Sydneyside for the Weekend

I just got home from Sydney about an hour and a half ago and I thought I’d update right away since it’s been so long.

I flew out from Melbourne on Friday afternoon with three friends, Maddie, Katie, and Rachel. All we had time for Friday evening was checking into our hostel, the Blue Parrot, and a yummy Japanese dinner. Our hostel was on the edge of King’s Cross, a slightly seedy area (there were a few strip clubs around), and Pott’s Point, a more swanky residential area.

Our hostel

Saturday we got up early and found a small market a few blocks down from our hostel with several breakfast food options, a happy surprise. After filling our stomachs, we walked through the botanic gardens towards the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge. The gardens were beautiful, but there were heaps of bats sleeping in the trees!

Breakfast-y Market!

Yes. Those are bats

Botanic Gardens

Katie, me and Rachel in front of the bridge

Of course seeing the Opera House was a thrill. It’s so iconic, seeing it up close was very exciting. We opted not to take an official tour, but we peaked inside and took many photos around it. Afterwards we wandered in the direction of the Harbor Bridge through The Rocks, Sydney’s historic district. After walking across the bridge and back (and getting spectacular views of the city), we stopped for a beer and a rest there. Saturday we also went to an Annie Leibovitz exhibit at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art that was very cool.

Rachel, Katie, and Maddie taking a much-deserved break

Darling Harbor

Sunday, the group split up. Maddie and I walked over to Darling Harbor, a more touristy area that was still very pretty. We proceeded to trek through pretty much the rest of the city, through Chinatown, Sydney’s central business district, and two very trendy neighborhoods, Surry Hills and Paddington. The whole time it was raining on and off, but with our rain coats on we were determined.

Monday, Maddie and I went over to Sydney’s fish market. Most of the market was closed off to the public, but there were tons of food stalls and we bought a few oysters to try. Maddie is a bit of a foodie like me, so at her encouragement I tried chicken feet at our lunch of dim sum. Better than I expected, but still a little weird.

After that we headed back to our hostel and then to the airport. It was a total whirlwind 3 days, with not the best weather, but I still had a great time! Sydney is a very cool city, a bit bigger than Melbourne, and it was so fun to explore. I definitely have the travel bug now!

Oyster time

Chicken foot!