Eastern Suburb of Sydney, Centennial Parkland

It was 26 November 2016, my second weekend in Sydney. The weather is getting warmer and the sun is shining tad brighter. I had another exploration planned for the day.

Previous days before, I was glancing some magazines in my apartment and I saw this small column of event advertisement. There is pop-up market somewhere at the eastern suburb of Sydney , called Big Design Market.

Big Design Market was established a few years ago in Melbourne to showcase the creativity of local Australian designers. In 2016, Big Design Market is held in both Melbourne and Sydney. There is an entrance fee of AUD 2 to attend this event.

Sydney Big Design Market 2016 was held in Royal Hall of Industries at Centennial Parklane. Royal Hall of Industries is an exhibition venue of 5,400 square meters with high ceiling and huge cathedral window.

Entering Centennial Parklane

Royal Hall of Industries

The entrance

The exhibition space

One of the stall selling handmade potteries

Fashion stall

Creative keyholder, founded in Melbourne

Almost everything were sold here, from dresses, socks, hats, leather stuffs, gadget accessories, home decorations, bicycles, stationeries, and many other things. I was quite interested in a few things since they were all quite unique. But to be honest, the price was a bit steep, probably because the production was still small scale.

There were some stalls for foods and beverages too, but again, the prices were higher than what you could get outside. 

I spent a few hours circling around and considering whether I should buy anything, but in the end decided not to. I walked out and crossed over to the other side of the road to Sydney Entertainment Quarter.

Entertainment Quarter is an area full of shops, eateries, bowling arena, ice skating ground, two cinemas, function centre, comedy store, children playground, Fox studio, etc. At the back of Entertainment Quarter is Sydney Cricket Stadium.

I wandered cluelessly until I reached somewhere at the back and I found a Saturday market. This farmer market is held here every Wednesday and Saturday. I walked around the fresh vegetables and fruits but did not buy anything since I was not in the mood to carry groceries back home.

The Farmers Market nearby the cricket ground

The honey almond is sooooo good!

Inside the market

I bought falafel pita and had my lunch at the kids' playground

I continued my journey after filling in my fuel with a cup of coffee from Gloria Jeans. I walked towards Centennial Park and enjoyed a few hours inside.

189-ha Centennial Park was opened in 1888. However the history stretched back to early 1800 when the swampy area was designated as the second Sydney Common by Governor Macquarie. In 1825, an aqueduct was built from this area to Hyde Park in order to supply water to Sydney. Only in 1888, this place was declared as a public space and the landscaping works were carried out to turn the swamp into a public space with features of formal gardens, ponds and statues.

I did not walk the whole park because it was just too huge. I think Centennial Park is suitable for picnic and bbq with bigger group of people. There are so many spacious area with well-taken-care grass around the area. I suddenly longed to have a picnic blanket.

Entering Centennial Park from Lang Road

Picnic in front of Busbys Pond

There are many benches around the park too, in case you don't have any picnic blanket. But, you can't choose where you want to be seated. You might be getting too much sun or too much wind. I sat at one of the bench facing Busbys Pond for more than 1 hour. I just watched people, watched the ducks, watched the serenity, and read my book.

Three ducks approached me

And they posed in front of me

I continued walking along the Grand Drive and I exited from another side of the park. Apparently, it is Oxford Street entrance and it's Paddington again! I took bus home from Paddington.

The parkland area

I don't what this is, but it just looks fancy

One of my favourite captions of the day

Statue

My legs were too weary to cover the whole park, but for sure I would get back to Centennial Park. Next time, with my picnic blanket, for sure.

Update

I finally had a chance to revisit this place when my man was still in town. We walked here from the Paddington Markets on a fine Saturday, entering from Oxford Street Entrance and exiting from Randwick.

We did walk around almost every pond in the park. We did some bird watching, sit and enjoy the summer time, watch other people feeding the birds, etc. We had a great time.

Apparently a restaurant inside Centennial Parkland

A well groomed lawn

Busbys Pond

Bridge to cross Lily Pond

Lily Pond

People feeding the birds at Duck Pond

Invited by the food

Georgeous!

Hello, I am the coolest in the gang

There are seats along the pond for your bird watching convenience

Actually there is a notice NOT to feed the birds

Some birds go stranded

We had the view

We had sunshine

We had summertime

Australian white ibis is finding his way home

Bye Centennial

Love is in the air,
Little Feet

The Old and Beautiful Side of Sydney CBD

Queen Victoria Building, QVB in short, is a nineteenth century victorian building located in Sydney CBD. It has been standing tall and proud since 1898. The main feature of the building is the central dome with glass roof and smaller domes at each corner of the 30 m width by 190m long building. The designer of this magnificent building was a Scottish architect named George McRae who moved to Sydney in 1884.

Exterior of QVB

Entrance of George Street

At the southern plaza of the building facing Druitt Street, there is a statue of Queen Victoria. This statue was originally from Dublin and was given by the Republic of Ireland to the people of Sydney. There is a wishing well nearby featuring a bronze structure of the Queen's favourite dog, Islay. The coins collected from this well are donated to the benefit of blind and deaf children.

The statue of Queen Victoria

Sir Islay

This building is a four-level shopping centre under the central dome. The top three floors have large opening and balconies to look through to the ground floor. From the start, the building has been functioning as a shopping centre, only throughout the years, there were a few round of refurbishment. The latest one was carried out in 2008. Currently, QVB holds an array of branded designer boutiques.

QVB Building from Top Level

The lower level get the natural sunlight through the glass dome

Another feature of this building is the display of two mechanical clock at the ceiling of QVB. These two royal clocks were designed and made by Chris Cook and each of them weighs more than 4 tonnes and stands 10 m tall. The clocks display 33 scenes of Australian history, seen from Aboriginal and European perspective. 

On of the "Royal Clock" of QVB

On the top level near the dome, there is a sealed letter written by Queen Elizabeth II in 1986. It shall be opened by the future mayor of Sydney in 2085 and be read aloud to the people of Sydney. I am still trying to find out where this display is located.

The antique lift

At the basement, there are an array of more affordable shops and eateries. The basement also connects QVB to the nearby buildings in Pitt Street Mall and Townhall Station.

Doughnut Time at the Basement

Drooling Ferrero-No-Share

Walking out from Druit Street entrance, there is another wonderful victorian style building out there. If QVB looks massive and strong, this building looks petite and beautiful. This is Townhall Building, which was built in 1880s at the former cemetery ground of Sydney. The design of this building started as early as 1860s. The process went through many change of hands and the construction was finally completed in 1899. The building was constructed with original Sydney sandstone.

The building was built to hold meeting/exhibition/reception/performance at the large space. There are also council chamber and civic offices inside. In more than one century, there has been almost no change to the usage of this building.

Town Hall Building with the clock since 1883

Fully blooming Jacaranda Trees outside Town Hall Building

Another stunning view showing the yellowish Sydney sandstone

Besides Town Hall Building, there stands a gothic style structure constructed out of brickworks. St. Andrew Cathedral, an Anglican Christian church that has been in operation since 1868. The church holds masses almost everyday.

St. Andrew Cathedral

In the middle of busy and modern CBD, the historical buildings stand timelessly beautiful. I am happy that the government really tries to protect these heritage buildings by means of restoration, refurbishment and optimization of usage. I hope Indonesian government can do the same for our almost forgotten aging historical building.

Jacaranda is still my favourite!

Love is in the air,
Little Feet

The First Suburb to Explore, Paddington

It was my first weekend in Sydney. I decided to visit Paddington.

I am blessed. My friends, knowing that I am going to live in Sydney, keep sending me interesting places and foods they found on facebook and instagram. Thanks to Ivy, I have to know this place.

The weather was good, cooling but not so windy. I used the magic spell called google.com to find out what I was expecting to see and I asked my best friend in Sydney, named Google Maps, to figure out how I could reach Paddington.

I walked to Martin Place Station Stand F to take Bus 380 (City Circular Quay to Watsons Bay via Bondi Junction). There are a few buses that run from CBD to Paddington, but thanks to the Opal mobile apps, it shows the cost of each trip. I chose the cheapest one, of course. Stingy me. The bus journey cost me AUD 2.1.

Opal mobile apps also shows the arriving time of the bus, but you can't really rely on it. My bus arrived more than 5 minutes late. The bus journey itself took less than 20 minutes.

Paddington is an inner city, eastern suburb of Sydney, 3km east of CBD. Paddington lies across two local government area, i.e. City of Sydney and Woollhara. During the first decades of British settlement, this area was ignored. Only after the year of 1800, when roads were built followed by houses and Victoria Barracks, Paddington started to develop. Until today, Paddington is considered as heritage area with all the Victorian buildings lining along.

After asking Mr. Bus Driver, I alighted at Oxford Street, opposite Paddington Markets. Oxford Street is the main street of Paddington where most the interesting shops can be found. You can buy everything here: meat, groceries, chocolates, shoes, home decorations, wedding gown, art paintings, you-name-it-you-get-it.

Oxford Street

My first stop was Paddington Markets, located at the yard of Paddington Uniting Church. This market is a weekend rain-or-shine market that has been operating this way since 1973. The operating hour is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m and it houses pop-up stores of local artists and designers. There are fashions, handmade fragrances, decorations, accessories and jewelleries, etc. etc. etc.

Paddington Markets and Paddington Uniting Church

Welcome to Paddington Markets

Flowers

One of the designer store

Homade cakes

Live music at the food area!

Walking around this market took me one hour or so and I proceeded to stroll along the Oxford Road. If there was something that interested me, I would walk into the shop, spent some time inside and walked back out. I also walked along the small lanes in between buildings. I love this area. The atmosphere is relaxing but fun. It just feels creative.

One of the shop, does it give you the same feeling as what I get?

One of the small lanes with more shops!

