Spicy Rabasera : Yo, Sydney! Yooooooooo!

Intimate...

This you are to me, Sydney!

A first of the firsts in our family, this trip to Australia underwent meticulous preparations for more than a year. What seemed to be an unfeasible plan during our Siruma outing in 2024, came to fruition when we landed in Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport on December 7, Sunday past 11:00am (-3 hrs Philippine Time).

We breezed through immigration in spite of a welcome sniff to one of my sisters by a K-9. Hehehe.

Similar to our out-of-town trips (Baguio City and Siruma) together, my eldest niece Johanna/Waning served as our travel planner/guide. For this international jaunt she took charge of the following: visa application (which was granted after an hour [for Cristy and me]; after almost 24 hrs [for the other five] in August 2025); hotel and tour bookings; computation and collection of our individual dues; and our week’s itinerary. She's already proven herself to be a very efficient logistics officer in most instances, thus we were in capable hands. Expectedly from the time we exited the airport, her booked shuttle service was already on-stand by. Dan, her husband and lone male in our group, did all the lifting of the heavy luggage. Reading my crystal ball, I could see that this husband and wife team would definitely have a future in running a travel agency someday.

It took us more than an hour to reach Holiday Inn Sydney Potts Point (HISPP), our accommodation for two days before we're Canberra-bound. On our way, the trip gave us a glimpse of Australia's modern architectural marvel, The Sydney Opera House. In that brief encounter I was still gushing until we reached the hotel.

Checking in was in a jiffy! Thanks to the female kababayan who was one of the front desk officers on-duty, she gave us an A-1 customer service. Now, we're ready for our room which I'd be sharing with my fave travel roommate - sister Cristy. Yay!

Our room especially the lavatory met expectations! The amenities promised convenience and comfort. I was already expecting loads of unrestrained “zzzzz” release. Hahahaha. Good that there was some truth about the posted room reviews which I read on their website. Waning did her assignment well before choosing HISPP!

Given thirty minutes to simmer down, change and freshen up for our afternoon schedule, I could feel the pumping of my adrenaline. In a bit, we'd be exploring Sydney and stepping on the iconic opera house.

Here, dear readers, I would now chronologically narrate the pleasurable activities which our squad engaged in.

First Mission: Stopping borborygmi

Obviously all famished, we unanimously agreed to eat our lunch. Our hotel, being in downtown, made it easy for us to locate a diner. These edifices nearby were our visual hors d'oeuvre.

Personally I wanted a scalding hot soup! Heavens! I did not expect a cold temperature during summer in Australia. Brrrrrrrrrr! But, who would notice when my OOTD says otherwise? Hahahahahaha...

At last we picked a Chinese restaurant for our very first meal in Sydney.

(ASIDE: And we thought we'd eat the Aussie way at once! *e-laughs*)

As you can see, I got zero documentation of the dishes which were served to us. It is during these instances that my hungry tummy supersedes my being a blogger. Bwahahahaha! On a serious note, we were not only only treated to an authentic and delicious Chinese mini-lauriat dining style, but we were given a crash briefing about Sydney, its weird weather, its diverse residents, the working hours which included the opening, break and closing time of diners, and a lot more. The owner's son, who was also the lone waiter, immediately recognized us as Filipinos. Hmmm...Our accent gave us away according to him. Duh?! Hahahaha. Now, don't ask me about our bill. Muahahaha! I'm zipping my lips. *vwoop* For us, it's enough that we already re-energized ourselves that would make us last until the evening. Whoa!

Second Mission: Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Transfer from the Chinese resto to this garden was via Uber, Australia's standard rideshare. In taking a car, our group was split into two since we couldn't fit in one vehicle. My sister and I would be with our niece Jai. Being with us, she was designated to do the booking, mapping the route and paying. Our food and transpo budget officer, Jai was as reliable and competent as her Ate Joan. Hallelujah!!! Conversely, Johanna's family would be with our eldest sister Olen, her mother. This became the automatic riding arrangement.

Upon arriving in our destination, we had to locate the assembly spot. For my katawang lupa (earthly body) I could already feel the cold temperature penetrating through it. *guffaws* I had to break the cold wind by walking briskly and diverting my attention to the sight along our way.

Finally being with half of our squad again meant a full blast tour and photo opportunities among the unique flora and fauna of Australia.

Third Mission: The Sydney Opera House

Woot, woot! She is absolutely a true beauty, near or far!

Shortening our distance to one of Australia’s World Heritage Sites became an exciting leg work. It was also here where afternoon joggers met and passed us by. Not surprising since the path which we were treading on is part of the run route of the Sydney Marathon which is still in my bucket list while my Canadian contact, having assisted me in my NYCM (New York City Marathon) 2018 and Khmer Empire Marathon 2019, regularly communicates with me about this seventh Abbott World Marathon Majors.

Getting up close with the opera house was fulfilling an "obsession." Additionally, we discovered that there were a lot of different food spots around which led us to assume that Australians maintain a healthy work-life balance.

We were tempted to have a cup of hot coffee there while savoring the relaxing harbor view if I did not remember the pack of Alicafe which my husband told me to bring. Yes! We did save some AUD here. Hohohoho!

So, we opted to leave, return to the city center, agree to do some grocery, and then eat our dinner.

It was here at Coles where we discovered this addicting chocolate dipped cream profiteroles. Thus, the second time we entered Coles we bought more. Hahaha.