Today takes a bit of explanation…
Jen and I have traveled quite a lot with Goway, our travel provider, through a travel agent and we sometimes think we know better than they do. We’ve been right on occasion, but on other occasions we’re just butting heads to butt heads. On this trip, seeing all the flying we were doing and having been stuck with two nearly eight-hour layovers in Argentina last year, we wanted to avoid airports. So… as an adult I’ve never been on a train (save for the I help build in Denver) to commute from city to city… why not Melbourne to Sydney?
Well, today would answer all of my “why not” questions, though we made the most of it anyway and did enjoy parts along the way!
The train lines leaving Melbourne
We started out getting a phone call stating that we’d need to be up earlier than expected, the company with whom we booked suggested extra time at the terminal to check in and get our luggage on board. We agreed, and arrived at the terminal around 7:10 AM only to find out that the company didn’t open until 7:30 anyway, so we couldn’t check in, couldn’t drop off our luggage, and ended up just standing around outside the office until it opened. We got our tickets with minimal hassle, dropped off our luggage, and walked to the train platform just outside.
The tickets we had on our itinerary showed “Daysitter” tickets, and we looked longingly through the windows at the private cabins, an expensive seat on the train, and we were only slightly less excited when we realized our tickets from the booth that morning were marked for “First Class”, but not for the cabin we’d thought we were taking. Twelve hours in seats that were similar to airplane seats… yikes! Jen and Jon went back to get some coffee as we accepted that we were likely confused or booked incorrectly, and I sat on the platform to take some pictures (again, will upload once our internet is a bit more reliable). It wasn’t long before both siblings were back, and Jen had worked her magic on the ticketing agent… we were back in the Daysittter cabin! Phew! (Also, on the Television show “The Originals”, the term Daywalker is used for vampires who can walk outside in the sun during the day. To me, this cabin sounds like we’re just really lazy vampires.)
Boarding began, and Jen, Jon, and I climbed into our seats and got comfortable. Jen had bought me coffee, and we were well on our way to Sydney. We laughed at the names and towns we’d be heading through (Wagga Wagga, for one, Yass Station for another, and these are only a few examples), and set back for the ride.
The cabin had three seats, a door to close, and faced the opposite direction from the direction we traveled. One wall faced outward, and the other was a glass window we couldn’t cover or close during the day (train rules), even though there was a curtain, and this is what I leaned against all day. We all started out by looking at the countryside, but soon the rocking of the train had put me right to sleep. Rolling in and out of wakefulness would be my next few hours, I’d had a great deal of trouble sleeping the day before and I made up for it here!
This was most of our day after we got tired of looking at so many, many sheep
When it was time for lunch, which was included with our level of ticket, an individual came around to ask for our preferences, then informed us that the menu we were given was incorrect and they had none of the things I had wanted, and so instead I elected for spaghetti. Having ordered, we now had an hour before lunch to relax. We all did our individual things (Jon watched movies, Jen enjoyed the train and looked at the views, and I read my book and dozed), and eventually it was time to head to the buffet car and pick up our lunches.
We walked through the other First Class cabins, and got looks of disdain as we added liquor to our orders… but we did it anyway. My spaghetti was, to date, some of the worst food I have ever eaten. The middle was cooked just right, the edges of the plastic tray in which the meal came were slightly melted, and the noodles burned right along with the plastic. I honestly don’t even remember what else was on the plate except for some bread that was actually decent (it had its own steam bag in which to cook it)… but overall we all had the same experience with the train food… it just wasn’t good. What would follow would be hours upon hours of very pretty countryside, with an unfortunate number of curves and stops along the way. I’d come to find out later that a flight from Melbourne to Sydney is 40 minutes… something Jen skillfully hid from us as she suggested the train as a good idea in the first place. I’ll forgive her though, it was an experience and something I can say that I’ve done now. We arrived at 8:15 PM or so in Sydney, and our driver was extremely friendly! I think we actually confused him potentially, as by the time we were at the hotel lobby they had no record of our reservation and it didn’t take long to realize we were at the wrong hotel entirely.
In our driver’s defense… Sydney sucks at naming things. We were going to the Travelodge Wynyard, and he dropped us off at the Travelodge Wentworth. I mean… they’re somewhat close in name to begin with! The lady at the front lobby offered to call a cab for us, and I accepted. We’ll discuss the mix-up with Goway another time, and we called the company to ensure they had it on record that we were dropped off at the wrong location, but the cab was easier and nearly immediate. We were soon at our correct hotel, and checked in.
Now hungry again (we declined a section run at the food on the train for “dinner” with the same meal offerings that still weren’t the same as the menu provided), Jon and I headed out while Jen elected to go with us but declined food due to after-effects from train food, and we turned one corner and found an Italian place with some of the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life. The pizza and garlic bread came from a small take-away restaurant next door (a take-away restaurant is essentially fast food with a street-facing counter but no interior), and was delivered to a bar just to its left where we went in and grabbed the last available table. Sydney’s night life was a great mixture of locals, expats, and foreigners, and soon we’d eaten through the pizza and I grabbed a double Talisker at the bar. I actually got a “you sure, mate?” look when they said “Talisker?” like they were afraid I’d blame them for the strong peat flavor, but I told them yes and they served it in a very exact manner (each shot here is measured to the highest degree due to distribution laws). Tomorrow, we were going to be climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and tonight it was time to have some fun!
By the time we had a few drinks, finished the pizza, and chatted a bit more, it was bedtime for all three of us and we got back to the hotel to unpack and settle in. With a total of two full days in Sydney before we flew out, we were already making plans about what to see before the climb the next day.
