During our time on the Gold Coast, we wanted to take advantage of cheap flights and the time we had available to visit Sydney for a weekend, so we made it happen shortly after we moved into our place in Robina.

We were lucky to find a great flight from our local Gold Coast airport, which we drove to early on the Saturday morning. The airport was so small that we were able to park our car for free in a residential area about 1km from the airport, saving us some money that we planned on spending in Sydney.

Our first impression of Sydney was that it is truly a world city. We had missed this aspect of city life moving from Vancouver to Brisbane, particularly with the food scene. We were really excited to try a variety of different restaurants with cuisines from around the world amidst other activities we had planned for the weekend.

After arriving in the city around lunchtime, we went for a delicious lunch at a Roti restaurant that George found through his research, located in Chinatown. We were reminded of how big a city Sydney was with our travel on the train system, which was huge and absolutely packed throughout the day on both Saturday and Sunday, something we weren’t used to while riding quiet transit on the weekends in Vancouver.

After lunch, we made our way down to the waterfront area in Sydney called Circular Quay. This area is basically the central tourism zone of the core of Sydney as it is home to the famous neighbourhood of The Rocks on one side, the Sydney Opera House and Botanic Gardens on the other side, and a long boardwalk along the ocean connecting the two spots.

One recommendation I had received from my friend from my running club for activities in Sydney was to attend a tour of the Opera House. My friend worked at the Opera House for five years when she first arrived in Australia, and she said it is one of the most underrated activities that you can do if you are visiting the city. Unfortunately, our visit coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Opera House, so it was extremely busy, and we couldn’t get a ticket, but we were still just as excited to view it from the outside in all its glory.

After seeing the Opera House, we enjoyed the boardwalk and the Botanic Gardens. This area reminded us a lot of Vancouver, with the proximity to the ocean, cyclists, and boat transport on the water. We made our way down the entire boardwalk and over to The Rocks neighbourhood, where we decided to walk up and halfway across the Harbour Bridge to take in the views and see if we could catch glimpses of people completing the Bridge Walk (scaling the top arch of the bridge with a small harness keeping you alive while you tried to do it). We were happy to keep our feet firmly planted on the sidewalk while we watched, and took in views from the harbour below.

After our afternoon tour of the boardwalk, we headed to our hotel, which was a little bit out of town on the train. We had plans to meet up with my friend Alex, who I met in Belize, traveled with in Guatemala, and lives in Sydney. We had decided to go to a vegan restaurant with her called Yellow to partake in the tasting menu and had a great time catching up while enjoying the various creative dishes that were served as part of the menu. After dinner, we walked around the neighbourhood where the restaurant was located, called King’s Cross, and found a fun wine bar to finish off the night.

The next morning, we were up bright and early to make the most of our second day in Sydney. We started our day at a fantastic French bakery in The Rocks called La Renaissance, which had the best pastries we have had so far in Australia.

After breakfast, we met up with my friend Parker, I used to work with at the science centre in Vancouver. He had recently moved to Australia a few months ago as well, so it was fun to compare experiences that we had found about the transition so far. We decided to do an online scavenger hunt around Circular Quay. George and I had done one of these scavenger hunt tours before in Winchester, England when we visited his family last spring, and found it to be a fun way to see the city and learn about its history.

The scavenger hunt in Sydney that we chose involved using clues on an app to lead us to various locations around the area near Circular Quay – think statues, art installations, and the like. We had a great time solving the clues as well as learning about the various monuments, art installations, and history of Sydney. After we finished the activity, we went to a delicious Lebanese restaurant called Jimmy’s Falafel. We were very pleased with the quality of our pitas in the restaurant, and again we were very happy to be eating fresh and authentic food.

After parting ways with Parker, we decided to hop on the transit ferry over to the area of Manly Beach, where we took a walk around, explored the beach, and walked along the water. Again, this area reminded us a lot of Vancouver because of the urban beach vibe and the relaxed atmosphere. The beach was beautiful, especially with the proximity to all of what Sydney has to offer, but it definitely made us miss the quieter and more vast beaches of the Gold Coast.

Sydney was a cool city, and one that I would definitely live in if I was looking for a more city-based lifestyle with fantastic weather and tons to do. Had we planned our year differently and wanted to be based in one city for our time in Australia, I think Sydney would have been a fantastic fit for us! It was alive with culture, amazing sights, and great energy. Though our time there went by quickly, it was great to finally get to see a city that I have been wanting to visit since I learned of its existence during the Olympics in 2000. It is definitely on my list to revisit during the rest of our time here if I am lucky enough to have the time and opportunity to do so.