Royalty takes a tour to the Blue Mountains & sees more Australian Wildlife!‏

As I mentioned previously in my first post on our amazing journey Down Under, we booked a day tour for Wednesday, March 26th when we arrived at the Travel Concierge desk at Sydney Airport upon our arrival.

With that being said, the King & I woke up early Wednesday morning so we could meet the bus in front of our hotel at 7:10AM. Since we had to get up early we didn't have time to sit down to have our hearty breakfast that morning. Instead we were able to arrange to get a boxed breakfast at the front desk at 6:30AM. I went downstairs after I got cleaned up ‎& I brought them up for us. It turned out to be a great meal. It consisted of an apple, a banana, a juice box, a hard boiled egg & a croissant. As a result, we still we're able to eat well & we didn't have to overindulge. 

AAT Kings Bus

After we ate, we went downstairs ‎& we waited a few minutes then the bus showed up. It was an AAT Kings Bus which is a local tour company in Australia. We gave our names to David who was our driver & host for the driving portion of the tour. Since we decided to purchase the whole package they offered us we got to stay with David throughout the day. Like many native Australians we met along the way, David was a friendly mate. He narrated his escape from the rush hour traffic as he took the bus lane to pass numerous cars as we drove over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge as we headed West towards the Blue Mountains & Katoomba which is the heart of the resort region of the area. 

During the bus ride we got to see some videos to help us better understanding the different places we were going to see throughout the day. ‎We also had access to WIFI on the bus which made it easy to reach out to family & friends too. 

We made a number of different stops along the way as we got to attempt to see different attractions that Australia has to offer. Unfortunately mother nature didn't cooperate with us early on. As David said ‎& I quote "hopefully as the day goes on the sun will come out so we can see the Blue Mountains." It was wishful thinking on his part. 

Three Sisters World Heritage Plaza

Waradah Aboriginal Centre

Speaking of stops, we made our first one at ‎Echo Point, Katoomba where we got to visit the Three Sisters World Heritage Plaza. In addition, we also got to see a show at the Waradah Aboriginal Centre. By doing so, we got to experience Aboriginal songs & dances which are part of their unique culture.

Aboriginal playing an instrument

Aboriginal holding a boomerang

Aboriginal holding a tray of fire

Aboriginals doing a dance

 After we saw the show, we walked around the shops at the Waradah Aboriginal Centre until it was time to reboard the bus. When we got back on the bus, David proceeded to drive us to the Scenic World which was the next stop of our day long getaway. Unfortunately mother nature failed to cooperate as David had hoped. As a result, the King ‎& I were unable to see the famous Blue Mountains & the Three Sisters sandstone rock formation. However, we did get to go on a walk around the rain forest which was interesting. In addition, we got to take the railway, the cableway & skyway hoping to see all the beautiful scenery they have there. Unfortunately it wasn't  meant to be that particular day as we didn't get to see that much. 

Scenic World

Rainforest at Scenic World

Loaves and Dishes Cafe & Takeaway

When we finished up we got back on the bus as David drove to the village of Leura, which  is a suburb of the Blue Mountains where we had our lunch at a restaurant in the Leura Mall called Loaves and the Dishes Cafe & Takeaway. I wound up having spaghetti which came with a brownie & a bottle of water. It turned out to be a really good meal. As for the King, since he's so picky when it comes to eating, he decided to order the Asian chicken. He picked at it but he barely ate any of it. After we got done, we walked around the area as we checked out the shops that were there. When we finished, we went back to the bus. 

Featherdale Wildlife Park

Koala sleeping

Red Kangaroo with baby in pouch

Little Penguins

Tasmanian Devil after eating

 David then drove us to the Featherdale Wildlife Park. With being said, we got to see more Australian Wildlife. This time we spent an hour or so there. In the process, we got to see more animals which included Swamp Wallabies, Koalas, Red Kangaroos, Little Penguins, a common Wombat, a Tasmanian Devil, pigs, goats and crocodiles. We had the luxury of feeding the Kangaroos as well as seeing the Tasmanian Devil eat which is a rarity. It was fun to see these different ‎ creatures again.

