Brunch in Manly

Ladies Day started last week with a long boozy lunch at Sydney Fish Markets in Pyrmont.  The girls (Shani, Lani and Raelene) and I decided it would be a great idea to get together and explore different parts of Sydney.  We realized that we have become accustomed to going to the same places/neighborhoods and have been missing out on a lot of great opportunities.  I'll post some photos from last week when I get them from Shani.  :)

This week, we decided to do brunch in Manly.  Lani lives in Manly and suggested we go to Manly Ocean Beach House.  It is literally right on the sand and has a fantastic view of the ocean.

Raelene and I met up to walk to Circular Quay together to catch the ferry to Manly.  Jai Han was waiting for us and together we braved the windy 30 minute ride.  We saw this Columbian trading boat "The Esmeralda" while we were leaving Sydney Harbor.  If you look closely, you can see men standing on all the posts.

It is almost mandatory to take one of these "self shots".

I always forget to take the photo before I start eating!  It was a plate of beautiful poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce, grilled tomato, spinach, chat potatoes and toasted sourdough bread.  I didn't think that I liked poached eggs but I was wrong.  They were fresh, runny and incredibly delicious.  The grilled sourdough bread was the perfect thing to soak up all that yummy yolk.

The description sounded so good that 3 of us got the same thing.  Lani ended up with another type of poached eggs and Raelene ordered the pancakes. 

 

Raelene, Stephanie, Lani and Cat 

After brunch, I suggested that we check out the Manly Market.  Every neighborhood has their own market that sells hand made clothes/jewelry/bags/etc and you can find some amazing things sometimes.  As you can tell, Raelene did a little bit of buying.  I found the most adorable baby beanies!  They were so cute that Stephanie, Lani and I all bought some.  Unfortunately, I can't post a photo of it just yet because it is a present for baby Tyler!  I can't wait to see it on him and take a photo.  Geena, there better be a photo or two of him wearing it on your blog as well!  :)

Our next Ladies Day is set for Sunday, 13 September.  I will be hosting High Tea in Edgecliff and the girls and I will be teaching Shani how to bake.

Hunter Valley with the Girls

What's a girls trip without wine tasting? We signed up for a wine tasting tour to the Hunter Valley. It is the best way to do it. A shuttle picks you up, drives the 2 1/2 hours to the Hunter and takes you to private tastings in multiple wineries. This particular tour also included a nice lunch with wine to accompany.

I've become enchanted with shiraz viognier blends. Mr. Riggs is fantastic, Ron and I first had this at our one year wedding anniversary at Wild Fire. Brokenvale was the first winery we stopped at and they had a nice one as well.

I think the girls and I bought the most wine out of the entire tour. :)

Animal Park

On our way to the Hunter Valley for some delicious wine tasting, we stopped by an animal park to pet the kangaroos.

We had to meet the shuttle driver 20 minutes past 6am so we didn't get a chance to get coffee. I was really excited when we arrived at the animal park and they provided us with some. It was horrible tasting but I still drank it all.



They also had a koala for us to pet:


This big boy decided the food from my hand wasn't good enough. He decided to grab the bag out of Lacey's hand:

Chinese Friendship Garden

Playing tourists, we decided to check out the Chinese Friendship Garden in Darlinghurst. It was a gray and drizzling day so we donned our sweaters and scarfs and headed out. It costs $6 for adults to enter into the garden, but I charmed our way for $3 using our old student IDs. :)

The garden is really pretty with waterfalls, coy fish, rock formations and interesting trees.

We loved this circular "moon" doorway:



Lacey sitting pretty on the bridge:

Mexican Food in Sydney

One thing we really miss about San Diego is really good Mexican food!! A few people at Ron's work decided to go to a place in East Sydney, the name of it seems to escape me right now. The food was okay but nothing compared to El Farolitos in Placentia, or Fidels in Solana Beach, or even the many Robertos in SD. Some of the appetizers were actually pretty good like the black bean nachos and even the tostadas. The fajitas were average. I was told that the burritos were the thing to order but unfortunately, we were part of a big group and it was a set menu. It is still the best Mexican food we've found in Sydney!

The best part of the night was when the clock struck 9pm. The lights went off, the streamers were thrown and the music turned up. It was a full Mexican party in there.



Ron's co-workers and the claw:


Having a good time:

Hello Lauren and Lacey!

I was so excited when Lauren and Lacey decided to come visit. They bought their tickets in Jan or something that but I had to wait until July when they finally came out. 7 months is a long time to wait to see one of your best friends!

The girls arrived in Sydney basically the same time Ron and I did one year ago. Since Ron and I both work, it was great that both girls came out to see the sights together. We would meet up after work for drinks and dinner and go out on the weekends! The girls spent 10 days in NZ, flying into Auckland and working their way down to Wellington. I was disappointed that I was not able to take the time off and join them on their road trip. Next time!

Enjoying the crisp winter weather with Guylian hot chocolate: