After a disappointing morning spent at Manly Beach (it just somehow didn't connect with my soul), I decided to take the ferry from Circular Quay over to Balmain.
The 15min ferry ride turned out to be gorgeous, filled with breathtaking sights of the Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, Luna Park and the many sailboats littered on the glistening water.
It was a warm sunshine-filled winter day and I really enjoyed sitting on the open top deck of the ferry, with the breeze in my face. It was also rather funny seeing all the tourists around me get into a frenzy when they realise what good photo opportunities lay in the ferry ride.
My introduction to Balmain was extremely quaint. East Balmain Wharf is a simple construction, and right next to it is a small little park that overlooked the city-scape. There was a mother pushing her two daughters on the swing in the park, and a couple enjoying the sun and the gentle sounds of the water lapping. Walking further up revealed another family having a picnic on the grass, with their children running around chasing each other as kids do.
Reading a little information plaque revealed that many of the historic buildings of Balmain were constructed in the 1800s. This was a rather historic part of Sydney.
In order to get to the town centre, I had to hike uphill on Darling St for almost 15 mins. It turned out to be a really nice walk because of the gorgeous old townhouses with lovely terraces and quaint architecture that lined the street. It reminded me a little of being back in England, with its narrow streets and townhouses with no front yards and really did make me yearn to live there.
I'm no architect and cannot tell you which genre the buildings were based on, but all I can say was that it was really beautiful and I would be extremely happy living in any of those houses, each with their own distinct characters and stories.
One of the things that was rather interesting was the fact that I felt like I had entered the VW Beatle-land or something. Never in my life had I ever seen so many VW Beatles being driven around one town. And most of them were the original Beatles, not the new models. It was amazing how many of them were either parked alongside the road or drove past me!
The town centre itself was rather small, with only two streets of shops offering books, gifts, clothes and cafes galore. And the most beautiful thing of it all is the fact that there were hardly any tourists around. The people around me looked like they either lived in Balmain or were visiting from neighbouring suburbs. Most were sitting with friends in cafes, enjoying a Sunday brunch.
The few hours I spent wandering the streets of Balmain, I had clean forgotten I was only 15mins away from the Sydney city centre by ferry. It was as if I was transported to a little town hours away from a big city. It wasn't until I was sitting at the bus-stop, waiting for a bus to take me to Glebe, that I realised I was actually so close to the city.
Honestly, I would love to live here. But I doubt I would be able to afford it. In my daydream, I imagined myself looking to buy a place in Balmain. In fact, I even found a house I loved. It was a converted flour mill/warehouse and was my dream accommodation. I had always wanted a converted warehouse for a home. The pricetag on the house said $2 million. My bubble burst.
Not only that, the little boutiques sold extremely individualistic clothes that I absolutely adored. They were rather bohemian in make, and all look extremely creative and very unique. So were the prices. Nothing was sold below $100 in Balmain. The cheapest sale item I saw went for about $50. Balmain is obviously geared towards a well-to-do, upper class market.
No wonder I only saw young professionals and older folks there. There was honestly hardly a teenager in sight.
From Balmain, I took the bus to Glebe, another suburb filled with beautiful buildings. What drew me to Glebe, however, had to be the various secondhand bookshops and bookshops it had. It was brilliant! I had no book in mind that I wanted to buy, but I couldn't help myself. I kept ducking in just to browse at the different books they had.
I even found a cafe bookshop complete with a live performing band!
In the end, I did find something I wanted to buy.
I found this little wind-up Jesus in one of the shops in Glebe and it was the funniest looking thing. They had a Virgin Mary version as well. I couldn't resist. It had to be bought.
With Jesus tucked in my bag, I took a bus back to Sydney Central and thus ended my day of exploration.
Wonder where I should visit next....
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