Sydney Olympic Park

Anz Stadium

Allphones Arena

 We then returned to the bus as David drove us back towards Sydney. Before he dropped us all off at our hotels, he decided to stop off at the Sydney Olympic Park. By doing so, we got to see Anz Stadium which was the ‎centerpiece of the 2000 Olympics. This venue is a multi purpose stadium which is home of many teams & sports such as cricket, Australian Rules football & rugby. In addition, we also got to see the Allphones Arena which was across the way. This arena hosted some of the Olympic events as well. It's the largest entertainment & sporting arena in Australia. It holds 21,000 people. After we got off the bus briefly we got back on as we headed back to our hotel. We arrived back there shortly after 6PM. 

Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail about what we did for dinner.

Thank you for reading ‎& following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty is hitting the road again for a weekend getaway in the middle of May!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Avis for the weekend.

I'll be driving to out to Cleveland, Ohio & Washington DC to see some major league baseball over the weekend before returning to NYC late Sunday night.

Saturday May 17th Athletics at Indians 7:05PM

Sunday, May 18th Mets at Nationals 1:35PM
                
If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join the King & I.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 4/28

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday, April 29th Mariners at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday, April 30th Mariners at Yankees 7:05PM 

Thursday, May 1st Mariners at Yankees 7:05PM

Friday, May 2nd Rays at Yankees 7:05PM

Saturday, May 3rd Rays at Yankees 1:05PM

                                  Nationals at Phillies 7:05PM 

Sunday, May 4th Rays at Yankees 1:05PM     
         
Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I plan to finish recapping my memorable journey Down Under eventually. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

2014 NFL Schedule

Please see the link below for all the details.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/04/23/nfl-releases-2014-regular-season-schedule/8062551/

If and when you need my expertise in planning your 2014 football road trips please feel free to contact me.

Please note the games times are listed in EASTERN TIME.

I plan to dissect the schedule to put together the most creative trip plans that the schedule allows.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with a few native Australians for dinner in Hornsby, Australia!‏

After the King & I spent the day at the Taronga Zoo seeing the animals, we went back to Circular Quay after taking a ferry back there. Thankfully I was able to get WIFI while I was there. By doing so, I was able to finalize plans to meet up with two special people. I'm referring to two guys I met back on August 23, 2011 when I went to Yankee Stadium after work. I was on the train with a co-worker of mine at the time. All of a sudden, we got involved in a conversation with two gentleman who came to visit our country from Australia. These guys I believe asked us if this train goes to Yankee Stadium. We told them it did. We spoke during the ride up. My co-worker who lives in upper Manhattan got off the train at 125th Street. I stayed on with these guys & I wound up escorting them right to their bar stool type seats out in short left field on the main level behind the regular seats that they bought online a few days before. It was great to meet them ‎& help them get to the game without a problem. Before I said goodbye to them, I took down their e-mail addresses & I gave them mine just in case. They told me if I ever go to Australia to let them know. At that time, I didn't know if I ever would go Down Under.

Last June, when I heard the Dodgers ‎& Diamondbacks were going to open the season in Sydney, I knew that was my chance to go Down Under. Once I booked the flights & the hotels, I decided to e-mail these guys, one was Joey Khoudair & the other was Jamil Mannah. Jamil told me his cousin played soccer there. Ironically his brother also now lives in Manhattan after he lived seven years in London, England. 

Hornsby Train Station

Hornsby Local Guide

A week or so later, I got an e-mail from Joey saying that he & Jamil indeed remembered me from when they came to NYC. He told me to call him when I got Down Under & we'll take it from there he said. We arrived on Saturday. I decided to wait until I got up Sunday morning to call him. True to my word, I called & I told him I'm with my friend. I mentioned that we had a day trip planned for Wednesday & a sight seeing bus tour on Thursday. I told him to e-mail me when he & Jamil were going to be available. It turned out that Tuesday night make the most sense for all of us. I asked him where they lived. He told me in Hornsby, which is North of Sydney about an hour away by public transport. So I looked on the map & I saw it. With that being said, I told them when we got back to the Circular Quay that we'll take a train ride there. It took about 45 minutes by train since it was rush hour & they skipped a few stops. I spoke to Jamil who e-mailed me back. He said to call him when we get to the train station in Hornsby. I did indeed. He told me to go outside by the taxi stand & Joey will come to pick us up. Shortly thereafter, Joey came along. We shook hands & greeted each other. I also introduced him to the King who I called by his real name which is Mike. We got into the car & we drove a short distance to a place called the Hornsby RSL Club. It was a nice place. In order to go there, you have to be a member which Joey & Jamil are. Mike & I signed in as guests. Once we did, Jamil who was already there, saw me & he came over to greet me. I proceeded to introduce him to Mike aka the King who never met these guys until that night.

