LOCAL MBASSY
Remember when I said I planned out where I was going to eat? I finally made it to one of them. I caught a late breakfast at Local Mbassy and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a little out of the way, but close enough to my next stop. I took the bus from my hostel and then walked 10 minutes to the cafe.
It was such a nice breakfast. Did I mention how much I missed Western food? Well, I miss it a lot so I was really excited to eat in Sydney. I got the Tomato-sphere, which is poached tomato, salmon, cream cheese, basil pesto, poached eggs, and balsamic glaze. For something sweet, I also got the Nutella hazelnut cronut. Don’t pass on the cronut. It’s worth the calories.
While I’m eating breakfast, it starts raining pouring outside. The cafe is kind of on a hill and you can just see the water flowing down the street like a small river. That’s how fast the rain was falling. However, this did not bode well for the cafe because the water was over flowing from the sidewalk and into their restaurant. The floor was covered with water. They were constantly trying to keep the water out, either sweeping it out the door or mopping it up.
SEA LIFE AQUARIUM
After I finished breakfast, I decided it wasn’t worth walking in the rain, so I took a taxi to the aquarium. It wasn’t too expensive. It was a short ride and the cabbie charged me $10.60 AUD.
I didn’t really know what to expect. The last aquarium I went to was the one in Boston and I can’t even remember the one I went to before that one. The Sydney SEA LIFE Aquarium exceeded all my expectations. I think I spent 2 hours there! It’s not small and they have many different species of fish. I personally thought the aquarium took it to the next level for the viewer experience.
- Viewing Tunnels – I absolutely loved the tunnels. It was such a unique perspective to see the fishes from under them or walk beside them as they swam. It gives you the feeling of actually being in the water with the fishes. Often times, the fish will swim right next to the glass, and you feel as if you’re so close to it.
- Dugongs! – omg I had no idea such a cute animal existed. The aquarium has a Dugong that you can also see from the tunnels. If you continue along the path, you’ll end up at the top of the water, giving you another view of the mammal when it surfaces. Fun fact: Dugongs are most closely related to elephants.
- Penguin Expedition – Another favorite part of the aquarium for me was the penguin expedition. It’s a two minute ride on a raft that takes you inside the penguin exhibit. You get to see the sub-Antartic penguins kind of up close. There’s still a transparent divider between you and the penguins, but it was a very special way to see them. Towards the end of the ride, they also release flurries of snow as part of recreating the environment. The temperature in the exhibit is 6 degrees Celsius, but the ride was so short, you’ll hardly notice it.
|
|
- Great Barrier Reef Oceanarium – This is towards the end of the route in the aquarium and it’s a floor-to-ceiling window into the reef. If I didn’t have other things on my agenda, I probably could have sat in front of that window for a while just looking at the fishes swim by. It felt like an experience in itself. It’s absolutely stunning.
CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM
Looking back, I should have gone to Madam Toussands because it’s right next door to the Aquarium, but I really wanted to see the Contemporary Art Museum. I really enjoyed the art. They had a special exhibition (for extra cost) that I wanted to go to, but I didn’t want to spend the money. There was plenty of art for me to explore. I did a rather quick walk through and probably spent 1.5 hours there.
ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL
On my way to the Art Gallery of NSW, I passed St. Mary’s Cathedral. I didn’t go inside, but the building is beautiful!
ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
The Art Gallery of New South Wales was not originally on my itinerary, but I had met a couple on the Blue Mountain tour who recommended it. Since it was raining anyways, I figured why not. They had a lot of historic art work, sculptures, and even some contemporary. What was really interesting was that I had seen some of the contemporary in Taiwan. I was rather surprised. What are the chances that I would come across the same artwork in two different countries within one month?
NANDO’S
I heard Nando’s is super popular in England. So, when I found out there were locations in Sydney, I thought I must try it. I ordered the paella and the herb and garlic chicken meatballs. The meatballs were delicious!!! The paella was okay. It looks like their specialty is the Portuguese chicken. Not sure why there is so much hype around this place though.
Later, I asked my roommate at the hostel and she said she loves Nandos and the reason its so popular is because a lot of celebrities frequent there, so people are hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous.
QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING
The Queen Victoria Building is this beautiful shopping mall in CBD. Most stores are expensive, but there are a couple stores on the ground floor that are affordable. They close early as well at 6 or 6:30pm.
BLACK STAR PASTRY
This place also came up in my research, so I decided to give a try at one of their cakes. There’s a location across the street from the Queen Victoria Building. I’m actually surprised I was able to find it. It’s located in a bookstore, so it’s super small, but the line was long. Those cakes must be really good. I got a small slice of the strawberry watermelon cake for $8 AUD. I never had watermelon in my cake, but it was really good. Seating was already closed so I took it back to the hostel to eat.
GLENMORE
Then, I went out with Sophy again for a drink. We went to Glenmore and talked a little to 3 women traveling. They all had different stories and like Sophy and I, they met at their hostel. They ordered food there and it looked really good, we made a mental note to come back for their food.
PANCAKES ON THE ROCKS
Speaking of food, I was getting hungry. It’s super late, but it’s been 5 hours since my last meal. But I didn’t want anything expensive and we didn’t want to walk far, so we went to Pancakes on the Rocks. It’s open 24/7 and the food is AMAZING! Omg I ordered a huge plate of food and ate all of it. Sophy introduced me to bacon dipped in syrup and it blew my mind. How I haven’t discovered this before is beyond me.
REFLECTIONS
Lesson learned: Always bring an umbrella. You never know when the sky is going to open up. I was in denial and tried to go the whole trip without using an umbrella. I eventually surrendered and bought an umbrella at the closest shop. It was a rather expensive umbrella which I later left at a store. Yep, I couldn’t even hold on to it for a day. I’m solely buying up the world’s supply of umbrellas. It’s so bad. I wish they weren’t so expensive.
Much love, Tina. x.
Previous Posts:
