NSW 2013: The Rocks Cottage

I admit, I was attracted very much by its tastefully furnished interior. I wanted to experience the living in there so much that I shifted my itinerary, just to have this terrace house booked and tasted a living in The Rocks. 

One of the great things about travel is that it gives us a chance to be a creative planner of living in faraway land(s). At the same time, ensuring impact of the change is exciting (to the little ones). I wanted to visit South Coast of NSW for the first few days of our trip to Sydney, then return to and roam around Sydney until the every last day of the trip. But because the lovely house was only available during the first few days of our trip, I swapped the two major parts of the plan just to get the opportunity to stay over in the convict heritage and explore the historical neighbourhood. My excel spreadsheet (the itinerary) was a mess for a while.

So, there we were in The Rocks Cottage. The Rocks Cottage is part of the original Argyle Street shops from 1863 and the terrace house have been renovated to heritage standards and comfortably furnished. "It is a gorgeous property, everything literally at your doorstep", according to Desiree, the property agent who I liaised with (via email) to secure my booking of the house for 4 nights. This is a 4-bedrooms terrace house actually. But because I only needed 3 bedrooms for 5 adults and 2 children, she charged me A$375 per night, excluded the bedding (A$100) and cleaning fees(A$150). It was a good deal, frankly, and everyone had no complain to stay there... except the whirling staircase, kind of, for the young and the old.

And Desiree was right, its locality is very close proximity to Circular Quay (being one of Sydney's most significant public spaces). Everyday we stepped out from the the house, strolled and admired old charm and historic houses, pubs, cafes and restaurants in the area, passed by Observatory Hill, The Rocks Visitors Centre, towards the Museum of Contemporary Art and finally Circular Quay. The girls didn't complain a word about walking everyday and night. For the record, this was the very first time for us staying in the heart of a city. It was pretty extraordinary. 

Not to mention, it was the season of Vivid Sydney during our visit, we had at least 3 exclusive nights to exploring the installations and exhibits from Vivid Sydney. Can you believe it? There were 60 spots of Vivid Sydney, and more than 10 spots between Circular Quay and The Rocks! We dragged our overwhelming bodies home every night, literally.

The pictures of house in this post are totally unedited. 

1. Breakfast in the dining room adjoins kitchen; 2. Rustic courtyard well preserved.
3. She enjoyed herself on the floor after her breakfast; 4. Vibrant living room

As you can see from the pictures below, I didn't get the any linen from them. I asked my aunt(who is staying in Sydney)'s help to provide me, as in bedsheets and doona covers for four beds (1 queen bed, 1 double bed and 2 single beds) and at least 6 pillow cases. It saved me A$100 from the rent. 

Two bedrooms that are beautifully furnished. 

Once we checked-in, we made our bed, as in putting on the bedsheets and what not; placed our toothbrushes in the bathroom. Little Bomber already exploring the staircase herself, though had been warned many times for doing so. It was nice to make ourselves at home. Home away from home.

2 & 3. Beautiful lighting and, did I mention the whirling staircase? But Little Bomber had fun with it.
4. The rocking chair, strategically placed outside the bathroom.  

There are two little thoughtful things in the house impress me: the rocking chair which immediately became a toy to the girls, and the step stool in the bathroom for the little ones to use the basin. Once the children's need is fulfilled, a new home to them is not a problem to adapt. However, the down side of the house is that, there is only one bathroom and seven of us took turn to use it before a long day began. But there is a toilet in the courtyard, ground floor, in case anyone has urgent call.

As the house is a heritage block, and original build, noise travel and we are strictly not to have party or noise before 8am and after 10pm. I was giving a long list of "house rules" as well as Sam's recommendations. Sam is very friendly person, who is one of the property agent team. I met her upon our arrival, to pay for the remaining rental (I was required to pay 50% of the rental first upon my confirmation of booking). According to Sam, she stays near by and gives assistances, if we need one. She and the neighbourhood are part of the wonderful experience. There was one time I pressed the door code wrongly, and could not figure the way to re-enter a fresh, new correct code. I was panicked, had little bomber and mother in-law with me locked outside the house cold and jittery. I had no one to turn to but ask for a lending phone from the convenient store next to the house and dial a call to Sam. Immediately puzzle solved and we were rescued. 

Clearly, we built fond memories from only staying 4 nights here.

Stay tune for more about The Rocks in next post.  

[Please note that the rental (nightly price) of the house is dependant on duration, season, and best to check with the owner/agency via stayz.com.]

This post is linking up with Talkative Thursday of Sanses