Hornsby RSL Club

We proceeded to sit down at a table where we had some drinks then we all ordered dinner together. I wound up having a nice piece of grilled fish they call ‎barramondi. It came with mixed vegetables that consisted of cauliflower, carrots & string beans. In addition, it came with a slice of steamed pumpkin. It was a tremendous meal. The King ordered a burger with minimum add ons. Joey  & Jamil ordered burgers too with the works which included a fried egg on top. They told the King & I quote "this is what you missed out on". We enjoyed our dinner while we conversed back & forth. We told them of our plans for the rest of the trip as well as what we already saw. They got to relive their big trip to the States with us. They went to Los Angeles, Las Vegas & Houston before they came to NYC near the end of their journey. I met them the night before they were heading back home.

Me, Jamil Mannah, Joey Khoudair & The King aka Mike

As I told them when we were talking, this meet up was the highlight of the trip. We'll to be perfectly honest, it was one of the very many highlights of this amazing journey. I was so thrilled to that I got to meet them while I was there. It was such a wonderful passage of time. I want to personally thank them for their royal treatment. They unexpectedly paid for our meals. That wasn't necessary but they said they didn't forgot how I treated them when they came to NYC. With that being said, they wanted to take care of us. We were very grateful for their generosity. They also told us to go to a place near our hotel called Harry's Cafe De Wheels which is known for their meat pies. They said plenty of celebrities have been there. I told them I will definitely go there before we leave.

Joey driving on the right side

Me sitting on passenger side in front on the left

When we got done spending precious time with them, Joey drove us back to the train station. The King & I then went back to Potts Point to our hotel to get some sleep since we had to get up early Wednesday morning.

Stay tuned for another special post that will go into detail about that memorable day.

Thank you for reading ‎& following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 4/21

Here's the game plan:

Monday, April 21st Orioles at Red Sox 11:05AM Patriot's Day

                                Cardinals at Mets 7:10PM 

Tuesday, April 22nd Cardinals at Mets 7:10PM

Wednesday, April 23rd Cardinals at Mets 7:10PM 

Friday, April 25th Marlins at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday, April 26th Angels at Yankees 1:05PM

                                  Marlins at Mets 7:10PM 

Sunday, April 27th Marlins at Mets 1:10PM

                               Angels at Yankees 8:05PM
                        
Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I plan to finish recapping my memorable journey Down Under eventually. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty visits the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia!‏

Back on Tuesday March 25th, the King & I woke up, got ready & we enjoyed another hearty breakfast at the DeVere Hotel we stayed at in Potts Point while we spent time in Sydney, Australia. 

We took the advice that David Schaffer gave us the night before when we met him at the Lord Nelson Brewery in the Rocks. With that being said, we decided to spend the day at the Taronga Zoo. We left the hotel & we walked over to Kings Cross so we could pick up the train. For the second day in a row, we decided to buy the unlimited one day pass for $23 each. That way we could ride around the City & the surrounding suburbs however we wanted to all day long.

Taronga Zoological Park

Unlike the day before, this time we knew exactly how to get to Circular Quay. Once we got there, we boarded a ferry that took us to the Taronga Zoo this time. For a change, mother nature cooperated for us. The sun was even shining on us in the Southern Hemisphere. It must have been our lucky day. After taking a 12 minute ride, the ferry we were on docked at the Taronga Wharf. We got off the boat & we walked over to the lower level entrance of the Taronga Zoological Park. We went up to the window & we purchased tickets to see of our other friends. In other words, the animals.

Sky Safari

In order to get started, we needed to take a ride in a cable car which was called the Sky Safari. By doing so, we went up an incline to get to the main entrance where we started our tour of the zoo. On the way up, we got to see an aerial view of the gorgeous Sydney Harbour & the City of Sydney in the distance. What a spectacular view it was as you can see for yourself in the picture I took. 

In order to gain entry into the zoo, we had to show our receipt to the person on guard who marked it for us. After that, we began our walk around to see the different exhibits they had on display. We started with the alligators that were in the swamp & we went on from there. 

We then continued on to see the area called the bush birds where we saw a variety of various birds that they had on display in a number of different cages.  

Koala

After that, we proceeded to see the koalas who spend around 20 hours a day sleeping. So it wasn't a surprise that we didn't see any of them awake. They stretch out on branches of a tree & sleep. They have some life.

