Arrived in Sydney and grabbed my bags before attempting to get a taxi to the hotel. As we were a group of eight it took some time for a van to arrive. When finally on our way we briefly enjoyed a run on the freeway into the city before an accident on the other side of the freeway saw traffic come to a halt. A trip that usually takes 20 minutes took an hour but we eventually arrived at the hotel, Shangri-La Sydney.
As we were guests of the hotel we were taken up to the Club Lounge to check in and have a cold drink. My room was a Grand Harbour view room overlooking the Harbour Bridge and Opera House as well as having views of the harbour all the way out to Manly. I was sharing a room with a colleague and so the room had two large king singles.
After settling in we all went to find some lunch. Decided on pizza at a restaurant in The Rocks area which was a short walk from the hotel.
Wandered around the city looking for some shorts to swim in as I had not brought anything to swim in and the warm weather meant I'd probably take a look at the hotel pool at some stage. No luck finding anything that I wanted, we returned to the hotel for a rest then returned to the Club Lounge for a few drinks before having dinner at Cafe Mix on the first floor of the hotel. Meal was a buffet-style with seafood, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Australian food to choose from as well as a dessert bar. I had a cracking headache so wasn't overly hungry and missed out an a decent feed.