Shopping in Sydney

I finally made it to Sydney! I flew over on a Friday night redeye and after limited sleep I was loose on the streets of Sydney.

On the top of my list of places to go to were the Paddington Markets. My sister E had recommended that I check them out and I was keen to see what the fuss was about. They had less of a homemade feel than I was expecting, but there seemed to be more interesting fashion, vintage pieces and some awesome chocolates!

I bought a few items, including a dress from Betty of Ton&Ton Designs, a skirt from Kelda Leigh, some lovely tea towels from Rokoco and some divine chocolates from Delicaseys.

They were offering samples of the chocolates, and after tasting them I was hooked! The orange chocolate was real chunks of orange covered in chocolate.

The skirt I liked was unlined, and Kelda offered me the option of lining the skirt and posting it to me! She also posted a couple of fabric swatches with the skirt and I think that I could have found a great source for work skirts!

I left the markets and wandered back into the city along Oxford Street. There were many of the usual clothes shops and a few of interest. None that really stood out for me though and I made it back to the hostel with sore feet and no more purchases!

After checking in and a nap (so sad but I was tired!) I went to Market City. It was four levels in the style of some of the Asian shopping centres or markets, and it felt very random to be experiencing that in Sydney! The bottom level was a market, with lots of cheap and tacky items, as well as fruit and vegetables. The next level up was a very Asian IGA and normal clothing stores. Above that was a level with factory outlets, and finally there was a food court and some restaurants!


First thing that morning I had a quick look through the QVB (Queen Victoria Building). It was completed in 1898 as a market building, and now houses many exclusive shops and eating places. I was there too early for most of the shops to be opened, but the setting was magnificent and it was a lovely place to sit and read and relax after my night of interrupted sleep.

There was to be no shopping for me on the Sunday. The bus I caught to Circular Quay travelled down George Street, and I espied many shops that it would have been interesting to visit, especially the Sydney Myer store. After seeing the famous bridge and opera house, I was off to my next adventure.

I shall have to come back to Sydney with more leisure time and a bigger budget with a girlfriend or two!!