Digging the Rocks

I've been kicking myself for not exploring the Rocks sooner. This district is right off Circular Quay, across the way from the Opera House. It has lots of kitchy souvenir shops and upscale cafes, but the old-style pubs really got me.

After walking around the zoo in sweltering heat for over three hours, we were all in need of a refreshment. Ryan took charge at this point (which was moderately embarrassing because it involved him frequently whipping out a huge city map) and suggested we check out the Rocks. The map wasn't all bad, though, because it highlighted a couple great pubs to check out. It didn't take too long for a quick pit stop to turn into a mini pub crawl.

Our first stop was the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, Sydney's oldest hotel. After trying the local brews we headed down to the Hero of Waterloo. I quickly realized that the bartender was Irish, so we sat at the bar and chatted him up for awhile. Donal was his name, and he recommended I try the Irish cider. It was amazing, but I only had one glass (I learned my lesson long ago about how to drink beer that tastes way better than beer should), so I had a Guinness after that.

I was just getting well acquainted with Donal and Aisling (another Irish bartender who arrived later on) when Ryan dragged me off to dinner at the Glenmore Hotel. We ate on the rooftop, which had the most gorgeous view of the Opera House. After that, we headed for the Mercantile Hotel, an Irish joint. We ended the crawl with a couple pints of Guinness. Not a bad way to spend an evening with friends.