EC-Rider Travels

Today has been a bit of a quieter day and I confess, I was not on the 5.30am dog-walk this morning! We went down-town to do a bit of shopping for our trip to Heron Island and than had a lovely lunch in the restaurant which Amanda’s daughter, Alexandra runs with her boyfriend Christian who is the sommelier and looked after us very well – it was truly delicious.

Sydney really is the most lovely city with so many different neighbourhoods (apparently 638!) and the ones I have seen, with tree lined streets and just the prettiest of houses. They are often painted different colours with pretty gardens, balconies and detailed ironwork; each different from the next but somehow working together. Amanda’s neighbourhood has a real village atmosphere with everyone knowing everyone, well certainly Amanda and her beautiful dogs. It has a very different feel to Melbourne – more like London somehow. Love it!

Sydney is the capital of New South Wales and the most populated city in Australia with over 5.25m people. It was the first European settlement in Australia, originally founded as a British penal colony in 1778. After WWII it received mass migration and now over 40% of the population was born overseas – mainly China, India, England, Vietnam and the Philippines. It seems so easy to get everywhere and though expensive, I can see why Sydney is ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world.