Last week, I had several fun nights out with friends and have started having farewell lunches with people in the office also. On Wednesday night of last week, I walked across the bridge with my friend, Michelle and we went to a great historic hotel and pub that specializes in kinda fancy pizzas. You would never believe it after my last post and the cute little guy I was petting...but I finally tried kangaroo meat! It tasted very similar to deer...not bad! We also tried a great tandoori chicken pizza...yum! On Thursday night of last week, we had a farewell for the head executive of the office here...he is also heading back to the States after being here for 4 years. I had tentative plans to go to dinner with Lisa...but we never made it out of the bar where the farewell was being held! Was a late night, but lots of fun! Then, on Friday night, we finally made it to that dinner we had planned...Lisa, Erin, Marc and I went to Spice I Am...a very popular Thai restaurant in the city. The food was amazing and we had a great time, but called it an early night, since the night before had been so late!
On Saturday, I just hung out by myself and did some of my favorite things in Sydney, as well as one thing I had been wanting to do. I started out with a nice breakfast outside at a neighbourhood cafe and then walked across the bridge. I wanted to go to the Rocks Markets one more time (had a few more purchases I needed to make there!), but decided to go walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens first. I should have gone in the Spring, but it was still beautiful there, even though it is towards the end of the hot Summer!
I love the big eucalyptus trees here in Australia!
Pretty pond area...
These huge Japanese lotus flowers were gorgeous!
Yuck...this is where all of the massive, creepy bats live during the day...
Pretty rose garden, but no more pretty than the gardens in Loose Park when they are in full bloom!
Next, I headed back over to The Rocks Markets for the last time. This was definitely one of my favorite weekend activities to do here, so it was only fitting to go one last time! Even though it was another super hot day, I just took my time walking around and enjoying myself. I headed back across the bridge after about 5 hours of walking around in the Gardens and the Rocks and had a quiet night in.
On Sunday, I had probably one of the most fun meals I have had here! Sarah had stumbled across this place called The Winery...a really cute restaurant in Surrey Hills, the hip and trendy area in the city. You can go there for a normal meal anytime, but on the weekends, you can make a booking for a thing called the Girls Lunch Picnic! It is a set price for a menu of wonderful and girly starters, tea sandwiches, little quiche, desserts, etc. And the best part...bubbles on arrival (aka, a glass of champagne)! So, Sarah, Lisa and I headed there for our noon booking and left 3 hours, lots of yummy food and lots of good girl talk later...oh yeah, and 3 jugs of sangria later! It was, again, a hot summer day, we so tried 3 different types of their sangria...each one better than the previous one! We had such a good time and shared stories of our recent trips and adventures. It was the perfect thing to do with good friends on my last Sunday in Sydney!
Here we are with our bubbles and then Lisa with our first jug of sangria!
This week has been crazy with trying to wrap things up in the office, as well as pack my apartment. I know one thing is for sure...I have way too much stuff here and I have no idea how I am going to manage it all through the airport on my way back. Ugh. I have had farewell lunches with people in the office every day this week and those have been very nice. And on Tuesday night, we had the first of what I hope will be many more for my Aussie friends...Taco Tuesday! Erin is all settled in to her new apartment and her brother, who has been here with her for 6 weeks, is leaving this week also. So, she had a group of us over for a house-warming for her/good-bye for me and Marc, Taco Tuesday party! There were 9 or 10 of us and we had guac and chips, 7 layer dip, tacos and enchiladas...and lots of home-made margaritas and Coronas! It was a wonderfully cool night and we all enjoyed Erin's gorgeous harbour view from her apartment. We had fun music and we just sat around and talked and laughed for hours. Very hard to believe that I have only known these people for anywhere from 4 months to as short as 6 weeks. What I do believe though is that I have made friends for a lifetime and I am so thankful to have met each of them!
Stay tuned to the blog tomorrow for some Top 10 lists...
Wow...the last few posts are amazing! What incredible adventures and opportunities you've had. I am so thankful for the great friends you've made along the way too! Love you!
ReplyDeleteDad and I are so excited to have you back close to us, but we do have mixed emotions. After visiting you in this amazing city, meeting your friends, and experiencing your lifestyle of adventure and fun, we know that it has indeed been a life-changing time for you! It has been so great to think of you there and to hear about what you're going to do next. That being said, we can't wait to see you Friday night. Good luck with the packing:o)
ReplyDeleteOMG! Girls Lunch Picnic sounds perfect!! Let's find a place like that in Kansas City! I am so glad that you have made such good friends in Sydney! Very looking forward to seeing you soon.
ReplyDelete