Life in Sydney

16 May 2015 /
Sydney in miniature
Darling Harbour in miniature

I think it’s finally safe to say…we’ve settled in to daily life in Sydney. We’ve lived here for 7 months now (landed on Oct 17 2014), so you might say “well yeah, of course you’ve settled in”, but here’s what the first 5 months of our time in Sydney looked like:

  • Land in Sydney and move into temp housing
  • After 2 weeks we switch temp housing
  • Pam goes to Korea for a week for work and the day after she comes back…
  • We find a permanent apartment and the day after that…
  • Nick goes back to Ottawa for 3 weeks and the day after he comes back…
  • We move into our permanent apartment, and the next weekend after that…
  • Nick and Pam go to Vegas (Pam for work), SF, and home to Ottawa for Christmas.
  • Two weeks after we get back from Ottawa we go to NZ to visit my grandma.
  • The week after that Pam goes to San Jose for work
  • A month after that Pam goes back to Korea for work

So after all of that, it really feels like we didn’t really start to put down roots here until March or April!

But, at this point, we’ve explored our neighbourhood, hung our pictures and set up our place. I’ve been thinking about this post for a while and reflecting on how to best portray life in Sydney to our family and friends back home. One of the things that I don’t think we realized until we lived here is just how ubiquitous the Harbour Bridge and Opera House are. They’re almost always in the background somewhere, and so iconic that I can’t help but take a million photos.

THE OPERA HOUSE

Fun fact: most people think that the Opera House distinctive shape is meant to evoke sails. Actually, that wasn’t the intention – the shapes are simply parts of a sphere. You can read all about the Opera House at the Wikipedia article, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House

Opera House on Australia Day with a ton of ships in the harbour
Opera House on Australia Day with a ton of ships in the harbour
on a sunny day in February
on a sunny day in February
at dusk
at dusk
at night
at night
on the ferry ride to Manly
on the ferry ride to Manly
in the background of photos
in the background of photos
before we attended a symphony show
before we attended a symphony show
up close at night
up close at night
it's so ubiquitous it even gets boring :)
it’s so ubiquitous it even gets boring 🙂
Inside the Opera House.
Inside the Opera House.
A pop up bar at the Opera House this summer.
A pop up bar at the Opera House this summer.

THE HARBOUR BRIDGE

Fun fact: the Harbour Bridge is sometimes called “the coat hanger” due to its shape, and always just called “the bridge” by Sydneysiders. You can read about the Harbour Bridge at the Wikipedia article, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge

The bridge on a run in Pyrmont.
The view from Pyrmont.
The view of the bridge from the Opera House
The view of the bridge from the Opera House
Cuties at night + bridge
Cuties at night + bridge
With a huge cruise ship in front of it
With a huge cruise ship in front of it
Said huge cruise ship passing underneath the bridge - and seemingly barely making it!
Said huge cruise ship passing underneath the bridge – and seemingly barely making it!

Here are some other photos of our day to day lives here in Sydney:

It's getting into winter - drizzly and cloudy days, good for curling up with a hot tea and a good book.
It’s getting into winter now – drizzly and cloudy days, good for curling up with a hot tea and a good book.
It's always a good day for a BBQ :)
But, it’s still always a good day for a BBQ 🙂
Art in Pyrmont - funky stuff like this is all over Sydney.
Art in Pyrmont – funky stuff like this is all over Sydney.
Fireworks - there are always fireworks.
Fireworks – there are always fireworks.
And always beautiful sunsets...#1
And always beautiful sunsets…#1
Sunset #2
Sunset #2
Sunset #3
Sunset #3