If you’ve ever been at a loose end you might think of spending a day in Sydney’s world-renowned CBD like I did on the 14^th of July, 2019, with my mate Jacob.

The day starts off with a disgusting energy drink that tasted far from the proposed ‘coca cola’ flavour written on the can. We reluctantly drink the concoction and tap our opal cards as we hop onto the crowded and noisy train at Bondi Junction Station.

After a short while our stop has arrived, we depart the train at Town Hall. The station opened on 28 February 1932 and it is named after the Sydney Town Hall which is located above the station.

As we hop off the train we try to use our ‘skills’ to find Paddy’s markets without using the GPS on our phones. This only results in us becoming lost. We begin following the route set out by the phone and after a short 10-minute walk we arrive at China-Town, which is located in the suburb of Haymarket in the CBD, which is supposed to be a major tourist attraction. While walking through some of the streets of China-Town, that happen to be littered with rubbish, we come across a street dancer covered from head to toe in a rainbow outfit and a mask. The only thing they are doing is spinning a hula hoop around their waist. China-Town did not live up to its expectations of a fun/hip area. We then see the entrance to Paddy’s markets and begin to wander around inside.

Nearly every single stall is packed to the ceiling full of tourist junk, with many items being hats or shirts printed with the Australian flag. Interestingly enough, Paddy’s markets started in 1834 and originally sold grain and hay to early farmers. The markets are every parent’s dream of a safe haven for their children, with stalls selling items such as lighters, knives, swords and cannabis incense. And the best part is, the stalls don’t even ask for ID to buy any of these items, even though most are illegal for under 18-year-olds. Anyway, leaving empty handed and after walking through the maze of tourists and junk we decided that it was time for lunch.

We begin the long trek to Lord of the Fries, which is a vegan shop in the city. Since we have no idea where it was we used Apple Maps to find it. The ‘trusty’ app directs us to a train station on the other side of the city. After about fifteen minutes of walking the other way we finally locate the shop on King Street. We get our food and decide to eat it in Hyde Park. Hyde Park is a heritage-listed 16.2-hectare park, which is located in the centre of the CBD.

When we arrive at Hyde Park we walk past one of the ANZAC memorials, a sculpture dedicated to peace but bizarrely consisting of three 10-metre-high bullets. We walk to the centre of the park, sit down on the luscious green grass and begin to eat our meal. All I can say is that the ‘chicken’ did not taste like chicken. Although it was still a hearty meal there was still a distinct difference between the fried ‘chicken’ that I was eating compared to real chicken. Although the texture was the same, it felt weird eating a drumstick that didn’t have a bone in the middle. (The ‘chicken’ was in the shape of a drumstick.)

After stuffing ourselves with vegan chicken, Jacob and I walk around Hyde Park to the Giant ANZAC memorial building. It is quite a pretty building, made up of sandstone walls and a sort of pond with steps leading down to Liverpool Street. Inside the memorial it has the names of 1701 suburbs in NSW where ANZACs enlisted, all these names are designed onto metal plates that pepper the walls of the interior of the building. It is designed very well and suits the park well.

By now it was 4pm and I am exhausted from the day in the city. We decide that it was time to go home and we hop back on the train at Town Hall and ride to Bondi Junction. We disembark the train and go our separate ways home.

Although China-Town and Lord of The Fries did not live up to expectations Hyde Park was beautiful and I still had a good day with Jacob. I would not recommend going to Paddy’s markets because although they might have a few ‘cool’ items, 99% of the markets sell junk. Lord of the Fries was good in terms of vegan standards but still bad compared to normal chicken. I would definitely recommend spending some time in Hyde Park, due to the fact it is in the middle of the busy city and offers a space to relax.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

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