Nested Spring 2023
Sydney was probably the easiest place we’ve nested so far. They speak English. They pretty much eat the same food. Much of the products in the grocery store are of brands we are familiar with. They’ve got K-Marts, Costcos, 7-11’s, and Shell gas stations, among many other familiar shops and stores. If you can understand the accent – which to our ears sounded like they were from Boston – and can drive on the other side of the road, then you’ll have no adjustment issues at all in Sydney.
One of the refreshing things we found about Sydney is that Sydney is a very inclusive, open culture. There’s a large LBGT presence here, and about 40% of the population was born outside the country, mostly from China and India. It’s a chill, laid back atmosphere with a strong live and let live vibe.
Currency
Australia uses the Australian dollar. The exchange rate is here. It is very much a credit card culture. Even public transportation takes a credit card – you just swipe it as you get on the bus, tram or ferry. Prices in Sydney are pretty high, especially in restaurants, but that’s somewhat mitigated by the tipping culture here – if you tip at all, it’s only about 10%, and then it’s for service that’s above and beyond.
When to Go
We came in the spring, which is Australia’s fall. Temperatures were pretty wonderful, mostly in the low 70’s, but there was a lot of rain when we were here. It is a little strange to see the weather get colder as it gets close to our summertime, and to have the fruit and vegetable seasons be “backwards”.
How to Get There
Sydney’s airport isn’t that far out of the city, and you can take a train to the Central train station in the city. They are building a new airport to the west of the city, but it won’t be open for quite a few years.
Food
Most of the food will be very similar to what you get in the U.S. Because of the proximity to Asia, there are a lot of good Asian restaurants, and Sydney has a Chinatown with some good eating. You might find kangaroo on the menu sometimes and even in the supermarkets – it tastes a lot like beef. If you’re a wine drinker, you’ll enjoy the wine here.
Grocery Shopping
Grocery shopping is very similar to shopping in the States. You’ll find Aldi’s here, and other chains are Cole’s and Woolworths (which is a grocery store here.) Most grocery stores have a section for alcohol, but you have to pay for it at a separate register. You can get really good fresh fish at the fish market.
Other Shopping
There’s not a lot of items in Sydney that you can’t get in the States. Maybe the most interesting is wine and perhaps bush hats. There’s not a lot of souvenir shops except around Circular Quay where the ferries come in, and by the cruise shop dock at the Rocks. The Rocks has a weekend outdoor market with craft booths that might be of interest, but most things will be typical of street craft fairs in the States. All in all, you’ll see a lot of painted boomerangs and stuffed kangaroos, but most of the well-known Australian brands, like Bondi skin care products and Ugg shoes, you can get in the States.
My one find was Frankie4, a brand of shoes sold here, made especially for people with troublesome feet. They are quite expensive, but very stylish and come with three different sets of inserts. The sales help was wonderful in fitting me, and while my new shoes cost a lot, they are very comfortable, support my feet well and look terrific. If you have foot problems, I recommend them.
Connecting with the Local Community
We used Rotary to connect with the local community, and it was very successful. One of the most rewarding things we did was volunteer at St. Stephen’s Breakfast Café, held every day Monday through Saturday, from 7 to 9am across from the Parliament Building in the Central Business District. We made breakfast for the unhomed there. Rotary is one of the organizations that volunteers there, and we worked every Saturday morning supporting their cause.
Public Transportation
Sydney has fantastic public transportation system that’s very inexpensive. While you can get an Opal card, it’s probably easier to just scan your credit card as you get on and off buses, trams, subways and ferries. The public transportation system is clean, reliable, safe and fast – the waits are very short between busses and metros. Ferry systems travel up and down the water, criss-crossing from bank to bank. You can get just about anywhere in town quickly, easily and safely. Sydney was the first city that we only used a taxi to arrive and to leave, and that was because of luggage.
Discount Cards
Almost all the museums in Sydney are free. How great is that?? That’s why you won’t find discount cards in the city. However, the sights that cost, cost quite a bit. Probably the most famous tourist activity is walking up to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, but it costs well over $300 Australian dollars; often more, depending on the time of day and year. Maybe just as good is paying about $25 to go up to the top of the pylon on the bridge and seeing the city from there. It was plenty high enough for me.Other sights that charge are the Sea Life Aquarium and the National Maritime Museum.However the best tip we can give you for discounts is to get an Opera House membership. With the membership, we were able to score discount tickets to Madame Butterfly in their outdoor theater and get extraordinary tickets to the orchestra there. If you are interested in attending Opera House events at all, it will more than pay off the cost of membership.
Favorite Restaurants
We didn’t eat out a lot while we were in Sydney because restaurant dining tended to be very expensive. We were more likely to go to the fish market and get some wonderful fresh fish to cook at home. But there are a few places we found we would recommend.
Lavana Restaurant is on Dowes Point, near the Rocks. The tables look right over the water, so it’s a lovely view, but the food is great, too. We especially loved the tureen cooked lamb. They’ve got three course lunches for two that are a pretty good deal.
Big Bite is a crazy good sandwich shop that’s in the CBD (Central Business District) so it’s quite convenient for lunch. The sandwiches are huge – you can easily share one. It’s a little hard to find, hidden down an alley, but look for the crowds and know what you’re going to order when it’s your turn. They’re friendly but very efficient – even with long lines, you won’t wait long.
Chinatown/Haymarket is overall a good place to go for inexpensive eats.
Chubby Cheeks is a terrific Thai restaurant that we were lucky enough to have across the street from our apartment in Paddington. But we would have traveled for this place, and many people do. It’s that good. It has a terrific tasting menu that is well priced for what you get. A great place to go after visiting Centennial Park.
Weather
As Sydney is in the southern hemisphere, of course the seasons are reversed from what we are accustomed to. But there isn’t a wide variance in the seasons anyway – for the most part, when we were there March-May, the temperatures were in the mid 70’s as a high during the day. Really nice. The biggest change is that it got dark quite early. There was a lot of rain when we were there. Average weather for Sydney is here.
Health Care
Australia has one of the best and most comprehensive health care systems in the world. It has reciprocal agreements with other countries for health care but unfortunately, the US is not included. In short, you’ll get good care but you’ll have to pay for it or have insurance to cover it.
Festivals and Events
We were there in the spring, andwhile we were unable to go, there is an Easter Show that runs for two weeks that is like a huge county fair. Anzac Day is April 27, which is like the American Memorial Day and is celebrated by military parades and, it seems, a lot of drinking. Sydney has a huge light festival in late May, Vivid Sydney, that we just missed, but we understand it is wonderful. Sydney’s Pride Festival is in late March, and is one of the biggest in the world, with a huge parade and hundreds of floats.
In September, Sydney has a Flower Festival in Kings Park, and in late October there’s Sculpture by the Sea, a competition of local and international sculptures that are outdoors along the seaside trail from Bondi Beach to Tamarama.
When Packing for Sydney, Make Sure you Bring…
Sunscreen and a hat. The sun can be very strong.
Rain gear.
Good walking or hiking shoes – there’s a lot of magnificent trails, even in the city.
You know you’re in Sydney when…
You see people wearing puffer coats with shorts – and maybe even bare feet.
Everyone walks on the opposite side of the sidewalk, mirroring the car direction in the street.
There’s a gym on every block and the traffic in the morning is made up of joggers, not cars.