Girls Weekends Away Blog

Yes it is possible to have a great day in Sydney for Just $50 and here is How:-
- Breakfast, egg and bacon roll with coffee at picturesque Circular Quay $6.50
- Public bus to Bondi Beach $4.30 each way ($8.60)
- Swim in the ocean, FREE added bonus Lifeguard Watching
- Back to City for Lunch in China Town, Super Bowl has a Huge Bowl of of noodle soup with dumplings, prawns and pork for $10.50
- Then stroll down George street to the Rocks; wander down the cobble streets and hidden laneways and explore the shops..Free  and
- Now you’ve worked off lunch; it’s time for dinner, we suggest the First Fleet Bar & Bistro, where you can get a steak or chicken burger for $12 and with your change from $50 treat yourself to a glass or two of wine!!

Girls, right now Hotels.com are having a 72 hour Sydney Sale… With up to 40% off…So if you want to escape north, now is a great time to lock in a deal. With hotels as little at $79 a night in Sydney, what’s not to love…

Girls, this is supposed to be a 5 star hotel right!!  Well it is far from 5 stars in my opinion. Let me just take you through a few examples of why.  First check in…There were two staff on the desk, both of them were preoccupied and of course on this mass expanse of desk it was devoid of other staff. Plus no eye contact, or “Mdme I will be with you in a minute”; nothing.  I stood there for 15 minutes, finally a new person arrives and summons me with a  Bonjour; (what’s with the bonjour, we are in Sydney).  Anyway, when I explained how long I had waited I was told that I would be upgraded. Wow!!!  I got all excited on the way up in the elevator, thinking upgrade in a 5 star hotel, this will be fantastic…

Only to find that  if I was upgraded, my original booking must have been for the broom closet.

The room was small and the King bed was two singles strapped together. You know the one with that annoying bump in the middle!! I hate those beds and Mr Sofitel, they are NOT King beds, they are two singles stuck together…. So never advertsie them as Kings!!! Sorry I digressed…

Anyway the TV set obviously was from a dolls house, you basically had to stick it to your eyeball to see what was happening. Or maybe the rationale is that the smaller the TV, the bigger the room looks, bit like display home thinking. There was one small window in the room, Yes it is a Dolls house!!!  The window curtain and blind are controlled by a long windy handle.. Yes that is a girls summation of frustration as you spend minutes winding up the blind and then the curtain, of course each has to have it’s own handle to make things even more complicated. What topped everything off though was the laundry service. I put a shirt that I needed for that night into the same day service as I was attending a dinner function. Well, no shirt at 6, resulting in a panic shop costing me $60. Later 4 phone calls to the laundry service with 4  Bonjour’s and an air of arrogance (They made me feel Like…Yep its that crazy lady again, we don’t have her shirt, she never put it in.. tell her to take a Valium and go to bed) and yes at 10pm at night my shirt arrives…If only my shirt could talk!!  So Sofitel; Au revoir,  jamais plus !!

Girls if you are in Sydney or planning a trip to Sydney why not make it a great girls day out by securing a spot at this exclusive luncheon. On the 24th of May for just $130pp you get an exclusive viewing (fashion parade) of the latest Alannah Hill collection, plus a  3 course lunch with matching wines at Pendolino. It gets better though as Alannah herself will provide insights into the parade. So get in early to secure a spot and feel like a fashionista for a day. 

Go to http://www.strandarcade.com.au/whatson/Youre-Invited-To-Our-Alannah-Hill-Designer-Lunch for details and information

Sydney offers fans of good food and wine an unforgettable experience. With world-famous chefs, cutting edge creativity, stunning views and delicious fresh cuisine, Sydney really is a haven for food lovers and is one of the world’s favourite food capitals.  Sydney’s food scene is dominated by an abundance of local, fresh produce, teamed with a breed of young and dynamic chefs who break all the rules, but continue to deliver a truly exciting range of dining experiences. There is a treasure trove of cafes, restaurants and bars that offer the ultimate sea view and beachside favourites include Nick’s Bondi Beach Pavilion, Icebergs Restaurant and Bar, Sean’s Panorama, Will and Toby’s Manly Beach and The Bathers’ Pavilion restaurant and Café and Jonah’s at Sydney’s Whale Beach. GWA will soon be bringing you some Sydney ideas like Bilson’s, Claude’s, est., Guillaume at Bennelong, Marque, Pier, Quay and Tetsuya’s all have been voted the best in Sydney (recognised with three hats). Sydney’s new wave of wine bars offer the perfect opportunity to taste test some of Australia’s best wines. These cool bars even manage to offer an educational approach to wine drinking. Try Aperitif, Kellett Street, Kings Cross; Bambini Wine Room & Bar, Elizabeth Street, City; or Vini, Devonshire Street, Surry Hills. It’s also worth a trip to neighbourhoods close to the city centre where the flavours of Italy, Greece, Portugal, Vietnam and others are everywhere. From the humblest gelato stand to some of the world’s most innovative fine dining, Sydney restaurants offer both stunning locations and excellent food as the rule rather than the exception.
Find great hotel deals and top girls outing ideas from as little as $55!

