What no Wifi in Sydney?

When I travel, I find wifi a real life saver. My ongoing obsession with social media means that I sometimes wonder if there is any point in doing something unless I can tell people about it on Twitter, Facebook or Four Square.

This applies triple fold when I go on holiday. I'm convinced that my adoring followers will be utterly bereft and lost without my constant updates (yes I do know I live in a dream world). In addition to this, as the iPhone now offers free messaging and FaceTime over the internet, access to a wifi network can significantly reduce your costs when abroad.

This metropolitan city has few wifi spots!

Although the cost of using the Internet abroad has decreased recently, especially with products such as Vodafone Passport which gives you a limited amount of data when travelling in certain countries. However, if you can tap into a free wifi network, it costs you nothing, and you're not limited to a certain data use each day.

Most tourist destinations have cottoned onto this. I recently went on holiday to Santorini in Greece and nearly all of the bars and restaurants offered free wifi and advertised this on their boards and menus. It makes sense to me as, I would be more likely to go into a bar where I can access the Internet for free, and I would probably check into the bar on Four Square and maybe load up some photos of me at the venue, giving them free advertising.

However, on a recent trip to Sydney to visit my brother, I was surprised to find that this was not the case there. I received no free data on my Vodafone phone tariff for Australia and within the first day I had racked up over £10 worth of SMS and data charges. So I was keen to find some places where I could take advantage of their wifi. To my brother's great dismay, I then embarked on a desperate endeavour whereby every bar or restaurant I went into, I would ask if they had wifi, and the answer was repeatedly "no".

View from Top Deck Cafe, one of the places with free wifi

It seems so strange to me that such a busy tourist destination as Sydney does not offer this in more venues. While I was there, someone mentioned that wifi and broadband are expensive and slow in Australia. So maybe that is why more places don't offer it. This may be true as many of the places that I found offering access to wifi limited the length of time you could use it or the amount of data you could download. On top of this though, most insisted that you logged in with a certain amount of personal details before you could used the wifi, and many of the wider schemes in operation were currently in a test phase, which indicates to me some caution around the open use of wifi.

So I thought I would let you know about some of the places I found that did offer free wifi. I hope you find this useful:

• all Mcdonalds in Sydney offer free wifi. To access it, you simply have to ask for the wifi code when you purchase your food or drink
• you can just tap into at the top of the stairs outside the Sydney Opera House
• if you are travelling by train, then the station at Circular Quay in Sydney has wifi for all travellers, you just have to log on and provide some personal details (although I believe this is a trial)
• many of the Sydney ferries have free wifi. You have to travel in a certain section of the boat, log on with your personal details, you then have a certain amount of data to use. I took the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly which takes around half an hour and used all my allowance just checking into Four Square and uploading a photo
• Sydney Airport currently has free wifi that is sponsored by one of the travel companies. Again, you have to log in, but with a huge amount of personal details, including flight number and flight time. The log on also kept crashing so it was a bit frustrating but I got there in the end
• many libraries in Sydney offer the service. I regularly tapped into the one in Balmain, which again asked for some personal details
• if you can cope with all the people and the smell, the Sydney Fish Market has a pretty quick and easy free wifi service. I found a glass of Sauvignon Blanc helps
• if you are in Balmain, the Top Deck cafe does a good coffee, has a vew of the Harbour Bridge, and also free wifi
• in Rozelle, the Bean cafe has good grub, but a pretty slow wifi service

View from the ferry to Manly with free wifi

I went to Sydney in January 2012, so this list was up to date then. If you have any other places you would like to add to help other travellers, then please leave a comment below. Or if any of the places stop their wifi service, then again, just let me know below. I would love to hear from you.

A Santorini sunset

An ex was something of a sunset chaser, so I’ve seen the sun disappear into the sea many, many times. Whether California or Wales, I’ve seen and photographed them all. However, the sunset over Oia in the Greek island of Santorini takes some beating, and renewed my faith in the magic of a sunset.

