For the next two northern suburbs, I was debating on whether to give them the "Sydney by Technicality" label. They've evaded it - but only barely.

Middle Dural

Middle Dural is a suburb in the city's north, technically falling within the Hills District.

While most of The Hills is McMansions and upwardly mobile children being driven to private school in financed SUVs, Middle Dural is... well vast.

You've the occasional big and wide house on big and wide land,

but you've also got a whole lot of empty space.

Driving through, I felt obligated to stop at this Indian restaurant.

No, not for lunch, but to gaze in awe at the stylistic choices.

I don't know what's going on here, apart from what I can only assume is an Indian answer to the Christian nativity scene.

When it comes to ethnic food, I'm of the opinion that the dodgier the place looks, the better the food tends to be. As such, and with no evidence of this, this place probably isn't very good. I mean, they've got a fountain outside.

How about that.

Continuing up the road, I had to make another sudden stop. Not for this farm house,

but for goats (bonus fun mailbox).

As mentioned in my last post, goats are wonderful.

This chap thought it best to headbutt the chain fence once alerted to my presence.

The goats live on this lane.

Which I only document because I found it pretty.

I got back in the car and continued up the road until I crossed the suburb's northern border.

Middle Dural: Grass, goats and an out of control Indian restaurant.

Glenorie

The jaunt through not-quite-Sydney-by-Technicality continues over the border into Glenorie.

All I know about Glenorie is that they're a bus company.

Except it turns out that I don't even know that, because apparently Glenorie buses disbanded back in 2004, which means that Glenorie hasn't been a bus company for so long that next year it can vote. Or it could, if it existed. Which it doesn't.

Anyway.

At first, Glenorie more or less does the same sort of thing as Middle Dural. Semi-rural.

Green grass.

And a handful of big houses (on green grass). I liked this one.

However, Glenorie actually has itself a CBD. Glenorie CBD is marked by the Shopping Village,

and, for some reason, apartment development, despite the wide and open surrounds.

I parked in Glenorie CBD,

intending to stop for some baked goods at a bakery I saw on the map when ~~planning~~ eyeballing my visit.

It turns out that everyone else had the same idea, so I joined the not-especially-Covid-safe queue,

and eventually made it inside, where I realised why so many people were here.

Firstly, it's a pretty interesting environment, with a cool little farm-chic thing going on here,

and a very pleasant outdoor seating area,

secondly, that's one fine sweets fridge.

I picked up an above-average pepper steak pie,

and then enjoyed some sweeties with Mrs Completing Sydney. That's a "snickers" eclair, and a lemon meringue tart. The eclair was okay - they didn't seem to quite get the salt balance right. The tart nailed it though - I often find lemon pies and other lemon pastries to be a little bit sickly, but this one pulled it off.