Barrenjoey House, Palm Beach, Australia

January 2013

Another restaurant review for Sydney, this time for Barrenjoey House. This is a spot near Palm Beach, and I've wanted to visit for years but it took out of town guests to finally get us here - I now wonder what took us so long!

Its a perfect spot on a nice sunny day and reminded me of a nice beach house.

We shared the Tasting Plate for starters, the cheese and dips were divine but there could have been a little bit more bread.

$32

For main DH and I both had the Seafood Plate (of course), while my sister in law had the Pan Fried Barramundi.

Seafood Plate $39

Pan Fried Barramundi $33

DH's mother enjoyed the fish and chips ($26.50), but I unfortunately didn't have a picture.

After our wonderful meals we didn't have much room for dessert, but DH's mother couldn't pass up the Strawberries and Cream.

$14

While I enjoyed the white chocolate and cranberry nougat and the iced coffee.

$4.80 for the nougat

Toulouse-Lautrec and Canberra

December 2012

DH's mother was in town and was keen to check out the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit, so we decided to do a quick overnight trip to Canberra.

Stay
Medina Apartments  - James Court
In a great location, close to town and with a bus stop out the front. But the bed was horribly uncomfortable and I never say that!

Eat
Cream Cafe for breakfast - I loved it in here, and the service was good.

Wagamama for dinner - always a favourite of mine

Do
National Gallery of Australia - Unfortunately they don't allow you to take pictures in the National Gallery of Australia, but the exhibit is on till April and the Indigenous Art section is worth the trip alone.

Drive up to the Black Mountain Tower - although the view in the car park isn't worth the trip along anymore

Old Parliament House - they have the Australian Democracy Museum that we didn't have time to check out, but the view down to the Australian War Memorial.

You can check out an old post here, for more to eat and see in Canberra.

Bills, Surry Hills, Australia

January 2012

I normally don't do restaurant reviews as stand alone posts, but we had family in town and did them as stand alone activities so here we are.

Bills is located in three spots in Sydney - Surry Hills, Woollahra and Darlinghurst. We had a late breakfast at the Surry Hills location on New Years Day.

I expected it to be extremely busy, and while we did have to queue, the wait wasn't too long.

The coffee was quick and I really enjoyed my iced coffee (no cream and not too sweet).

$6 for Iced Coffee and $4.50 for standard large

The Corn Cakes were popular for the group (three out of five of us had them).

$21

DH enjoyed the scrambled eggs with a side of fennel sausages (for me really) and a side of bacon.

$14.50 plus $5.50 for each of the sides

Sydney in December

December 2012

We finished off our year of travel with a weekend in Sydney.

Stay
Shangri-la at The Rocks - some of the views are phenomenal

Eat
Lunch at The Opera Bar - how's that for a view?

The Dinning Room, Park Hyatt - with a view from the opposite side of the harbour

Drink
BluBar on 36 floor at the Shangri-la

Opera Bar

Opera Kitchen



Do
See something at the Sydney Opera House - we saw a matinee session of Swan Lake by the Australian Ballet Company

Walk around the markets at The Rocks - always the go to spot on a weekend

Spend time walking around the beautiful harbour foreshore

2012 Travel's In Review

So 2012 wasn't as big a travel year as 2011, but it did start off with a bang..

January 2012
We finished 2011 in South America and our trip there continued through January.

Machu Picchu, Peru (New Years Day)
Cusco, Peru
Colca Canyon, Peru
Arequipa, Peru
Nazca, Peru
Paracas, Peru
Lima, Peru
Galapogos, Equador
Quito, Equador
Iguazu Falls, Brazil and Argentina
Santiago, Chile
Rapanui/Easter Island
Papeete, Tahiti
Moorea, Tahiti

February 2012
We kept it local for our five year anniversary, spending the day eating at Peats Bite, NSW

April 2012
We spent the Easter long weekend snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef on Wilson Island, Queensland

June/July 2012
We once again visited the Cook Islands, starting in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, including the Cross Island Track, then heading off to one of the smaller outer Islands Mauke, Cook Islands.

September 2012
While based in Melbourne, Victoria for work, DH came down for a weekend.

October 2012
Not one's to stay at home when we can get away, we visited Hobart and it's surrounds in October.

Hobart, Tasmania, including MONA
Port Arthur, Tasmania
Tasman Island, Tasmania

Followed by a quick trip to Brisbane, Queensland for the rugby.

December 2012
Saw us celebrate my birthday by a home stay in Sydney



Okay, when I put it all together, it's not a bad effort for 2012....what was your year like?

Thanks for reading my posts this year, hears to great travels in 2013!

Wish List: NYC on NYE!

We live in one of the best cities to celebrate NYE. There is simply no better place to bring in the new year, than sitting on Sydney Harbour watching the fire works on a warm, balmy night.

But I got distracted, new years in New York has always been on my wish list, but that's a little bit unoriginal. So I was very pleased when I found the New Year's Eve Midnight Run & Fireworks in Central Park. The 4 mile or 6.4 km, starts at midnight. They have fire works, plenty of supporters and a champagne station, yes a champagne station.

This isn't a race for those trying to achieve a personal best for the distance, there's no corals, no timing chips, it's all about getting out and having some fun to bring in the new year.

Has anyone done this run?

What's your plans for bringing in the New Year?