Sydneysider

Sydney. It's got an Opera House.

Ta da....

Post Blue Mountains the plan was to head to the beaches. But it rained. And rained. And rained.

Braving the rain on Tuesday night we went out for some utterly delicious sushi at the somewhat incongruously named "Monkey Magic", in Surrey Hills. However, despite the name and the unexciting looking menu, the food was delicious. Go there and order the soft shell crab roll. Delicious. Sadly, the cocktail bartender was off sick so no pina coladas available, but the rain was not going to stop me in my pursuit of coconut based drinks with unnervingly large toppings. No Siree.

First stop, the Winery. Pretty surroundings, ultra stuck up staff. Needless to say pina coladas were not an option. The also are one of those places that when you order a glass of champagne, they think it is ok to mix the cloudy dregs of the end of one bottle, with the newly opened bottle. (FYI, it is not ok).

Next stop, Bentleys. Again, pretty surroundings and ultra ultra stuck up staff. However, so stuck up they wish to take on the challenge of making a pina colada - as our bartender makes "the best pina coladas in Sydney". Drinks arrived. Hmmm, when did a pina colada taste of lemon juice and hurt to drink? However, I sipped politely. We gave up for the night.

Wednesday (that would be yesterday) I had a very unproductive day sightseeing wise. Spent time in a lawyers office reading papers (exciting) but then had a wander around Circular Quay and the Rocks, and walked over that bridge. Quite a quick walk, taking far less time than the advised 75 minutes. About 20 to be precise. So, with a bit of time to kill I wandered around and found a second hand bookstore that had sofas and sold cups of tea and biscuits. Heaven - surely?

In the time it took for me to purchase my Moroccan Mint tea, I discovered the owner of the bookstore also owned a holiday company and a bike hire service. Warning Sign One was when I sensed her disappointment that I had not booked any of my holiday with her; that I had stayed in a Janet de Neefe hotel in Bali (she is organising a separate writers tour...long story, will make sense to some); and that I had just booked on a bike tour with another Sydney company (despite not offering bike tours). Still, I smiled, looked cheerful and took my tea and (stale) biscuits to settle in for a bit of a read.

Warning Sign Two was that the woman in the comfy chair opposite me was reading "The Ascendant, Your Karmic Doorway". That would be reading aloud. Albeit a stage 'whisper' but in quite an excited tone. My favourite part was when she exclaimed 'Oh, today IS Wednesday' as though discovering gold.

Warning Sign Three was the fact a very battered second hand book costs AUD12, when new it was AUD14.95. Hmm, maybe my 'making friends' strategy of asking for a book recommendation was misplaced.

So I sipped my tea (fast), left the stale biscuits and headed on my way smiling and promising to 'have a think' about the book...

Back across the bridge on the train this time (beautiful sunset) and to meet K in the Blu Bar at the top of the Shangri La for beautiful panoramic views of the city. They DO make (average) pina coladas! Hurrah!

Next stop was a great Spanish tapas restaurant called Bodeas. As recommended by Mike the owner of Bonza Bikes (great place, they will line up a whole list of restaurants and bars for you, I'd pop in just for that). Due to the no booking (at Bodeas rather than Bonza Bikes) - therefore you have to wait a while policy we discovered an amazing place called the Red Door. Ace, ace bar. No signs, just a red door. This, not unsurprisingly, meant they were practically empty but the staff were ace, the sofas comfy and the menu superb. Oh - did I mention they have pina coladas on the menu. Made with fresh pineapple. AMAZING. No more pina colada hunting required this holiday!