We then moved on to the area which was designated as reptile world. That exhibit consisted of an array of frogs which included the corroboree frog which is Australia's most endangered species. We also saw some white lipped tree frogs. In addition, there were turtles, iguanas, rattlesnakes & lizards. We even got to see a komodo dragon which is the world's largest living lizard. 

Giraffes

The next stop was the African Safari which is where we got to see giraffes, a sumatran tiger which is the smallest surviving subspecies of Tiger. We also saw zebras which are unique animals because like us human beings their fingerprints aka stripes are all different. In other words, no two zebras have the same stripe pattern. Furthermore, we saw bongos, barbary sheep,  chimpanzees, lions & a sun bear.

Spotted Deer

As we continued making the rounds, we got to see some Asian elephants, spotted deers & a fishing cat. As we kept walking along, we got to take a stroll through the gorilla forest. 

Once we finished seeing the gorillas, we followed the dotted path which lead us to the water animals. I'm referring to the seals who like to put on a show & the penguins who only live in the Southern Hemisphere. When got done there, we passed by some Australian pelicans.

As we looped around to finish seeing the rest of the areas we missed, it started to rain for a change. Luckily we saw the majority of the exhibits while it was dry. Regardless we didn't let mother nature dampen our day. We dodged the rain drops as we continued on to care of some unfinished business.

Tasmanian Devil

I went all the way to Australia to see some kangaroos & the tasmanian devils which are only found now in Tasmania. When we finally got to the tasmanian devil conservation centre, the two tasmanian devils that we in there were sleeping.

Red Kangaroo

After we left there, we wrapped up our visit by going to see the Australian walkabout. By doing so, we got to see some kangaroos who reside in Australia. in other words, we saved the best for last. It should be noted there were a few different kinds. One was the red kangaroos which are the largest. They live in family groups called mobs which are ruled by a dominant male. They also have other ones that are known as eastern grey kangaroos. They prefer to rest in the shade. Kangaroos in general, live on grassy plains. They have square shaped heads & broad square snouts. On the other hand, there are other animals that resemble kangaroos. They're called swamp wallabies who are smaller & more maneuverable. They live in damp forested areas. They have cone shaped heads & narrow pointed snouts. One thing that they both have in common is that they both hop around. 

In retrospect, it turned out to be a wonderful learning experience for us. When we finally got done after spending five hours there we went back down to the ferry area on a Sky Safari cable car. We timed it right as the park was getting ready to close & a ferry was getting ready to leave. All in all, it turned out to be a great educational day.

When we returned to Circular Quay, I was able to get WIFI again. As a result, I was able to finalize plans for a special get together that night.

Stay tuned for a special post that will go into further detail about how that turned out.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to visit the Beaches in Sydney, Australia!‏

After the weekend came & went while we were Down Under so did the baseball games that we saw. For those of you who thought our party was over because you thought we just flew 7,500 miles each way to see sporting events, think again. Just like we did when we went to Tokyo, Japan back in March 2000, we planned to get cultured as well. 

After getting a good night sleep Sunday night, the King & I decided to use our time wisely on Monday. First we cleaned ourselves up then we had a hearty breakfast at the DeVere Hotel where we stayed when we were in Sydney. When we finished, we left the hotel for the day to explore what Sydney had to offer. 

 

King Cross Train Station

We proceeded to walk over to nearby Kings Cross which is much different in the daytime. We went there because that's where the closest train station was to our hotel. It was only a 5-10 minute walk away. When we arrived at the train station, we decided to buy a one day pass for $23 which gave us unlimited rides on the buses, trains & ferries. It may seem like a lot of money for one day but when I did my research as I was planning out this trip it made perfect sense to invest in it. If you take a bus somewhere, you have to pay for each ride. They don't give you a free transfer either. That's $2.20 for each single ride. You can buy a 10 ride card which gives a ride for $1.84 each. In addition, what they charge per ride is based on distance on the trains so by my way of thinking those rides to go from place to place will add up fast. So with that being said, the one day pass was a no brainer for us.

Once we bought it, we hopped on the train. Unfortunately we got on the wrong one. We went in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go that being towards the ferries at Circular Quay. After we realized we were going the wrong way we got off the train after a handful of stops & we waited for the train to come from the other direction. After a short wait, we got back on the right track. It was a good learning experience. As a result, we got to see other areas of the Sydney suburbs. We had plenty of time on our hands for a change so it didn't really matter. When you couple that in with the fact that it was raining we needed to stay dry anyway. 

