The Luka in Australia Blog #7 Sydney, Stanwell Park

WELCOME

to the Luka in Australia blog! Today, I’ll be recapping the final leg of my study abroad excursion, going home to Australia in December 2022 for Christmas and New Year’s. Let’s get right into it!

Radical, dude

Sydney, New South Wales

I flew out of Bangkok and landed in Sydney to a wonderful welcome sign by Mum and my Aunt Mandy.

A lovely welcome

I got settled in Mandy’s apartment and wasted no time satisfying what I had been craving for months: a good old bowl of Weetbix.

The best brekkie out there

After an action-packed few months, I took some time to relax and recharge at Mandy’s. Mum and I went on a few walks along Manly Beach and along the Manly to Spit walk. After spending so long in the stuffy Southeast Asian heat, I found myself freezing in the mild temperatures of mid-December Sydney. Mandy gave me a pair of her thick fuzzy socks to keep me warm. One evening, on our way to dinner walking along The Corso in Manly, we passed by my Uncle Daniel’s office and waved him down to come grab a beer with us at the Hotel Steyne. What a lovely and spontaneous thing to do.

Dinner with Daniel after work

After dinner, Mum, Mandy, and I took the ferry down to the Sydney Opera House to watch a ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet. It was incredible, I was so impressed by the physique and ability of the dancers while expressing such tender moments. I’ll admit that the jet lag hit me during the show and I fell asleep for part of it, so it was a good thing I already knew the story. No matter how often we come to the Sydney Opera House, the grandeur of the building still stuns me every time.

An architectural masterpiece

Right after the show, I walked over to a bar at the Rocks to meet up with my friend Julia from my internship last summer. She was on a class trip from Cincinnati and happened to be downtown that night. How convenient! I hadn't been back to Sydney since before Covid, so it was nice to find my bearings and get to know the city again from a more mature perspective.

Luka and Julia reunion!

Mum and I went for a swim at Manly Beach the next day. It was beautiful. The water was freezing cold but so refreshing. It’s so nice living right by the beach. We caught up with my cousins Riley and Em and their dog Archie for a lovely barbecue that evening. 

Doggo cooling off

Curious Archie at Riley and Em's

I know many of you associate Australia with spiders, so I thought I’d throw in a spider picture here from Mandy’s apartment.

The Huntsman ahhhh

This is a huntsman, so despite its size, they're not aggressive or dangerous to humans. I still wouldn’t get too close to it if I could help it, but you should see my cousin Damo who picks up these guys in his hand to show his three-year-old kid.

At this point, you might’ve been wondering, where’s the rest of the fam? Good news, they arrived from DC only three days after me!

The fam back together

They had built up quite an appetite on the long plane ride, so we walked down to The Corso to grab a few meat pies and sausage rolls for lunch. So delicious and so Australian. At this point, Mandy’s apartment couldn’t fit all five of us, so we moved into an apartment directly across from Manly Wharf. Such a great spot. We all went for a swim on Shelly Beach and lay in the sun, soaking up summertime in December.

Gotta love the pie shop

Joe and his luscious locks on the beach

We spent the next few days relaxing at the apartment, going on runs along the beach, jumping in the water, and doing Christmas shopping at Warringah Mall. We went on a walking tour of The Rocks and learned fascinating history about colonists, convicts, and architecture. We had crocodile, emu, and kangaroo pizza at Hotel Australia for dinner. All very yummy. We spent some evenings watching a hilarious tv show called Colin from Accounts which I’ve been trying to get a VPN to watch from the States. I really enjoy Australian humor, it tends to be a bit more dry and irreverent than in America.

Surfing seagull

The historic laneways of The Rocks

One morning, we noticed a buzz of activity on Manly Beach and saw that the Nutri-Grain Ironman was taking place right there and then. For those who don't know, that's a surf lifesaving-inspired athletic competition consisting of surf skiing, swimming, paddle boarding, and running (sponsored by Hugo's favorite Australian breakfast cereal Nutri-Grain). There were heaps of people down there, and the event was televised, so we grabbed front-row spots to watch. The next thing you know, the host came by and interviewed me over the loudspeakers before the race! He loved the fact that I was visiting from America—"how about that for some international flavor!" he said—and gave me a pair of goggles for participating. The race was so exciting, and Mum befriended the parents of one of the competitors, so we had someone to cheer for (who ended up on the podium!) Such a fun day.

