Day 18: Paddy's Market and Heading Home

I was not about to leave Sydney without fitting in a little more sightseeing.  I had yet to get to Paddy's Market, and it was only about 2 blocks from my hotel.  My flight was at 3 pm, so this meant I could easily spend time over at the Market.

On my way over, I passed this sculpture on the street, which I thought was pretty neat.

Here is Market City!  Yes, it is about a block in size.  It's actually a huge complex, and from what I gather Paddy's is the part in the basement, and then there is a mall with outlets on the upper levels.

You can see the inside is really big. 

I found the signs for Paddy's with the arrows pointing down, and headed that way.  I was pleasantly surprised to find all of this waiting down below:

If only I had more time!  Because of their hours and my schedule, I wasn't able to get here any sooner, but if I had, I saw tons of fruits and veggies I would have loved to try out.

Next to the produce there were spice vendors.

They even had dried beans.  I was unsure of the export policies and what I could or could not take out of the country and into Japan, so I decided to pass.

But I did get some of the nut and seed bars, which were really yummy.

I also bought some dried apricots.

I didn't take any pictures, but also in the basement area was all the vendors with reasonably priced souvenirs.  In fact, if you are in Sydney and looking for good prices on souvenirs, this is definitely the spot to go.  I bought way too much last minute stuff!

When I was done downstairs, I went up into the mall because I still had some time before heading to the airport.  I was hungry, but couldn't make up my mind.  In the end I gave in, or rather gave up, and went with the Japanese bakery.  I tried so hard to avoid it, but in the end, I could not decide on anything else, so I went with what is familiar, and that was apparently Japanese baked goods.

Looks similar to some of the stuff I have had in Japan.  It tasted good, so I can't complain.

I could not resist this picture.  If you know anything about Portugal, you may understand why I could not resist.  I had never heard of this piri piri chicken (piri piri, yes, but piri piri chicken, no) and lived in Portugal for 2 years.  I asked an employee and apparently it was a dish made by the Portuguese people that ended up in South Africa and then moved on to Australia.

Before I knew it those 18 days had flown right by and it was time to board my flight for Singapore.

I managed to stay awake and enjoy the vegetarian meal that I was served.  

The pasta was actually really good.  I also enjoyed some wine. 

I must say, my favorite part of Singapore Airlines was the ice cream.  Yes, after the main meal on the flights, they serve an ice cream treat.  I could not resist this one!  These days, this is practically a miracle.  I see why this is a top ranked airline.

Later on in the flight we were served a snack.  I had an open face veggie sandwich.  Not too bad.  The pasta was definitely better.

I have no idea why, but when I was in Singapore for my layover, walking around the airport, I got hungry again and decided to get breakfast.  I love when places serve breakfast all day!

Next thing I knew it was time to board for Tokyo.  I couldn't believe I was nearly home.

That about does it for my trip.  Once I landed at Narita, I boarded the bus and headed to the other Tokyo airport to catch my domestic flight.  I had another 4 hours of waiting before my next flight, and wouldn't you know it, I got hungry again.  It was early in the morning, but that didn't stop me from enjoying a nice, hot bowl of soba noodles.

Whew!  That does it for my trip down under.  I hope you enjoyed following along on my journeys.  I am beat after all that travel, paired with the 5 weeks earlier this year, 1 week in Tokyo and a few days in Sapporo, and you can say that I had quite a year.  That about does it for me and travel for 2012.  I love to travel, but now I need some time to rest and relax at home!

QUESTIONS:  Do you travel a lot each year?  Where was the last place you travelled to?  Any big trips planned before we get to 2013?