Although the crowds tend to flock to Oia to watch the sun slip into the caldera, if you get a good spot early, you’ll feel like the only people in the world.

We watched the spectacle from a hidden away bar called Sun Spirit. Claiming to be the “most proposed to point” in Santorini, the romance was lost on me as I was there with a friend. But there was quite an air of anticipation both from those waiting for the magic to happen, and from the numerous women who were dressed for the fatal question to be posed.

View from Sun Spirit

You’ll find it by going to the main viewing platform above the castle ruins, and turning right towards the sunset. When you reach a wooden windmill, you’re there.

Kastro is another classy restaurant with an even classier view that’s perfect to watch the sun fade from yellow, to orange, to deep red. Tables can be reserved, and it’s good for small groups and for enjoying the delicious mix of Greek and wider Mediterranean food.

Wherever you watch the sunset, ensure you have a glass of cold, dry Assyrtiko or Nykteri white wine in your hand. Two local grapes that are best enjoyed bathed in an orange glow or in one of the many island vineyards. Such as the Santo Winery which is also a great place to go and watch the sunset while enjoying a glass of wine. In fact, when I was in Santorini a couple we met were getting married there and the photos with the orange sun meeting the sea in the background were just beautiful. The vineyard sits in a small town called Pyrgos, near to the middle of the crescent shaped island, and the small town is worthy of a wander if you if you fancy venturing outside of the winery itself.

View from Fira

Fira is slightly trumped by Oia in my opinion for the sunset. None the less, the town is probably slightly more interesting than Oia, and so a sunset trip there is a must if you are not sunsetted out. The eve we went, the sea was literally swamped with cruise ships, which were putting on a light show of their own as the happy cruisers attepted to capture the moment on their cameras. We went to a restaurant called Ristoroni to watch the show. Possibly one of the best meals we had in Santorini and the company and the view made it a night I'll never forget. Despite the many margeritas.

There are several UK flights a day directly into Santorini. Alternatively, you can fly to Athens and get a boat to the island as part of an island hopping experience. You’ll dock at the island base and get a donkey to the cliff top. Not for the feint hearted (or the sensitive nostrilled) but perhaps worth it for the experience.

I like this one, no this one ....

One of my favourite holiday past times is going wine tasting. I fancy myself a bit of a wine connoisseur and love going to vineyards and pretending that I can taste grass or green or mumbling knowingly about legs and good years. I suspect however, that it all ends up like an episode of Absolutely Fabulous. Me as Eddy or Patsy in a tasting room in France, completely paralytic, snorting and pointing to glasses saying "this is the one, no this one, no this one."

So over the years, I've pushed open (fallen through) the odd cellar door, and I thought I would write about a few of them here. These are not necessarily recommendations, rather they are a collection of experiences, from around the world which I hope to substantially add to over time.

Canava Roussos Vineyard, Santorini, Greece
September 2011

We went to this vineyard following the recommendation of the rather handsome barman at our hotel, Hotel 28, Kamari. If I'm honest, there are probably vineyards in Santorini that have more spectacular views. Santo Wines for example has a much more picturesque vista and I met a couple who got married there and the photos look spectacular. However, Canava Roussos was within walking distance of where we were staying in Kamari and it was owned by the family of the hot barman.

The Vineyard claims to be one of the oldest in Santorini, and uses many of the traditional methods of wine making they have for over a century. If you are after a glitzy, and polished experience, this probably isn't for you, however there was no hard sell and it felt like a very relaxed and earthy experience.

From Kamari, you reach the winery by walking up a long, dusty path past all the white washed buildings and blue and white churches you would expect in Santorini. The vineyard itself is small, has a nice tasting area dripping with vines and grapes, a small amphitheatre and an area where you can view the barrels and traditional production methods.