I went to a small coffee shop called Paddington Grind, bought my skinny flat white and walked to the tiny park besides to enjoy my coffee. The coffee is from Toby's Estate and it costs less than AUD 4.

The cafe

Enjoying my coffee

About 200m away from this place is another awesome place. Paddington Reservoir Garden, which is restored from the former Paddington Reservoir, is under the heritage list. Paddington Reservoir was built as a part of the third water supply system of Sydney from 1866 to 1899. It was working in tandem with another reservoir of Surry Hill.

Upon decommissioning, the reservoir was used as storage facility of pipes and motor vehicles. The roof top of the reservoir was later converted as public space. However, in 1990, the structure collapsed due to the corrosion of the steel columns that were installed to replace several timber columns to allow vehicle movement in earlier days.

In 2006, the conservation programme begun and Paddington Reservoir Garden was opened in 2008 as sunken garden with rooftop reserve. The integration of remaining bricks, timber and metal with modern elements of structures are just perfect.

The modern gate 

The rooftop space with beach chairs all over the place

The modern canopy leading to the sunken garden

The sunken garden

Enjoying life

The brick and steel are still retained

Paddington Reservoir Garden is really unique. The space is not big but it gives the carefree feeling. When I was sitting at the sunken garden, I looked up and it felt so so so good. Rome-Babylon old structure, clear blue sky, great weather; I am so blessed.

I continued walking along Oxford Road afterwards, towards a place that drew me to this place from the start.

Yes, this road side drew me all the way to Paddington.

This is Jacaranda flowers, one of the icon of Sydney. This blue-purple flowers bloom in spring to early summer and they are the best street side trees! In Sydney, you could find Jacaranda trees from Paddington all the way to Lavender Bay and beyond, but these trees are native to Brazil, not Australia. It was said that a botanist Allan Cunningham, who served as the colonial botanist, was the one to thank for these beautiful trees.

Purple is my favourite colour!

You can see love everywhere

I can look at this forever

Love is in the air,
Little Feet

Stroll along Darling Harbour

My first destination is the nearest from the office other than Pitt Street Mall. Darling Harbour is one of the largest dining/shopping/entertainment precinct in Sydney. It extends from Chinese Garden all the way to Barangaroo. It comprises of Harbourside Shopping Centre, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, SEALIFE SydneyAquarium, WILDLIFE Sydney Zoo, Australian National Maritime Museum and many restaurants, pubs and bars.

Fireworks show is held for most Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. They are sure crazy about fireworks here.

Darling Harbour was named by the former governor of New South Wales, Liutenant-General Ralph Darling, after himself. Previously, Darling Harbour was called Cockle Bay due to remnants of oyster shells and shellfish found at the shores. The native aborigines called this place Tumbalong, meaning a place where seafood is found.

Darlling Harbour is the place where the industry revolution technology was introduced to Australia by the European. In the nineteenth century, this place was the trading centre for many commodities, but mostly wool.

Darling Harbour was rebuilt starting from 1984. In 1988, Darling Harbour is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II with Sydney Aquarium as the first attraction. Since then, Darling Harbour continued to grow bigger and stronger. Nobody visits Sydney without visiting Darling Harbour.

Pyrmont Bridge, connecting Market Street to Darling Harbour

Pyrmont Bridge connecting Sydney CBD to Pyrmont

The 3 main attractions: SEALIFE Sydney Aquarium, WILDLIFE Sydney Zoo, and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

During my visits in 2013, I visited these three attractions in 1 day. It's for sure achievable since the three don't really cover huge area. You can just walk out of one and enter another since they are side by side anyway. There is Sydney attraction pass that you can purchase for AUD 65 to visit these three attractions. If you are interested in visiting other partner attractions, i.e. Sydney Tower Eye and Manly Sea Sanctuary, you can purchase the ultimate attraction pass for AUD 70.

Australian National Maritime Museum

Australian National Maritime Museum is located besides Harbourside Shopping Centre at the Pyrmont side of Darling Harbour. It has been opened since 1991 and it holds 6 permanent galleries, historic vessels and some other exhibitions. The admission to permanent galleries is free but the ticket to cover all attractions cost AUD 30 per pax.

I have yet to visit this museum. I'll write when I do so!

Stroll along The Promenade

And I saw a proposal by the bay, aww.

I kept walking along the promenade until I entered Barangaroo area. This area is currently under redevelopment following the urban design competition in 2005. The winning design was announced in March 2006 and the concept plan was approved by NSW Minister of Planning in February 2007. Since then, there have been rounds of amendments on the concept plan. The construction has started since 2012 and targets to complete by 2024.

The construction area

I really think a construction hoarding should look like this, rather than just green metal thingy

I found there were not much things to see yet, or probably I did not explore enough. But, some areas seemed to be newly opened. I saw some new business areas. I heard all the banks would move from Darling Harbour to Barangaroo. 

My first selfie in Sydney

A decorated ventilation building with small park with benches at the back

Modern-looking entrance to Wynyard Station via underpass

It was a good stroll to end the day.

Love is in the air,
Little Feet