A Weekend In Sydney

Last weekend my husband and I flew up to Sydney. I used to live in Sydney when I was a kid back in the 1980s but I haven't visited very often since so it was really fun to play tourist again and enjoy the Harbour in the summer sunshine.

View from the Manly Ferry

We went up to visit some of my husband's work friends, and used it as a chance to sneak in a little mini holiday for ourselves.



Generally when we travel, our itinerary is dominated by food and this trip was no exception. We were lucky enough to have an incredible dinner at Momofuku Seibo. It's generally pretty difficult to get a booking but I was determined, so I set an alarm on my phone to make sure I didn't miss when the online reservation was released! It was worth the effort and possibly one of the best meals we've ever had at a restaurant. We also had a memorable lunch at Cafe Sydney at Circular Quay, and finally had the chance to eat at Red Lantern, a place we've wanted to try for several years.

Oysters and cocktails. YES.

The weather was perfect so we spent a lot of time on the waterfront with long walks from Darling Harbour around to The Rocks and Circular Quay, then over to Manly on the ferry.

I confess it was a weekend of indulgence, staying in a lovely hotel and spending our time wandering, doing a bit of shopping, eating lots and we even saw a movie together for the first time in about three years!

Manly Beach was packed with a huge Surf Lifesaving carnival. Lots of blokes in their budgie smugglers! (If you've never heard of budgie smugglers before, you'll find it's uniquely Australian. Google it!)

Certainly not the Sydney I remember from my childhood, we lived out in the suburbs (Cherrybrook) and rarely ventured into the city.  I do have fond memories of living up there and my early years of school until we returned to Melbourne in 1988. Sydney is a fantastic place to visit and a great place to experience the real cliche of the Aussie summer at the beach!

I didn't get a chance to visit any fabric or craft places despite lots of suggestions on my Facebook page - oh well, I'll just have to visit again soon!