 

Manly Ferry

After taking a scenic route, we finally got to Circular Quay. We walked over to the ferry area. We saw that the next ferry to Manly Beach was five minutes away so we walked over to that wharf & we got on board. By the way, if we didn't wisely buy the one day pass like we did earlier, it would have cost us $16 each round trip to take that ferry ride to Manly Beach & back. More proof that we did the right thing. 

 

Sydney Opera House

Once we left Circular Quay, we passed by the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge on the left side of the ferry & the iconic Sydney Opera House on the right side. As we continued on, we passed by some amazing scenery along the way towards Manly. As we got further & further away, we saw the City of Sydney in the distance. We finally arrived at Manly about 40 minutes after we left the Circular Quay. 

 

Manly Wharf

Manly Local Guide

Manly Beach

We got off the ferry & we walked through the Wharf towards the beach. Along the way, we passed through an area where there were places to eat, drink & shop. Despite the less than ideal weather conditions we made the best of the situation. We wandered around by the beach area. We sat down & relaxed as we watched people who were swimming and/or surfing in the water. It was cool to watch the surfers took a beating as they fell off their surf boards as the waves came roaring in at them. After an hour or so, we decided to head back to the ferry area. Since the weather wasn't great, we decided to take the next ferry back to Cingular Quay.

 

Bus 333 to Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach

People getting ready to surf at Bondi Beach

When we got back there, we decided to take a train ride to Bondi Junction which was the last stop on the blue line. When we got there, we saw a sign for the 333 bus that went out to Bondi Beach which is the famous beach in the Sydney area. After waiting a short time, we hopped on the bus which we didn't have to pay for since we had our handy unlimited day pass. Since it was later in the afternoon, I think the bus was making limited stops. It was a pretty good ride to get there nonetheless. All of a sudden, we saw the beach so we got off the bus. We wound up walking around for a little while. Just like at Manly Beach, there were some people swimming and/or surfing there. We walked around & we took in the gorgeous scenery. It would have been better if the sun was shining on us. After we decided we had enough, we went back to the bus stop so we could catch a bus back to the train which took us back to Circular Quay.

 

Lord Nelson - Sydney's Oldest Hotel

Lord Nelson Brewery

We then decided to take another ferry ride. This time we went to the other Harbour which is known as Darling Harbour. Since we had the day pass we were able to go joy riding to pass some more time. While we were doing so, I was able to get WIFI for a short time. As a result, I got in contact with fellow ballpark chaser David Schaffer who was staying in a hotel in the Rocks. I told him that the King & I needed to eat dinner. He said he was planning to go out for some drinks at a bar near his hotel called the Lord Nelson. We arranged to meet him there around 8:30PM. With that being said, it worked out well for all of us. We got to see him again & we got to eat dinner while we all enjoyed some drinks. The King & I wound up having fish & chips. It was a decent meal. The King was a very satisfied customer. Being such a picky eater, that's saying a lot. I'm glad we found a place to his liking. 

As for David, he wasn't hungry so he just enjoyed a few adult beverages as he likes to call them. While we spoke he told us that he was hanging out earlier in the day at a Pub called Fortune of War. All of a sudden, fellow ballpark chaser Ken Liu popped in. It was raining & miserable outside so they both lucked out as they got to enjoy each other's company again. They wound up spending three hours together he said. They also met some ladies from San Diego while they were there. As a result,  it turned to be a great day for them too. 

After spending a few hours with David, we said our goodbyes & we wished each other a safe trip back home. David was going home on Wednesday. We asked him about the Taronga Zoo since he had gone there when he arrived in Sydney on Thursday. He said he spent a few hours there. He said it was worth our while to go there. I told him we planned to. We appreciated his input which gave us an idea of what to expect when we got there.

Stay tuned for another special post that will go into further detail about our visit to the Zoo on that Tuesday while we were still Down Under.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 4/14

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday, April 15th Cubs at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday, April 16th Cubs at Yankees 7:05PM 

Friday, April 18th Braves at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday, April 19th Braves at Mets 7:10PM

Sunday, April 20th Braves at Mets 1:10PM Easter
                        
Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I plan to finish recapping my memorable journey Down Under eventually. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

I would like to wish all my readers who celebrate the holidays, Happy Passover & Happy Easter.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty enjoys dinner on the barbie at Phillip's Foote Restaurant in Sydney, Australia!‏

View of  Famous Sydney Harbour Bridge

After the King & I finished watching the MLB Opening Series games at the Sydney Cricket Ground, we decided that we wanted to start taking in what else the City of Sydney had to offer. With that being said, we were starting to feel hungry. Thanks to a co-worker of mine, I was told that we had to go to the Rocks which is the neighborhood filled with Pubs right by the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge for dinner one night at a restaurant called Phillip's Foote. When he told me about it, I knew I would find a way to get there. Furthermore, I knew I was in for an Australian treat.

