Family time in Sydney

A couple of months ago, my daughter Gabbie and I saw the box-office hit movie, “Anyone But You.” The cute and charming romantic comedy was set in Sydney, Australia, and made us miss our time in the land down under. When the movie ended, we vowed to visit Sydney again. Because we are lucky enough to have relatives there, we booked the trip to stay with my first cousin, Maya Baltazar Leong, and her family.

The last time my kids and I were in Australia was in 2017, seven years ago. My son Paolo, Gabbie and I were so excited to return and just chill in Sydney. Our itinerary was very unstructured, and all we wanted to do was eat, relax, and see where the day took us. We arrived on Thursday, March 21, at around 10 a.m. Sydney time. My cousin Maya and her husband Curt picked us up from the airport and drove us to their beautiful home in St. Ives, NSW. Because Gabbie loves a good cup of coffee, we stopped for a drink at SML cafe. Her soothing, iced oat milk latte was a promising indication of the other pleasures that this trip had in store for us.

Delicious and colorful poke powls from Momo bar along Manly beach.

After we freshened up in the Leong home, Maya took us to an authentic Thai restaurant that she frequents. Following lunch, she dropped us off at a mall. Since it was a Thursday, the malls were open until 9 p.m. (they normally close at 6 p.m.). We took full advantage of this and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Macquarie Shopping Center. I was delighted that they had a K-mart and thoroughly enjoyed buying things for the house. It was a successful shopping day, and we were all starving after all that walking and spending.

My son Paolo with the manager of Throwback, an NBA specialty store in Sydney.

Maya’s daughter Catrina picked us up from the mall and we headed back home. Maya prepared a sumptuous and delicious dinner of roast lamb (considered by Aussies to be their national dish), baked cauliflower with cheese, a thick and creamy pumpkin soup, and a refreshing garden salad. Dessert was a choice of fresh, juicy strawberries or chocolate cheesecake, which were both so very yummy. What a great way to end our first day!

The next day, Maya, Paolo, Gabbie, Catrina and I made plans to go to Manly Beach. The last time we were in Sydney, Gabbie and I had poke bowls at Manly Beach, and we still remembered them seven years later. Luckily, Momo Bar was still around and doing well, looking exactly the way we remembered it. We got our poke bowl fix and had a lovely al fresco meal. We walked around Manly Beach and enjoyed the nice weather. After a while, we all wanted dessert, so we went to a boutique gelato store named Anita and tried their ice cream, which was such a tasty treat!

Enjoying the view at Manly Beach.

Afterwards, we walked and shopped some more until it was time to head home. After resting a bit, Gabbie and I got ready to see a musical. My daughter is a huge fan of plays and musicals and Maya suggested we go see “& Juliet,” which was playing at the Lyric Theatre. Fortunately, we were able to buy tickets for the evening gala show the same day. “& Juliet” is a jukebox musical that puts a modern pop spin on Shakespeare’s classic “Romeo & Juliet.”

It was such a fun production with gorgeous sets, eye-catching costumes, and extremely talented actors! Gabbie and I were captivated by the well-known songs and the endearing plot. As the play unfolded, I couldn’t help but wish that a producer would bring the comedy musical to Manila where it would surely be a hit am–ong Pinoy theater lovers. I was very glad to have seen “& Juliet” with Gabbie… What a great way to end a Friday!

Set of ‘& Juliet,’ a wonderful musical play that’s a spin-off from the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ love story.

Our weekend plan was to spend a day in the city. Paolo — who had been eager to visit the basketball and NBA store Throwback in Darlinghurst — was like a kid in a candy store when he set foot there. Sure enough, he was overwhelmed by all the jerseys, shoes, and other apparel the store had to offer. After purchasing a couple of items, including an authentic signed cap, we explored the city.

Though we did a healthy amount of walking, we also took the train to various parts of the city. We visited the Queen Victoria Building and ended the afternoon at Westfield mall, where we had Yum Cha (assorted dimsum and roast duck noodle soup) for a late lunch. While at the mall, I visited the Aussie “branches” of US chains Target and TK Maxx to buy even more things for the house.

Our first three days in Sydney were certainly shaping up to be everything my kids and I hoped they would be.

(To be continued.)