Seaside Strolls

Sydney National Park

A British Birthday Down Under

Continuing the birthday celebrations, my friends and I threw on our best dresses and headed to The Winery in Surry Hills for their swanky Girls Picnic.

Strictly no men allowed, as the name suggests, the Girls Picnic is a special High Tea menu including a glass of champagne and jugs of ice tea. Grazing over tiers of finger sandwiches and cakes with my best girl friends is one of my favourite ways to spend an afternoon and so I thought my birthday would be the perfect excuse to recreate this British tradition in my new home town of Sydney.

We were seated upstairs in The Winery (which slightly saddened me, only due to the fact that I wanted to sit outside in the glorious sunshine) and enjoyed leisurely table service while we sipped and nibbled the afternoon away. The table was littered with rose petals adding the perfect touch to our 'girls' day. 

The champagne made us giddy while the ice tea refreshed us and embodied the Australian sun beaming down on us through the open windows. The juicy heirloom tomatoes with cheddar and celery leaf were particularly delicious and there wasn't a crumb of Stilton left on the platter by the time 8 hungry girls had had their wicked way with it. Oh, and did I mention we spotted Gerard Butler? 

We left feeling happy and content after 2 and a half hours (they do ask you to move to the bar area after this time) and we made our way into the depths of Surry Hills (well, The Beresford to be precise) to continue the celebrations.

A very happy Aussie birthday indeed. 

Another Year Older

I would always rather celebrate somebody else's birthday than my own and rarely enjoy the day itself when it comes around. After a couple of disappointing birthdays on the trot, I didn't exactly have high hopes for turning 25. Especially with being away from home, my family and friends, I can't say I expected to receive any gifts let alone celebrate in any particular style.

However, my wonderful new friends in Australia pulled out all the stops and surprised me with a delicious pizza dinner at Mad Pizza complete with wine and home-made Rocky Road (don't get me started on my obsession with Rocky Road...)

It was such a fun and unexpected night and reminded me of the solid friendships I've made since venturing to Australia by myself. It also served as a great opportunity to say a fond farewell to several of the girls who have to leave our beloved Sydney to head to rural pastures to complete their farmwork to secure a second year visa.

Good luck girls!

Oh My Sushi!

Don't get me wrong, I lovvve sushi. But the idea of stuffing 50 large pieces of it into my mouth, followed by a scorching wasabi rice roll in under 10 minutes is not how I'd like to spend a Monday evening. However, it seems like Sydney has no shortage of crazed sushi fans who are happy to do just that and a vast number of them flocked to Niji Sushi Bar in Kingsford this week to take part in their infamous Sushi Challenge.

The record is demolishing a platter of sushi in just 6 minutes and 50 seconds (surely impossible) and Monday night saw 25 willing contestants ready and raring to try and smash that record. I threw on a Japanese kimono to step into the spirit and was signed up to act as a judge meaning I walked up and down the length of tables analysing tactics, wincing at hurlers and ensuring nobody was slyly dropping pieces into their pockets to eat on the bus ride home. 

The contestants had a total of 20 minutes to eat as much of their sushi platters as they could, with a record and a stash of Niji Japanese goodies up for grabs. It's safe to say that there were several moments that nearly put me off my own dinner. Several men (there were no women taking part this year unfortunately) wretched and one guy was sick at the table...right in front of me. But then, who can blame him when this is what they had to wolf down?  Looks great if you can leisurely graze over the course of a couple of hours but not to be inhaled in a matter of minutes. 

After 20 minutes, everybody was still smiling and there were surprisingly a fair few empty plates. 

And here's our winner, with his super proud family! 

Thankfully, I got to enjoy a wonderful sushi dinner afterwards courtesy of Niji Sushi Bar without the pressure of a stopwatch. 

Sun Downers

Sydney Sunset from Watsons Bay Hotel 

The Boat House

Our 'Bucket List' for Australia is written on the back of a napkin after an over-excited dinner at Watsons Bay Hotel. But that napkin is precious and we are determined to tick off as many trips as we can, especially while the sun still shines in Sydney.

High on that list was Palm Beach, the set of that Aussie soap Home & Away. My friend and I piled into her car and opted to take the longer scenic drive from our homes in the Eastern Suburbs over the bridge towards the Northern Beaches. 

The drive itself was wonderful and we were treated to several amazing views of the Sydney coastline. We stopped off at Narrabeen briefly to dip our toes in the water and then continued up to our final destination. The drive took just over an hour and by the time we arrived, our tummies were grumbling to be filled with the delicious tastes of The Boat House's lunch. 

The Boat House is perfectly placed to enjoy panoramic views of the bay which is so tranquil, it's easy to forget you're not miles away from Sydney's CBD. Sailing boats floated leisurely passed as we enjoyed a combination of fresh salads and soaked up the scenery.

Palm Beach itself is nothing to particularly write home about (although I did anyway). I think I prefer the familiar sands of the Eastern Suburbs beaches but maybe that's because I've taken such a warming to the area.

However, as we made our way back from the beach to The Boat House for an afternoon cocktail, we realised the whole venue had been hired out for a wedding party.

And boy, what a day and a view for a wedding. 

Ice-Cream for Dinner

One definite highlight of summer evenings is being able to sit outside after work, watch the sun go down with a glass of wine and enjoy a film at the Open Air Cinema. I seem to be making a bit of a habit of it but it's such a nice way to wind down after work or prepare for the week ahead on a Sunday evening, that I'm happy to keep returning.

Just pray that you're not hit with an unexpected downpour which I'm rapidly learning does still happen in Australia. I was originally hoping to suss out the Ben & Jerry's Open Air Cinema at Bondi Beach to watch the second installment of The Hunger Games (a-mazing by the way) but it was rained off. Instead, I headed down on a sunny Sunday to enjoy the sequel to the legendary Anchorman and fill my belly with Ben & Jerry's special ice-cream 'Scotchy Scotch Scotch' for the occasion.

If you can make it down on a Sunday rather than during the week, DO IT. The Ben & Jerry's Sundae Sessions means live music while the sun goes down and (most importantly) free ice-cream. Unfortunately you can't quite see the beach or the sea from the venue but the sea breeze and buzzing atmosphere makes this a unique experience. 

Don't be fooled by how warm the weather is when you first arrive. I laughed at the people getting blankets before I realised too late that it gets chilly once the sun sets, by which point there were none left. The slight downside is that there are no toilets on site and so a quick dash to the Pavilion loos before the film starts is highly recommended. 

Check out the schedule on the website, prepare a picnic (no BYO alcohol though) and plonk yourself on a beanbag atop the hill while the Aussie summer storms on.