I don't know why it takes an excuse like a good friend visiting from my previous home, but today I got to spend around 6 hours cruising around different areas of Sydney. We started out just heading to a local shopping centre to hit up a cafe for late breakfast. 2 Coffees, Ham and Cheese Croissant, Bacon and Egg Roll - $15. And my roll was so huge it almost defeated me. So much for this being a 'light snack' before we hit lunch!
We headed for the coast and started out at Watson's Bay and the Gap. I really need to explore this area a bit more, and both head up to the end of the south head (or as close to it as is accessible to the public...), and the coastal walk from here to Bondi as it's part of the coast that I've not walked before.
With views like this there is no wonder it's usually crowded on the weekends
I didn't get a good shot of the spray but that rock shelf is about to cause another one soon
North Head looks so much further away in the photo, but it seems really close in person
From here we drove around the loop and my friend got to see the views of the harbour before we started heading south along the coast. Next stop was Bondi and lunch. As I've mentioned in some of my dining out posts, I've got a list (or, bucket list if you will...) of places to eat at, and there are about 5 places on it that I still haven't eaten at in Bondi alone, so we took this opportunity to visit one of them. 'The Bucket List' is a fish an chip shop, with quite a good view, being located in the front corner of Bondi Beach Pavilion. Initially we missed it as the window has large bright labels on it for Bondi Sands (or similar) and we took that to be the name of the place, but between 2 of them, and high up on the window it also had 'The Bucket List' in blue on white. Very hidden until I checked the map to see exactly where it was.
2 Beers, 1 serve Fish and Chips. $46.37. Which I only just noticed was because of a 0.8% Eftpos surcharge that I didn't see any signs for (not that I was looking...). I reckon this is the most expensive Fish and Chips I've ever had, and I'd also suggest that $9 for a schooner is possibly getting to be the most expensive beer I've had too.
We chose to sit inside at the window bench so we could enjoy this view and people watch
That's part of the view that you're obviously paying for in this location, and I can understand, but if you're going to charge $28 for Fish and Chips, there's a couple of things I can't overlook. Bones and Scales. Thankfully none of the pieces contained bones, but the piece I ate (my friend ate the other 2) had a whole section (about 1.5 cm) that had me picking scales from my teeth. For a change I didn't take it up and complain, but I damn well should have.
On to the positives though, as it certainly wasn't bad. That bucket it comes in is metal, so keeps the contents warm. And the chips, they go all the way to the bottom! So the serving size is good. We were sharing it and I was concerned that it wasn't going to be enough food, but in the end it was certainly enough. The batter on the fish was excellent. Thin, crispy without being over done, and not greasy. You'd get a light touch of oil on the fingers from picking it up, but that was all. The fish was cooked perfectly and lovely and flaky, without the rest of it falling apart after you bite it. The tartare appeared and tasted house made too which is a nice touch (if it actually was as it appeared). If it wasn't for those damn scales, which neither of my friend's pieces seemed to have, I'd have only had the high price to be negative about (and the eftpos fee...). Was worth the visit, but I won't be going back (unless someone else takes me out there...)
After leaving Bondi we kept heading south, seeing some of Sculptures by the Sea from the car as well as Tamarama Beach. Our drive south took us past Clovely Beach, Bronte Beach, and Coogee Beach before the time requirements meant I cut out some of the windy bits to get down to La Perouse so we could see Botany Bay. Time was short so I didn't get any photos this time around.
After that we just headed back to where she is staying while here and the host entertained us with a quick game of Giro Galoppo, which is a fun and quick card driven horse racing game. Kids would enjoy the simple race, while we enjoyed some of the light strategy to send people back by landing on them and planing which cards to use when so you might be in a better spot later, as you only get your cards back after all 6 have been played.
Also interesting is you can choose which horse and which rider you want as your piece, so a bit different there
And that was the fun parts of my day today, and possibly the most up to date post I've ever made here
