Sydney II

Day 3 started off with a trip to Bondi Beach! We didn't realise that Bondi Junction was over 3km away from the beach and ended up walking the entire way which was a horrible idea since it was 30 degrees and the sun was literally burning us. We also popped into the Westfield there for two seconds since there was a super nice bookstore. The weather was actually perfect for the beach but Thanh and Huong didn't want to swim so I didn't either :( It really sucks though cause once they got there, they immediately regretted their decision!! So many regrets noo. We chilled at the edge of the water for a bit and explored the area before heading back to the city. 

Our next stop was the Botanic Gardens! We grabbed a quick bite to eat near Circular Quay and then bought fish and chips for a late lunch so that we could bring it to eat in the gardens and just chill out. We ended up sitting and eating and listening to music and chilling for a couple of hours and it was sooo nice and relaxing. Walked around the gardens and to Macquarie's Point afterwards, then headed home. Anddddddd on our way home, we grabbed banh mi thit for dinner HAHA.

HAHA Huong had this *brilliant* idea to take photos of each of us individually and cut them out and stick us onto a patch of grass. Literally the biggest weirdo I know.

Pictured: the second best sunflower patch I have ever seen :')

And that brings us to day four, which was pretty much our last day in Sydney (we left early the next morning). We had a reservation at Grounds of Alexandria for breakfast and so we woke up early for that and made our way down south. There is so much hype around it and tbh, I don't really get it. The Grounds is actually super duper pretty and everything, but the food is pretty average and the atmosphere in the cafe is super rushed and overcrowded. As a cafe, I didn't think it was amazing but the area around the cafe was super nice. If I were to come back, I would just get takeaway and bring it to the outside seating area and eat there instead.

After breakfast, we headed back to the city so I could get my eyes tested. I was so excited though cause I've never loved a pair of glasses so much. When they put my order through, for some reason, my insurance covered me so that it would be free if I got two pairs of glasses but out of pocket if I only got the one pair???? So weird but I wasn't really complaining. I ended up choosing a clear, slightly rounded frame and love that one tooo. Superrrr excited for it to arrive.

After my appointment, I walked around Pitt St Mall for a while waiting for Kevin and Richard who were going to take me around for the day. I was just standing watching a busker when someone scared me from behind... turned around and it was the two of them (of course). It was soo nice to see familiar faces :') We went to grab coffees and walked around Darling Harbour, The Star and Barangaroo. It was so hot that day and my sunburn actually started to blister :'( We said our goodbyes just before dinner time. My sisters and I grabbed some food around World Square Mall and went back home to eat. Yeah we had banh mi thit again LOL. But why tho???

So yeah that's the Sydney trip summarised! I experienced some amazing moments, including seeing Catfish and the Bottlemen again, watching Alex Marcel sing, chilling in the Botanic Gardens and just being with my sisters. But even though the trip was super fun overall, I don't think I fell in love with Sydney. The streets were crowded and some areas were quite dirty and it was a very touristy place.

My least favourite part about Sydney, and probably the thing that's influencing my opinion the most, is that I came across a lot of people who weren't very nice. There was a lot of catcalling and people yelling sexual things at us and a lot of people looking at us in a way that made us feel really uncomfortable. I think Huong actually felt unsafe at some points. I am one of those people who believe that women (and men) should be able to wear whatever they feel most confident and comfortable in without it being an "invitation" for someone to harass that person. But in this case, we weren't even wearing revealing clothes and I don't know, I just felt kinda disgusted by how misogynist some of the people we came across were, especially since my sisters were there. 

Another thing I noticed was it was quite an impersonal place. Everyone was very much "on their way" and there were heaps of times where someone could've used a hand and no one really stopped to help them. I also noticed that a lot of the time when I made random eye contact with a stranger, they rarely smiled back at me and it just felt weird to me since Brisbane imo is the opposite. In general, I just found Brisbane to be a lot friendlier and waaay more chill. 

I'm not sure if this contributed or not but Sydney kind of reminds me of a smaller London. I still had a really fun time and enjoyed my trip heaps. Luckily, the negatives were only experienced for a very small fraction of our time there. At this point, I definitely like Melbourne more than Sydney though but I don't think I'd ever say no to visiting Sydney again if someone asked me to go with them. 

Sydney I

I went to my first Catfish and the Bottlemen gig ever in Dublin in April 2016 and was probably the best gig I've ever been to (and that includes Arctic Monkeys!!!!). I also got to meet them afterwards which made the experience 1000x more unforgettable and I actually asked them when they were coming to Australia. Fast forward to October 2016 and they were announced as part of the Falls Festival lineup and also announced that they'd be doing sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne... but not Brisbane.

I ended up buying tickets to the Sydney show for myself and then convinced my sisters to come to Sydney with me. We flew out of Brissie on the 6th January and arrived in Sydney at around 1pm. We spent the first day just chilling out, exploring the city and Circular Quay, hitting up some attractions including the Harbour Bridge and Opera House and shopping. 

After grabbing some dinner close to our hotel, I headed off to Catfish and the Bottlemen at the Enmore theatre by myself. Actually so sad though since it was an all ages show and my sisters really wanted to go but by the time I realised they were coming to Sydney with me, the gig had sold out :(

After the show, I headed around to the back of the theatre hoping that the band would come out and say hey. Ended up making some new friends loooool and in the end only Bondy came out. He's literally such a lad though and is so funny and down to earth and was telling us stories and stuff so it was still pretty sick. He was pretty out of it tbh but was still so chatty and nice. I was really disappointed I didn't get to chat to Van but it doesn't really matter since the show was still amazing. Ended back at the hotel around 2 and finished off what was one of the best nights with a banh mi thit :')

 The second day was super chill but I was lacking some sleep. Went out for breakfast at Devon Cafe in Surry Hills which I'd heard really good things about and it was actually so good. The service was fab and the food was fab and it was just a really cute little store. Seriously though, everyone who worked there greeted us on our way in and out and it was just a positive start to the day.

We headed back to the city to do shopping afterwards. Stumbled upon the Oscar Wylee store and I ended up falling in love with a pair of glasses there. I went back two days later for an eye test just so I could get them :') We got super tired of shopping after a few hours and spent a good hour or two watching a busker named Alex Marcel. Huong made us stay for the entire performance since she was in loveeeeeeeee with him HAHA. His voice was actually so good though.

After chilling at the hotel for a bit, we headed down to Chippendale to get dinner. We had Ippudo ramen which was delicious but still didn't compare to Japanese ramen :( and then walked around the area for a little bit. Also got gelato!!! I had the yummiest green tea kit kat gelato ever ... and now I'm craving it :(

That sums up the first two days and I'll post again about the last two!