Rome-ing Minutes: A Tale of Two Cities: Sydney by Day and Sydney by Night

Hillary at the Sydney train platform

We arrived in Sydney on Wednesday evening and were immediately struck by how nice the trains are. While after being here for a couple of days, I can report that the locals despise the public transportation, Adam and I were both impressed by the comfort, cleanliness and efficiency of the trains. When we got down to the subway platform, we were met by WiFi and a massive screen TV showing Hillary Clinton. If there’s ever a justification for Americans to think we are the center of the world it's during American election season when on the other side of the globe, people can’t help but engage us in political conversation about our elections everywhere we go.

We trekked to our hostel in Potts Point and were a bit alarmed by the dodgy neighborhood. Adam renamed it the red light district of Sydney but it turns out our neighborhood was not unique in being overwhelmed by gentlemen’s clubs with names such as “lick-her.” We arrived at the address of the hostel but there was no visible signage and it was a bizarre entrance around a gate so we weren’t entirely sure what we stumbled upon. It seemed like a halfway house with a storefront entrance. People were sprawled out on cushioned benches along all the walls of a narrow room. There was a reception desk off to the right side but nobody was stationed there. After confirming that we were indeed in the right place, I went off in search of an employee to check us in and found a complete dud from California who didn’t know anything about Sydney and could barely recall his name. We were prepared to leave in search of another place to sleep when we received our room assignment and learned that we had been upgraded to a private room so we stayed. The hostel turned out to be totally fine despite our initial impressions. We got ourselves some convenient take-out for dinner but by the time we got back, I was exhausted to the point of delirium and so dizzy I was trying to determine if someone had drugged me!! Many hostel patrons were working in Sydney to replenish their bank accounts for years of traveling. While we were sitting at the table, Adam was offered a construction job for the next day.

On Thursday, instead of doing construction, we started our day by going for a run to the Botanical Gardens and saw the lights set up for the Vivid Sydney light show. We were doubly fortunate, because the light show provided us with conveniently located porta-potties for a mid-run intermission. We also noticed the adorable school children in hilarious uniforms. All schools require uniforms here and the kids look so precious. The girls all look like Madeline and friends!

Three Sisters, Blue Mountain

Afterwards, we caught the lovely trains to Katoomba to see the Blue Mountains including the legendary Three Sisters. We spotted someone who looked like he knew where to go and asked him directions. It turns out he was an American studying abroad from Cortland, NY and was even more clueless than we were. He joined us for our visit and we went to Echo Point for a view of the Three Sisters and then went on a bushwalk through some pretty trails.

On the train back, we went online to book a boat cruise around the Sydney Harbour to see the Vivid Sydney light show by sea. I found a Groupon for a cruise that came with 2 free drinks so we decided to book it. The problem was that the train back to Sydney was going to arrive in Sydney within the 20 minute window they allotted for boarding the boat and we still had to get from the train station to the dock. Additionally, when I read the fine print, I discovered that they require a printed (rather than electronic) ticket. We decided to race to the dock and see if we make it on time and if they will accept electronic tickets. If so, we planned to purchase the GroupOn on the spot. We prepared the purchase (apparently you need a separate account to use Groupon in Australia) and as soon as the train stopped we raced off, weaving our way through the train station, jumping onto another train, and then dashing off and sprinting through the wharf until we arrived at the dock with 4 minutes until the scheduled departure. I told the woman checking tickets that I had it on my phone and asked if that would be okay. She looked over my shoulder and saw the Groupon confirmation page. I quickly pressed purchase and she let us in, whispering to us that she was upgrading us to include food with our cruise and pressed 2 meal tickets into Adam’s hand. Moments later, the next employee handed us 6 drink tickets and said “2 each for the 3 of you.” It was around then that I looked at my phone and saw that the purchase was not successful so our night activity, dinner and 3 drinks each turned out to be free. Definitely worth the sprint!

Opera House and Harbour Bridge

The light show was terrific and we viewed the colorful lights and changing designs on the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and the city skyline. Afterwards, we walked through the rest of the light show and attempted to walk back to our hostel only to discover that the road was blocked. We went to ask a security guard for directions and he declared himself to be an oracle. Strange but very nice man. We chatted with him for a long time, learned about Sydney and heard about his experiences driving across American including his run-in with Middle America police officers who never heard of Australia and thought he was a terrorist. We ran into an Orthodox (kippa and sheitel wearing) couple and bagel-ed them, asking where we could purchase a gift for our yontif hosts. Eventually, we caught an Uber (the one thing that’s cheaper in Australia than in NY) back to our hostel.

Smoothie stop during morning run

The next day we planned our morning run around arriving at a liquor store that carries Kosher wine but the store wasn’t open so we got smoothies instead and then continued our run. We stumbled upon the Sydney Jewish Museum and stopped to inquire when the Jewish woman who was reporting to work at the museum spotted us and called out: “Hey, I recognize you guys. We met last night at the Harbour!”

Eventually, we caught a ferry to Manly Beach and explored the nearby beach town for a couple of hours, walking to Shelly Beach in a round-about way because a huge storm that passed through Sydney just before we arrived had damaged the coastline path. We enjoyed fajitas for lunch at a little Mexican place with views of the beach before catching the ferry back to Sydney. Eventually, we found our way back to the liquor store. Upon seeing the cashier, Adam pointed at him and called out, “Hey!” You see, we weren’t expecting a Chassidic man in a velvet kippa. We quickly discovered that the place is Jewish owned and were about to close for yontif. We made our purchases, collected our bags and headed to Rose Bay for Shavuot. We stayed at Gabi Schlussel’s cousins’ - the Balkin family. They’re loud and quirky and many things that reminded us of our own weird and boisterous family. We felt at home quickly. We went to shul Friday night and were greeted by a familiar experience including Kabalat Shabbat and classic shul drama.

As I write this, I am feeling miserable from a horrific cold but I have to say that a relaxing Shavuot was the ideal place to be sick if I needed to choose somewhere. On shabbat, we brought our books and did the cliff walk from Bondi Beach to Coggee Beach. On the walk, we ran into a Brazillian couple from our Whitsunday boat!! Shavuot night, we went to a young adult Torah power hour lecture series. Everyone was really nice and welcoming and I discovered a tasty Australian treat called Pods. In the morning, we played pool, drank tea with the Balkins' Granny, went to lunch at the Schlussels' other cousins, and then walked to Bondi for dinner with Richard Goldberger’s sister’s family.

All in all, we really liked the people we met and had a terrific time in Sydney, leaving more to see and do for next time we’re in town. Now, off to New Zealand!