The other weekend we went on the famed Spit Bridge to Manly walk, which is a path that follows the nothern edge of Sydney Harbour for about 6 km. It's a beautiful hike that passes by beaches/coves, offers expansive views of the harbour and meanders through several beach neighborhood areas. We started our day by taking the bus to the Spit Bridge stop (near Mosman) and after about 3 hours of walking and eating our packed lunch, we ended up at Manly wharf where we had some beers and then caught the ferry home. Hope you enjoy our photos. I HATE the one of the spiders..cringe.
I heard about the Riverboat Postman shortly after arriving in Sydney and for some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I did some online research and came across a recent Wall Street Journal review of the trip - exactly the endorsement I needed! I promptly signed us up.
The Riverboat Postman is just what its name suggests - a boat licensed by Australia Post to deliver the mail to the tiny communities that dot the islands and shores of the Hawkesbury River, some of them accessible only from the water. The Hawkesbury Riverboat Postman claims to be the last of its kind in Australia. I’m not sure how long they’ve been welcoming tourists aboard the boat, but at $50 a pop it’s a nice little moneymaker.
After an easy one hour train ride north of the city, we arrived in the town of Brooklyn. We grabbed some coffee at JJs - a little fish n’ chips shack near the station and then headed to the marina. We joined two other Aussie couples on the boat for an utterly relaxing cruise up the Hawkesbury River. We stopped at probably 6-8 tiny little communities with names like Little Wobby Beach, Dangar Island and Marlow Creek. At each stop someone was waiting for us at the dock (usually with a dog or two) to pick up the mail and possibly some food goods. The boat hand made small talk and tossed biscuits to the dogs, who were always very excited to see us! Living on the Hawkesbury has got to be the epitome of ‘getting away from it all.’ The pace of life just seemed otherworldly.
The Riverboat Postman also proved to be a great way to see the Hawkesbury, which is an extremely scenic waterway that’s navigable for over 100 kilometers. Meandering and tranquil, the river is home to fisherman and oyster boats, which harvest the famous Sydney rock oysters.
After the four hour cruise we arrived back in the town of Brooklyn. We checked out the lunch options and decided to head back to JJs for a salty dose of fish n’ chips. We had some time to kill before the train arrived so we got ice cream at the local hardware store and wandered around a park where we spotted some beautiful gray and pink parrots. A divine day!
We recommend the Riverboat Postman to tourists and friends. To make a booking call 02 9985 7566. Boat departs Brooklyn at 9:30 am Mon-Fri and returns at approximately 1:15 pm.
In honor of the Queen’s birthday, a public holiday here, Mike and I tasted and imbibed our way through the long weekend. This theme wasn’t really planned, we just went with it!
On Friday night we met up with Kevin and some of his friends at Opera Bar, which sits right alongside the Opera House and buzzes with the after work happy hour crowd. It’s quintessential Sydney…sitting right by the water with views all around. It is a bit pricey (as you’d expect), but the champagne was cheap…cheaper than Mike’s Corona! After the night set in I think we all realized that winter is upon us here. It’s been pretty cold here in Sydney ever since then. This morning it was 5 degrees C.
At drinks we learned about the Sydney Growers Market, which takes place in Pyrmont the first Saturday of every month. We trekked over there in the morning for some breakfast and coffee and to stroll around the stalls, which sit right along the water. Lots of yummy gourmet things for sale, but not as much produce as I expected (being a ’growers’ market and all). I guess we’re spoiled with that coming from California and Washington. We bought some delicious banana bread that we’ve been eating toasted with butter all week. We fought over who got the last piece for almost 2 days!
Saturday night we tried this restaurant in Potts Point called Mere Catherine. It’s a tiny unassuming French restaurant right next to a hostel. I would have walked by it a million times without noticing if we hadn't learned about it from our neighbors. It seats 14 people a night, there’s one chef and one waitress and they only take cash. The table sitting next to us, who we couldn’t help but eavesdrop on, has been coming to this place for 20 years. The dishes are all very classic, no frills French. We got the onion soup to start, then Mike had the steak with béarnaise sauce and I had the chicken tarragon. Then, chocolate mousse for dessert. It was BYO (like many restaurants here), which means you pay a small corkage ($3 or $4) for bringing your own bottle of wine. The food was fantastic (but very rich) and the dining experience was surely unique - I’d highly recommend it.
On Sunday we decided to head over to Manly Beach for its annual Food & Wine Festival. Mike hadn’t been to Manly since we were here in March, so it was fun to take the ferry over there on such a beautiful sunny day. But let me tell you, A LOT of other people had the same idea. The festival was pretty packed, but it was fun to walk around the beaches and taste some wine and food.
We spent Monday, another gorgeous day, with our new friends Mitch and Ellaine (who got engaged on Saturday!). We headed to Paddo Bowls for some lawn bowling, which is basically like bocce ball on grass. It’s definitely common here in Australia with the young and old. It was such a great, mellow way to while away the day. Just sitting in the sun, playing a few games, drinking beer and snacking in between.
A moderately gluttonous weekend, but I like to think that we’re just slipping into the Sydney lifestyle
Grocery shopping and cooking has actually been a fun and interesting
adjustment. Well, I guess it’s an ‘adjustment’ because I didn’t do a
whole lot of it in the US! Having a nice kitchen with a dishwasher and
oven that actually functions correctly also makes cooking more
appealing.
Two things I want to learn and master are cooking seafood and Thai
food. Ingredients for both are plentiful here, as you might suspect.
For example, lemongrass, curry leaves and paste etc are standard fare
at the major grocery stores. Back home these kind of ingredients are
usually at a specialty Asian food store. I experimented with a coconut
chicken curry dish tonight and it actually turned out great. Go me!
Although, mastering the art of how much hot chili equals ‘mouth on
fire’ is still a work in progress. A few nights ago I made a noodle
dish with WAY too much kick…for me at least, Mike was loving it!
Using Celsius for baking has been easy to get used to, but ordering
up bulk foods (like deli meat) in grams has been a little trickier to
get used to. Being an indecisive shopper, I’ve actually found it more
enjoyable and efficient to grocery shop here because there’s only a few
brands/types of each product to choose from. And, it didn’t take us
long to rule out the generic ‘home brand’ products. In the US I bought
these all the time, but here the quality is most definitely
compromised.
Well, those are my musings for now. Below is a photo of our fridge
after our first trip to the store..$90 later. Pretty comical. The
second is of the lovely coconut chicken curry.
For the next 2 weeks, we are lucky enough to be treated to some pretty amazing visuals across the city. Vivid Sydney is a "Festival of Light, Music, and Ideas", the most exciting and dramatic is Luminous sydney, which is a collection of lighting exhibits near Circular Quay. The highlight is definitely "Lighting the Sails" by Brian Eno. The Opera house is lit every night with a series of 70,000 watt projectors (home lightbulb is 60 watts), and they display a constantly changing image on both sides. Of course this means that I have a great excuse to try out my new camera at night. Here's some shots from the last few nights, hoping to add more as long as the rain holds off.
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