Circular Quay in Sydney Australia

After we took a bus to the CBD aka the Central Business District by the Sydney Harbour & the iconic Sydney Opera House which is also known as Circular Quay which is pronounced "key". That's where you can pick up ferries to go to different parts of Sydney & its surrounding areas. We decided to take a walk over to the Rocks which was only a stone's throw away. Once we walked over to George Street which is one of the major streets in the CBD. We made a right turn & we followed the numbers until we got to 101 which was where Phillip's Foote Restaurant was located. The window signage said fine wine, fine food so I was reassured that it was going to be all good too.

Phillip's Foote Restaurant in the Rocks

We walked inside & we were greeted by a fellow mate who showed us around. In the front of the restaurant they had the bar where you ordered your drinks from. As you walked further in they had a set up that resembled the Outback. It was really cool. We wound up going to the back of the restaurant where we placed our order for dinner. Our meal consisted of a choice of different steaks which came with potatoes, daily fresh made bread as well as a salad & fruit bar. It was an all inclusive meal for $33. 

The unique part of the meal was that we got to make our own steak on the barbie. That way if it wasn't cooked right, you could only blame yourself for messing it up. They had signs above the barbies to guide you along on how to cook it just right to fit your taste buds. 

T-Bone Steaks on the Barbie

As for the King & I, I did the cooking. We both chose to have T-Bone steaks which I cooked to perfection. Both of us were very satisfied customers. Initially when I told the King I had a nice barbecue place for us to go to, he had his doubts. He was thinking it was going to be a pit style joint like they have down South here in the States. Since he's so afraid to try new kinds of food, I wasn't surprised. I knew all along it was a place he was going to like since he likes to have steak dinners from time to time. Once we got settled in, he realized I didn't steer him wrong. It turned to be an excellent choice like I was told beforehand.

Victoria Bitter aka VB

We ate like royalty Down Under. In addition, we got to have some local beer there too. One of the popular beers there is called Victoria Bitter aka VB. I had one of those at the Light Brigade upon arrival so I knew I liked it. The King decided to try it. He enjoyed it as well.

After we relaxed & finished our food & drinks, we decided to walk all the way back to our hotel in Potts Point. It wound up being a long walk but we had plenty of time to do it so we didn't mind. By doing so, we got to take in more of the CBD on foot. It was an interesting stroll to say the least. 

Once we finally got back to our room, we got a good night sleep in anticipation of a very busy & fun filled week ahead while we were spending time Down Under. 

Stay tuned as I will continue to recap this amazing journey as it unfolded.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees Game 2 of the MLB Opening Series in Sydney, Australia!‏

Tickets to Game 2 for MLB Opening Series at Sydney Cricket Ground

After getting a decent amount of sleep, the King & I woke up Sunday morning, March 23rd & we got ready for a full day of activities Down Under.  After we cleaned ourselves up, we got dressed & we went to have breakfast at the DeVere Hotel. When I booked the room, I knew what the breakfast meal consisted of because they had a nice detailed description of it on their website. Needless to say, I got what I expected & then some. They had a wide variety to choose from. In other words, they had hard boiled & scrambled eggs to baked beans as well as other things such as cereal, toast, bacon & sausage. It should be noted that they did have small packets of vegemite but I wasn't daring enough to try it LOL. I knew it was worth buying. Since I put a lot of emphasis on eating breakfast, I wanted to make sure we got our money's worth & we certainly did. It cost us $13 a person but considering the prices of necessities there it turned out to be a sound decision. I know I did good when the King said he was a satisfied customer. Being such a picky eater, that was music to my ears.

