The Days of a Silly and Ordinary Girl! :D

And so, while I was on the way there, I keyed in Chinatown in my google Map apps and it showed me the right way. But I was so focused looking for the Emperor's sign, that when I had actually almost reached the area, I didn't see the sign. So I thought to myself, "maybe this is the other part of Chinatown? But if I can't get to the Emperor, I won't find my cousins who are working just several meters away from the restaurant. I need to get to  the right part!" The next thing I did was typing in "the Emperor" in my google Map, and it showed me another route, but I eventually found myself in the same place as the one before. I started to panic a little, and it got a bit worse when my phone was almost out of battery. 

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I got a hunch that I probably should have walked a little further to see whether it was indeed the right place. I mean, what are the odds? Google Map should have better accuracy than me, right? T.T And you know what, I felt so foolish right as I saw the sign after I walked several meters in. It was like an "eureka" moment when I finally spotted the sign. I couldn't see the sign before because I was across the street and I looked at the other side. Indeed, I was supposed to walk just a little bit closer to spot the sign. SO SO SILLY!  

And here it is, the famous Emperor's Garden Restaurant, and can you see the queue? They were queueing for the custard cream puff. After that foolish incident that took me about 1 - 1.5 hours, I was famished and I realized I needed some sugar to replenish my energy and my mood, of course, so I joined the queue. :D (maybe it's just an excuse, even without the incident, I would definitely join the queue XD) 

They served us so quickly that we didn't really have to queue for long to get our hands on these yummy custard cream puff. It was a rainy day in winter and the pipping hot cream puffs were just perfect to warm the day up. I bought a dozen and I finished them all by myself. (Oh yes, I'm proud of it! XD) 

I sat on a bench in front of the restaurant, endulging myself with these mouth-watering puffs, while waiting for my cousins to finish their shift and we had dinner together afterwards. 

I think that was my first time getting lost alone in a foreign city. Although I did panic a little, but I somehow knew that I would be fine and safe. I didn't know why, but Sydney with all the hustle and bustle, with all the crowd, somehow give me a sense of safety. My cousin told me that she sometimes comes home alone at one or two o'clock in the morning, and she fears nothing, because it is rather safe in the city. Hmm, that's another thing to like about the city. 

Well, I'm gonna end this post here, honestly, I didn't expect it to be this long. I only went to two places, but it seems that I had too much to talk about XD Do forgive me, OK? 

See you on the next day?

xoxo

sillyandordinarygirl

Hello, hello! :)

Welcome to the first day of the Sydney series! Yeayyyy! \(^o^)/ *am I the only one getting excited? XD

Anyway, I'd been dreaming of coming to Sydney ever since I was a little girl when I first saw a photo of my dad posing in front of the Sydney Opera House. He went there alone as a reward trip for reaching the sales target of something (I don't really remember) and he bought me a Kangaroo bag as a souvenir. I was probably around 9 or 10 years old at that time, but I remembered clearly that upon seeing his photo and listening to his story about the trip (and being too happy with the bag too, I guess?), I told myself, "It's where I'm gonna live one day". :) 

Well, it hasn't come true for now, but we never know, right? :D

So, when I had the chance to visit Sydney, I was elated. I was granted a single entry visa for 1 month stay (although I did fervently pray that they would have granted me multiple entry visa, but well, it's fine), and I decided to stay for 26 days in Australia. (of course, I was not going to waste that visa! to the fullest, 'ait?) 

Long story short, I left Melbourne and arrived in Sydney in the evening of 9th June 2018, and my dear cousin, Sella, who had been living in Sydney for years, came to pick me up at the airport. She took me to Spice Alley in Kensington St to have dinner. I didn't have any footage of it, I was just so happy to see her after years, and we were so busy catching up while having dinner.

Spice Alley is this alley hidden behind tall buildings in Kensington St featuring a line-up of Asian-cuisine stalls. For me, the idea, the concept and the decor was so cool, authentic, and also very oriental. At the end of the alley, we would find the Koi Dessert Bar, owned by the famous Master Chef Australia contestant, Reynold Poernomo. And what's more interesting is that there was this see-through floor-to-ceiling glass window that showed their kitchen, so I got a glimpse of him working in the kitchen when we passed through the end of the alley that night. *fangirling 

 *I found out from Koidb's instagram account recently that they're moving out from that location, so it might not be there anymore now. 

10th June 2018 - the official first day in Sydney

Walking pass the Royal Botanic Gardens while heading to the first stop of the day...

It was after the rain, hence the clouds, but it was still a very lovely walk through the garden. (I love how rain always has this "romantic, sentimental" after-effect <3) 

You see, travelling in Australia for an Indonesian was expensive (at least for me!). So I knew right from the start, that I had to set a budget, and not to splurge too much on the first days. I still had to survive for 20 more days, you know. Even with limited budget, I still want to experience one of the must-dos in Sydney, which is museum-hopping. I read in the internet that there are lots of good museums in the city and to do it "budget-style": I listed down all the free museums in Sydney. Yes, you heard me right, free admission fee. :D (how cool is that? seeing some artworks, some culture, yet saving money at the same time, okay, admit it, it's quite cool, right? *desperately needed to be praised XD) 

And so, my very first stop of my free museum hopping was: 

Walk along with me, will you? :)

I spent almost the whole afternoon in the Art Gallery and afterwards I was heading to Chinatown to look for my cousins as they were working in a restaurant there when.. unfortunately, I got lost. 0.0

...to be continued...