Saturday, October 2, 2010

Paddy's Market and The New Moscow Circus in Sydney

I'm not sure how it's possible that we've been here over three years and yesterday was my first real visit to Paddy's Market, that seems very strange.   And incredibly, my friend, who moved here right around same time we did, hadn't been either-- so yesterday we went, and conquered I might add.

Another tick (that's Aussie for "check") off the old mini-bucket list I keep in my cloudy head.

So here's the big news on Paddy's Market:   it's what we call a "flea market" in the U.S. 

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Paddy's Market


For all you fashionistas, apparently this is where your UGG boots originated from, a booth at Paddy's Market with all things that represent Australia.

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I'm still trying to figure out why there were so many wig booths. Club kids?


Paddy's Market
There were a few food booths.


Paddy's Market

As I approached this booth a lady asked if they sold chili powder here.  Um... duh (and that was basically the response of the guy working there too).

Paddy's Market

And the prices were amazing, considering you could pay $5-10 for a tiny punnet of blueberries near my house, and here they were two for $6. I bought a lot of fruit and paid about a quarter of what I normally would.

And this was just hilarious... I've seen it before, and it's still really funny.


Love this shirt.

But the best thing I bought yesterday at Paddy's Market were two teeny, tiny jade Buddha's (about the size of ping pong balls).  We often read a book called Buddha at Bedtime, and I've been on the lookout for a little Buddha for each of them.  I told them if they rub his belly they get good luck, though now I'm thinking someone may have told me if you rub his belly you'll get pregnant-- oh man, that could be an error of epic proportions.  But with the severe eczema we've been dealing with the our house for the last month and recurring head lice-- yep I said head lice ewwwww, we need some good luck here.

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Innocent head scratching?  You be the judge.

But itchy heads, and itchy eczema legs, and all-- we still were able to take in The Great Moscow Circus a couple days ago, which conveniently pitched a tent in our area recently, so how could we not?

I'm still quite baffled over the bizarre, dark opening scene in which some Russians (I'm assuming) walked around looking sad, dressed in winter clothes.  If you ask me, which you didn't, not really the way to start off a circus.  But the performers were awesome, acrobatics, contortionists, a juggler-- very Cirque d' Soleil and really great, the only exception (which I wasn't expecting or probably wouldn't have bought tickets) was the miniature ponies they brought out and make do "tricks" in the ring.  The guy giving them direction looked scary and was holding some long whip looking thing-- at that point I almost left, but I didn't move fast enough and the ponies were done.


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The Great Moscow Circus grand entrance.

After the show, we played a couple of those creepy looking games they must have stolen from Luna Park.


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Cheeky Monkey


We told them they could get snow cones or fairy floss (which is Australian for "cotton candy").  I recommended they choose fairy floss since they'd never had it before (and I wanted some), but they incorrectly chose snow cones.  Of course they realized pretty quickly they had made a mistake, so we caved in and they ended up with both (yay for me:).

Fairy Floss is Cotton Candy


The bonus cotton candy/ fairy floss, I'm off to the side eating some and thinking of days gone by.



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30 comments:

The Baker Family said...

Hello old friend - to kill the lice try your GHD. With the girls I burn the little suckers to death and it works every time!

Laura said...

Hi!!

We miss you! Now how the hell can I use the GHD on their super short hair??? Call me, we need a date with you. xoxo

Paul Steckler said...

Too bad you couldn't purchase that little "Bonzo" figure in the picture.

Then you could do "Bedtime for Bonzo".

Laura said...

Steck- Now I'm gonna have to google Bonzo, at first I thought you wrote Gonzo-- but couldn't find a photo with him in it....

Juli said...

We recently had the itchy heads. (I can't even say head lice. I'm still too traumatized.) And we have the eczema. Also I was afraid of the circus when it came to town, and we did not go. I will try to give it another go. But the ponies might be too much for my delicate sensibilities. xx

Jill Stevens, Licensed Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist said...

the circus looks amazing. the boys look incredible too- and so happy. i miss you guys.

Paul Steckler said...

It's the picture just below the text:

"After the show, we played a couple of those creepy looking games they must have stolen from Luna Park."

There's a Bonzo figure in the lower left.

"Bedtime for Bonzo" was a movie starring Ronald Reagan and ... a chimpanzee. There was a sequel called "Bonzo Goes to College". You can't make this stuff up!

I thought "Bedtime for Bonzo" would nicely complement "Buddha at Bedtime".

Cristin said...

I'm so glad you wrote about the circus. We drove by there the other day and I was wondering what it was like. I love circuses, but feel like they can go either way (weird/sketchy or magical).

Laura said...

Juli Ryan- Personally I'd skip this circus and see the one coming to The Opera House-- Le Grand Cirque I think it's called-- we went a couple years ago, no animals and not so strange-traveling-circusish.

Jill- Miss you too, are you ever going to make it here??

Steck- Got it!

C in Oz- I'd say this circus is more of the weird and sketchy-- go to the Le Grand Cirque at The Opera House instead :).

Laura said...

So I should probably retract some the of glowing reportness of my post on the circus-- though it was good, I'd rather go to a circus without animals in it. It was good for us because it was close by and an easy day out with the kids. Worth doing if you can stand watching the ponies and weird, scary ringmaster.

Unknown said...

