Toowoomba & Sydney

I spent a couple of days in Toowoomba visiting an old friend and was quite pleasantly surprised by what a great place it is. Loads of amazing street art and a few great little cafes. One place I didn’t take a photo of because I was too engrossed in the pastry I bought - was The Bakers Duck. Honest to dog - if you’re ever in Toowoomba put this place on top of the list.

Then it was down to Sydney for a few nights - my main reason for visiting was to see one of my favourite tattoo artists - but it also happened to fall on the last weekend of Vivid Festival. I hadn’t been to Sydney since I was 18 - and that was my last big family trip before my parent’s made me pay for my own holidays - so it was nice to take in the sights at my own pace. I made sure to venture out to Butter for fried chicken, Bakedown Cakery for some chocolate, Koi for desserts, Lorraines Patisserie for some late night treats and Bourke Street Bakery - because one can never have enough dessert.

I had to go to Grounds of Alexandria - because everyone has to go to Grounds of Alexandria. This place is just beyond imagination. I made the effort to get there early, on a weekday, and it was a bit cloudy so luckily it was almost empty. Not to far away is Mitchell Road Antique & Design Centre - a must see if you’re into vintage - definitely plan to spend a decent amount of time here, I lost track of how long I spent wandering around, this place is huge.

Towards the end of my trip I went to check out the Sirius building - an apartment complex built in the late 70s. Designed by Tao Gofers, the building is a prominent example of Brutalist architecture in Australia. I have a weird soft spot for brutalist architecture. It was built to house displaced public tenants after the redevelopment of the Rocks during the 60s/70s and in 2015 was the subject of controversy after tenants were effectively kicked out to sell off the building and redevelop. Sirius was refused heritage listing and put up for sale in 2017. The last remaining tenant, 90 year old, legally blind Myra Demetriou moved out in February 2018.

*Updated to add: On 28 June 2019 the NSW Government announced that Sirius would be refurbished rather than demolished.