Settling in Surry

Welcome to Surry Hills!

The Wellington-esque foodie hub of inner Sydney - and our new place of residence. 

It's now a month since we arrived and we are finally feeling settled, especially now that we have internet.

We have moved into a lovely - albeit frighteningly expensive - apartment. During the move we survived a flooding dishwasher, a Saturday-night initiation that involved 2am drunken yelling from Oxford St bars (#DoDarlo), and the revelation that we do not have air conditioning. But, hey, I've completed my first lunchtime run in 34 degree heat. If I can survive that (just), then I can surely sleep in summer. 

We been acquainted with a pair of cockatoos that live in the tree outside our window, and who may or may not be responsible for our daily 6am wake-up call.

We have been initiated into the experience that is furniture shopping at Ikea. 

In the town-sized store: 

"Oh it's so NICE! And so CHEAP. Oh look, we could buy a WHOLE KITCHEN if we wanted.... How hard can it be to put a set of drawers together?" 

Four hours, 12 different types of screws, and a few touch-and-go moments involving a hammer and my thumb later:

"Hmmm it's a bit wonky.... Do you think you can tell?"

We've settled into our jobs. Work is a scenic 20-minute walk away - twice the commute we had in Wellington, but a third that of an average Sydney commuter. The work is interesting and our colleagues have been really friendly and welcoming. We've discovered some delicious gluten-free lunch options nearby, drinkable coffee (hooray!), and feel like we know the area pretty well. 

(I know Martin Place especially intimately after an inaugural faceplant on my way to work that resulted in me sliding down the street soaked in freshly-bought coffee.)  

We've been exploring our suburb and loving it. Surry Hills is filled with cute wee town houses, leafy streets, cafes, restaurants, and the best coffee we've had by far. There are so many exciting gluten-free options, and all a short walk from our place. As part of our exploring, we've started sampling the exciting, delicious and unique food available. 

But the top attraction of Surry Hills, according to locals and non-locals alike? Sydney's number one dessert option: Gelato Messina. 

After so many rave reviews, well, it would be rude not to. 

The perfect way to settle into our new suburb on a sunny Saturday afternoon. 

I'm a bit of a sucker for ice cream, so it was a huge treat. The gelato is super tasty and there are SO MANY exciting flavours. Gelato Messina are really conscious of food allergies and warn that there is a risk of cross-contamination. But if you aren't too sensitive to take that risk, there are heaps of gluten-free options on offer.

Sitting in the park with white chocolate and salted caramel gelato. 

Creamy, sweet and moorish. 

It reminded me just a little bit of home. 

Settling into Surry. Like a boss.