Editor's Note

Reflections: On Our Anniversary, New Beginnings, & a Favorite City

These days, time files. It has been a full year since we started the Syllogi’s Travellers Club publication, and it only feels like yesterday that we were a bit anxious to hit “publish” on our first Edition! True to our inquisitive, exploratory, and overzealous nature to see & share the best places the world has on offer, we’ve taken our readers to 6 continents, 45 countries, and 28 US States in the past 12 months. Pun intended, it’s been a journey and we are thrilled to have you along for the ride.

Before we get on to this Destination Feature, we have another special announcement. Just two weeks ago, on March 11th, our very own Syllogi Co-Founder, Erin, gave birth to a beautiful (& healthy!) baby girl. We are pleased to introduce Simone Joy to the world! Erin will be away on a well-deserved leave, but we will continue to travel beautifully (with her enjoying from the nursery lounger).

Simone Joy, future traveller and adventurer

So, let's travel!:

I have a fairly active travel imagination, and I dream images of places long before I go there. I’ve often been let down when I’ve finally visited most of those places—my dreams not quite matching reality. But, Sydney is one of the few places that truly surpassed my expectations. I don’t know what it is exactly, but Sydney is a great city. It’s young, and vibrant. The architecture is new with a good sprinkling of heritage. It’s monumental and iconic. It’s sunny, and has a tropical accent with exotic palms, purple jarcarandas, and birds of paradise filling every little garden cavity. People are friendly, and so multicultural—any cuisine you want, it’s there. Water dominates the city—its harbour creates pockets for little communities to blossom, sheltered from urbanity, and yet just a short boat hop from the center of it all.

Just about a year ago, I finally, finally made the arduous journey across the Pacific and visited the place that was at the very top of my bucket list since I was 9 years old. Sydney was an entrée into the South Pacific, as it is for many folks–a jumping off point to explore the likes of the Great Barrier Reef, the Outback, Tasmania, Fiji, New Zealand, and so on.

Accordingly, in just a few short days, we actively immersed ourselves into the Sydneysider lifestyle—from midnight dinner with the young folks on Friday night George Street, a Saturday afternoon ferry to Manly Beach for a stroll and cocktails, art museums, the Botanical Gardens, and even an early morning plunge in one of the famous ‘ocean pools’ at Bondi. We wandered the impressive new developments at Barangaroo, including the newly opened W Hotel, and the scenic pathways under the Harbour Bridge. But the shining star of it all was finally experiencing what I still consider to be the world’s most iconic architectural, artistic, and engineering feat: the Sydney Opera House. (And we’ll tell you a lot about it in this Edition). With a handful of impressive hotels, chic restaurants, and ample outdoor activities, Sydney is a feast for the senses in every possible way. If only it weren’t so very far away, I’d be aching to visit it again, and again, and then some more.

Enjoy this journey Down Under.