The lads at the Nutri-Grain Ironman

The men's champions - our fav Corey on the left

We woke up the next morning at 2 am to watch the World Cup final between France and Argentina. My money was on France, but despite Mbappe's heroics, Messi pulled through to achieve GOAT status. We headed back to bed only to be woken at sunrise by a wave of chanting and singing Argentina fans marching down The Corso. Lovely scenes.

🐐

Our next stop was the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, a beautiful escape to the Australian bush just outside the city. The sounds, sights, and scents were so peaceful and beautiful.

Scribbly gum

Mandy, Dad, and Luka at Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden

Later, we met the Keary Walsh’s for dinner at Collaroy Surf Club. It’s always so great catching up with Lucy, Maddie, and Elliot. No matter how long it’s been since we last saw them, it always feels so natural hanging out with them again.

KBs and KWs cousins reunion!

One morning, we set out to explore Sydney like true Sydneysiders. First, we took the ferry down to explore the Museum of Contemporary Art. Then, we took the train to Newtown, the hipster hang-out spot for young people with indie bookstores, pubs, record stores, multicultural cuisines, and awesome street art. We explored some cool thrift stores and got yummy Turkish food. Newtown is situated, uncoincidentally, right next to the University of Sydney campus. Mum and Dad both studied there, so we checked out the grounds which were a cool mix of modern and Harry Potter-style buildings. Throughout the day, I was impressed by the public transport in Sydney - we took the ferry, bus, train, and light rail all in one day.

Museum of Contemporary Art

Aboriginal art at the MCA

Hugo and Luka in Newtown sitting in front of the Aboriginal flag

Mum enjoying the sun back at Sydney Uni

The light rail - one of four modes of public transport we took that day

One thing we always do when back in Australia in the summertime is go for a surf. Dad keeps his soft top longboard at Mandy's house, so we retrieved it and headed down to Manly Beach. I'm a bit rusty, so Dad gave me some tips and I was on my way. After a few half successes, I finally got up and rode a wave all the way into shore. It's such an awesome feeling. After the surf, we got potato scallops and burgers with beetroot (underrated burger ingredient) and relaxed in the sun.

Heading out for a surf

I didn't learn my lesson from Thailand (see Blog #5)

There's an old quarantine station on North Head of Sydney Harbour that operated from the early 19th century to the late 20th century where migrants were quarantined to prevent the spread of infectious diseases to the island of Australia. It's now been converted into a heritage site that you can visit, so we went one evening for a "ghost tour." An old man showed us around the old buildings telling us about all the ghosts that live there. It was silly but a bit of fun.

Our guide looking shellshocked after an encounter with ghosts at the quarantine station

The next morning, we drove from Manly up along all of the Northern Beaches to Palm Beach. Mum pointed out all the places she used to swim and play at as a kid. We hiked up to the Barranjoey lighthouse, and I found the view of the isthmus to be remarkably similar to the view of Phi Phi island (as seen in Blog #5).

The isthmus at Palm Beach

Phi Phi Island in Thailand

We got lunch with Anthony, Michelle, Tash, Josh, and his girlfriend at the Randwick golf club on Christmas Eve. It was so nice to catch up with them overlooking the sunshine and clear blue water of Malabar Beach.

Christmas Eve with the cousins

You know how much we love soccer, so of course we had to catch a Sydney FC game. The new stadium is gorgeous and we had a lot of fun despite the rough 3-0 defeat.

Let's go Sydney FC!

Stanwell Park, New South Wales

Now for the big Byrne family reunion! We drove down to Stanwell Park to a house on the beach that we rented for about a dozen of us with the rest of the fam popping in and out each day from Otford and elsewhere. It was a beautiful spot with a great pool and bar area and of course the lovely Christmas tree.

Our epic house at Stanwell Park

Riley the barista

Lots of presents around the Christmas tree!

We spent our days swimming at the beach, joining Imogen’s “12 days of Christmas” workouts, relaxing by the pool, playing backyard games ranging from cricket and footy to giant jenga and connect four, and enjoying the funny and lovely company of the whole family. The kids Arwyn and Killi as well as the new babies Zara and Amalie were the stars of the show. Arwyn and I became best friends by the end of the weekend.

