I visited Sydney from September 12 to September 15, 2016. It's a clean, friendly city. The city is great for walking, with most places of interest are close to the Central Business District (CBD). Public transportation by train and ferry makes getting around easy. Three nights were enough for me to do all the things I wanted to do.

ARRIVAL

I landed in Sydney about 6:30 in the morning. Clearing immigration and customs was quick and easy. Once in the arrival hall, I went to the WH Smith store (to the left as you face out of the airport) and bought an Opal Card so I could take the light rail to my hotel. The rail station is on the opposite end of the arrival hall from WH Smith.

TIP: US citizens need a visa before leaving the States. You can get an electronic visa on-line for $53 at https://www.australia-eta.org/english/.

GETTING AROUND SYDNEY

The Opal Card allows you to use all the public transportation in Sydney. It is pre-charged in set amounts. I used my credit card to buy an $80 AUD Opal Card. I didn't think the next lower amount would be enough for my stay.

NOTE: I used a credit card three times while I was in Sydney. Each time, I was charged a 2% fee. The people taking my card all warned me of the charge before they ran the card. This must be standard practice for using credit cards in Sydney.

Taking a train, ferry or bus in Sydney is no more difficult than it is in the States. That's all I've got to say about that.

MY HOTEL

I took my brand new Opal Card and caught the train to Circular Quay, in the CBD. No problems figuring out how to use the card or the trains. I roamed around a little and walked over to the opera house. After about 30 minutes, I made my way to the hotel, the Marriott at Circular Quay. I checked in via mobile before leaving the airport and figured if my room wasn't ready, I could at least leave my bag.

The hotel had my room ready. Because I'm Gold status, I caught an upgrade to a junior suite which included free lounge access for breakfast, snacks, and evening drinks. Nice!

The Marriott is a block from the Circular Quay train station. It's a luxury hotel in a perfect location for exploring Sydney. The staff is a little snooty. And the cleaning crew didn't come until 5:30 in the afternoon, which is annoying when you're trying to rest after a day of walking around. Overall, this is a very nice place to stay, but not as good as other overseas Marriott's I've stayed in.

WHAT I DID IN SYDNEY

While in Sydney, I used the trains, ferries, and my feet to get around. Here's what I did:

Took the ferry to Manly. The ferry ride is enjoyable. You get some good views of Sydney from the harbor. Manley Beach is fun to walk around with lots of shopping and restaurants. It was early spring when I visited, so there weren't many people. Had some most excellent fish and chips from a take away.

Hiked around the Royal Botanical Garden. The garden is huge and full of unusual trees and plants. Good for a relaxing afternoon.

Walked around Hyde Park and vicinity. Big park in the middle of Sydney. Good for people watching and relaxing. I stopped at the ANZAC Memorial and paid my respects.

Australian Museum: across from Hyde Park. Mostly a natural history museum. You can spend a couple hours here, if you're into natural history.

Hyde Park Barracks: this is an interesting museum. It's laid out well, and the exhibits are very good. Even if you're not into museums, this one is worth a visit.

Taronga Zoo: good-sized zoo with some critters that I hadn't seen before (taz, platypus, koala). It's worth a visit. I took a tour while I was there. Read further down for more details.

The Rocks: another shopping and food district. Nothing special for me.

Darling Harbor: more shopping and eating. But also has the Australian Maritime Museum. It does a good job of presenting the maritime history of Australia. Only takes an hour to go through all the exhibits.

TARONGA ZOO TOUR

I booked the Wild Australia Experience through Viator. Rob, one of the zookeepers, took me and the only other guest (Faith from Washington, DC) through the Australia section of the zoo. I learned a shit-load about Australia's animal life. I got to see koalas and a Tasmanian