Staycation - February 2021

Simon and I had a lovely night in the city on the weekend. We took advantage of a free Saturday and booked a room at the Four Seasons Hotel.

We had a gorgeous room overlooking the harbour. It never gets old!  It's so beautiful!

The weather was a little grey but the rain held off. We had a great time wandering around The Rocks, checking out the markets and having lunch at The Squire's Landing. Great beers and food looking out onto the Opera House. 

We then went back to the hotel for a swim and later a cocktail and dinner.

It was a quick break but so relaxing and a nice little time out.

A few photos from our stay below...

How was your weekend?

20 years - a city break to celebrate.

A few weeks ago Simon and I booked a couple of nights at a hotel in the city to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. It's the city where we met when we were working together at The Renaissance Hotel (now the Sydney Marriott) We chose a staycation close to home to enjoy Sydney and all those things you never take advantage of in your home town in your busy day to day life. 

I never get over how beautiful the harbour is and how lucky we are to live surrounded by so many amazing spots!

We stayed at The Langham as we had never stayed there before and we loved that there was the Day Spa attached and it was in walking distance to The Rocks and several restaurants/bars.

It's a gorgeous boutique hotel with a lovely vibe. They also have a great new restaurant that recently opened " Kitchen on Kent" and the buffet there was amazing!

During our stay we booked in for a couple's massage and took full advantage of the pool and spa.

It was lovely to pop in here in the afternoon to relax and refresh before going out for dinner.

On one of the days we drove over to Bondi for a walk then headed to Watson's Bay for a seafood lunch. The blue skies and crowd made us feel like we were on holidays and miles away from home.

Also a Frose at lunchtime on a Wednesday definitely had us in vacation mode.

One afternoon we wandered down to The Rocks for a drink at The Lord Nelson. It's such a beautiful area with the old sandstone buildings and trees everywhere. 

We couldn't resist a stroll past Pottinger St in The Rocks, the site of our first kiss! Simon walked me to my car after work 23 years ago and the rest is history ;)

We chose our favourite Mr Wong's for dinner one night. The food never disappoints!

The cocktails were pretty good too.

Later on we walked off dinner by the harbour and enjoyed the pretty lights and buskers.

It was so lovely to take a couple of days off from normal routine and celebrate our anniversary.

I can't believe it's been 20 years! I'm looking forward to seeing what the next 20 hold x

Night Noodle Markets - 2019

It's that time of year again, the Night Noodle Markets are back in Sydney.

Simon and I drove into the city on Tuesday night to have dinner and a browse around the food stalls in Hyde Park. One of our favourite dishes of the night were the levitating noodles from Flying Noodles. Such a cool optical illusion and delicious too! We also tried the chip on a stick and some bao buns.  Later on we grabbed dessert from Messina and as usual their flavour combinations were unique and sooo good. I've popped some pics from the night......

We arrived early at 5ish as the markets opened so lines were short and the tables plentiful but as the night wore on the crowds got bigger and the lines for each stall were longer so get there early if you can! It was lovely to pop in again for a mid week date night. 

It's always a cool vibe and there are also a couple of bar areas if you just want to sit and have a drink and catch up with friends. Also a few ping pong tables if you're up for a game!

Have you been? What was your favourite stall?

Lunch at The Grounds - an Aladdin theme

We had lunch at The Grounds of Alexandria the other day. It had been ages since our last visit so it was nice to see a few new changes, check out the flowers and eat there again. 

The Grounds is currently adorned in an Aladdin theme and it was fun to see the Aladdin themed cakes, drinks etc.  There were even drinks served in a golden lamp....

We had lunch at The Potting Shed. I love dining amongst all of the plants and greenery there.

So much inspiration for the home and garden. 

I've popped up a few photos from our visit below -

Have you been to The Grounds lately?

I can't wait to see their next installation!

A rainy city weekend

For Christmas each year Simon's and my gift to each other is usually a weekend in the city. 

A chance to recharge, relax and catch up... just the two of us. We realised the other day that it's March already and we still hadn't booked a stay. So after some co-ordinating with the grandparents we arranged a weekend in at the Sofitel at Darling Harbour.

We picked up the boys from school on Friday afternoon, dropped them home and headed into the city. We checked in and were thrilled to receive an upgrade to a stunning room with an amazing view over Darling Harbour, into the city and beyond! We had such amazing service during our entire stay.

Nothing better than champagne and chocolate coated strawberries on arrival!

As the Sofitel is in such a great central location the options for dinner were endless. We walked along the waterfront and had dinner and drinks at one of the restaurants there.

Saturday was looking a little grey and as we didn't really feel like getting amongst the hustle and bustle of the Saturday shopping crowd, we had a leisurely breakfast in the buffet restaurant downstairs and had a wander around the hotel. The infinity edge pool looked gorgeous but the weather was a bit too cool for me to take a dip. 

Instead we decided to try and beat the rain and fit in a walk to The Rocks via Barangaroo.

Once we got back to the hotel it was time for a drink. 

We headed down to the gorgeous Champagne Bar for a cocktail or two before dinner.

I think I discovered a new favourite drink with the Saint-Germain concoction.

Darling Harbour does a fantastic firework display every Saturday night at 9pm.

We had the perfect view from our room. The boys would have loved it!

On Sunday we woke up to a pretty gloomy day but it was the perfect weather for a sleep in, a soak in the amazing bath and breakfast at the buffet. 

We checked out knowing that we would definitely be back, as the Sofitel is the perfect spot for a city stay. We're thinking we'll bring the boys next time and get out and about and do a bit more.

But for Simon and I having this relaxing weekend was just what we needed before we head into a busy few months. 

How was your weekend?