My 27th Birthday Celebrations in Sydney.

I think last year was the first year I didn’t post about my birthday celebrations (read my previous birthday posts here). I was in Perth and so didn’t really do anything wildly exciting for it like I usually do. I was sad to be turning 26 (hello, almost in my late twenties!), and didn’t feel like celebrating much. This year was a little different. I’ve had a pretty awful 2018 so far with an unexpected loss back at the start of the year. And so I wanted to start afresh with turning 27. 26 was full of heartbreak and heartache, and I wanted to celebrate a new chapter and how far I’ve come, how strong I’ve been, and how proud I am of myself.

And so I planned a lovely girlie dinner on my actual birthday, which was a Wednesday, and then drinks and dancing with my wider group of friends on the Friday.
I took the day off work on my actual birthday, and started the day by blasting out Beyonce, eating a Lindt chocolate bunny (it was $2 in the local supermarket, don’t judge), and opening cards from my family and friends back home. I let Wilbur up onto my bed, which is a total novelty for him! Because of his malting fur he’s never usually allowed up, so he thought it was brilliant that he was allowed to curl up at the end of my feet while I went back to sleep and then read through messages from friends on my phone.

I then had a lazy morning, got up and had a mini-dance party in the shower, and felt strangely positive about entering a new year of life (although I will always get sad over realising how old I’m getting). After my lazy morning I walked round the corner to Five Ways to treat myself to brunch at Sonder. I had the most delish avocado on toast with poached eggs, and then got the bus to Taronga Zoo Sydney in Mosman.

Taronga Zoo Sydney have a special offer where you can get entry for $1 on your birthday if you bring a voucher (download it here) and photo ID with you, so as I’d only ever been to Taronga at night-time for Vivid last year, I thought I may as well go!

I’m usually not a fan of zoos as they make me so sad, but Taronga is a little different to normal zoos. They have a huge focus on conservation, and they’re *very* good at using their voice to spread the word on how you can help at home. I wandered round the zoo and saw the Giraffes (with the most incredible view of the city behind them), the seal show, the Gorilla talk, and the new Tiger Trek area, before getting the cable car down to the ferry.

 

The zoo is only a 15-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay, and as it was my birthday, I treated myself to two scoops of Gelato Messina (hands down the best ice-cream in Sydney) when I got to Circular Quay.

 

And then it was dinner time! I got the bus home and got changed and ready, then jumped in a taxi to Kensington Street Social inside The Old Clare Hotel.

 

Laura, Nikki, and I had the most incredible cocktails in the bar, and when Tash and Jenny arrived we went through to the restaurant next door. I’d been wanting to eat at Kensington Street Social ever since I arrived in Sydney 18-months ago. It was Jason Atherton’s only restaurant in Australia (see my review of his Marylebone restaurant, Social Wine & Tapas), and sadly closed a few days after we visited.Although we absolutely loved the food (honestly such incredible food!), sadly the service was, frankly, awful. The staff were rude and condescending, and it took them an entire hour to take our order! They happily took our drinks order and brought the drinks over, but it was only when we specifically asked them to take our food order an hour later, that they did so.

Anyway, on the Friday after my birthday a bigger group of us went to Zeta Bar, the Hilton Hotel’s rooftop bar, for cocktails and dancing. They have a live singer on Fridays and the atmosphere is classy but really fun! And the view from the rooftop area over the Queen Victoria Building is stunning. We had a table in one of the large booths, and spent a few hours there working our way through the cocktail menu and dancing around to the live music. Myself, Nikki, and Kate decided we wanted to go to The Darlo for a proper dance, so we managed to get there just before lockout, and had an hour or so of throwing shapes!

My 27th birthday was definitely more low-key and less-extra than my normal London birthdays, but it was lovely and I’m so grateful to my friends for helping me celebrate!

 

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Catherine Lux
Catherine Lux

Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of SEO at Havas Media Group by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.

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