Sydney Trip Recap – Tips, Activities, and Food!
The moment I flew into the Sydney airport, I knew I was in for a good weekend. And let me tell you, it was amazing! A few weeks ago, my friends and I flew to Sydney for the weekend for concerts, food, and beaches. Little did we know, we saw and experienced so much more!
The City – Transportation and Cleanliness
One thing I thought made our trip so much easier was the transportation. I was really nervous before arriving that transportation would take up a lot of our spending for the trip, but it turns out it was the opposite. I have never been to a city with easier transportation. The nice thing was, I think I rode the bus twice, because a lot of the main locations we were going to were accessible via train. The train or tram as some like to call it, was very easy to use and it was a double decker! All we had to do was tap our credit cards coming in and out of the station and it would charge us maybe a dollar per trip. The nice thing was we didn’t have to buy a separate train card, so we didn’t have to go through the struggle of finding one.
The train was also super clean, along with the rest of the city. Coming from the Chicago area, I’d never thought I’d see a clean city. Frankly, I didn’t think it was possible! Sydney made my trip so much better with how clean it was. The people were incredibly nice and although it was pretty packed, it was very easy and safe to get around.
Harry Styles
High school Jessica would be shocked right now, knowing I went to a Harry Styles concert. Honestly, wasn’t the biggest fan of Harry before going to his concert in Sydney. I liked a couple of his songs, my favorite being “Music For A Sushi Restaurant”, but I never had an interest in going to his concerts. Well, that was until my friends convinced me to go to his concert in Sydney, because it was cheaper here than in the US and it would be a fun experience, especially to say you saw Harry Styles in Australia. Honestly, I am glad I went because after his concert, I became to like him. A lot. He is probably one of the best performers I have ever seen in concert. He had a great balance of interacting with the crowd and singing his songs, and the dress code was SO FUN!
I wore this outfit to the Harry concert and I absolutely loved it. I don’t really know the exact meaning behind dressing bright and colorful to his concerts, but I know it was fun! My favorite color is pink, so of course I had to find everything possible that was pink so I could rock a pink outfit. It was so funny because a lot of people work feather boas, so the whole city, including the trains, were covered in different colored feathers!
FOOOOOD
Okay, my favorite part… THE FOOD! Honestly, I wish I had explored the food a bit more, but Australia seems to have higher prices for eating out, which I understand because it all matches up with wages and income, but I cannot wait to go back and try more! Here are a few places that stood out to me…
One restaurant we went to frequently for breakfast was Slowhand, located in Mascot, Sydney. This was a cute little café down the road from our hotel, so it was a nice walk in the morning to grab a coffee and a little breakfast. I had the Everything Wrap one day and a bagel with dill cream cheese and an iced chai tea latte with oat milk the next day! Everything was delicious from food to drinks, and the atmosphere was very enjoyable!
After our beach day at Bondi Beach, we were in desperate need of a snack, and I was looking for something refreshing. OAKBERRY did the trick! OAKBERRY is an acai place, where you can build your own acai bowl. I got acai, granola, cacao nibs, chia seeds, bananas, strawberries, and kiwi! It was so refreshing after a hot day in the sun, and although I thought it was interesting that it came in a cup, it was still so yummy!
For dinner on our last night, we went to Wahlburgers, which is somewhere I have seen around and have wanted to try. However, I didn’t piece together that it is owned by the Wahlberg family. I also didn’t know that these restaurants are not only in Australia, but in the US as well, so I will have to make a trip when I am back home. I got The Our Burger with fries and a Lemonade Spider, which is ice cream and lemonade, a special only on the Australian menu! Everything was absolutely delicious and I will be returning while I am here in Australia!
Australian Museum
On one of the rainy days, we decided to check out one of many museums in the city! We felt it would be fitting to check out the Australian Museum, to learn more about the Australian culture, and we wanted to check out the dinosaur exhibit. The dinosaur exhibit was one of the coolest parts because everything was so big and out there!
We also made our way over to the bird exhibit, where we learned about all of the Australian birds and more. This might sound boring to you, but it was actually pretty cool to check out birds we wouldn’t see in the US. This was a pelican and my friend Dori made a funny joke that she was in his mouth… if you’ve seen Finding Nemo, you would get it, HA!
Bondi Beach & The Icebergs
This was one of the highlights of the trip, because it was so cool to see something so different. The Bondi Icebergs is a saltwater, ocean swimming pool. It lives by its name, because it was freezing! It was only $9 AUD to get into the pool club, which was so nice! Although it would have been cool to be there when the waves were splashing over into the pool, it was nice how calm and quiet it was at the pool. This is definitely a destination you will want to visit on your next trip to Sydney!
Bondi Beach was right next door, so we had to spend time there as well. My brother was so jealous I was going, because the famous show Bondi Rescue is filmed there. I thought it was a beautiful beach, but it wasn’t as crowded as I thought it would have been. The views around the beach were amazing. The architecture of the houses and businesses around us made it seem like we were in Europe. It was such a cool place to visit! Because we had spent that entire morning in the pool, I decided it was time for a nap, so I may or may not have fallen asleep on the beach… in the sun…
Sydney Opera House
I saved the best for last, and when I say it’s the best, it’s the BEST. This was my favorite part of the trip and I am so happy I experienced it at night, during the day, and in action.
At night, the Sydney Opera House was the most beautiful. We only saw the exterior at night, but walking around it at night when the crowds were small was amazing. Everything was beautifully lit up and the way it glowed on the water was amazing. This was also the first time seeing the Opera House in person and let me tell you, I almost cried!
Of course while we were there, I had to see a performance inside the Opera House. We saw a 3:00pm show and the performance was my long time favorite YouTube group, The Piano Guys. I have watched The Piano Guys for probably 10 years now, and they have always inspired me to keep up with music and the play new songs. It was so emotional seeing them play in person and wherever you are in the world, if you have the opportunity to see them, please do! They are great performers and have a comical side that brightens up the show!
After the show, it was still day light outside, which meant we got to experience the opera house exterior during the day as well. I think it is cooler at night, but it was still beautiful and shining bright during the day! The coolest part was seeing all of the ships and boats go by, making the waters around the Opera House very active!
Overall…
This was a fantastic trip and I am so happy I went! Max and I will hopefully be going again when he comes, so I will get to see some of the things again and try out new things! Being able to see the Piano Guys was my absolute favorite part and I cannot wait to go back to try more food. If you are traveling to Australia, this is a city you have to visit! You will get a variety of beaches and city life, and get to experience some amazing things!
Keep doing what makes YOU happy!
Jessica
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