I had first been to Sydney in 1998. In the 12 intervening years, I can see such a change in the town. My first visit was on a Sunday and nothing was open, save the craft fair sponsored by the ladies’ group of a church. This visit was amazingly different. Port facilities had been upgraded and the town, though still a dying coal mining town, had come alive with a new purpose.
I had never done a tour of the town and decided this time a walking tour was just what was needed. It was an easy walk, with stops here and there and tea and oatcakes at the end. We had tours of the oldest churches in Sydney, one of the oldest houses, and stops at the site of the community paddocks and the first firehouse for the town. All in all, it is an interesting place to visit, with just as much of a not-so-hidden colorful past as anywhere.
After the tea and oatcakes (a rich kind of oatmeal shortbread cookie) we headed to the shopping area to meet the other member of our group who had been on a different tour for a truly Canadian treat -- Tim Horton’s! We indulged in doughnuts and an interesting thing I had never seen before -- tea biscuits, which were a kind of cross between scones and cream biscuits. I tried a plain one and a cheese one and they were very nice. They would have been nicer had they been fresh from the oven warm with some butter and jam, but, still for an on the go snack, they are perfect.
After the nibbles and a rest at Tim Horton’s, I set off to find an interesting souvenir of Sydney. I was not in the market for anything big or fancy, just something portable and good for remembering the visit by. And I found it! As we walked down the main shopping street, I saw soap bubbles floating off into the cheerful atmosphere. I knew that was the place to begin my souvenir hunt, so I made a path to find the source of the bubbles. Lo and behold, it was a soap boutique. Anyone who knows me, knows I love handmade soaps. I have one from almost everywhere I have been. I collect soaps the way other people collect magnets, keyrings, or spoons. I try to get a bar from everywhere I go. This was perfect. Even the name of the shop was calling me -- Sweet Biscuit Bath & Body. Too perfect not to go in for a look around. And once inside I had to stop myself from buying up everything! But the best part? Sweet Biscuit does an unscented - perfume and dye free line they call Naked. I have been blessed with extremely sensitive skin, so I have to be careful with my soaps, shampoos, lotions, and perfumes lest I break out in hives. The Naked line is perfect for me…and having used the shampoo bar and soap I indulged in, I know that for a fact. I suspect there will be many mail orders back and forth from Sweet Biscuit, which is the only custom soap boutique I have found to do an entire line of perfume and dye free products.
After indulging in soaps, I wandered back to the ship. It was a fun time in Sydney, but I was getting tired and it was getting quite chilly. I knew there was a craft fair at the church, so I had a wander through there as I was still on the lookout for a perfect souvenir for my dearest. But there was nothing there that struck my fancy, and though they were serving lovely lobster dinners, I kept walking back toward the ship. It was an enjoyable afternoon, and I was out in a place I enjoy, with no particular destination in no particular hurry. The pier terminal building houses a craft fair on days when the ships are in port, so I stopped there. The last time I was in Sydney I had gotten some beautiful Nova Scotia Tartan Christmas ornaments as souvenirs and I was looking for one of those again. I was also on the lookout for some more of the handmade peach & oatmeal soap I had gotten on a previous visit. No luck on either front, but passing a wood crafter’s stall, I found what I believed to be the perfect version of the souvenir for my dearest. I was still debating it, so I wandered all over the craft market and through the shops on the outside of the pier building (where I found a postcard to send to my dearest’s father…Who knew bald eagles were found in Canada as well? All right I admit to being a horribly insular American on that subject. But after all, if Canada geese are in the US, why can’t bald eagles be in Canada? It’s not like birds pay attention to countries’ borders while in flight or on a hunt). Finding nothing else even remotely suitable, and the wood piece still calling out to be as perfect, I went in and had a chat with the artist and then finally purchased the item. It was a lovely chat, and I am very glad I decided to stop in the craft market, as I found no more examples of what I was looking for along the journey.
Purchases made, fudge and maple sugar candy sampled, I headed back to the ship to send off the postcard and to prepare for sail-away. Sydney sail-away is fun -- the pier has a band that plays us out of port and family bring their children to watch the big ship sail away. It’s always nice to be in a place where simple things are appreciated. And while I worry that Sydney has put all its eggs in the tourism basket after the decline of mining and industry, I am still very happy to find simple pleasures, of the kind I enjoyed in my not-too-distant childhood still enjoyed by the Wii generation.
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