Sydney, Australia

Having lived in London for a bit, Sydney bore striking resemblance.  Tidbits from London were strewn about everywhere – inauthentic red phone booths, strange English-speaking accents, Oxford Street shops…the list goes on.  Nevertheless, I felt further away from home in Australia than I ever had before.  While I experienced very little jet-lag on this trip, I found myself waking up each night to a barrage of work-related emails, it being noon in New York when I’d awaken at 2am.  Once the realization set in that it was night at home when the sun was beating down on me, and that people were hard at work in New York when the stars were shining on my section of the earth, it was difficult to escape the feeling that I was not in Kansas anymore.

Sydney was rainy upon arrival.  In fact, the rain was so bad that my black Duane Reade retractable umbrella quickly turned inside out and broke.  We stopped at a small market to purchase new umbrellas, which also quickly turned inside out and broke.  Lesson learned: purchase a nice umbrella – the rain in Sydney can be quite strong!

Speaking of rain… I had been on the fence about climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which I was told was not to be missed.  I was also told I must book prior to arrival as space is limited.  It cost over $200 USD and I wasn’t sure it was worth it.  Not one to look back and potentially regret something (still livid at myself for skipping the inside of the Colosseum to go shopping!), book I did.  On my scheduled day, the rain was coming down in buckets and the wind was gusting in full force.  We were given black rain suits to wear over our iconic bridge suits, and I looked ridiculous.  I also had the distinct pleasure of learning that the higher we climbed, the windier it got.  Had we not been tethered to the bridge, I most certainly would have fallen off.  I had to strap my hat on under my hood so the wind wouldn’t carry it away.  Not my idea of a good time. I think I would have been happier sitting in a cafe drinking espresso.  Was it worth it? For me, probably not.   Nevertheless, I proudly display my climber certificate on the refrigerator in my apartment.  It’s kind of awesome.  Plus, the below souvenir photo still makes me laugh, so I suppose I got my money’s worth.

By the time I changed from my bridge gear, the weather had lightened a bit.  I decided to make the most of my alone time and walk back to Kings Cross.  On my way home, I strolled through the Rocks, Sydney’s oldest neighborhood, where the houses and buildings are pastel-colored brick and sandstone and are home to many small shops and cafes.  This was my favorite neighborhood in downtown Sydney.

My time in Sydney meant a great deal to me as I was able to spend it with family (plus, the air just feels cleaner down there), but I can’t say I connected with Sydney the way I have with some other cities. Nevertheless, there were several things I really enjoyed:

Beach towns.  Sydney is a sprawling harbour city with many coastal beach towns.  We spent two days in Sydney exploring Manly and Bondi.  Manly is a small beach suburb of northern Sydney, accessible by ferry from the Circular Quay to Manly Wharf.  I adored Manly and its candy-colored pastel buildings.  Plus, what’s cooler than passing surf shops such as Quicksilver and Roxy in their Australian birthplace?   Haling from New York City, Bondi Beach conjures up images of a surfer’s paradise.  The Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk is one of the most scenic parts of Sydney.  I’m disappointed to report that we did not have time to complete the 3-hour coastal walk, though the parts I did see were breathtaking.

Cotton candy-colored buildings in Manly.

Bondi Beach.

Bondi to Coogee.

Meat pies.  The most famous of Australian meat pies can be found at Harry’s Cafe de Wheels, located in Woolloomooloo, Sydney.  While Harry’s is perhaps the most iconic of meat pie vendors, chains such as Pie Face Cafe have made the meat pie mainstream. In fact, Pie Face has so many outposts in Sydney, it’s like the Starbucks of New South Wales.  Pie Face personal meat pies come complete with one of several doughy smiley faces.  I’m happy to report that Pie Face has finally opened its first U.S. cafe in the fantastic city of New York.  Seriously though, how are meat pies not more popular in the United States?

Harry’s Cafe de Wheels.

Pie Face.

Paddington Market.  Every Saturday at 10am on Oxford Street in Paddington. Where I scored two pairs of vintage sunglasses from Paris and Italy circa 1960 and 1970 from Abe and Sara – Optical Sartorialists.  (Nerd alert!)

Queen Victoria Shopping Center.  Not only is this a cool place to shop, but the building itself is stunning – stained glass, hanging clocks and architectural skylights.

True to form, my flight home from Sydney was canceled.  Even worse, it was delayed several times due to mechanical issues, and then cancelled.  Qantas was so generous in giving each passenger $25 AUD, which I promptly spent on a lifetime supply of Tim Tams.  Gross.  When I finally landed in Los Angeles, I was forced to retrieve my oversized baggage at point of entry and re-check at the Qantas counter.  I had missed my connection and was rebooked on a partner-flight on American back to JFK.  I had little time, grabbed my ticket, rushed to the domestic terminal, through security and to my gate.  When I arrived at the gate, I gained the frustrating knowledge that I was given someone else’s boarding pass.  This went unnoticed by those at Qantas recheck and by TSA security (and, admittedly, by me).  After completely halting the line at the gate while the very bright folks at American attempted to sort this out with the very bright folks at Qantas, I was finally issued a new boarding pass and secured the last seat on the flight to New York.  My flight, which was supposed to land at 5pm Sunday, arrived at the gate at JFK at 2am.  I never did find out what happened to the person whose ticket I stole. Perhaps she’s still waiting at the Qantas counter in LA…

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