Continuing my series on the Sister Cities of San Francisco, the traveling couple behind Vagabond Quest, Dina and Ryan, share the best of Sydney with us. They began their vagabond journey in April 2009 and it’s their dream to become permanent travelers. These two have spent last year living on and off in Sydney, while also exploring the more of Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.
1. Before I asked you to do this interview, did you know San Francisco and Sydney were Sister Cities? What do you think makes Sydney a great city and would make San Francisco want to be its sister?
We had no idea before that SF and Sydney are Sister Cities. Maybe they’re sisters because the 2 cities have famous bridges (the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the Golden Gate) and beautiful bays.
2. What is your favorite touristy spot in Sydney?
Sydney Harbour. Take the cheap ferry from Circular Quay (beside the Opera House) to Manly Beach. The view from the ferry along Sydney Harbour is stunning!
3. On the other hand, what is the most overrated touristy spot?
The Fish Market. I think many people with hate me for saying this, sorry, but we tried it a few times and we didn’t have a great experience there. Nowhere near the hype. The seafood, including fish, are quite expensive and not particularly great. With the same or less price, we can have the better quality fish in other Sydney restaurants. You’d do much better going for seafood in Chinatown, for example. The place is also very crowded and if you’re lucky enough to find a place to sit you’ll be dive-bombed by flocks of very aggressive seagulls the whole time you’re eating.
4. What is your favorite art museum, public art piece, local artist or art gallery in Sydney?
That’s got to be the “Sydney Statues: Project!” (Sep – Oct 2010). Eight important statues around the Sydney CBD got pampered up with colorful and flamboyant clothes. It references Australia’s most colorful era in fashion, the 70s and 80s, and also various historical symbols. Among the 8 states they dressed up were Queen Victoria, Captain Cook, Shakespeare Memorial, and the cutest one: Il Porcellino, the boar statue at the Sydney Hospital. For this one, instead of making clothes for the boar, they attached colorful wings to its back. Cute! I hope they will do this project every year, I had fun inspecting those statues that month.
5. It’s a sunny weekend afternoon – where can we find you?
Maybe you will find us exploring up and down the beaches along the coast. Or maybe we are just lazing around in the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens in the heart of the city.
6. Which neighborhood in Sydney is your favorite?
Chinatown in the CBD. They have many great Asian restaurants there, not just Chinese. They even have some good Indonesian restaurants there, that I missed so much. We had such a great food experience there, although some places can be dodgy: one even served us a noodle dish with a fully cooked cockroach!
7. If you need a break from the city, what’s your ideal day trip?
Sydney has a lot of great beaches, 2 of the most popular ones are Manly and Bondi. The atmosphere here is different from the CBD, even though is not that far away. There’s also great kayaking a little south of the city in Bundeena, through the calm waters of Port Hacking.
8. Where is the best restaurant to get dinner in Sydney?
Home – a Thai restaurant. It’s new, small, and always jam-packed with people, including a tightly packed second-floor that seems to have been hastily stuffed into the renovated space. Watch out for falling cutlery!
Miso – a Japanese katsu restaurant in World Square. It’s always packed for a reason: you won’t find better tonkatsu anywhere else in Sydney, and probably nowhere else outside Japan.
Delima – a Indonesian restaurant.
Selah – a modern Australian restaurant, expensive but great.
Kingsleys – a steak house.
Sancheng Hotpot King – a Szechuan hotpot restaurant, bring a big group of people with you because this is a big, hearty, super-spicy feast.
Cafe Ish – a delicious gourmet Western-Japanese fusion delicacies with exotic native Australian ingredients such as crocodile, emu, kangaroo, lemon myrtle, and wattle.
9. For those of us traveling on a budget, what is the best free activity in the city?
Sightseeing around the CBD. Do the walk from The Rocks, the original settlement in Sydney. Check out The Rocks Market if you happen to be there on the weekend. Then continue walking to the Sydney Opera House, and explore the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens afterwards. If you still have the energy, continue walking south to St. Mary’s Cathedral and visit the Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park across from the cathedral.
10. When you eventually move on from Sydney, what will you miss the most?
The Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens. It’s just right beside the Sydney Opera House. The view from the garden to the water with Opera House and Harbour Bridge in the background is stunning. Not only do they have extensive collection of plants from many parts of the world, some of them rare or almost extinct, but it’s also home a large group of flying foxes (a kind of big bats) and sulphur crested cockatoos. The flying foxes sleep during the day time, and wake up at dusk to fly off into the setting sun. Such a great moment, I love to just lay down on the grass and watch them silently swooping overhead.
A giant thank you to Dina and Ryan for sharing the best of Sydney with us!
Explore Sydney like Dina and Ryan –
- Visit Sydney’s original settlement site, The Rocks.
- Learn about the Sydney Statues: Project!
- Go kayaking in Bundeena.
- Eat at Cafe Ish.
- Relax at the Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens.
(photo credits: All photos are property of Vagabond Quest – Please do not use without their permission)
10 comments
3 pings
Dina says:
January 20, 2011 at 3:45 pm (UTC -7)
Ashley, thanks so much for having us here
Hope you will get to Sydney one day and can enjoy those places above!
Dina recently posted..Ballsy Kangaroo
Ashley @ No Onions Extra Pickles says:
January 20, 2011 at 5:04 pm (UTC -7)
Thank you both for wanting to be interviewed
Sydney does sound awesome, and I know I have to visit – hopefully sooner, rather than later!
Christine says:
January 21, 2011 at 8:08 pm (UTC -7)
I’m moving to Australia next month and am flying into Sydney–this just got me so excited and gave me so many great tips! Thanks so much for sharing your insider knowledge
Ashley @ No Onions Extra Pickles says:
January 22, 2011 at 11:22 am (UTC -7)
How exciting! Have a fab time in Australia!
Dina says:
January 23, 2011 at 9:18 pm (UTC -7)
Christine, I hope you will have a blast in Australia! Thanks for the kind comment!
Dina recently posted..Ballsy Kangaroo
Rease says:
January 25, 2011 at 12:12 pm (UTC -7)
I have heard so much about Australia lately. I’m a sucker for great Botanical Gardens! I live right next to one in Buenos Aires and I have to say it is one of the saddest ones I have ever seen! Australia really intrigues me, nice interview!
Rease recently posted..101 Places You Should Never Go
Dina says:
January 27, 2011 at 10:16 am (UTC -7)
Haha
I think you will love the one in Sydney! I also like the one in Wellington, NZ. I will also keep in mind what you say about the Buenos Aires one, who knows we can be there one day and check it out!
Dina recently posted..In Search of the Cassowary
bethany says:
January 29, 2011 at 10:24 pm (UTC -7)
Great interview. I have always wanted to learn a little more about them and this was perfect.
bethany recently posted..The Eiffel Tower in HDR- Paris- France – Somewhere In Time Weekly Travel Photo
Dina says:
January 31, 2011 at 1:41 am (UTC -7)
Thanks, Beth
Dina recently posted..In Search of the Cassowary
Jasmine says:
February 28, 2011 at 9:16 am (UTC -7)
I have always wanted to visit Australia, it seems like it would be such a beautiful and friendly place. I am happy to have run across this post. There is a lot of good information here on the tourist and non-tourist locations. Thanks for sharing!
Jasmine recently posted..Anniversary gifts & gift ideas
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No Onions Extra Pickles » Blog Archive » San Francisco’s Sister Cities says:
July 6, 2011 at 1:51 pm (UTC -7)
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