theflailingtrail

We had. One. Day.

And we saw actually quite a bit of the city, and loved every second. In fact, Sydney was so great, that after over a year of wishing I was anywhere but Australia, one day in Sydney had me considering my visa extension options.

We started bright and early, leaving Wake Up hostel in Bondi by 8:30 to take a little walk into Harris Farm Markets (right around the corner). They have so many awesome food options, and we managed to find some budget friendly noms that suited my disastrous dietary restriction list, and then headed off into the heart of Sydney on the bus.

The Bridge and the Opera House

If you’re not queasy with heights (and even if you are), the walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge is hard to miss. As we walked toward it, we met the quirkiest, most seussical displays of art and music, and took a moment to become a part of the art ourselves.

This thing was amazing. It was moving to the beat of its literal own drum, and right in the middle of it were some seesaws. We obviously hopped on right away (and I was mercilessly trapped at the top), and were excited to see that other adults walking by saw the fun and decided to try it out for themselves. Never be afraid to look silly, kids, you’re giving others permission to play too!

There were more cool stops along the way, leading right up to the bridge stairs. Now, understand me when I say that after where we’d lived over the course of the entire rest of our time in Australia, that when we heard men shouting by the entrance the hairs on our necks raised. But imagine my surprise, my relief, my hope in humanity restored as I found the shouting to be shouts of joy from a friendly neighbourhood football match seated just over the wall!

Up the stairs we went, and our journey across the bridge began.

Suffice to say, we made it to the end of the bridge and then simply turned back, took a walk up to see it in person (my friend happily now tells people he’s peed inside the Sydney Opera House – lucky for him it was open to the public).

La Renaissance Patisserie and Cafe

Hands down, the greatest dessert I’d ever eaten.

We ordered a goat cheese baguette, a raspberry pistachio croissant, and a raspberry mousse whose name slipped away as I tried to write it. Now, the baguette was good. The croissant was good. But the mousse… Was… Life changing.

We sat outside the cafe, listening to French music, enjoying the views of the area and appreciating how friggin cute it all was. I told my friend that if we got to live in Sydney for a part of our work holiday, that I was getting a raspberry mousse weekly (if not DAILY! I’m a grownup, no one can stop me!)

Sydney Botanical Gardens

If you like things in life in general, this should be a stop. If you have even five minutes to just BE, this should be a stop. Personally, I spent a good chunk of time here sitting in the grass and enjoying the beautiful weather. The gardens reminded me of ones we visited on the outskirts of Bangkok (which I don’t know the name of, unfortunately), which had a very similar layout, but FAR less people. It was night to see so many people out enjoying themselves, having picnics, taking their lunch breaks out of the office.

This is another place I would frequent if I had the option to frequent things in Sydney.

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Absolutely incredible. I love art galleries, and there’s not many that I’ve been to that hasn’t left me glittering with emotions. This gallery in particular is in my top three ever. It might even be top one, but I don’t want to rush into such a committing label (haha).

The Art here begins outside, and as you work your way in, you’re met with more and more incredible works, both old and new.

As an art school grad I was also very excited to see my very first in person Picasso’s (that I remember), and put my nerd pants on (not literally) to take a photo beside it to send to my parents (which I didn’t end up sending because I don’t prefer to be in pictures).

We also went to the Australian Museum at the end of our day out, but I’m not going to get too into that one because by that point our legs were cramping and we were grumpy and ended up not staying for very long. I won’t give you a biased “I had a tummy ache” review, but I will say it’d be a cool place to bring the kiddos!

Also, an important note! We were lucky and only had to spend money on the bus and snacks while we were out because art galleries and museums (excluding private ones) in Australia are FREE. We’ve gone to so many and it’s just been amazing.

St. Mary’s Cathedral

Right in between the art gallery and museum was a stop at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Exceptionally beautiful, large, and tourist filled, this cathedral is filled with amazing stained glass works, impressive architecture, and an absolutely enormous set of organ pipes. Also featuring a crypt, that we were excited to see only to find out it was just a second pew room (very cool if you’re there for the art or there for a religious experience), so go in knowing what you’re getting, folks, it’s not going to be like a contemporary catacombs!

I will say, while we were in there sitting with the other admirers, someone somewhere was playing very creepy organ music, quietly in the background, and it really set a spooky vibe. It was beautiful, but it felt like a vampire movie more than anything. We loved it.

TLDR

If you can only get a single day in Sydney on your way through, you can still see SO much. It’s an absolutely incredible city and I would certainly recommend NOT skipping it. It doesn’t have to be pricey! And it’ll totally be worth it.