book for your aussie backpack
“After living in Australia for almost eight years and never venturing outside of Perth, I decided I wanted to explore more of this beautiful continent and booked a trip to Sydney in my last university holidays. By chance, I happened to grab my second-hand copy of Looking for Alibrandi, by Melinda Marchetta as reading material for the flight.
What luck to be reading a book set in Sydney while travelling around Sydney! Looking for Alibrandi depicts the struggle for identity of a teenage Italian-Australian living in Sydney. The novel has a unique perspective for the traveller as it is written with the familiarity of the native Australian, as well as with the cultural observations of the outsider.
After reading Looking for Alibrandi, I really wanted to visit Leichardt, an Italian suburb that boasts the best gelato in Sydney. We chose a restaurant called ‘Cafe Gioia’ that was packed to the brim with Italians. We took this as a good sign and were treated to the best wood-fired pizza I have had in years. We were even serenaded by an accordion player named Luigi, so we went home that night entirely satisfied with our Italian experience.
Looking for Alibrandi is the perfect travelling companion. It is a captivating page-turner that will keep you reading til the early hours, yet is light enough to be read on a beach towel on Bondi or on the grass with the hobos of Hyde Park. “ Rachel Manship, Intrepid Express reader.
Tour Australia with Intrepid on trips like these great small group adventures:
Eastern Explorer – 12 days Sydney to Brisbane
Cairns to Sydney – 14 days
