CBD to Chippendale to Ultimo

I was talking to the building manager when she mentioned Central Park Mall and Broadway. She said both are shopping centres and I could get cheap and good stuffs there. She also told me to just walk along the George Street. "It's nearby," she said.

So there I was, walking along George Street from my place, passing the familiar Queen Victoria Building, Town Hall, and Chinatown. I continued to walk until Central Station and I found branches on the road, one led to Broadway and another led to Regent Street.

I chose Broadway, from the advice from my new best friend, Google Map.

The place where I was forced to choose.

I walked along Broadway about 500m and I saw a unique high rise building full of vegetations on the facade. That's Central Park, a mixed development in the suburb of Chippendale towering up to 117m tall with the famous vertical garden. This building consists of residential and commercial spaces and Frasers is still expanding this development.

Since its design stage, Central Park has won many awards including some globally recognized award such as 'Best Tall Building in Asia and Australia' award in 2014, 'Best Innovative Green Building' award in 2015 and 'New Building and Urban Planning Project' award in 2016.

You can recognize the building from afar

Opposite Central Park, there is University Technology of Sydney (UTS) with its modern look. With dull colour concrete of the UTS tower and metal facade of the Engineering & IT Building, UTS looks like 'yang' to the 'yin' Central Park.

Engineering & IT Building

I walked towards the back of Central Park and found a green space at the back of the mall. There was Brewery Yard Market held on that day. Initially I thought 'Brewery Yard Markets' meant food stalls with beer everywhere, but I was wrong. This marketplace is the normal pop-up markets that sell fashion, accessories, produce, etc. Only because this area was used to be breweries, it is called Brewery Yard Markets.

Brewery Yard Markets

The stalls

Some beach chairs provided

It was so sunny and hot. I just circled the markets a bit and walked into the cool shopping centre towards the sunken garden. I had my lunch in Central Park and walked around this unique building. Sadly there are not many shops in it. The place has more indoor garden than the shops, I guess.

Sunken garden, there are a number of restaurants at each side

Indoor garden

Garden by the side of escalator

In Singapore, this will be called waste of space

I walked out towards my next destination, which was Broadway, another shopping centre at the border of Chippendale and Ultimo. I was walking along the road and passed by many interesting sights. The most interesting was a garden that looked so lush and pretty, Victoria Garden.

Notre Dame University

The victorian style entrance

Shops along Broadway

Victoria Park from across the road, I was drawn all of a sudden

Victoria Park is located at the junction of City Road and Parramatta Road. Since 1780s, the area has been used as land grant to provide farmland and pasture. From 1792, the land grant to Lieutenant Colonel Francis Grose turned the usage of the area as military camp. Later, the land was used as a model farm to employ convicts in the processes of English husbandry. In 1853, the site was given to University of Sydney.

Victoria Park was proclaimed in 1870. It was designed by Charles Moore, the director of the Botanic Gardens. This park comprises beautiful landscape of trees and flowers, Lake Northam, swimming pool and bowling club.

Entrance to Victoria Parks

Apparently a cafe

Flowers and Lake Northam

Purple, my love

Lake Northam within Victoria Park

A bridge that connects to University of Sydney

[New] It is serene, isn't it?

Swimming Pool

I noticed a building at further end so I decided to continue walking to satisfy my curiosity. Apparently I walked towards a castle-like building.

University of Sydney (USyd) is Australia first university, founded in 1850. Before that, it was known as Sydney College. William Wentworth and Charles Nicholson were the one who proposed to change Sydney College to USyd for the reason of providing more opportunities for more people.

Until today, USyd has 16 faculties with 1 main campus and 6 satellite campuses. It also uses some other facilities to support its teaching, including an island within Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Wow.

In QS 2016/17 ranking, USyd plunged from 37th position the year before to 46th position.

USyd is one of the ten most beautiful campus in the world via Daily Telegraph and Huffington Post

Sandstone campus

The corridor

This lawn is called the Quadrangle

Just like Hogwarts, in mini scale

[New] Clearly a pretty place for photoshoot

[New] With quirky architectures

[New] And many things to pose with

[New] And this!!!

[New] So, enrolling to USyd?

I circled the park, snapped pictures as much as my phone battery could take, and walked out of the park. I crossed the road to my original destination, Broadway Shopping Centre.

Broadway Shopping Centre hosts quite a lot of shops and eateries. It has been recently renovated so the interior is modern even though the exterior is quite dated already. I went to K Mart which sells almost everything in this world, from electrical appliances, home decoration, furnitures, sport equipments, apparels, etc. And the prices are so pocket friendly!

One of the more crowded restaurants

Food court

Love is in the air,
Little Feet