I love paddys markets!
Im sooooooo jealous, i need a trip to sydney pronto.
I cant believe you have been here for so many years, feels like just yesterday i stumbled across this amzing lil blog of yours :)
xx

Dina Roberts said...

I love what you said about the kids making the wrong decision, and not picking Fairy Floss.

Cute!

Glad you were able to enjoy both : )

Did you guys go to the food court near Paddy's Market? I think it's in the same building, but on a different floor. I thought it was really nice.

But I may be thinking of the wrong building.....

Brooke, WhyGo Australia said...

Wow, that's so funny that you've just now made a real trip to Paddy's Market. It was one of the first places I went, but then again I was staying in a hostel near Central. Anyways, just found your blog (I'm also an American in Sydney). Look forward to more! Cheers, Brooke

Kristie said...

Paddy's Market looks awesome. I would so love that place!

Anonymous said...

Hello, I have just recently found your blog - and I LOVE IT!. To see this country through your eyes has made me appreciate it more and given me a good laugh too.

I just wanted to let you know what we use to deal with those itchy mites - a mix of lavender oil, tea tree oil and water in a little spray bottle. I find it works to kill them and keep them away too - a little spray before school and they choose some other boys head instead.

Good luck.

Anonymous said...

Hello, I'm Danielle and a Sydneysider. I just came across your blog while successfully looking for an interesting read - it's interesting to read about another perspective on Sydney from someone who has lived in the US. Your US translations are both interesting and funny!

Captain Dumbass said...

I wish I had some cotton candy and a snow cone right now. It would make working complicated, but I'm sure my performance level would increase dramatically afterwards.

Love the Jesus shirt. Never seen that one before.

Laura said...

Rinniez- Well when you come to Sydney you must email me so we can meet! You were one of the first people who ever came to my blog!

Dina- We only got off the elevator on the wrong floor and quickly saw the food court, we did peruse around the produce area in the market though. We had yum cha lunch right outside down a little alleyway.

Brooke- Thanks for coming by, just looked at the site you're associated with-- very cool!

Kristie- You should totally come! it's like a Chinatown fleamarket.

Anonymous- Well I've heard lice was rampant in Sydney-- not I know first hand, yuck. We are using an organic shampoo with that stuff in it-- I think it's Eco Kids, it's marketed as a lice preventative shampoo and spray in conditioner. I wonder if a homemade version with lavender would be better though?? I may have to make that!

Danielle- So glad you came by! I love being called an interesting read-- sometimes I wonder if it's only interesting to me!

Captain Dumbass- I wish I had some now too! Especially the cotton candy.

Francine said...

We haven't done Paddy's Markets yet, either. Looks like fun!

Gutsy Living said...

I was looking at my older posts and saw a comment from you. We are hoping to move to Naples, FL as soon as we sell our house in CA. Are you familiar with that part. I would love to visit Sydney and it looks like life is good there. I was surprised to hear of a MoOscow circus there.

Laura said...

Francine- Somewhat fun, probably more fun without the kids... well at least my two little ones :)

Gutsy Writer- I don't know too much about Naples, I was pretty much always an east coast FL girl-- except for a few years in Tampa, which I didn't love. Good luck with your house and move.

Anonymous said...

Not only do you have photos of one of my favorite spots when I lived in Sydney a couple years ago (Paddy's) but you have a picture of my fav t-shirt in the market!
I'm jealous.... I used to love the market from december to february, for lychees, my australian addiction.

Laura said...

Anonymous- Lychees?? I still have not eaten a fresh lychee-- you mean fresh right? I do love me some lychee martinis, my friend gave me the best recipe ever for them!! May have to make one tonight!

Anonymous said...

Yes, fresh lychees.

There's the small seed variety (the best) and the usual bigger seed. I would usually ask the vendors if I could sample one as there were taste variations between stalls. And if there was a price difference between vendors, it most of the time meant that the pricier was better (smaller seed or fresher). I'm such a lychee geek, I would actually get tingly when they would arrive in December.

Other things the North American me had no idea about but loved: custard apples (you have to pick the ones with brown spots, not the green pristine looking ones), fresh passionfruits (yum!) and longans (like lychees but a pain to shell).

Makes me think of something else I greatly miss about Oz: the native spices like Lemon Myrtle and Wattleseed I used to get at the farmers markets from a company named 'A taste of the Bush'.

Oh, and the Pukara olive oil... oh, so many food related things I now miss!

Enjoy!

-mc

Laura said...

mc- I'm going to get me some fresh lychees asap... and since moving here I have a love for passionfruit anything! But custard apples-- do they taste like regular ones??

formerly fun said...

Love the Jesus t-shirt, mmm and the spices.

Tina L. Hook said...

How fun...not the lice...but everything else.

Laura said...

FF- My favorite things too.

Florida Girls Midwest- Exactly.

Alaskan Forget Me Not said...

Hi, I am an Alaskan girl, came to Sydney in Sept 2007 to visit my friend (now husband). Been here for almost 3 years now, and it so comforting to read your blog and I too haven't checked out the Paddy Market! Definetely need to give it a go, and I live very close to the moscow circus (sydney park village), but I was afraid there would be bears and other animals forced to ride bikes and other tricks, so I kept my distance. (besides, isnt it for kids? maybe I could borrow my friends daughter and go check it out with her) ;)

Laura said...

Femme Fatale- Good choice, I honestly could not stand watching the poor tiny horses-- it's awful. I'll be sticking with the human only circuses.