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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Husband's Birthday Staycation

It has been crazy busy at work for both the Husband and I lately that we cannot afford to pack our bags and leave Sydney for a few days.  Going out of state would mean time to get things ready and travel back and forth.  At the moment, time for non-essentials are a scarcity.

So we decided to have a "staycation" (meaning: vacation at home or in the city you live in) in Sydney for two days and give ourselves a break from doing household chores and pretend to be tourists in our city.
The Husband's Birthday StaycationThe Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)

Our home for two nights was near Chinatown.  We checked-in on Friday afternoon after work, dropped our bags and headed straight out to explore the lively streets of Haymarket and have dinner.

Dropped by World Square and checked out the shops there.  We saw our favourite Meiji Chocolates at Miracle Asian Supermarket.

Chinatown on a Friday night looks like this (see below) and how we love it!  It reminded us of Mongkok of Hongkong and Myeongdong of Seoul.  This main street in Chinatown becomes a street market from 5:00PM onwards every Friday. 
The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)


One of our usual hangouts in Chinatown is the DVD/CD store where we looked at DVDs or soundtracks of Korean Dramas.
The Husband captured my giddy reaction whenever I see a DVD or CD I like.
The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)


From our suking DVD store, we had dinner at Yummy Chinese BBQ Restaurant then went back to Chinatown and visited the biggest Morning Glory store I've ever seen.

The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)


Some of the stuff I got from Morning Glory:  Banana Case, telephone-inspired hair ties and a pair of Elmo earphones.


The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)




Saturday, the Husband's birthday, I took him to the Adriano Zumbo Lab at Rozelle.  The Husband has a very sweet tooth and he loves to bake so I thought that going to Zumbo's Lab would be a great treat for him.


The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)


I will write a separate post about our adventure at Zumbo's Lab, in the mean time, feast your eyes on the hundreds of Macarons that we saw at the lab.

The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)


Went back to the hotel for a nap (we woke up at 6am just to be at Zumbo's Lab before 8am), then went out around two in the afternoon.  This time, we hung out at Pitt Street area.  Very late lunch of Burritos from Guzman Y Gomez and Pad Thai from Thai Riffic at the Westfield Dining Precinct.



Followed by a good stroll outside Westfield.  Went in and out of shops, played at the Apple Store, took photos of street art and incidentally came across Mario and Luigi. 
The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)


The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)


The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)


A quick coffee break at Becasse Bakery (went back to Westfield Dining Precinct) before we attended mass at St. Mary's Cathedral.

The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)


The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)

We had plans of going to Darling Harbour or The Rocks for dinner but changed our minds.  Instead of going to some posh restaurant, we bought take away KFC and went back to the hotel and had a quiet dinner while watching TV and just enjoyed being together.  Indulged ourselves with dessert of Zumbo's Macarons and green tea.


The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)

Our decision to stay in even on the night of Chris' birthday has brought us to a few realizations. Nowadays, we do treasure moments being at home, just having quiet nights, occasion or no occasion.  We appreciate traveling as much as we appreciate being in the comforts of our home.  We love spending time with relatives and friends as much as we love having moments to ourselves.  It's all about balance especially when life is hectic with things to do, people to see and goals to accomplish.

On Sunday morning, we went back home and immediately faced the chores that await us but the two-night break we had, even if short, was uplifting and precious.

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