We arrived at Charles de Gaulle early yesterday morning. We’re spending a week in Paris and Burgundy to celebrate our one year anniversary and attend the wedding of some friends. The journey from Sydney to Paris was no mean feat. After some 22 hours in the air, plus a plane change in Kuala Lumpur, we were ready to move our rusty limbs. We dropped our bags at our hotel and hit the pavement. It was 830am and the streets were empty. And when I say empty, I mean deserted. We’d never seen Paris like this.
Over the course of our 5 mile run from George V, across the Seine (Pont de l’Alma) and around the gardens of L’es Invalides, we encountered no more than a handful of casual joggers, a few people walking their dogs and maybe a couple of out-of-towners, who stopped us for directions. At a cool 18C, the weather was perfect. Mottled sunlight, a light breeze and very little humidity. It felt like we had the city of light all to ourselves and it was incredible. Our run slowed to a walk as we neared the end of our loop. And, as we wandered through the cobbled streets and along the wide, leafy boulevards, we lost our way.
Tour Eiffel from the Pont de l’Alma
The beautiful Petit Palais
Those famed cobbled streets
L’Hôtel national des Invalides at 9am
After a much needed shower back at our hotel, we headed over to the 7th arrondissement for lunch. I have a very authoritative list of “must-eat” Parisien restaurants, thanks to a business school classmate, and his recommendation to eat at La Fontaine de Mars did not disappoint. It was still fairly early by French standards so we managed to snag a table outside on Rue Saint-Dominique. The menu at La Fontaine is somewhat traditional with a focus on cuisine from Southwestern France (the region we are heading to later this week).
Our waiter was lovely and happy to entertain my rusty French. We ordered the oeufs en meurette and roulé d’aubergine confite au chèvre frais for our entrées and the confit de canard and a lobster salad for our plats. Everything was mouthwateringly delicious and beautifully presented. Dollops of fresh goat cheese ensconced in wafer-thin, delicately-rolled carpaccio of aubergine, sitting on top of a red pepper and tomato coulis — what’s not to like? The duck confit was perfect: tender (meat falling off the bone), flavorful, juicy and crisp, all at once; the lobster was succulent and perfectly dressed but the pièce de résistance, in my opinion were the eggs. Poached and swimming in a hearty red wine stew, studded with the occasional lardon and pearl onion, we just couldn’t get enough and found ourselves soaking up every last drop with crusty white bread.
Despite the hype surrounding the Obamas’ lunch here and the row of restaurants on Saint-Dominique, we found La Fontaine to be fairly low key, authentic and reasonable. Highly recommend!
Roulé d’aubergine confite au chèvre fraisOeufs de MeuretteConfit de canardA salade de homard from the specials
This past Saturday, we took the ferry out from Circular Quay to Manly. Manly is technically “a suburb of Northern Sydney”, but that description just doesn’t do it justice. Manly is a beautiful beach town sitting atop a piece of land that juts out into the sparkling Pacific Ocean. 18 pristine beaches surround the town and the Sydney Harbour National Park as well as several historic aboriginal sites are easy neighbours. Best of all, Manly is a mere 9 miles northeast of Sydney’s CBD or 7 nautical miles by ferry.
Manly Beach (from someone else’s lens)
The journey is an enjoyable one – full of idyllic ocean views and the occasional sailboat. One view in particular, as a ship staring out at the open seas, just glimpsing two peninsulas reaching out to one another, stands out as spectacular. (More pics to come.)
Our hosts in Manly for the afternoon have a breathtaking view of the ocean. As a nod to New York, they’d made an impressive looking watermelon ring – a favorite of theirs from trips to Norma’s on 57th and 6th.
Watermelon ring a la Norma’s
We had dinner at Hugo’s on our way back, a modern Italian restaurant on the wharf that had managed to transform itself from beachy casual to uber trendy between the afternoon and the evening. The place was packed and the food delicious. Sydney rock oysters are a staple (and favorite) on seafood menus here and Hugo’s did an amazing job with them. We can’t wait to go back!
G’Day from Sydney! It’s been nearly a week since we hopped aboard a one-way flight to Australia and after 5 fantastic days exploring our new city, it feels about time to start documenting our adventures. Niraj and I are currently staying downtown, in what the locals call the ” CBD” or Central Business District, but we’ve managed to get out and about and have seen a fair bit of Paddington and Woollahra (the “Eastern Suburbs”) as well as Bondi Beach and Bondi Junction. To kick off the Australia section of this blog, here’s what I’ve found interesting so far:
1. The people of Sydney refer to themselves as “Sydneysiders”. I’ve never heard of any other “-sider” but I suppose Sydney-er, Sydney-an or Sydney-ite just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
2. Sydneysiders love their coffee. Independent coffee shops and pop-up stands litter the bustling sidewalks of the CBD, boutique cafés adorn the cobbled streets of Paddington and artisanal roasters peek out from among the sunscreen- and flipflop-touting bodegas at the beach. Australian coffee is delicious and warrants a language of its own. Asking for a “coffee” won’t get you very far in Sydney. Drip coffee is something of a rarity here with locals preferring instead to sip espresso machine concoctions with mysterious names like flat white, short black and piccolo. You’ll also be hard pressed to spot a Starbucks in Sydney — no complaints here but I did come across this interesting case study by the University of NSW on the topic.