Poster of Dodgers & Diamondbacks by Fan Fest area

Me & Stacey Flores in the special booth at Fan Fest

After we finished eating, we went back to our room to get the stuff we needed for the rest of the day. It was around 10AM so we decided since we had plenty of time before the game started at 1:15PM, we wound up walking all the way back to the Sydney Cricket Ground for game two of the MLB Opening Series. After feeling lost the night before, we became pros at getting around literally over night. It took a while but we finally arrived at the Sydney Cricket Ground shortly before 11AM which gave us some spare time to play with since the gates weren't scheduled to open until 11:30AM. As a result, we decided to walk around the outside of the venue in the meantime. When we got near right field, the King told me he was going to sit down on a bench to rest. I told him that I was going to walk around when I saw what appeared to be a fan fest type set up. By doing so, I got to take a picture in a special booth they had set up with the Cricket Ground & the Opening Series logo in the back drop. Ironically while I waited my turn in line, all of a sudden, Stacey Flores, another ballpark chaser who I met for the first time at the Light Brigade the day before, got my attention. I told her to join me so we could take a picture together. It was a pretty cool moment for both of us. Timing is everything. We were in the right place at the right time. We spoke briefly then I went back to where the King was. Shortly thereafter, the King & I proceeded to go inside. We wandered around the lower level before we headed upstairs to our seats in the upper level. This time we were sitting over the Dodgers dugout which was situated between third base & home plate in Bay 404 row A. For a change, it was nice to have a slightly different perspective to watch the game. Thankfully mother nature cooperated this time & the game started on time at 1:15PM.

View from our seats in Bay 404 row A at Sydney Cricket Ground

Unlike Saturday, I was able to get connected to WIFI which made for a really fun afternoon as I was able to let family & friends back home know how things were going thus far.

King's 7,423rd baseball game live in person

As for the game we saw, the Dodgers didn't waste time as they scored first again right off the bat. In the top of the first inning, they got a one out single by  right fielder Yasiel Puig then with two outs first basesman Adrian Gonzalez worked out a walk. They had two men on with two outs, center fielder  Andre Ethier delivered a clutch run scoring single to right center field to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead. Ethier wound up getting thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double to end the inning. In the third inning, the Dodgers added to their lead when they got four hits which they turned into two more runs courtesy of Yasiel Puig who singled in one & Adrian Gonzalez who hit a sacrifice fly to plate the other one. In the top of the fifth inning, the Dodgers extended their lead against Diamondbacks' starter Trevor Cahill who lost his control. He walked the first two batters & he got pulled from the game. Josh Collmenter came on to pitch in relief. He wound up walking the first batter he faced to load the bases with no outs. Former Met Mike Baxter hit into a double play which drove in a run to made it a 4-0 game. Third baseman Juan Uribe followed up with a clutch two out run scoring double to left center field that made the score 5-0 as the book was closed on Trevor Cahill. On the other hand, Hyun-Jin Ryu threw five shutout innings for the Dodgers who tacked on single runs in the sixth & the seventh inning to extend their lead to 7-0. The Diamondbacks finally broke the shutout as they got a run thanks to a single to right field by left fielder Mark Trumbo in the bottom of the eighth inning. He also drove in their lone run in the opening game. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Diamondbacks put a scare into the Dodgers as they roughed up their bullpen for four more runs but Dodger closer Kenley Jansen was able to finally close the door in a non save situation after he struck out right fielder Gerardo Parra to seal the deal after he allowed a home run to Mark Trumbo which made it a 7-5 ballgame. That's the way it ended four hours & a minute really seconds later. Luckily we had no way to go so we didn't mind the extra long time consuming game. I was happy since I got to use the WIFI longer than I expected.

King & I after the game 

During the game, we did get a visit from fellow ballpark chaser, David Schaffer who came up special to say hello to us. It was great to see him again. He had a seat downstairs where you couldn't go to unless you had a ticket for that area. We did try to go where he was sitting but we weren't successful. With that being said, we did appreciate him coming up to see us. I know other people we met the day before said they were sitting in the outfield. We couldn't see any of them because in order to get to those seats, you needed to go into a separate entrance. With that being said, those people were stuck out there. Ironically, after the game as we were on our way out of the venue, we ran into Stacey Flores again. She was looking for her friend Evan Bates. They had seats on the lower level on the third base side she said. We spoke briefly then Evan came along. we walked outside together as we all said our goodbyes. They told us they were leaving on tomorrow which was Monday to go back to Phoenix. They had come earlier in the week so they already got to see the different sites. They were in a down mood since they knew their party was coming to a close.               

Stay tuned for the next installment as I go into detail about what the King & I did after the game.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman