Day 6 - Sunday in Bondi

Today we woke up, found out England had lost, laid around and then headed to Bondi for a Sunday session.

Our first stop was The Anchor, their roasts look unreal and we quickly regretted the big meal we had before we left. It was quite small and dark inside but there is a good atmosphere with friendly staff.

We opted for the 4 person share bowl to celebrate the fact it was Sunday. (Flashbacks to Zante)

We may have been stuffed from our lunch but there is always room for dessert. Especially when that dessert is a warm gooey chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce.

Here are some snaps of the interior.

Creepy toilets 

We are heading back here next Sunday for a roast. I doubt it will be on par to my mums but I don't mind testing it.

After finishing our fishbowl we wondered down to the seafront and ended back at The Bucket List. We sat under a heater and had more drinks as the sun set and the lights came on.

It was the perfect way to spend my last Sunday of unemployment. These adventures are going to limit themselves to weekends from Tuesday. It was good while it lasted!

Day 5 - Surry Hills & Darling Harbour

I woke up this morning with a saucepan next to my bed. Apparently I was a drunk mess last night but I don't remember that part so I think Kate is making it up.

We headed to Surry Hills today and had a tour of the area and Darling Harbour. Surry Hills is cute, it has cafes/restaurants and there is a nice vibe. It's next to the CBD and we've decided we want to live there. We discovered something new about the trains that made us love them even more!

We went for lunch at The Clock. It's a 'laidback eclectic pub' with different areas, there is a balcony upstairs that lets you look down over the road in the sunshine, a courtyard out the back with colourful seats and leafy canopies outside. There's also a room with a pool table and then the main area as you come into the bar.

The menu is great with some standard and also adventurous options. I opted for the BBQ Brisket Burger, Hot Mustard Aioli, Pickles and Shoestring Fries. Followed by a cocktail made by a beaut waiter which had three different rums, a light topping spray of absinthe mixed with passionfruit, grapefruit and sugar. Delissssh.

After lunch we headed to Messina who have the most impressive list of icecream flavours i've ever seen! It was a really tough choice and i've decided to try every flavour over the next year. I went for a pretty boring choice of Rocky Road, it had nuts, marshmallows and raspberry jelly lumps within it. Kate had the Salted Caramel and White Chocolate icecream. You can see all of their flavours on their website.

After all of our food we walked over to Darling Harbour where there is an ice rink open as part of their Australian 'Winter Wonderland'. It's crazy, its 20 degrees with bright sunshine and a few clouds. They have a snow tent area which has white christmas trees and fake snow on the floor for guests to take pictures in a 'winter wonderland'. Air NewZeland have sponsored a giant inflatable snow globe and there is a fake iceburg on the water in the harbour. It's mental that this is their winter and they think 20 degrees is cold enough to justify an ice rink.

Pretending to be cold in the winter wonderland

These birds walk around like pigeons do at home...

Before I moved here I was really worried about the standard of chocolate. Hot countries add something to the mix to prevent the bars from melting and they never taste as nice. I bow down to Cadbury Marvellous Creations, they have SO many different flavours here that are soo much better than the UK. Even standard dairy milk flavours are better as they have more options. Here are some of the few loves i've found over the last two days.

Mojito Ice Tea!!

  

X

Day 3 - The Ivy

You should have seen me last night. I fell down some stairs in a club. Completely missed the fact they were there and starfished the floor. Legs and arms in different directions.

Last night was our first proper night out in Sydney. Before we left home a friend told us about the The Ivy. I liked them on Facebook and from then on my newsfeed was inundated with pictures of their fabulous pool area.

Look who came to pre-drinks, he got wild and started throwing wine around the room. Video here.

We used Uber for the first time here which of course, made our night before it even started. The driver told me that there is no Uber in Melbourne. (I knew we made the right decision with Sydney!) 

The club is on a rooftop and the pool area is lit up with multicoloured lights that make it look really inviting and exciting. It's free entry on a Thursday and its $5 a drink between 9-11pm. The music was amazing and it was busy with young beautiful people. Not really the kind of place you want to belly flop down the stairs.

There were people in the pool, not swimming but posing for pictures and splashing around.
I didn't take any pictures worth showing so i've stolen a few of the venue from their Facebook.

I can't imagine how those people who have work today are feeling.

I've got a big fat bruise developing on my knee and it clicks every time I move it. I cut my hip when I fell and I also lost a nail (Don't worry - it's fake).

All good signs of a great night out.

Day 2 Down Under - Sydney Harbour Bridge & The Opera House

We started day 2 with breakfast overlooking Bondi. Gahhhh. Does anyone know anything about squatters rights in Australia?? 

I had an interview today so after breakfast we made our way into the CBD. After getting ourselves a little too excited over the fact the trains here have two floors we arrived in the centre of the city.

Sydney is amazing! It's a strange mix between London & New York but its also sunny and everyone is friendlier. In my opinion it's a recipe for perfection.

We spent the morning in Westfields and exploring the area before having lunch at Top Juice. Look how healthy I am!

Kate found this a lot funnier than it actually is.

After the interview it was time to get changed and head to the harbour to celebrate in the way we do best - with wine.

Oh heeeeey Sydney Harbour Bridge

We perched outside Opera Bar and watched the day end with incredible views.

The healthy lunch we had didn't mix well with the wine and before we knew it our words became slurred and pictures became blurry.

We decided it was time to take ourselves home whilst we could still work out how to.

Not before hugging a tree on my way home - of course.

After a drunk facetime with my family (sorry both) it was time to cook dinner. I'm pretty impressed considering.

 Scallops and parma ham with roasted tomatoes & red onion on a bed of rocket with balsamic glaze an garlic and 'erb dressing.

Happy Wednesday! 

Day 1 Down Under - The Bucket List Bondi

So we are finally here after an insane amount of time travelling and this post is coming to you whilst Kate is asleep on the sofa. Jet lag say whaaaaat.

Today was spent getting to know the area and sorting out the necessities - or attempting to, there's still a few things left.

We tore ourselves away from our beautiful apartment (I will post pictures) and headed out into the heavy heavy rain. Would you like to know what my first Australian purchase was? It was an umbrella. How depressing and wrong.

After collecting my Westpac card (I feel SO Australian) we headed over to a bar i've been obsessively intstagram stalking. The Bucket List - Bondi. 

And it was worth all of the historic dribbles and excitement. The bar is located ON Bondi beach and there is an outdoor area with colourful furniture and giant ball ball lights hanging to keep the bar alight in the evenings.

The interior is really fresh and colourful, we think they let the staff decorate the walls. Some of the drawings are quite childlike but it adds to the ambience of the restaurant.

I was seriously concerned that australian food would be bland and disappoint my taste buds. I was wrong. 

Here's what we had.

• Grilled haloumi w shaved cabbage, golden raisins, walnuts & pomegranate
• Caramelised Brussels sprouts, charred corn, chilli, chickpeas & mint
• Scallop, avocado & chipotle taco with shredded cabbage
• Parma ham and manchego cheese croquets with parmesan shavings
• A jug of passionfruit and cider

More importantly, here's what it looked like. Not high quality snaps but I didn't have my camera.

What did the cheese say when it looked in the mirror?

Insane Croquettes:

Scallop taco:

Caramelised sprouts & corn

The collection:

The service for drinks was a little slow but the staff were friendly and the food was great. I can't wait to re-visit at night time and on a sunny day!

After finishing every last bite and drop of our jug we headed to WESTFIELDS BONDI to check out the stores and to do a food shop - at Woolworths!

The sun did come out on our way home and we quickly resented our jackets.

X