Anita picked us up in Sydney and it was freezing! Well, not freezing, but it was 17 degrees Celsius and felt pretty cool coming from 40+. We tip toed in to Anita and Ian's so we didn't wake their 3 month old, Madyson.
We stayed in that night and Anita made chicken pot pie. YUM!
Overall a great visit back to Sydney for Mo and an amazing first visit for me!
The next morning Anita, Madyson, Mo and I had lunch in Manly at a cafe called Cartel. We met up with Mo's friends Brenda and Elodie and had drinks in Shelly Beach. Later that evening we had drinks at New Brighton Hotel and The Steyne. Here we are with Brenda drinking in a teepee/egg thing at the New Brighton Hotel.
Here is everyone at the Steyne - after I missed out on winning a huge tray of meat and $4,500..by mere minutes..
On Saturday, Mo and I walked to Fairlight beach near Anita's house and laid out for a bit, soaking in the last few days of sun before we return to certain brutal winters. We took the ferry in to the city and met up with one of Mo's flatmates in Sydney, Amynta. We had dinner at the Carrington Hotel in Surry Hills and went for drinks at the Forrester before catching one of the last ferries back to Manly.
Sunday we made our way back in to the city for the fish markets with Mo's friend Steve. We had a few bottles of wine, a platter with lobster, soft shell crab, oysters, octopus and chips! Steve also bought us some amazing sashimi of salmon, scallops, and oysters. We bought chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. On the way back to the ferry we stopped at a pub where Mo and Steve had a beer, but I was so full I couldn't put another drop in me!
When we got back to Manly we met up with Charles, another Steve, and Brenda for drinks and some pizza at Wharf Bar.
Anita and Ian convinced us that we should skip the blue mountains the next day, so instead on Monday we went to featherdale wildlife park where you can feed kangaroos and pose with koalas.
Here's a better picture of a goanna - that huge lizard we saw in WA.
Tuesday we drove to Hunter Valley where we went to several wineries. I really liked the wines from the two orangic wineries - Macquariedale and Tambourlane. We also stopped at a winery called Piggs Peake and I had to get a plate with their logo to add to my pig collection.
Wednesday we went into the CBD and met our friend Tim for lunch near the KPMG office. Tim and his soon to be wife Jo were with us in London for a few years. We walked around and had some beers at the Hero of Waterloo - Matt and Jen's local when they lived in Sydney (we stayed with them in Dubai), a beer garden, and then got the amazing wedges with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce! Why have I never heard of this combo before!?
Christmas in summer!!!!
Thursday we made the trek from Manly to Bondi where Mo lived for most of her time in Sydney. We got the eggs benedict at Le Paris Go cafe (I have heard about these eggs benedict forever...probably Mo's fave). They did not dissappoint! Very good breakfast. We did a bit of sun bathing on the beach and saw a lifeguard being interviewed - most likely for Bondi Beach Rescue as well as several surfing classes. After a few hours of roasting, we walked around Bondi a bit and then grabbed lunch at Gusto. Our feet had been hurting for a good pedicure for quite some time, so we stopped in for one before heading back toward circular quay. Mo and I had a drink at Opera Bar and then met up with Amynta, her fiancé John and friend Eloise for a few drinks and tapas. Mo and I ran for the ferry for the second or third time (The one flaw I've found with Manly! If you miss the ferry you have between 30-45 minutes generally before the next one!).
On Friday, Mo's friend Brenda took me scuba diving. Well, as close as I could come to scuba diving - I wasn't very good! I've determined that I: 1. Have a hard time equalising my ears, 2. Am not so graceful with 20 kilos of extra equipment on, 3. Have an odd shaped face (for masks) and 4. Am generally too controlling to be below the water for more than 60 seconds. Nonetheless, I am glad that I tried it and it was so nice of Brenda to take me. We also got to see an eagle ray - the first one Brenda has seen in Sydney (in over 500 dives!), so that was pretty special! I'd really love to love scuba diving, so perhaps I'll give it another go at some point. The three of us grabbed lunch at Cartel afterward and then Mo headed into the city to catch up with a few more friends. I relaxed with Anita and Madyson.
Saturday was our last full day in Sydney. We started with the Rocks Markets (near where Mo lived the last few months in Sydney), then headed back to Manly. We ended with drinks at Wharf Bar and dinner at Hugo's with Steve, Charles, Anita, Brenda.
The next morning Ian drove us to the airport and we were off to New Zealand - the last country on the trip!!! Oh my!
1 comment:
So glad you had so much fun in my favourite city!
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