 |
| Park Hyatt Lunch and View of Opera house |
From a sky filled with gorgeous tropical wild larakeets and yellow crusted cockatoos swooping above, to sun-blazed, bikini doted beaches with sandstone rock pools camouflaged into the cliffs, to watching perilous open-ocean swim competitions in great white invested waters- Sydney is all sorts of amazing.
It's the sort of place where you can enjoy a Park Hyatt pre- lunch cocktail of out of this world rich, creamy Sydney rock oysters paired with minerally elegant Ruinart champagne followed by an insane tasting menu consisting foie gras, rhubarb and hibiscus with red and black berries and brioche in front of the Sydney Opera house. I mean, insane.
Sydney truly is a cosmopolitan city filled with a multi ethnic mix of people, culture and undeniable beauty. Below is a glimpse into some of the "Must do's" compiled from some of my favorite local friends.
 |
| Coogee to Bondi walk |
1) Coogee Beach- Bondi Beach walk. This is the place to start your Sydney adventure! Hands down. Stay away from the touristy sites and come STRAIGHT here and hang with the locals. The Coogee Beach-Bondi Beach walk is a cliff top coastal walk filled with stunning views, beaches, parks, rock pools and swimming spots. It's 6k or 3.5 miles and a perfect morning jog or walk. Most of the beaches have changing rooms, places to eat, have a picnic, go to the bathroom, etc. Tamarama, Bronte, Coogee and Maroubra have free electric bbqs!
 |
| Waileys Baths |
Tamarama Beach is the place to be seen, snorkeling is bests at Clovelly, Mackenzie point and Bronte are both the fav for surfers. Bondi has Icebergs for lunch which is iconic. I loved Coogee but I might be biased because one of my favorite friends lives there. I also adore Wailey's baths which is just past Coogee and a perfect place to relax and swim for the day. Feels like you're in Croatia or a Geneva Switzerland beach!
 |
| Coogee Beach on a 90 degree day with fog! |
2) Hang in a locals neighborhood- Paddington- This area is night and day different from the sun drenched beach communities of Bondi or Coogee- the good historical, chic, gorgeous kind of different. Paddington is laced with 1800's terrace style housing, trendy shopping, great restaurants and is just a short walk from the center of the city. It's sophisticated and certainly a "must see".
 |
| Josh Goot |
Come here to check out designers on Williams street or Oxford street or at an area called the "Intersection". Here you'll find: Scanlan Theodore, Ellery, Camilla and Marc, Alice McCall, Josh Goot, Sass and Bide and Alannah Hill .
 |
| Ellery |
For restaurants check out Williams St wine bar, Ampersand Pantry Cafe and Bookstore, Berkelouw Books and Cafe 1812, Underwood Cafe a hidden gem with a Balinese style deck, Ovvio (book a consult) for a visit to a naturopath, homeopath and herbalist. In the earthy surrounds of the Apothecary the herbal magic happens! Here they formulate and dispense liquid herbs and other natural remedies for clients. LOVE.
 |
OVVIO is the brand behind Sydney's acclaimed naturopath, homeopath and herbalist, Athia Koulouros.
Book a consult or peruse the organic health, beauty and home products, teas or spice blends |
3) Go to Surrey Hills- Another sweet inner city neighborhood is Surry Hills. It's artsy, vibrant and filled with great uber creative foodie spots. The area sort of has a run down or up and coming vibe. Starting on Crown street is a good idea, make sure to stop a few galleries and checkout a few gasto pubs, outdoor dining spots and hidden bars. Make sure to check out Nomad (insane roasted carrots with dukkah and creme fraiche),
 |
| Nomad |
Bourke Street Bakery (for a Strawberry rhubarb tart, ginger creme brulee tart or a savory chicken, sweet potato, pea, lime pie)
 |
| Bourke Street Bakery |
Bills in Bondi, Darlinghurt or Surrey Hills (for brown rice and sweet miso porridge, coconut yoghurt, mango and lime or ricotta hotcakes, banana + honeycomb butter or zucchini fritters, deep fried egg, haloumi, parsley salad, tahini yoghurt and pickles)
 |
| Bills |
The Winery (just a cute little outdoor wine spot surrounded by plants and attractive people,
 |
| Winery, Sydney |
Longrain (yummy cocktails, soul of SE Asian cooking and legit Thai street food),
 |
| Longrain |
Reuben Hills (Banana Peanuts and Espresso Bread w /salted caramel butter, Ancho orange salmon w beetslaw, asparagus & goats curd, Lemon myrtle, lemongrass, licorice and ginger root tea or pancakes w/ Date caramel, pecan praline and quandong icecream. I mean.... YUM. Ah huhhh Sydney legit food.
 |
| Reuben Hills |
 |
| The Rocks |
4) Walk around the Food market at "The Rocks"-My favorite thing in the world is Gözleme. Yup Gozleme. They have a delicious one here. Brings me right back to 2007 or so in Turkey with my family when a gorgeous old Turkish lady was hunched over a huge, round open pan and mixed up a super simple little dough of flour and water, olive and salt, rolled it out ever so thin, cut a pocket in it and filled it with feta, spinach, zucchini, eggplant, leek, shallot and garlic. YUMM. The Rocks is THE PLACE to be Fridays from 9-3 or Sat/Sun from 10-5. Stop by one of the roof top bars after for a cocktail.
 |
The Rocks
|
5) Check out Din Tai Fung is kind of a must if you like dumplings or Dim Sun. I've been in Singapore and Bangkok. Its literally the worlds tastiest dumpling. Every dumpling is delicately hand made to measure btwn 4.8-5.2 grams before being filled with 20 grams of filling. They're all made fresh in front of your eyes, steamed in exactly 3 minutes and on your table in seconds. It's gorgeous, delicate precious and quality control that makes this place INSANE. That and the fact that you can have truffles in your dumplings. Find it in Sydney, Taiwan, Japan, USA, Singapore, Indo, etc.
6) Eat lunch at the Park Hyatt. Start with champagne and oysters at the bar and take in the view of the Sydney Opera House! Lunch is 1 course for $39, 2 $59 and 3 $69 at the Dining Room and it was one of my most favorite meals of my life. Hands down. While in this area go checkout the Museum of Contemporary art and maybe the botanical gardens.
 |
| Ruinart Champagne with Sydney Rock Oysters |
