Sydney was a chance to settle for me and I really needed it after Tokyo. I was in really rough shape heading into Sydney and I knew I needed to find some balance and reconnect to ‘me.’  My dad also visited us in Sydney and I think that really helped.  Here’s my recap:

Running

As always, my goal was 80-miles. I researched ahead of time and knew there was a really great park near our apartment and I was really looking forward to the loop.  My loop was a little over 6-miles, which was a little longer than I wanted, but I really wanted to make the full loop in the Centennial Park.

My run ended up feeling half like a city run, but the middle was perfect.  In order to get to and from Centennial Park, I had to run 2-miles through the city, which included three major intersections.  The interactions all had nice cross-walks, but the timing was terrible! I often had to wait several mins to get a walking man. It was all worth it though because the run through Centennial Park was just perfect.

Total Miles: 83.1 miles (Total for April)

Loop Distance: 6.25 miles

Best Pace: 8:33 average pace / mile

^First major interaction, BUT there was a Jasmine tree right next to the stop, so I enjoyed the few minute wait because I could smell the Jasmine.

^Second interection!

^The trees were incredible. I will never forget the trees in Australia. I’ve never seen so many incredible trees!

^ Third, and worst interaction!  I waited almost 10-mins one-time.

^Another one of my favorite trees.

^More trees.

^And another tree.

^Finally, let’s talk about smells! On every run, I’ve always had a smell. In London, it was cigarettes smoke. In Amsterdam, it was marijuana. In Kiyv, it was body odor. Italy it was manure. Sitges was the ocean breeze. Tanzania was my sweaty mess. Chiang Mai was the exhaust from all the vehicles.  And in Discovery Bay, fresh air. Discovery Bay was the first city without a distractive smell, so I guess the lack of “smell” makes it distinct. In Tokyo, I smelled Spring.  And now in Sydney, I smelled Fall, but not a typical Indiana Fall.  Fall in Sydney is full of blossoming flowers and on my run, I smelled Jasmine. It was incredible.

Coffee

As for coffee, as is the theme in Sydney, I really enjoyed the coffee I made at the apartment. I did explore a few coffee shops around Sydney, but none of them were really memorable or amazing.  I broke out my French Press, picked up my Starbucks Sydney cup, and tried several different coffees from Coles. I ended up really loving a coffee I found at Coles called  Campos. I did find several coffee shops around the city also used Campos beans!

Self-Care

Self-Care in Sydney was the bare minimum.  Honestly, I didn’t have the interest in searching out self-care options in Sydney.  My nails were a hot mess, so that was a priority, but otherwise, I didn’t bother.  During one of my first walkabout in Sydney, I walked passed Pearl Nails.  I didn’t research ahead of times, I didn’t look at the reviews, I just walked in and asked if they had time for a quick mani / pedi.  I was able to sit down immediately and I was in and out in about 45-mins.  I wasn’t looking for anything fancy and I didn’t have a lot of time, so it was perfect.  Honestly, the most efficient, yet good mani / pedi I’ve gotten in a very long time.

What I loved about Sydney:

• With the risk of sounding repetitive, I enjoyed the slower pace of Sydney.  I loved seeing the major sights like the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House, I loved my runs, I loved seeing my Dad, and I didn’t allow myself to be overwhelmed by all the stuff I might be “missing” because we didn’t go-go-g0.  I had a long list of things I wanted to see and do, but I totally allowed myself to “go with the day.”  By the end of our 3-weeks, we had only completed about half of the list and I was totally fine with that!
• Trees!  I know it might sound crazy, but the trees were incredible. I’ve never seen so many beautiful trees.
• I loved cooking and bring home in the apartment. We never rushed the day, we never pushed ourselves.  I made breakfast and dinner at home almost every day and it was lovely.

What I didn’t love about Sydney:

• Transportation wasn’t great.  It was fine, but it wasn’t great. We took the bus most everywhere, but the lines weren’t well mapped.  We often were on the bus for 40+ mins even though our destination was within 3-miles.
• This is a strange one, but I feel like I want to say — Sydney, the city itself, wasn’t anything “special” to me. I liked seeing it, I’m glad we went, but I don’t see myself returning.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Sydney: