Sydney is where my heart is. Or at least till today :P
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| One of the vintage postcards I scouted at The Rocks Market |
Just flew back to Malaysia after a mere 9 days in Sydney with the family for my brother's graduation. Too short of a time to really get to know the life as a Sydneysider or practise the lifestyle of one :P The weather was lovely during my visit - 20 to 25 degree celcius with warm sun and cool breeze.
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| The family with brother on his graduation day at UTS |
We rented a 1 bedroom apartment at Poplar Street, Surry Hills for the cost of AUD1,910.00 for the said 9 days. Honestly, it isn't a good idea if you are staying with a big family of 5 like mine! But anyway, we didn't mind - my family is always a fan of the idea of "staying cosy together" anyway. LOL
We spent the first 2 days roaming in the city, mostly at Chinatown where the Market City and Paddys Market are. Purchased a whole load of souvenir items at Paddys Market. Tourist fever. I regretted not having visited the letterpress studio, The Distillery, that I planned to visit, thinking I'd still have more time...but until the day I left.. I didn't get the chance. Sobs..
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| Ahh.. the warm Sydney sun |
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| Flowers blooming at Hyde Park |
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| Me and mama enjoying the sun at Hyde Park |
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| Spotted a huge snail at Hyde Park :) |
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| Market City |
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| Paddy's Market |
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| Salt and pepper deep fried calamari - our favourite finger food :> |
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| Central Station |
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| An 80 year old Korean performer at China Town |
We took the train from Central Station to Circular Quay station. Of course, to snap pictures of Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. And I'm pretty happy to have visited the Rocks Market which was opened only in the weekends and purchased some pretty cool vintage postcards and handmade coasters. I wished to have purchased more!! And we took the ferry out to Manly Beach. The crowd was quite overwhelming but the beach was lovely.
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| Sydney Opera House |
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| Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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Check out the climbers at Harbour Bridge.
I wanted to climb the bridge too but it cost AUD300/person to do so - with sunset view :) |
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| Night view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| Night view of Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| The view at Manly |
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| Manly Beach |
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| Not a bad view at Manly :) |
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| Cool handmade coasters I scouted from The Rocks Market |
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| Funny coasters I scouted from Hunter Valley |
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| Vintage postcards that I heart |
Sydney Fish Market is of course another must go place in Sydney to enjoy fresh seafood and fresh oysters. Yumm yummmehh~
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| Arriving at Sydney Fish Market by bus from Central Station |
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| Seafood galore |
The 3rd day was spent at Taronga Zoo. The zoo is huge and we didn't manage to cover the whole place 'coz we reached in the afternoon and the zoo closes at 5pm.. Bummer.. And the entrance fee cost AUD44/person! (Yeah, I'm converting to Ringgit Malaysia so... of course I felt the pinch!)
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| The Family at Taronga Zoo |
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Me and my baby sis and brother :P
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We went to Hunter Valley the following day. A trip to Australia without a visit to the suburbs is like never a trip to Australia before, innit? Loved the suburbs. We visited a couple of wineries and bought a couple of bottles of Moscato. Heehee.. Followed by a visit to the Smelly Cheese Factory and the Chocolate Factory.
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| Enjoying my moment at Hunter Valley |
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| The bro and sis acting silly with their chocolates |
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| Cute penguin chocolates |
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| Dad was asking: "Why do we want to pose with the truck?!" Hahaha |
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| Acting pro in wine tasting |
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| Posing at the Hunter Valley Gardens |
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| My bro's turn to pose |
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| Take 1 |
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| Take 2 |
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| Take 3 |
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| Take 4! |
My whole family has been to Blue Mountains and initially, no one wanted to go again. Apparently, seeing the 3 Sisters once in your lifetime is sufficient. LOL. But given that I haven't been there myself and couldn't find a friend to go with me (my two Sydney friends are either working or not keen to go again either), my family was obligated to accompany me to go again.
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| Can you spot the 3 Sisters? |
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The world's steepest railway?
Check out the passengers hahaha |
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| My baby sis attempting the long flight of stairs |
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| My turn |
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| Mama, me and Vivian - Don't we look like 3 sisters? :>> |
I love Bondi. No doubt 'bout it. The blue sea and the blue sky.. gosh.. heart-catching!
We were very lucky to receive the generous hospitality extended by my parents' highschool friend, Aunty Judy who brought us to Watsons Bay, Dover Heights, La Perouse and Bondi Beach.
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| Tai chi master and Yogi wannabe |
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| Err... |
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| Heiyaakkkkk |
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| Hmmmm... let's enjoy the sun at Dover' Heights |
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| Pa, ma and Aunt Judy |
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| How's our pose? lol |
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| Fantastic view at La Perouse |
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| Another great view at Watsons Bay |
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| Lovely day for brunch |
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| My hearty brunch |
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| Lovely day at La Perouse |
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| A lovely cafe - The Book Kitchen |
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| In carnivorous mode at Hurricane's Grill |
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| Night view at Darling Harbour |
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Night view at Luna Park -
we didn't get to ride the rides though :P |
And credits must be given to 2 of my friends residing in Sydney - for their wonderful hospitality in bringing me out for dinner and showing me some of the colours in Sydney :-)
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| Mr Christopher Foo! |
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| Enjoying my waffle at Max Brenner! |
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| Mr Ryan Wong! |
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| Enjoying my Medina gelato and Zumbarons!! |
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| I love love the macarons from Adriano Zumbo! |
Gosh, I miss Sydney. There are still lots of places yet to be explored.