They offer two types of tasting, dry and sweet and I obviously did both! Each had four varieties of wine and cost a few euro. Santorini is known for its dry white wines, the most famous of which is which is often blended to make a Nykteri wines. This is perfectly suited to my taste as it is very dry, but has a distinctive and slightly misleading honey, sweet smell.

I ended up spending a fortune, which I always do, and one of the lethal errors of going to vineyards and making a purchase decision after a few glasses of wine. My favourite was probably a sweet wine made from the Assyrtiko grape or Vinsanto which had a lovely plummy-burnt caramel-figgy taste. Served perfectly cold and utterly delicious. It may be worth noting that the tasting rooms close fairly promptly at 7pm, so don't expect to hang around for the sunset in the summer.


Mudgee Vineyards, New South Wales, Australia
November 2005

I was a vineyard virgin when I went to Mudgee and it was perfect for a first timer. I went upon the recommendation of an expat friend of mine who claimed this was the less commercial sister of Hunter Valley and the one Sydney siders tend to choose for a more authentic experience. I guess it's about a three hour drive outside Sydney on a mainly fairly dull drive, although you can stop off at the Blue Mountains en route if you choose (which we did).

I went with my brother (Bordeauxboy) who was a wine tasting novice at the time but has since taken on wine tasting as a professional hobby. We were camping at the Mudgee Valley Tourist Park and hired bikes nearby, as you can reach a range of wineries by pedal.

I loved Mudgee for a number of reasons. Firstly because it was utterly unpretentious and very, very cheap. None of the wineries charged for tastings which I was later to discover is an absolute rarity (I'd love to know if this is still the case today as this was several years ago). Secondly, every person working the cellar door was friendly and knowledgeable and seemed genuinely grateful of the company. Thirdly, the measures were generous and free flowing.

This was also the first time I tried Ice Wine which is a fortified wine made from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. Before this day I had formed the opinion that I hated dessert wine, but drinking this delicious, cold, clean wine completely changed my mind for life.

The whole experience was perfect for me as I knew little (nothing) about wine. Wine tasting can be a slightly pretentious and snobbish affair, and sometimes the clueless can be sneered at. However, there was none of this here. Just friendly helpfulness, and wine that kept flowing.

The result was a very drunk Pinotnoirgirl and Bordeauxboy doing some rather Kamikaze cycling around Mudgee. We also got dive bombed by territorial magpies, adding to the immense gratitude for our cycle helmets.

Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia
November 2009

So I thought it only fair to include Mudgee's big sister, Hunter Valley.

An exceptionally full of life Kiwi friend of mine drove that day. So I was lucky that I had her company and also that I didn't have to drive. From Sydney, you can easily go there and back in a day. When we went, an art exhibition was taking place called Sculpture in the Vines. Which meant we could sup wine, beer and (not) champagne while looking at a range of slightly bizarre, but very fun, art. They also hold a Jazz in the Vines event which my brother has been to which he thought was excellent.

There are lots and lots of cellar doors to choose from, and although more commercial than Mudgee, the place still oozes with the friendly charm that Australia does so well.

A couple of highlights were having a "Sticky Experience" at the De Bortoli cellar door which merited a mention just for the name. I enjoyed six different types of fortified wine including a (not) Tawny Port and the famous Noble One Dessert Wine. We also supped some (not) champagne overlooking the vineyards at the Peterson House tasting rooms. It was called a Champagne House then, but I notice it has since been changed to sparkling wines, I assume due to champagne appellation laws. We had a delicious meal and enjoyed some delicious wines in a beautiful setting.

To make our tasting experience complete (and to cement the future hangover) we went to the Hunter Beer micro brewery which is located at the Potters Brewery and resort. As a lover of alcoholic ginger beer, it was great to find some spicy litre bottles here that we could try and buy.

Needless to say, my head was lolling all the way back to Sydney, with my very sober friend looking on disapprovingly. Until we got home, and proceeded to finish off most of the wine and beer we had bought during the day.

I'm going back to Syndey soon, and I definitely plan to make a trip here again.