The longest I’ve stayed in Sydney was my 2 week quarantine in 2021, but I didn’t get to experience any of the city at that time. In the subsequent 5.5 years, we’ve visited for 2-3 days at the most since we were usually on our way somewhere else. With DH2 having 2 back-to-back conferences in Sydney, this was my opportunity to approach Sydney the way I approach Melbourne. The good news was that we stayed at the W Hotel for most of our stay.
Day 1
One of the guide books had a walking tour of the Balmain Peninsula so I gave that a go while DH2 was busy being a scientist. I got a much different vibe from walking around a suburb than what I had experienced in Sydney’s CBD. I enjoyed the history and architecture. There was a spit of land leading out to my ferry dock and noticed the narrow land mass: there was one road down the middle of the spit and a row of homes on either side which then looked out onto water. With so many inlets, most houses are water front property.
Day 2
We had watched the Sydney episode of “Somebody feed Phil” in preparation for this trip so for breakfast we went to AP Bakery. Yum.
It was time to confront my quarantine trauma and visit the hotel where I was locked up. I knew the hotel was Sofitel but there were 2 Sofitel Hotels in Sydney. I looked at the one in Darling Harbor and ruled that out immediately because it wasn’t made of brick and didn’t have the buildings around it that I remembered. That left the Sofitel Wentworth, so off I went to find it and stumbled upon a Lune Croissant and Industry Beans RIGHT NEXT to each other! Heaven. When I got to the hotel, I couldn’t find the courtyard that I had looked at for 2 weeks from my quarantine room so I showed the concierge the photo and he told me that the courtyard was on the 5th floor! And all this time I thought it had been at street level! To actually see the curve of the building, I had to go outside and cross the street! I’m glad I did this, it was very healing.
Next I was off to the Contemporary Art Museum to see Tony Albert’s “Not a Souvenir” – a powerful exhibit which “considers the commodification and misrepresentation of Aboriginal people and culture” (quote from the MCA website) This collection fit well with my Aboriginal Studies quest.
Day 3
I spent the day at the Chinese Garden of Friendship. It was built as symbol of friendship between Sydney and sister city Guangzhou in China. I watched the koi feeding, went on a tour, and spent hours wandering the paths.
Day 4
I took the 30 minute ferry to Manly Beach, a place I hadn’t visited since 1991 and didn’t remember at all. It was a lovely beach and I walked from one end to the other, making sure I got to see the keyhole rock.
Day 5
I walked around Barangaroo Reserve and to the new Sydney Fish Market. OMG that was a big fish market!! I had to stave off a seagull so I could eat my lunch.
In the evening we ate at PorkFat, another restaurant featured on “Somebody Feed Phil” and I really enjoyed the tamarind chicken wings.
Day 6
We had to move hotels so there were many hours when I didn’t have a place to go so I went to the art gallery. I know a place where I can get lost for hours at a time! I took a tour and ate lunch there. Lovely day.
That evening, we met friends for dinner at the Opera House. I never get tired of the Opera House. We went to Smize and Dream for the third time this trip to eat some of Tyra Banks’ delicious ice cream.
Day 7
I hung out with a friend, just low-key doing not much of anything. That evening was a conference dinner honoring a colleague.
Day 8
This was the only day that DH2 had to be a tourist with me so we walked to the Fish Market for a lobster roll and then headed out to a colleague’s birthday party.
As we were about to board the plane, we were informed of a 3 hour delay. Oy! The food voucher barely paid for a dinner snack. It was a good trip but I was happy to be back in Melbourne.
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