Sydney Diaries 1: Wandering and Shopping Around Sydney

Lately, I'm missing traveling-you know, seeing your feet step on a totally different piece of land and raising your head and seeing that indeed, you are in a new place. Feeling and hearing that thump in your heart, the voice of excitement that you could not contain, and all those sleepless nights that feel just all right. I really, really miss the experience.

So I'm reminiscing one of my most memorable trips last year through a series of posts. I'm taking you guys around Sydney in the next 3 days! :D

The hotel we stayed in is the prestigious The Darling Hotel located at Darling Harbour. It's about 30- 45 minutes away from the airport, and roughly about an hour if traffic is heavy. The traffic system in Sydney is quite smooth and organized compared to here so you don't really feel that you're wasting too much time on the road.

I got a suite all to myself, so it's good that my Mom came along. It could even accommodate 5 people! The room has a divider in between. This is the living room.

And this is the bedroom. Look at me. I am soooo ready to sleep when this photo was taken haha. Didn't really get to sleep so much during the plane ride due to bouts of turbulence! Besides, I couldn't go out because it was FREEZING when I arrived. (10 degrees baby! The closest I could get to Winter!) Apparently, there was a storm and it lingered for two days.

I spent two days with Olay and some of the finest bloggers around Asia. Basically, everything we did in those two days was related to Olay and it was fun, fun, fun! I extended for one day to meet my dad (who resides in Sydney) and explore the city with my mom. I'm going to share my shopping experience first so click READ MORE now. :D

After accomplishing our activities with Olay, the girls and I would sneak out to mosey around the city. We would end at around 9pm so we did most of our shopping in the supermarket haha! Why so? Because lifestyle establishments (that includes malls, most restaurants, cinemas, and boutiques) close at 5pm in Sydney, that's a government rule, although my Dad told me that malls are open 'til 10pm on a certain day of the week (Was it every Thursday?) so locals and tourists could shop for as long as they want. Coffee Shops, if I'm not mistaken, would close at 8pm.

Back to the supermarket! This is Coles, the grocery in front of our hotel. It closes at 11 p.m.

I love how neat this supermarket is! Well, I love supermarkets that's why I ALWAYS make it a point to drop by one when I'm in a different country.

FYI, there are certain chocolates in Australia that are so damn good, but are not available locally, unfortunately. One of which is Caramello Koala: Koala- shaped chocolate stuffed with sweet-salty Caramel. Mmmm. I got a pack!

Another one is Freddo. Nothing fancy, it's just Milk Chocolate, but it's Frog- shaped!

Wow! Rimmel! I was so tempted to grab a few, but I found them a little pricey huhu! :(

These are microwaveable meals. Love that the choices are so healthy and dieter- friendly! I wanted to get one, but I didn't have a microwave in the hotel. :p

Here's Valerie Lim buying bottles and bottles of Mineral Water because Mineral Water ain't for free in our hotel! Oh, the cashier is also self- service. So awesome-it's the first time I encountered that. :D

Jumping to my third day in Sydney! Here's David Jones in the Westfield Area. It's a premium mall, and that's why I sooo wanted to go there LOL! Actually, I wanted to canvas for luxury bag prices and do a bit of window shopping. :p The thing is, everything is pretty expensive in Sydney (even more expensive than Japan in my opinion) so I wasn't able to shop LITERALLY, except for a few Pawpaw balms, Caramello Koalas, and Freddos. What I love about the city and the people though is they really support their local brands, from food to clothing.

Picture- taking is not really allowed there so I was only able to take a photo of the Burberry counter. It's such a luxurious makeup brand!

Other brands to be found inside David Jones are: Giorgio Armani, YSL, MAC, Jo Malone, Celine, Givenchy, Prada, Burberry, Bobbi Brown, and Lancome to name a few.

Prada has their own boutique right across David Jones too.

And there's Miu Miu too!

Selfie break with my mom!

My window shopping became literal shopping, thanks to my Dad. It's a happy ending after all. :D

Here's my purchase! Reviewed it HERE by the way. :)

This gorgeous edifice is the Queen Victoria Building. It was built in 1898 to replace the Sydney markets on the same site. The government had planned a majestic, Romanesque architecture for it so as to employ unemployed craftsmen, artists, painters, and stained glass artists during that time. Sigh, I didn't have time to take a look inside because the choice was between Bondi Beach and this-mom and dad wanted to go to Bondi so I had to go with them too! Oh well! I vow to be back in Sydney and by then, I will surely visit this place!

Dad brought us back to the hotel by 7pm. After dropping our stuff in the room, Mom and I went to Harbourside, an underground mall. I think this area closes late, at 10pm if I'm not mistaken.

One of the shops in Harbourside. It's basically an open mall with restos, salons, and fashion boutiques inside. Also, this is where you can find Ugg Boots-a lot of it, if I may add.

Food court in Harbourside. There's McDonald's here and love that they serve steak burgers! :D

Harbourside is a pretty long stretch of boutiques, but if you get to the food court area, walk a little further and you'll be led to this:


Tadah! The Harbor! You'll find lots and lots of restaurants and drinking pubs in this area. There's also a floating ship restaurant nearby!

So that's it for our first day in Sydney! In the next post, we'll go to Bondi Beach, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Bridge, and the Westfield Tower, the highest peak in the city! :D

TIP: Wanna drink, party, and be merry in Sydney? Go to King's Cross. It's actually a red light district, but there are lots of decent clubs, bars, and drinking pubs in the area if you're looking for some clean fun with friends. :)

Check out my other posts about my trip in Sydney:

SYDNEY DIARIES 2: Bondi Beach, Sydney Opera House, Westfield Tower, and the Sydney Bridge
SYDNEY DIARIES 3: Wildlife Museum and Madame Tussauds