AmyHuang
Visit Australia: Sydney
Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House during the 2004 NYE fireworks
I had to end the week in Sydney, otherwise would be called a traitor from my fellow Sydney-siders. With all my jokes and detest of a large city life aside, Sydney is a beautiful harbour city and looking closely you can find some tranquil spots to enjoy it alone, or with a couple of friends.
For international travellers, Sydney has been portrayed to the world with the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. I watch bus loads of tourists being cargoed through Sydney's busy streets only to stop over at Circular Quay for a lot of photos, maybe do a bridge climb and maybe visit Bondi Beach and Koala Park, and they leave without realising there is so much more to Sydney than its iconic locations.
Pyrmont Bridge, Darling Harbour
As with other cities, you really need to plan more than two or three days to appreciate a city and its surroundings. I find the most charming things about a city anywhere in the world are not its tourist attraction, but its lifestlye and atmosphere, things you can't experience simply by posing for photographs.
Firstly I'd like to introduce you to the Inner West. Mainly Newtown, Enmore, Annandale and Leichhardt. These areas are the 'funky' areas of Sydney as I like to call it. If you like your independent boutique fashion, accessories and bookshops as well as funky restaurants and cafes, a visit to King St in Newtown is a must. The entire King St has its famous share of Thai restaurants, as well as pizzarias, daytime cafes, tapas bars and juice bars. In between them, independent and alternative fashion stores selling anything from second hand to emerging designer wears as well as handbags, shoes and jewelleries are extremely popular among those refusing to shop in Westfield (me!). Whatever you find here will be unique and funky! And then, there are the bookshops. Oh this is bookworm heaven. There are at least 5 second hand bookshops and 2 gifts/bookshops on King St, all of them have their fair share of range of books of different genre and writing. Some of them even sell old vinyl records and magazines from 70s and 80s. Lots of goodies to be found for very reasonable prices!
King St of Newtown, sorry I couldn't find a better picture
Continuing down King St you can veer to the right and go along Enmore Rd into Enmore. The same styles of shops continue down here and you can even try to catch a show at Enmore Theatre where comedians, rock bands and alternative concerts play every season. The African Eatery on this road is highly recommended. I have never tasted better chicken!
For something slightly different, head to Leichhardt. Similar to Lygon St in Melbourne, Leichhard is known as Little Italy of Sydney. Turning onto Norton St you'll immediately meet the group of men who meet daily at the bus stop chatting animatedly in Italian, waving their hands about discussing life and the world. Norton St is lined with Italian Restaurants and Cafes (with the odd Thai and Chinese restaurants here and there) - here, is where you'll find really really good coffee. A couple of posts ago I introduced the Berkelouws Cafe, which is my absolutely favourite. Where other cafes still might have disappointing days (coffee quality dependent on the mood of the barista), Bourklouws have been extremely consistent. Pop into the Italian Forum into the 'square' and the experience is as close to being in Italy as you can get in Sydney. Quality restaurant serving pizza, pasta and gelato makes you want to order every thing on the menu and shops selling Italian design and import of fashion and accessories lines the corridors.
To find the perfect gelato (no matter what other shops say about their versions) - the Gelateria De Luca, close to the Leichhardt Townhall, not only sell their award winning gelatos, they can teach you how to make them too. They hold gelatos schools and welcome anyone to join to learn how to make a tub of authentic gelato.
Lookout for any Italian related festivals that are often held in Leichhardt and find events that offer food tasting and cooking classes. They are certainly an experience!
So that's a snap shot of Inner West in Sydney. If you have more secret finds I welcome you to share in the comments!
Symphony under the Stars in the Domain 2005
There are of course other interesting things to do and see in Sydney. It's always good to check out What's On in Sydney to make sure you don't miss out on any interesting events. Summer is here and that means lots and lots of festivals coming up including Sydney Festival in January showcasing free events like Jazz in the Domain, Symphony in the Domain and Opera in the Domain, and don't forget the biggest short film festival in the world - Trop Fest.
Oh, of course - there is the Sydney NYE fire works. Get your spots early and enjoy all the fuss!
Flick Wit
I am in complete agreement, Amy! Haven't had occaision to spend much time in Sydney, but a want to - especially after this post!
Michaelie
Project Job Search
Travel Debate
Travel String
Love Adventures
feelings
Crystal
Project Job Search
Travel Debate
Travel String
Love Adventures