The radio silence is over! I've been getting several complaints from subscribers (*coughcough* MOM) that Charlotte and I aren't posting as frequently as we should. We apologize. We are diving straight into St. Margaret's life, and sometimes we (mostly me) forget about posting. So here I go. This'll be a long one, so be prepared!
FRIDAY
Charlotte, Sarah, Olivia, Mrs. Dunning, Mrs. Toohey and I headed out from St. Margaret's at lunchtime and drove straight to Brisbane Airport for our flight down to Sydney. We landed and took the subway right to our hotel at Bondi Junction, a few stops away from the heart of the city. We unpacked, and then hopped right back on the subway! We ended up at Circular Quay, and walked around for a little while, admiring the harbour. We ate dinner at the Searock Grill, a seafood restaurant looking out to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We ordered a bunch of dishes and shared them all. The most notable for me were the garlic prawns, crab and avocado tower, and the delicious oysters I ate. Apparently, no one else but Charlotte enjoys oysters. They were creamy and briny, and absolutely perfect. Sarah, Olivia, Charlotte and I walked around the Opera House to walk off our dinner (a bit). It turns out that The National was playing a concert on the steps of the House, so we got to hear some of their music for free! We walked back to Martin Place to catch the subway back to Bondi Junction, and stayed up late, hanging out on our balcony that overlooked the harbour.
SATURDAY
We left the hotel around 11am on Saturday morning and we rode the subway to the next station. The town was called Double Bay, and it had beautiful shops. Sarah and Olivia went Semi-Formal dress shopping (the Semi is the biggest event for year 11 girls) and Charlotte and I tagged along. We had an amazing lunch at this cafe called Indigo. I had an open-faced Tasmanian smoked salmon sandwich with kipfler potatoes, lettuce, caper berries (which were large and tasted like old olives...blech) and goat cheese. It was like a bagel, but SO much better. We then caught the ferry into Circular Quay, and the route took us right past the Opera House.
We decided to divide and conquer. Olivia, Sarah, and Mrs. Toohey went to continue the search for Semi dresses, while Charlotte, Mrs. Dunning, and I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which had a feature on Yoko Ono's work. It was a very interesting museum, and a wonderful exhibit on Ono's art. We met outside the museum and headed up the Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney, for afternoon tea. I remembered the French patisserie that I ate at when I was in Sydney for my first week, so I took Charlotte and Mrs. Dunning up there. I had a jasmine green tea macaron and a dark chocolate macaron. Charlotte had a chocolate eclair and Mrs. Dunning had a milles feuilles. It was a lovely afternoon. After tea, Charlotte and I ran to the other side of the Quay to the Opera House to pick our tickets for a tour the next day. We then headed up into the city, looking for Mr. Wong. Which is a restaurant, by the way. The food there was SUBLIME! We had aromatic duck spring rolls, steamed fish in a delicious savoury broth, and my personal favorite, Balmain bugs in a spicy noodle stirfry. Bugs are actually a type of shellfish similar to a lobster. They're sweet, juicy, and tender, and perfect in the hot pot they were served in!
After dinner, Sarah, Olivia, Charlotte and I boarded a ferry at Circular Quay for Luna Park, one of Sydney's most iconic landmarks! It is a very small, retro amusement park, virtually untouched since the time Mrs. Toohey went as a girl!
The rides were very cool. The best ride for me was called the Tango Train, which raced around in circles (both backwards and forwards) to REALLY loud music. At Luna Park, they also have a small rollercoaster which has two-person cars. The dips in the track are very small, but the track itsself is elevated, so I didn't go on that. The cotton candy that we had was larger than my head (by a lot!), and all of the arcade machines were from the 60s and 70s. Another fun ride was two concentric rings of wood that spin. The riders gather in a center of the beveled center circle, and try to hang on to the perfectly smooth surface. Since it was around 9:50pm, Charlotte, a small girl and I were the only riders. Charlotte fell off first every time, but the person running in the ride gave her two other turns...needless to say, she rolled off first EVERY time, no matter how many retries she got. We caught the ferry back to Circular Quay at 10:30pm, and saw the Sydney Opera House lit up at night, which was BEAUTIFUL! We headed back to Bondi Junction, and fell asleep almost immediately!
SUNDAY
On Sunday, we got up early and hopped on a bus to nearby Bondi Beach, one of Australia's most celebrated beaches. It was truly a sight to behold, with its sparkling aqua blue water and buttery yellow sand.
We walked around the town, and stopped at a cafe called Trio for lunch. I had a delicious smoked tomato cheeseburger with the best sweet potato fries I've had in my LIFE! We headed to a open-air market in and around an old factory building. I bought a babydoll style vintage rose-patterned dress, which is so light and comfortable, I want to wear it every day! It is perfect for walking around in the heat. The only problem is that the fabric is SO light that when there is even the smallest gust of wind, well...yeah.
Charlotte and I then swam at the Icebergs, a beautiful pool that is filled with salt water from the waves at high tide. After a quick swim, we raced to catch the bus to the Opera House for a tour. We learned all about the way the House was built, about the little theaters located beneath the main hall, the acoustics of the Joan Sutherland Theatre, and why the tiles are actually multiple colours!
It was a beautiful place, and if I ever have the opportunity to see a performance there, I will take it in a flash! I actually prefer the interior of the main hall to the one of the (GASP) Metropolitan Opera! After our tour, we hopped straight into a cab and sped to the airport, where we met the Dunnings and Tooheys. We flew back to Brizzy and stopped at Grill'd for dinner, and got back to St. Margaret's just in time for second prep.
The weekend was AMAZING, and truly a cultural experience. Both Charlotte and I are extremely grateful to the Dunning and Toohey families for taking us down. Sydney is a very special city, unlike any other that I've experienced, and I hope to return sometime soon!
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