Becky Feigin

On clear nights, you may be able to spot a few stars when you look to the sky from a rooftop bar in Sydney CBD. But like most big cities, light pollution keeps the full extent of celestial wonders obscured from view. Fortunately, you don't have to travel very far out of the city to improve your vision of the night sky. To help you catch a glimpse of the glittering galaxy, we’ve put together a list of the nine best spots for stargazing in and around Sydney. So wrap up warm, grab your binoculars and fill a flask with hot choccie – it's time to look up. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, things to do in Sydney, travel inspo, food and more, straight to your inbox.  Spend a night under the stars at one of the best campgrounds near Sydney. Want more awe? Check out our list of the best national parks you can explore in and around the city.

Whether you wear them to watch Netflix or you keep a pair under your desk for emergency comfort, everybody needs a pair of fleece-lined boots in winter. If you’re looking to purchase a new pair of cosy ugg boots, we’ve got a list of stores that sell Australian-made ugg boots and the US brand of ugg boots manufactured in China. Snuggle up in a pair at one of Sydney’s bookshops with cafés.

This store is a more upscale Australian-made ugg boots shop. They sell boots and a few high heels, slippers and moccasins, but they get really fancy with their designs. The original short boots are $129, but certain variations of boots such as colour and design can bring the price up to $549. The cool thing is that they offer to customise any pair of boots. Simply tell them what you want and they will call the factory in the Gold Coast and have them made for you – without any extra charge.  

This store has Australian-made uggs from original tall and short boots, kids’ boots, moccasins, slippers, sneakers to gloves and hats for the colder months. The prices here cheap, with sales as low as $50 for a pair of adult shoes.

Whether you’re looking for women’s, men’s or kids’ boots, you’ll find Australian made uggs at a great price at this store. They have a website and ship their shoes all over Australia without any shipping fees. They even have a size chart to help you figure out the perfect fit.

This ugg store is easily to spot right on George Street, and you can get short ugg boots here for as little as $79. You’ll find many different styles of the boot here as well as an adorable kids’ collection, ugg gloves and other sheepskin clothing to keep you warm in the winter months.

On the north side of the Harbour Bridge, there’s Chatswood’s official Ugg Australia store. Whatever ugg boots are in style will be found here from the originals to moccasins. There is no online shopping for these stores, so you will have to go into the shop to pick out the pair you want. 

This is a factory outlet store and their store is located only 5km away from their main shop in Sydney. If there's a specific type of ugg boos that you want, they will be able to order them for you.

If you are looking for the well-known brand of Ugg Boots, this is the store you need to go to. It is their main store in Australia, so you don’t have to worry about buying fakes. It’s an American company selling shoes in Australia, so they're not cheap but they are the real deal.

Ugg Channel sells Australian-made Uggs and is located right in the centre of Bondi Junction. This store has a variety of boots ranging from heels to sneakers, and fun designs for children. You can also shop online before heading into store to collect your purchases.

There’s a new carousel restaurant in town and we ain't talking about sushi. MediTrainean, a Mediterranean restaurant serving tapas style dishes from a moving conveyor belt is open now in Sydney, and it needs to be marked off your list of new restaurants to check out. With their diverse menu options, MediTrainean has you covered whether you’re in a rush or in the mood for a relaxed sit-down meal – if tapas isn’t your idea of a good time, they also offer a made-to-order grill menu. Small plates include mussels spiced with caramelized onion, rice and lemon; stuffed zucchini with lamb and fresh herbs; and fish cakes made with Atlantic salmon. Bigger dishes from the flame-grilled oven include tiger prawns cooked in garlic and herbs, and tender lamb skewers finely minced with lemon, garlic and olive oil. Need something a little bit sweet? There's always fluffy cheesecake, chocolate pudding with seasonal berries or traditional honey baklava stuffed with crunchy cashews. Now that's how to end a meal.

You don't need an excuse to eat chocolate, but Thursday July 7 is National Chocolate Day which means you have carte blanche to eat all the chocolate. Whether you're happy with a bar of Cadbury's or feel like a fancy bonbon, here is a list of Melbourne eateries doing special things with the sweet stuff for National Chocolate Day. 1. Mork Chocolate Brew House Let's start with a bang shall we? Mork Chocolate Brew House in North Melbourne make the best chocolate milk (hot or iced) around, so it's no wonder they've come up with this genius idea. It's CHOCOLATE CEREAL. Why our parents never thought to do this with our morning cereal, we'll never understand.     2. L’Hotel Gitan If you are dining at L’Hotel Gitan on National Chocolate Day, don’t forget to celebrate with their Tart au Chocolate. This chocolate tart is a chocolate lover’s dream with feuilletine base, chocolate ganache, milk chocolate mascarpone cream, chocolate anglaise and exotic coulis.     3. Grosvenor Hotel Here’s one for you Nutella fans. The Grosvenor Hotel is celebrating with its Grosvenor Gateau, combining crunchy hazelnut feuilletine (flaky French pastry) with flourless chocolate biscuit, passionfruit cremeux and a luscious chocolate Bavarian mousse.     4. The Hotel Windsor Celebrate National Chocolate Day between July 7-17 with a heavenly afternoon tea. Spend $69 on weekdays ($89 on weekends) to enjoy chocolate scones, chocolate filled pastries, a decadent chocolate fountain with many dipping options and

Kim Loupus is reviving the craft of wood-roasted coffee. Loupus, owner and roaster at the Wood Roaster in Marrickville, was on the hunt to find something different when he discovered that no one in Australia was wood-roasting coffee. His facility has been operating since 2012 with a one-of-a-kind roasting machine that he had custom built in Italy. “Back in the old days they used to manufacture coffee this way,” he says. “But then when gas was invented, they abolished this method because it was too expensive. Gas fires up right away and in 15 minutes, you’re roasting. With wood fired, it takes about an hour and a half to start the machine and you’re burning a lot of timber.” To Loupus, taste is more important than speed. “The cost of actually manufacturing the product is double compared to anyone else and the quality of the product is superior to anything else,” he says. Loupus uses local iron bark from sustainably managed forests that has been dried to burn hotter and cleaner. “There’s probably 15 companies in the world still manufacturing over timber today,” he says. “Wood roasting coffee dries it out really well. It caramelises the beans and it makes a distinct flavour. The roasting machine roasts around 60 kilos every 80 minutes. We roast about 1.5 tons every week.” Loupus only uses specialty-grade green coffee beans sourced from farms in Colombia and Ethiopia as well as Brazilian beans sourced from other suppliers. Different kinds of beans are roasted separately in order