After four days in Zetland, we were excited to head out of the city for a beach-y second half of our vacation. This is where it came in very handy to have friends in the area. They recommended staying in Cronulla, which I wouldn’t have picked on my own. It’s not too far outside of the city but also close to Royal National Park (which I’ll write a separate post about) and fairly inexpensive for Sydney.
Where We Stayed in Cronulla
We rented a two-bedroom, two-bathroom Airbnb apartment with a foldout couch to accommodate the six of us. The apartment was one block away from the Cronulla beaches with a gorgeous ocean view. It was clean, spacious, and exactly like the listing. This totally shocked me as I feel like most Airbnb listings in the US are bait-and-switches. 😛 There wasn’t an extensive cleaning list to tick off at the end and no exorbitant cleaning fee.
Our cost included an underground parking spot (we rented a car for that half of the trip). There’s a small IGA at the mall across the street as well as several Woolworth’s within a 10-15 minute drive. While we did eat out more during the second half of our trip, we definitely made use of the fully-stocked kitchen in our apartment for the majority of meals.
Being so close to the beach was wonderful. We walked down to the water every day, even though it was drizzly and the waves were large for a couple of days. (We were coming from subzero temperatures, so 70 degrees and rainy still felt warm to us!) The kids were absolutely mesmerized by the ocean–it’s so different from our Midwestern lakes–and it wasn’t too crowded, even on the beautiful weather day. On the rougher days we watched surfers. My oldest has since asked repeatedly for surfing lessons, though I’m afraid I can’t fulfill that request in Minnesota!
What We Ate in Cronulla
On our way down from Sydney to Cronulla, we stopped by Sebastian Sans Gluten in Leichhardt and loaded up on some goodies for a picnic. We tried a variety of sweet and savory pastries, because when will Eric get the chance to eat real gluten-free pastry again? Here are our reviews.
- Beef pie and sausage roll: We tried these since they’re classic Australian foods that we can’t get here. The pastry was excellent. The pie was pretty good, the sausage roll a bit bland for the adults. The kids did enjoy the sausage roll, as they like plainer things.
- Quiche lorraine: My 10/10 favorite. It was absolutely loaded with cheese and ham. I could have eaten an entire box of them! Eric agreed this was the best item we ordered.
- Ham and cheese croissant: Huge and stuffed with ham and bechamel. I was disappointed as I like less filling and plain melted cheese in my croissants, not a creamy filling. It was delicious but just a bit too rich and creamy for both of us.
- Chocolate croissant and cinnamon scroll: Both amazing. I only got one bite of the croissant as the kids devoured the rest. The cinnamon scroll was light, flakey and had the perfect amount of cinnamon cardamom filling.
We also grabbed a casual dinner at Diggers Miranda RSL that evening (a 10-15 minute drive from our apartment) as no one felt like cooking. The gluten-free menu is long and they have a separate kitchen space and fryers to make food truly gluten-free.
Our meals were simple but good. The toddlers had kids meals, my oldest ordered a cheeseburger (he’s obsessed), Eric had the chicken sausage pasta–and cleaned his bowl–and I had fish, mashed potato and broccolini. The toddlers got free ice cream with their meals and they scooped some for my oldest for free, too.
After that we mostly ate in, minus grabbing gelato at the cutest little shop across the street, Anita Gelato. They label allergens so Eric was able to enjoy some too.
How We Got Around in Cronulla
We knew we’d be going farther afield while in Cronulla so we rented a minivan with carseats from Sixt at the Sydney Airport. It served us well. The lanes are narrower and you’re driving on the “wrong side” of the road in Australia. So it was a bit nerve-wracking in traffic! Still, it was worth it to be able to pop out to Woolworth’s, drive up to Oatley one day and the national park another. It was also nice to be able to get to the airport easily for our bright-and-early 6am flight home.
My next post will be about our visit to Royal National Park. I’m trying to get everything down before I forget details because life is busy right now! My mom and brother have March birthdays, my second is starting gymnastics, the baby is starting solids and I’m starting to work on our garden for this season. Never a dull moment in our house.
xx Claire