Last day in Sydney

Our flight back to Melbourne was in the evening, so we figured we'd explore downtown Sydney some more during the day, then go straight to the airport.  So we carried our bags with us, and tried to find a hotel downtown to keep our bags.  I've done this plenty of times before, even when not staying at the hotel, so I didn't think it would've been a problem.  Unforch, the 4Seasons had to ask a bunch of questions, and ultimately turned us down.  We finally found another hotel, and had better luck, thanks to Kavita's charm.  If you're ever in this situation, here's what I recommend:

• If there are any women in your party, have them ask.  Meanwhile, all the men should be hiding outside somewhere.  Who is going to turn away a poor damsel in distress?
• Pick a hotel that you've stayed at in the past and have points with, or just sign up to a bunch of hotel reward programs so that they'll at least have you in the database.  Maybe they won't see you have 0 points, and will not want to turn away a past customer.
• Make a reservation for a few days later in the week.  When you drop the bags, say you'll be back after an overnight trip to XYZ, and then you'll check into the hotel.  After you pick up your bags later that day, cancel your reservation.

We then hiked the free part of the Harbour Bridge (not the crazy hike that costs $100+).  Beware of offers to hike the bridge for $50... they are just taking you to the free part which you can do yourself.   We also tried to hook up with a free walking tour of the Rocks, but we never did seem to catch the tour at any of its stops.  But we had fun exploring on our own, anyways.  Before it was too long, we were on our way to the airport.

If you remember our flight on Tiger to Sydney, you'll remember how we had to pay $60 in luggage fees due to strict weight allowances.  They even weighed our carryons to make sure nothing was over the limit.  The only thing they don't weigh is ourselves.  So we wore two layers of our heaviest clothes.  Then we stuffed anything and everything we could into our pockets.  It was like we were anticipating finishing last in a non-elimination round of the Amazing Race...Our carryons were practically empty when we checked in, and of course, this time, they didn't weigh any of our bags.  But still, a good tip when flying these budget airlines.  Books, cameras, small toiletries... these can still weigh down your bags, yet can easily fit into those baggy inner pockets of your jacket.