Hello, blog friends! We arrived home from Australia over the weekend and it’s been all systems go since then. Unpacking, laundry (oh, the laundry), catching up with family and friends, school events… luckily baby has been sleeping well at night because that’s about the only break I’ve caught since getting back 😛
I’m starting off our travel recap by sharing where we stayed for the first half of our trip. We spent four days in Zetland (in the city) and four days in Cronulla (a coastal suburb south of the city) during our trip. It was the perfect balance between experiencing city life as a tourist and taking a relaxed beach vacation. On future trips–because yes, we are definitely going back–I would opt for a similar time split.
Where We Stayed in Sydney
We spent all four nights in Zetland at the Meriton Suites, which is an Australian chain similar to Residence Inns or Homewood Suites in the US. We stayed in a “penthouse suite,” not because we were feeling fancy but because of the size. It had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, which is a must with six people!
Our suite was on the 20th floor with a gorgeous view of downtown and Centennial Parklands right across the road. It had a full kitchen with a range, oven, microwave, fridge and dishwasher. When traveling with celiac, you pretty much have to stay somewhere with a kitchen unless you want to drop your life savings on eating out. The kitchen was stocked with all the essentials (knives, cutting board, cheese grater, dishes, pots and pans, etc) as well as some extra treats. Eric and I enjoyed using the Nespresso machine with the complimentary coffee pods!
We were impressed not only with the view and amenities but also with the customer service at Meriton. One of our kids dropped and shattered a drinking glass during a meal, and they sent someone right up to vacuum it for us. We had a tough time figuring out how to use the drier–our room also had a full-sized washer and drier–and they helped us with that too (we were just being silly Americans, not knowing how to use Australian appliances). They also rushed prepping our room for us when we arrived, which was nice because we were tired after 24 hours of travel.
Eric, Ethan and I enjoyed some time in the “spa pool” (basically a hot tub) while we were there, too. Really it was like our own little apartment away from home, with plenty of space. Exactly what you want with a big family and a range of ages so you’re not crawling on top of each other the entire stay!
No review would be complete without something that wasn’t ideal, right? The only complaint we had was drain flies in one of the bathrooms. I can cut Meriton some slack as we also struggle with them during the summer months in Minnesota. They’re annoying to deal with and veryyy difficult to get rid of. The apartment was clean and tidy upon our arrival minus the flies, so it wasn’t an issue of cleanliness.
What We Ate in Sydney
With our fully-stocked kitchen, we ate in for almost every meal. There’s a Cole’s (an Australian supermarket chain) inside of a shopping center that’s a five-minute walk from the Meriton Suites Zetland, so getting groceries was almost too easy! They also carry diapers, pull-ups and medical supplies.
We stuck with simple meals like rotisserie chicken, tacos and burrito bowls. It was nice to take a vacation from normal cooking and cleaning! Oh, and we ate ice cream. Lots of ice cream. Highly recommend this Cadbury Dairy Milk ice cream we grabbed at Cole’s.
The two times we “ate out” in the city were when visiting with friends down in Mortdale (thank you, Kristy, for feeding my kids endless fruit, chips, and Tim Tams at the playground!) and after visiting the zoo on Monday. We grabbed a quick bite at Betty’s Burgers near the wharf. Betty’s is a chain and they have a gluten-free option–the “Bare Betty” in a lettuce wrap–which was the perfect pick-me-up for Eric and I on our way back to Meriton. My oldest loves cheeseburgers and gave his burger two thumbs ups!
How We Got Around in Sydney
We didn’t rent a car in the city and opted to use public transport instead. There was definitely a learning curve but after a couple days, it was easy. We originally bought Opal Cards at the airport train station so we could take the train to our hotel. Opal Cards work on all public transit in the Sydney Area (buses, trains and ferries). You can pre-load them so you just tap the card reader when you get on/off your transportation of choice.
Only kids 4+ need Opal Cards and younger kids ride free.
While in the city, we used public transport to get to our hotel from the airport on Saturday, to Mortdale, to Taronga Zoo and then back to the airport to grab our rental car on Wednesday. Very reasonable public transit options exist for all of those routes with just a bit of walking between bus and train stations.
So that’s where we stayed in Sydney. Next week I’ll be back to share about our day at Taronga Zoo! I’m just excited to be able to blog about travel again. After the pandemic and four kids, we’re back to our adventures. Though, the only better feeling than heading out for a trip is the feeling of coming home again after a week or two away, isn’t it? 🙂
xx Claire