Thursday: We took a walk over the Harbour Bridge and did the pylon lookout. A near steal at $13 and about 20 mins of fun as opposed to the bridge climb at around $300 and 3 hours!
That evening we headed back to Bondi Beach for dinner at Sean's Panorama. The waves that evening were absolutely massive. I don't even want to think about how impressive they would've been if we'd done the Bondi to Coogee walk that evening! I love watching and hearing the power of the ocean! That's ok, I was thoroughly impressed with both the very interesting entrance to Sean's (several times I thought.. mmm am I meant to be walking here??!) and the flavor explosion of the pork dish I had!
Friday: We drove up to the Hunter Valley in the morning, stopping at Peterson House (there is a chance I am misremembering this name and on a transpacific flight without wifi, so you'll have to deal) for our first tasting: Bubbles. I'm not the biggest fan of bubbles, but I tried my first sparkling red which was oddly nice. (Almost all Hunter Valley photos courtesy of Kayla)
We then headed over to Muse Kitchen at Keith Tullock winery for lunch. I had some quite nice barramundi with an avocado, green pea and mint mash. Australians seem to think avocado needs green pea added. The jury is still out as to what side I'm on.
We then went up to the balcony at the winery for a tasting. It was so nice out that day! We saw Keith himself on the lawnmower before we went down to their chocolate cafe for some dessert.
Our last winery stop was Gartlemann where I wasn't gong to taste, but there were reds.. It didn't take much arm twisting for me to join in for the tasting. After a quick stop we headed back to Neutral Bay for dinner at Kyushu Japanese. Kylie put in our order (for 11 people) and it was great! We had edamame, miso soup, gyoza, sashimi, sushi, maki rolls, tempura, and teriyaki chicken for just $30 each! Another steal! (Photos courtesy of Kylie's friend Chester)
Saturday: The next morning we had a lazy morning and went to Laneway Cafe for brekkie.
Another winner in the food department (I will be paying for this in healthy eating/exercise over the next few months!)l I kind of made my own out of sides - two poached eggs on sourdough toast with avocado and grilled halloumi and a cappuccino. We drove into the CBD and had a nice walk through Barangaroo to The Rocks to check out the markets.
We had a quick banh mi dinner back in Neutral a Bay before getting ready to go out with the lovely Scottish couple we met on the catamaran in the Whitsundays. Between the end of our boat trip and leaving Queensland Alan and Karen had gotten engaged! So of course we had to go celebrate with them when we were all in Sydney at the same time. Only photo waiting for the bus because...I didn't take any and this is the one Kayka posted :)
We started at a prohibition bar, Palmer & Co, then made our way to Bulletin Place, a very small (but well formed!) bar that had no signage out front which made you think you were heading into someone's flat! We ended the night at Blu on the 36th floor of the Shangri La Hotel that has great views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
Sunday: Sadly, the holiday was coming to an end, as we dropped Jennifer at the airport in the morning. Fiona picked us up and we spent a while lounging at Cremorne Point. Kayla brought a hammock that folded into the size of a grapefruit! A gadget I do not currently, but certainly will soon, have.
That night, Pete and Kylie had a family bbq at their flat and Kylie made another chocolate ripple cake for her dad's birthday. Yum!
Monday: My last dose of vitamin D! I headed into the CBD after Kylie went back to work in the morning and had a stroll through Martin Place, picked up a coffee at The Lab Cafe and then walked around the botanical gardens through to circular quay and met up with Kylie for lunch near the office. We had my fave, Vietnamese! After lunch I spotted a sign that was all too appropriate on my way to have a drink at King Street Wharf.
Tuesday, I left summer to return to the winter that is NYC. Back to the real world! Huge huge thank you to Kylie for entertaining Jennifer and me for three and a half weeks!!
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