Sydney pt. 3
(17th Jan 2026)
My final day in Sydney was a relatively chilled one. Lauren took me to Bunnings - a large hardware store - to sample another piece of local cuisine: a ‘saussie snag’ (Australian for ‘sausage buttie’)! She says it was a ‘niche’ Australian experience, and while it was rather basic as snags go, it was a bit of fun.
We then went for an impromptu walk across Harbour Bridge to the observatory and around The Rocks, an area with plenty of nice looking bars and restaurants. Lauren said she would’ve brought me here for a drink at some point, but the floating behemoths A.K.A. cruise ships sitting in the bay spoiled removed any semblance of a view.
After a brief breather, Lauren took me to the famous Bondi Beach along with another of her friends, Genevieve. Our luck with the weather had finally run out, but it was another nice thing to tick off my Sydney Bingo Card - though I will say I always thought it was bigger. We sat in the RSL club across the road (a country club type place that supports veterans) and had some lunch; Lauren had already decided I was having a chicken parma parmi (chicken + ham + cheese + tomato sauce); she chose well, and I somehow managed to finish the huge portion I was given.
The filling food took any remaining wind out of our sails, so we drove back and rested until it was time for me to say goodbye. I thanked Lauren for being a 5-star host/tour guide/chef and boarded an overnight train to Melbourne in the hope that I’d manage a decent amount of sleep during the 11-hour journey.
Fingers crossed my luggage makes it to Melbourne this time!