Wednesday, April 24 – Monday, April 29
This was a special stop for me that I’d been looking forward to for a while. My great friends, Paul & Andra, that I know from when they lived in San Francisco a few years ago, volunteered to be my hosts for my stay! It was so exciting to spend time with them after so long and to also not be solo for once!
Right when I arrived, there was a holiday! So they didn’t have to work Thursday as it was Anzac Day, similar to our Memorial Day celebration. We went over to their friend’s house for a BBQ and day drinking- my favorites! It was great to just relax and catch up with them on a holiday. The food was fantastic and there were lots of laughs! Everyone made me feel so welcome!
Friday I did the Free Walking Tour for Sydney on my own. I was lacking the same gusto I had in Melbourne and wasn’t feeling it quite as much. It was still informative and I’m glad I did it, but I was more eager to go meet up with P&A for dinner and cocktails than finish the actual tour. (definitely dropped out before we got to the Opera House)
Still saw lots of great sights and got some beautiful snaps!
Saturday P&A had a BBQ/party at their house and I literally have zero photos from that. It was so great to meet so many of their friends, eat way too much food, drink far too much rum, sing loads of karaoke, and play card games until the wee hours of the morning. But alas, no photos.
Sunday was a slow start for everyone, but we drove up to Central Coast to Andra’s family’s home for Easter. Her family is Romanian, so they celebrate Orthodox Easter or “real Easter” as they kept saying. Her mother is an amazing cook and I was treated to a whirlwind of Romanian dishes I had never heard of before. There were a few weird ones P&A warned me to steer clear from, but there was more than enough to keep me busy!
It was so fun to meet her whole family and learn about Romanian and Orthodox traditions. I felt very lucky to be able to attend with them!
The next day I flew out to Gold Coast to begin a week exploring Queensland! But I was back again in Sydney…
Monday, May 6 – Wednesday, May 8
I decided to cash in some of my Chase rewards to book a nice hotel for myself right by the Sydney Opera House in Circular Quay. I’m so glad I did, too, as it made for such a relaxing and enjoyable final few days in Australia. I stayed at the beautiful Sir Stamford and only have wonderful things to say about the location, staff, room, bed, balcony, bar…you name it! I even had a wee peak of a view of the Opera House from my balcony!
Being right down in the middle of the action allowed me to have a leisurely morning in my big, comfortable bed and then walk down to the waterfront for a gorgeous brunch in the sunshine. I walked all around the ferry area, The Rocks, Sydney Opera House, the Botanical Gardens, back down to St Mary’s church and looped back up to my hotel. The weather was fantastic so it was great to enjoy being outside as much as possible before the two long flights home ahead of me.
Where's Lindsey? 