The Tea Cozy, The Rocks, Sydney

June 2014

It had been a nice sunny day, that quickly got overcast and wet, perfect timing for a visit to The Tea Cozy, located in The Rocks, Sydney.

Scones are the specialty and come in a variety of flavours, baked fresh.

While the homemade iced tea looked worth trying, the cold weather made the traditional variety more appealing. I usually gravitate towards a vanilla or caramel flavour, so decided to try the Nanna's Apple Pie instead.

The tea comes in a pot with a cut tea cozy and vintage cup and saucer, just like at Nanna's!

We were in a group so went with the Devonshire tea, this allowed us two scones each and I had one of the Winter (lightly spiced and my favourite) and a plain.

Being in a group also meant me could try multiple jams and the Pear & Vanilla was something I could do with in my fridge at home.

All in all a nice afternoon tea, but the advantage of being in a group was we had a booking and an area reserved, there was quite the line waiting otherwise.

Kikokuniya Bookstore, Sydney

June 2014

What is a bookstore doing on your Sydney Bucket List I hear you ask?

 The Kinokuniya Bookstore is located across from Sydney's Queen Victoria Building (QVB). The Japanese bookstore first opened in Sydney in 1996 and is home to over 300,000 books, why shouldn't it be on my list!

Due to many reasons I love my Kindle and my local library, but for all those hard to find (read imported titles) this is a great place to stop.

One of my favourite parts is how they organise their books (the food and history sections are prime examples and two of my favourite topics!).

Museum of Contemporary Art (or the MCA) Sydney

June 2014

The MCA is conveniently located at Circular Quay in downtown Sydney.

Part of my Sydney Bucket list, my visit coincided with the last weekend of the 19th Biennale of Sydney.

While I'm not a huge fan of contemporary art, but the thing with art is there is always something you can find that captures your interest, makes you think or draws you in.

In case you can't read it: "It;s such a thin line between cleaver and stupid" I visited this one a number of times

While I didn't check out the food, the view from the rooftop cafe has to be one of the best in Sydney.

Details

MCA

140 George St, The Rocks, Sydney

Open everyday except for Christmas day

Free entry

Sydney Bucket List, 2014

Sometimes we tend to neglect what's in our own backyard, particularly if it's a popular destination for other tourists. So i decided to come up with a Sydney Bucket List for me to try and tick off over the next year. Some I've done before, others I had never heard of until recently and I'm sure my list will grow quicker than I can tick items off.

1. Vivid

2. Sculptures by the sea

3. MCA

4. NSW Art Gallery and the Archibald Prize

5. Ferry to manly

6. Friday night summer markets the rocks

7. Luna Park

8. Class at Sydney Dance Company

9. Customs House

10. Opera House

11. Walk the Harbour Bridge

12. State Library of NSW 

13. Cockatoo Island

14. Brett Whitley Studios Surry Hills

15. Eveleigh Farmers Markets

16. Kiribilli Fashion markets

17. Kinokunija Book Store

18. Surf School Manly

19. Swim in an Ocean Pool

20. Grandma takes a trip Vintage Store Surry Hills

21. Sydney Winter Festival

22. Sydney Festival

23. Outdoor cinema (http://www.au.timeout.com/sydney/film/features/11546/sydneys-best-outdoor-cinemas)

24. Sydney Jewish Museum

25. Sydney Film Festival

26. ?????

What else should be on my Sydney bucket list?

What are some of your favourite things to do/see/eat in your local town?

Long drive in the country

May 2014

In May I had to make a quick, 1,400 km (approx 875 mile) drive to Wagga and Griffith for work. It was great weather for it and I was surprised how green it was considering the lack of rain we've had recently.

Hotels of Sydney

I've been able to stay in some of Sydney's great hotels, so which were my favourites?

Shangri-la, Sydney
My all time favourite, if you get a room with the right view. Located in The Rocks region of Sydney with stunning harbour views.

QT, Sydney
A funky hotel, based in the old Gowings Department store, located opposite Myer and above the State theater.

The Darling, Star, Sydney
Located in the Star Casio, across the harbour from Darling Harbour, its a bit out of the way.

Hilton, Sydney
Located across the road from the Queen Victoria Building and Town Hall Station, the Hilton is a convenient location for staying in Sydney for business or pleasure.

Blue, Woolloomolloo, Sydney
Located in a renovated Wool and Cargo facility on the "quieter" side of Sydney harbour, its a popular place for spotting famous Australians while they lunch.

Vivid Sydney, 2014

June 2014

It was my first year visiting Vivid Sydney, I had only heard of the large number of locals and tourists flooding into the CBD at night to see the harbour bridge, Opera House and other iconic buildings lit.

The key with vivid is that its almost like New Years Eve, the town is flooded with people, including a large number of families, and street closures mean that pedestrian traffic is king,

We mainly spent time around the rocks, harbour and Martin Place displays (Darling Harbour also is lit and the view from North Sydney is also meant to be popular.

Harbour Bridge

Customs House

Opera House

MCA

Martin Place

Nike She Runs, Centennial Park, Sydney

May 2014

Last year was my first year at this event (and the third year for the actual event), and while I didn't love this year's event as much, its still my favourite fun run.

The run is a 10K night race in Sydney's famous Centennial Park and this year another 6,000 women participated.

The names of all the participants this year were on a giant She Runs sign, its always fun spotting yours.

The 10K course changed this year, which included a hill for the first kilometer, I'm pretty sure we didn't hit that hill to a bit later last year.

I can't wait to see what the event holds next year, this year I managed to knock 3 min off my time last year with a PB of 1:02:07. I would love if they did a women's only marathon like in San Francisco, but I doubt we would have the numbers.