This is a precis of an article by Kylie Robertson & Irene Morgan

Yes girls it can be done, enjoy Sydney without breaking the Budget. Here is how you can have a day seeing the sights and without going hungry.

We started our day with breakfast at the Rocks sitting at one of the sidewalk cafes, near Nurses Walk. There are a few to choose from and we found one that served a breakfast wrap that was filling for about $6. This is also a great place to people watch, especially over the weekend as people flock to the market. 

We then got some exercise by wandering around the famous Rocks Market. Here you can sample some delicious home made goods, purchase a few to take home and get some interesting home made items.

Then head off to circular quay and watch the street  performers. Some were definitely better than others but all very entertaining, if not for their novelty value.

Then catch the ferry ($10.60 return) across to Watsons Bay. Have your camera at the ready as the scenery in magnificent and you also get to see how the rich and famous live as you cruise past million dollar properties, many with that WOW factor.

At Watsons Bay you can enjoy take away fish and chips or Dine in at the famous Doyles; we chose the cheaper option (the take away) and sat on the beach awhile eating our fish & chips YUM!!!
There is also a  pub with a beer garden that over looks the water where we later sat and shared a bottle of wine.

Back on the ferry to Circular Quay and after disembarking we headed to the Art Gallery of New South Wales which is located on Art Gallery Road, a  five minute walk from Macquarie Street or Hyde Park. The best thing is its free and you can see some magnificent pieces of art or if you like take a gallery tour.
If you need some retail therapy and have extra energy, head towards Paddy’s market located in the Haymarket.  Here you will find lots of bags, hair pieces, clothing etc, all cheap.
For dinner we headed to our favourite Asian restaurant in China town called SuperBowl. The food here is great but be warned the servings are big especially the fried rice, but a great size meal to share. Ask for Alice (if you can) and be guided by her in regards to the number of dishes you will need. As an aside they are famous for their dumplings but can I say their duck is also great. So girls this is a Big day out in Sydney and it’s light on the purse.

                                                               The SuperBowl

I had great expectations for this establishment; that from all appearances had a funky up market feel, especially when perfectly positioned in Argyle street on The Rocks. Unfortunately by the end of the evening I felt like I had stepped into an episode of Faulty towers. Where do I start… Firstly the establishment is known for its selection of wines, so it was no surprise that when my friend ordered a beer that they had to ask for a glass, after being delivered a bottle; yes it’s not elegant sucking on a stubbie in the middle of a restaurant. We even had to ask for additional glasses for the sparkling water as two people cannot drink from one glass. Obviously glasses only come with wine as they got that bit right. We ordered an octopus terrine to share and I  ordered King prawns on sweet potato gnocchi and my friend ordered fish stew. The terrine was satisfactory but the main meals took a long time, nearly one bottle of wine long to be precise. When we did get our meals they were wrong. The response from the waitress was amusing and I quote “Oh, I just heard you say fish”. So I guess to simplify things for the waitress they should only have one fish on the menu as the Mulloway delivered was not fish stew. Now can I say fish stew  and Mulloway have no phonetic similarity whatsoever, except that they are both fish. We were then told that they would start the main meal again and suggested that I can eat my meal while they prepared a new one for my friend. Or I could wait; with of course no assurances from anyone that my meal wasn’t going to sit under heat lamps while we waited for a new meal to be produced. We chose to leave as one hour had passed and were impatient and annoyed, not to mention being hungry. Anyway we went to the front desk to pay, at this point one would assume that the waitress had informed the management of the mix up. Well NO!  The two behind the counter left us standing there while they sorted out the price of a bottle of wine on someone else’s bill. Yes we encountered the “You don’t exist” I have better things to do now mode.  So in summary Wine Odyssey should be confined to wine and not food; based on our experience.
Like all restaurants we review, that do not meet expectations, we usually revisit them. This ensures that we are sure that the first review was not a one off misadventure.

Girls, this is one of the best things that GWA has offered to date. A subscription to all of the GWA discounts and offers for a measly $20 plus GST (Yep unfortunately Kevin has to get some too). Time is limited, so if you want the benefits that the card offers click on the PayPal link to the right or go and have a look at the list of current offers being constantly expanded, and that will definitely convince you!  http://offers.girlsweekendsaway.com.au/

After a comment from one of our followers on our Blog regarding the Westin in Melbourne, we decided while in Sydney (yes we are researching Sydney Girls) that we would pop into the Westin. So what better to start the research with, than a drink in the lobby, right..Wrong!! Well it looks like Sydney replicates Melbourne. The service was slow and OMG, the price of a bottle of wine was outrageous. A bottle of NZ mid range sav blanc was $80, so avoid this if you want to maintain some life savings for the shopping. So I suggest you have a cup of tea or look pretty and wait for one of those merchant bankers from Macquarie next door to use their corporate card.