Ma come to visit Sydney....This was a big deal. I hadn't seen Ma since I left which was 8 months ago so it was unsurprising that we both cried at the airport! It was a full, love actually airport moment where time stopped, the tears flowed and we blocked the exit way for other people trying to find their loved ones! But it was great! Ma understandably was feeling a bit jet lagged from flying all the way around the world. But was still eager to go out for a drink for her first night in Sydney...and so the tourist trail began...
I think my 6 days with Ma were the busiest days I have had since starting to travel..no joke..We got up early, went to bed late and saw pretty much all of Sydney in those 6 days!
So just to give you the break down. After exploring the rooftop bar overlooking Vivid Festival - a light festival lighting up the Opera house on the first night we began in earnest to see all of what Sydney had to offer. The next day started with a casual swim in my nearby outdoor heated pool followed by some of the best brunch at Four Ate Five cafe in Surry Hills. We then hopped on a train down to Circular Quay to get on a tourist boat to get the sites of the city by sea. We zoomed around the harbour at high speed taking in the rugged cliffs, gorgeous harbour side properties before finally getting off on the north sydney side to walk over the impressive Harbour Bridge. Then it was time to head back to Moore park to go to a famous AFL match. Aussie rules games which happened to be a superb game. The Swans played well just keeping ahead of their opposition but the rain and cold crept in so we left with 1 quarter to go and headed back to Surry Hills to Lil'Darlin for some tapas a bottle of bubbles and to see Tash.
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| First night cocktails |
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| boat trip |
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| Ma at the AFL |
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| visiting tash at work |
And that was just day one! In the city alone we visited the Contemporary Art Gallery, had lunch up at Watsons Bay, walked up to the lighthouse at the end of Palm Beach, visited Tash's workplace- the new William-Sonoma store in Bondi Junction, bought new shoes in Manly and went to a fair few secret bars. Went to the cinema, had a row with a Chinese man about peking duck, climbed the harbour bridge, got pampered in a very nice hotel and all in this time we did not stop talking.
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| opera house! |
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| rugged sydney coastline |
We also rented a car and made a trip out to the blue mountains which are a lot closer than I thought they would be. We did this amazing walk around wentworth falls and saw the 3 sisters and went to a few other lookout points as well as visiting a rather boring garden but finished the day strong with incredible apple pie!
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| cute! |
The harbour bridge climb was fantastic! Definitely overpriced but such a fun experience and pretty good going for Ma who really hates heights! There were some moments when you could look down and see the water below and think....thats pretty far away. But we managed and our guide was hilarious.
So 6 days just flew by. We found some cute bars, saw and did a whole range of things around Sydney and it was a really special week spent with Ma. Of course we had a few tiffs over directions in the car but who doesn't! but other than that we got along like a house on fire. I hope she had as much fun as I did and after those 6 days I think I need a holiday!
all for now
J xx
