple itself.

The bus actually went for quite a big loop and we got off at a stop nearest to Statue of Liberty. There are 2 ways to see the famous icon, the first one via the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour. There were a few options on offer, some allows to go up to the crown, but most includes access to Ellis Island Immigration Museum (read: Hitch). If you decide to pursue this option, I was advised by my friend to purchase the ticket in advance.

Anyway, the second option - free of charge ferry to Staten Island. That was our option, consideration taken into we were not a big fan of museums... (don't throw rotten eggs at me). That being said, I was aware of great reviews given on the Ellis Island Immigration Museum but we decided to proceed with option number two. Ferry to Staten Island is free of charge (as of my travel in 8th Sept 2011), but please be aware that there was no stop made to Liberty Island.

However one was not allowed to remain on the ferry once reached Staten Island. Also by the time one got off the ferry, you won't be able to make the direct trip back. Instead would have to wait for the next ferry trip.

From where we took the Staten Island Ferry to Wall Street was a short walk.

Speaking of Wall Street, here's a picture of the Wall Street icon - the famous Charging Bull. I said it was famous because there were a lot of people stood around to take a picture with the bull. Some sat on the head, some stand at the side, there were also some who squat down and held the testicles and posed for a picture, or two.

~ come to think of it, I think I saw a lot of US flags everywhere, much more than in Australia and Malaysia.

U.S flags at Ground Zero, the red and blue stripes were people's name.

South Street Seaport... took some pictures while we were waiting for the bus. Luckily we were right in front of the bus door or we would have to wait for the next bus, or the one after.. till there was one with seats available.

We got off at the United Nations Headquarters ... but it was already closed for the day.

Side note: Good weather today but I spent the way indoors having my own movie day :)

New York: Uptown and Rockefeller Centre

Yellow cabs outside of Dakota Apartment

Weather still not great the next day, and the ticket for Hop On/Hop Off bus was still valid. So we decided to do the Uptown Loop that day. Pictures were not great due to rain and we were in the bus, with photos taken from window.

The Dakota Apartment in the picture above is best known as the place where former Beatle John Lennon was gunned down in December 1980. I reckon it would be a nice place to stay (if you are rich and do not mind the obvious history of killing) as it overlooks greenery - Central Park.

Also in the loop was Harlem.

Harlem is a neighbourhood in the New York City. Since 1920s, it has been a major African-American residential. I read that it was originally a Dutch Village and name after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Now.. that kind of explains the Amsterdam Av then :P

Nestled in Harlem, one can find the Apollo Theatre, said to be one of the most famous music halls in the United States, especially for blacks. Appears that the late Michael Jackson had performances in this theatre previously.

We did got off the bus after this and walked, a good 40 blocks at least, and unfortunately in the rain. New York is not prettiest when wet, in my humble opinion. Anyway, walks do good in building up appetite :P

We went to see the Rockefeller Center before dinner, while waiting for friend's friend, N's husband (now my friend too!) to finish work.

Rockefeller Center is actually a commercial building, founded by Mr John D Rockefeller Jr and placed right in Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

One of the many shops was this.

Side note: Ohh.. Inside Man is a good movie ^_^