NYE in SYD — mcclures on the map

there are days where I feel like I have our lives together, everything is going well and we kind of have things figured out. then there are days like today, when I felt the urge to finally finish the first blog from our trip to australia a while ago. like, 2017/2018 a while ago. good times. we are always looking ahead to our next trip and while we do, I thought i’d relive this one - and I honestly could again and again.

so let’s jump in. flying to australia (or anywhere in asia if you have ever been) is a weird feeling. you essentially skip an entire day on the calendar, but it feels like you just took a really long rest and arrived somewhere new. but are also really tired. beyond confusing, I tell you!

we flew to sydney a few days after christmas and were instantly grateful for the warmer temps and sunshine. our hotel backed up to the gorgeous hyde park and the minute we got there, we set off to explore the new city. our first stop was the royal botanic garden or as we described it: part garden, part city park. this was also where we caught our first glimpse of the famous opera house (more on that later).

there it is! the pride of sydney - and us, after many hours of traveling.

so here she is! the famed sydney opera house from afar and then super up close. I was suprised to find out that the coating of the building is not white slats, but instead these white and gray tiles.

walking around a new city coupled with jet lag makes for two nearly hangry travelers. soup dumplings are a hot commodity in the mcclure household and really hard to find stateside, so there really was no other choice besides din tai fung. soup dumplings, dan dan noodles, pork buns and fried rice. so. happy. it was extremely exciting to be back in the land of good asian food again.

the weather was amazing our first day there and we wanted to see as much as we could. for the brave souls who don’t mind heights and shelling out a hefty amount of money, climbing the sydney harbor bridge would be an absolute thrill. a pro tip we learned though was to go to the pylon lookout which is on the bridge itself. for around $15 per person, we were able to climb to the top and still had incredible views of the opera house and the harbor. this would be great to do with a larger group or with kids if you don’t want to go through the hassle of climbing the big bridge.

this photo is a little random, but i wanted to include because it was an amazing art display on a side street during our walking tour we did. along with the suspended birdcages, there were sounds of birds chirping and singing. it was so serene and u… — this photo is a little random, but i wanted to include because it was an amazing art display on a side street during our walking tour we did. along with the suspended birdcages, there were sounds of birds chirping and singing. it was so serene and unique.

one of our favorite areas of sydney was the unique rocks district. this area is historically significant and has countless boutiques, restaurants and pubs lining its cobblestone streets, all while looking over the shimmering harbor. we loved it up there! we had lunch at an adorable place called the fine food store and it was also where we started our “sydney’s oldest pub tour,” one of the highlights of our entire trip.

the first stop in our tour - fortune of war

there are many pub tours you can do here, but we chose this one because it went to a number of legendary and historic places and we thought it’d be a cool way to see the rocks area. the whole premise of the tour was to determine which place was, in fact, sydney’s oldest pub. it seems like it’d be obvious, but a lot of them claim to be the oldest! the key was in the wording of each place. for example, one bar might be the oldest PUB, one might be the oldest BAR and one might be the oldest HOTEL. gotta love the fine print details!

the tour started at fortune of war (pictured above) and continued to the lord nelson hotel, a sydney staple. we were told to not sit in certain seats because the regulars had their designated stools - and mug hanging above them. we obliged and stood behind, ordered some tasty beers instead.

our third and final stop on the tour was the hero of waterloo. this was another fantastic pub with a real convict cell in the basement - part of the scandalous penal past of the city. needless to say, we were happy to go in and out of the cell as we pleased!

if you ever find yourself in a city with a walking pub tour like this one, take advantage. it was a great way to see some new places, learn a ton of history and meet new people from all over. we were so sad to see it end!

not ready to go home after the tour, we continued the party at the glenmore hotel with our new friends! they were from the UK and all around lovely humans.

after a day of bar hopping and drinking, a quality breakfast was necessary. we ventured over to the surry hills neighborhood and decided on cuckoo callay. we are by no means food photographers, but this had to be included. behold the mac daddy: a poached egg on a croissant topped with bacon mac & cheese and crispy scallions. oh. my. goodness. my mouth is watering all over again remembering it.

the place was so bright and colorful. highly recommend!

these are the paddington markets, which take place every saturday in a church parking lot. so many local artisans and makers. i could have walked around here forever!

on a nice sunny day in sydney, there really isn’t a better place to hang out than the manly beach area, just a quick ferry ride away from sydney proper. it reminded me of a beach town in california and we loved how laidback, but lively it was there.

the temptation to jump into one of these games was SO real.

on our way back to sydney, we ran into this awesome brewpub, four pines keller door. we had a wonderful time sipping beers, watching people walk by, befriending our waitress and meeting a lovely couple from michigan. hard to believe that a day this warm was so close to new year’s eve!

as pretty as sydney is by day, it’s absolutely stunning at night. taking the ferry back from manly beach was gorgeous and showed us the city in a different light (literally!).

nothing could prepare us for the chaos of new year’s eve in sydney. many locals had told us to avoid it all together and watch the fireworks from somewhere far away, but we figured it was one of those awesome once-in-a-lifetime things that we had to do. we headed down to the harbor around 8 to stake out our territory. luckily, we got a spot right by the bridge and could see it and the opera house perfectly. i imagine this is a lot like times square in NYC on new year’s eve in that once you get a spot, you don’t move. after the children’s fireworks show around 9 (which was actually really great), we found creative ways to stay awake and kill time while we waited for the main event.

midnight finally came and it was the most amazing, over the top fireworks show either of us had ever seen. the complexity and enormity of the night and pure joy among the crowd was so fun and truly inspiring. when the clock struck midnight in sydney, it was 6:30 am on new year’s eve day back home. it felt like we were the first ones to welcome 2018 and we won’t ever forget the epic celebration!

they constantly showed different images on these stone pillars and then did the big countdown to midnight on them too.

excuse the crappy phone picture, but these were the fireworks off the sydney harbor bridge. so great!

thanks for the best time, sydney!