Throwing Away all the Rules in Sydney

I spend most days doing my best to resist all those foods that I know are bad for my blood sugar levels. Like the goodies my work Mums pull out of their pockets without fail. Like the birthday morning teas at work where pink donuts are mandatory. Like the packet of Tim Tams or slice of leftover cake with my cuppa in the afternoon. And then having to fight the urge to open a packet of chips afterwards for my something savoury.

Over time, I’ve gotten better at it, and I am more resilient. I’m proud to say that I no longer need to have that afternoon snack that’s been a part of my daily routine for my whole life. I still do allow myself these things on occasions, and Friday is still my I-can’t-be-bothered-I’ll-buy-my-lunch-at-work kind of a day. But it’s a hard job. So when I go on holidays, I tend to throw away all the rules.

I don’t go on holidays too often, and it will probably be a long time until I go back to Sydney again. And so, I get that feeling of needing to stock up. Moreso when you come from a tiny city like Perth. Of needing to get my fill, while I can. Before it all goes away again. And boy oh boy, did I find some good spots.

Like a cake and cappuccino at the best Pasticceria in Sydney, Via Del Corso. I think I stopped by there almost every day. I’m not even ashamed to admit that I went there one afternoon after I’d already had a coffee and cannoli elsewhere. The Choc Panna Cotta, the Baked Ricotta Cheesecake, the Tiramisu or the Snickers, there was no shortage of choices there to aid my difficult decision making!

Then there’s the best Cannoli in Sydney, at Rossini Cafe on the harbour. If it wasn’t such a trek to walk, you would have seen me there every day for sure. When I finished my climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the dark last week, my blood sugar level had rebounded to a lovely 17 after my Hypo on the Harbour. It was dark and I was ridiculously high. But all I wanted to do was trek over to Rossini’s for one of their massive, freshly filled Cannoli served on a pile of thick, creamy custard. Public apology to my Mum, I had forgotten just how awesome these were since last time.

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Then there’s the Lindt Cafe. You know, the one in Martin Place that was the setting of the tragic Sydney Siege last year. Going by the crowds inside, it’s hard to believe that something so terrible could have happened here. The hot chocolate was SO worth the trek. Again, I came here one afternoon shortly after a coffee and cake at Via Del Corso. And I guess it serves me right that I went most of the trip not realising there was another Lindt Cafe closer to where I was staying!

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And finally, Darling Harbour. I think we ate here all but one night. The best thing here is the three-course-meal-and-a-glass-of-wine-for-$30 thing. Almost every restaurant here has some sort of tempting not-so-diabetes-friendly offer like it.

The most suprising thing was how well my blood sugar levels managed all this food on the trip. Most days I went without breakfast or lunch simply because I was full from all the other crap I was eating. But I honestly don’t recall having half as many hypers or hypos as my last holiday. There were even some mornings where I woke up in disbelief seeing numbers below 10.

I CAN travel with diabetes. I CAN eat crap. And I CAN still produce decent blood sugar levels afterwards.

Bring on the next one.