Killi the cricketer

Linden's Jenga Masterclass

Taking a mark in backyard footy

Hayden the new Dad with baby Amalie

Playing with Arwyn and Killi

The fam! Damo, Dylan, Joe, Matt (Dad), Terry, Hugo, Riley, Andrew, Donna, Carol, Zara, Eloise (Mum), Mandy, Abby, Em, Julie, Me, Arwyn, Rose, Charlotte, Amalie, Linden, Hayden, Imogen, and Killi

On Christmas day, we gave presents, listened to Christmas music, looked through old family photos, FaceTimed more family, went swimming, and cooked a big barbecue dinner for the whole family. I love Andrew’s intelligent rants, the Fisher boys’ amusing anecdotes, Julie’s beaming smile, Linden’s funky fashion, Damo’s crazy wilderness stories, Donna’s infectious cackle, Rose’s tai chi lesson, and everyone else’s quirks that make them special and fun to have around.

The KBs with their Christmas spoils

On our last day at Stanwell Park, we went to the Bowlo with the cousins for a few beers. Dylan and Riley took me and Hugo to gamble on the pokies which was a bit of fun (and we won!).

Back to Sydney

The Bollens came and stayed with us for a night at Daniel and Amy’s place which was lovely. I love hearing Mum, Dad, Tony, and Jenny recount their many funny stories from their younger years

Luka, Joe, Helena, Clare, and Travis

The old gang back together: Dad, Mum, Jenny, and Tony

One day, Joe, Hugo and I explored Darling Harbour, Chinatown, and checked out a contemporary Chinese art gallery which was cool. I love exploring cities without a preset agenda, just letting the sights and sounds pull you in different directions for the day.

Luka racking his brain to remember what these characters mean

It’s not a summer trip to Oz without catching a game of cricket! We headed to the SCG for a Sydney Sixers Big Bash game. It was a big victory for the Sixers and a night full of entertainment both on the field and in the stands.

KFC man and an Elvis impersonator having fun at the SCG

Another cousin reunion! We caught up with Joanna, Gaby, and Raph for a few beers at the Bavarian on Manly Wharf. They’re both very stylish dudes.

Having a beer at the Bavarian with Gaby and Raph

The next big occasion was New Year’s Eve, and Mum and Dad had something special planned. We took a ferry out to an island in Sydney harbour to party and watch the famous fireworks show. It was a lovely evening and the perfect end to an amazing year. We were having a few drinks and milling around the island when we noticed that the DJ was playing tunes for no one, so Hugo Joe and I took it upon ourselves to activate the outdoor dance floor. We started shamelessly dancing, and pretty quickly it transformed into a bumping dance party. We gave ourselves a pat on the back. At midnight, we cuddled up in blankets and watched the awesome fireworks show, both over the harbour bridge and one just for the island.

Hugo getting carded one of three times on the island

The Byrne bros igniting the dance floor

New Year’s fireworks on Clark Island

The next day, we started off the new year right by going to Sydney’s Field Day music festival which Riley gave us VIP tickets to. Within 10 minutes of being there, some girl walked up to us and asked if we had any Molly lol. We saw some cool new artists and a few that I already knew like BENEE and Remi Wolf. It was a great way to wrap up the trip before flying home.

Watching Remi Wolf at Field Day

Looking Ahead

I'm writing this from Baltimore/Washington Airport as I wait to embark on my next big adventure! I'm flying to Germany first to meet up with Jan, Johannes, and Sam from Singapore. Then, I head to Prague and meet up with Jeremy, Jay, and Sam from high school as we start our journey, heading to Budapest, Vienna, Dubrovnik, Barcelona, Porto, and Lisbon. Stay tuned in a couple of months for the next blog!

Conclusion

Thanks for tuning in! A quick life update on the not-blogged parts of my life: after an awesome last semester at Michigan filled with great memories and bittersweet goodbyes, I've spent the last few weeks hanging out at home and enjoying the freedom of being a college graduate with (temporarily) no responsibilities. I hope things are going well for you, and see you in the next one!

Dad having spelling troubles on the flight home