Just like its sister station Museum, St James is one of the grand old dames of the Sydney rail…read morenetwork. Built as a major station in the 20s, the line it was supposed to serve ended up running direct to Town Hall instead so St James became a neglected backwater on the City Circle until it was restored to its full 1920s glory. Full of ornate brass and ironwork, polished timber, original tiles and period advertising (including the iconic Chateau Tanunda brandy sign at the Elizabeth St entrance). Travelling to St James is like stepping back to the 20s. St James is also known for the abandoned rail tunnels that were built for the line that was supposed to run through it but never did. Apparently one is now flooded and forms an underground lake which is used to water the grass in the Domain. The other contains a large bell. No one knows why. If you like tunnels you can do tours. For fans of the Matrix movies, you may well recognise parts of St James from Matrix Revolutions.

This railway station brings back an awful lot of memories from my younger, and more adventurous,…read moredays. Actually, I still live a rather adventurous lifestyle, so I can't really make that statement. Anyway, this station can be a little deceiving as it appears simply to be a row of shops, that is until you are right on top of it. The bridge is one of those pretty cool bridges, and the station is pretty awesome as well. Okay, it's a railway station, but still a pretty cool one.

Wollstonecraft is one of the oldest stations in Sydney or so people have told me and I have decided…read moreto take that as fact. It's very old school. The track isn't your normal straight track, no sir this track bends around in a loop so those MIND THE GAP are extra appropriate here because at some points you need to actually do a little jump to reach the platform. The Platform is simple and a reminder of a quieter time. The station doesn't have a lot here besides a little cafe and two little shops on either side of the platform. The station staff are very friendly here and they seem to have been working here a long time because they know all the locals. The only drawback of this station is that due to the loop in the tracks when the trains come by they really screech so be prepared for that.

Got off one station earlier than usual because this station has a lift and I had holiday luggage. I…read morecould then catch a bus to my home destination. If you are visiting Westmead Hospital or Children's Hospital Westmead you can try the 5 minute walk or catch a bus. The bus stop is at the bottom of the ramp & across the road. This station would be great for those wanting to explore Parramatta Park. You could get off here and amble through the park back to the Parramatta city centre. In fact when you plan to attend a Parra Park event, like Australia Day, this would be easier than Parramatta Station......and I'm pretty sure all trains stop here!

We enjoyed experiencing the local transportation. Although…read moretheir system was NOT as user friendly as NY, London, or Italy, it was easy enough. Quality/Quantity - New and old trains, see pictures. Liked that they had double decker trains, cool. Accurate and easy to read signs. Atmosphere - Safe. I believe you can use your credit card to scan in and out, but we were given an Opal card by our friends. Good signage to find our way around and to get on the correct trains. Mostly clean, well the newer trains were much cleaner than the older trains. Service - Mostly self service. They did have an employee or two at each station. Price - No idea, as our friends gave us funded Opal cards and it never ran out of $$. I am told that seniors (not me) are only charged $2.50 a day, what a great deal! We paid per trip. The Opal card was also good for buses, ferries, metro, light rails, etc. Owner Comment - Thank you for a good system.

This is one of those semi-major interchange stations, where you can change between stopping all…read morestations and express trains, and also trains that go to different parts of the city. As a station, it actually isn't that bad, though of course not all of the trains stop here. However, as is generally expected with most stations in Sydney, it is fairly accessible.

This station seems to have seen better days. It's not that it is run down or anything, though one…read moreof the platforms clearly has been left for dead (though you can't actually get to it to wait for a train that will basically never stop there) but it really isn't one of the major stations. Still, you can actually catch a train here, though most of them tend to shoot past in their rush to get to Central Station.

This shopping centre has a few shops ranging from a supermarket to cafe to small business (shoes,…read morefashion). It can't compare to the Westfields obviously (there's one just one station away in Bondi Junction). It caters a few shops that I'd use on a more or less regular basis if I'd live there (take-away food, grog, bakery, banks and most importantly an Aldi). There are two levels to this centre and a car park also. I believe the car park is not free. There are a few outdoor seats and tables on the New South Head Road side and they even have recycle bins (yay!). Another advantage of this shopping centre (and a reason why it might be popular) is that it's on top of Edgecliff railway station. Otherwise Edgecliff Centre is a tad old and the age started to show a while ago. Owing to its location you'd mostly see elderly ladies or well-off mums with their kids there.

My partner and I did the "Cut & Thrust of the CBD" tour and what a wonderful day it was. We wanted…read moreto get away from the mainstream grind of touristy destinations & coach trips and our host Marie definitely delivered. Having a local person's 'insider' perspective gave us the opportunity to see and visit many places that are easily overlooked by most Sydney-siders I'm sure. We loved the hidden coffee and cake shops in The Strand Arcade and The Art Gallery of NSW is just a wonderful structure, not to mention the artwork. Winding up at Grasshopper was a wonderful and quirky surprise and it's never where you'd find it. Ironic that it's on "Temperance Lane" . 3 hours (the minimum tour time) is the perfect amount of time to achieve all we wanted to see and to give us a taste of places we may wish to go back and visit again. Some of the highlights worth noting are: Gaffa Gallery in Clarence St - It's run by the artists and a cool place to view and buy art Kinokuniya - Japanese bookshop in Galleries Victoria - to see the fantastic range of art books & literature Gowings Bar in the new QT hotel - apparently they've done an amazing reno and there is a really cool bar/brasserie Strand Arcade - beautiful cake shops & if you like jewellery shopping then this is the place. The history of the building is quite fascinating too! Chinatown - great Coconut Buns. Highly recommended for anybody (travellers and locals) who wants to explore or re-explore Sydney. Thank you again for such a wonderful day, The Sydney Connection is definitely the hidden gem of this town!