Flat whites at Sean’s Panaroma in Sydney
3. Another trend I can get on board with is Sydney’s love affair with muesli. The supermarkets are laden with muesli of all kinds and in a variety of preparations – boxes of organic muesli fill the cereal aisles, stacks of chocolate muesli bars form pyramid displays and rows of muesli yoghurt pots and smoothies occupy the refrigerated shelves. Another ubiquitous preparation is Bircher muesli, which, as anyone who knows me well can attest, has been a long-time favorite breakfast and snack food. Who’d have thought that soaking muesli overnight in apple juice and yoghurt would taste so good? Seeing it at every coffee shop and on every restaurant menu warms my Bircher muesli loving heart but it doesn’t come cheap – prices seem to range from $6 for a grab and go snack to $15 for a brunch-sized portion.
Bircher Muesli we had at Icebergs; Bondi Beach
4. Sydneysiders love their acronyms. The first time I heard the term “GFC” was when the Commonwealth Bank of Australia employee opening our new accounts began explaining how it had made Australian workers reluctant to invest their supers in American equities. The GF what? Seeing my blank expression, he stopped what he was doing, looked up and said, rather matter-of-factly, “the global financial crisis, you know, in 2008?” Ohh. Besides “NSW” (New South Wales) and of course “CBD”, I’ve since encountered “EFTPOS” (Electronic Funds Transfer Point Of Service) meaning something that will let you pay by credit card. Oh and did you know that QANTAS stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services? Quite a mouthful. The Aussies also seem to enjoy abbreviating words and phrases they consider unnecessarily long to make cuter, undoubtedly more efficient words — “Paddo” is Paddington, “Goodo” is good on you and “How ya goin’?” is the Aussie way of asking “How are you doing” AND “How is it going?” Clever, eh?
5. Sydneysiders’ reaction to their city’s weather is also something to be marveled at. The Sydney winter is mild by most standards, probably most comparable to the New York fall. So far (in early July), we’ve seen temperatures vary quite a bit, peaking at around 20C (68F) during the day and dropping to 5C (41F) in the nights and mornings. For a city that is used to much warmer climes (summer average daily high of 25C or 77F), I was expecting Sydneysiders to approach their winter wardrobes with the gusto that Miami and California folk do – seizing any opportunity to don their boots, jackets and scarves. Instead, we’ve seen people surfing in the 14C degree water sans wet suits, walking the boardwalks in shorts and heading to corporate offices in shirts and dresses (no jackets, no tights and definitely no coats). We’ve even seen women brave the evening chill in mere cocktail dresses. I suppose when it comes to facing the elements, the Aussies are more akin to the Brits than the Californians and Miamians and, for anyone who’s had a night out in Northern England or really at any British college, you’ll remember the superhuman strength that’s on display when venturing into the freezing cold in skimpy outfits.
Winter surfing at Bondi; photo by Acquabumps
6. Spice. Whether it’s Malaysian sambal, Singaporean laksa or simply a spicy sushi roll, Sydneysiders don’t hold back when it comes to their spice! We haven’t yet ventured into Chinatown, we’re eating at mainstream, if anything nicer, restaurants, frequented by mainstream guests, and everyone seems to be savoring the spice. The Indian in me is rejoicing. Respect.
7. Sydneysiders are an international bunch. In our short time here we’ve encountered Brits, Kiwis, Americans, Indians, South Africans and Sri Lankans as well as people from Hong Kong, China and France. Of the local Aussies we’ve met, many have lived abroad, whether they’re a customer service guy at Vodaphone or a lawyer at an elite firm. Manhattanites like to think of themselves as a “diverse” group…whether they’ve lived outside the New York area (let alone the US!) or not. Sydney’s international diversity is refreshing by comparison.
I could write more about Sydney and Sydneysiders but I’m not sure I know either well enough yet. What I do know is that the people here seem a helpful and welcoming bunch. Many of the people we’ve interacted with over the last week have offered up tips on navigating the city, shared favorite restaurant and bar lists and invited us over for dinner. We’ve received a boatload of useful opinions on Sydney neighbourhoods along with ample thoughts on where to live. I’ve lived in four countries and 12 cities now, but the level of warmth we’re encountering in Sydney is truly unique.
After our beach epiphany last night, we decided to spend the day exploring Bondi and Bondi Junction and testing the commute to and from the CBD. We walked down to Circular Quay and hopped on a ferry to Rose Bay. Ten refreshing minutes later, we were strolling along New South Head Road and gazing out at the serene waters below us.
View of Sydney’s Iconic Opera House from the ferry
Sydney Harbour from the ferry
Rose Bay from The Swimmers Club
We settled in at The Swimmers Club for lunch and feasted on a delicious open face trout sandwich along with a dish of coddled eggs with portobello mushrooms, Sydney’s take on oeufs en cocotte aux champignons de Paris.
Smoked Ocean Trout, avocado chili smash and sweetcorn soubise on toastCoddled eggs with mushrooms at The Swimmer’s Club
After lunch, we were able to hail a cab and to North Bondi Beach. Our plan was to walk from one end of the beach to the other while zigging and zagging through some of the inner streets. Campbell Parade, the main strip on the beach, is a lot quieter in the winter time. You’ll still encounter ample surfers and beach side activities but it isn’t as packed as when we were here in March. The walk along Bondi was awesome. Going even one or two blocks in from Campbell gets you away from the hubbub and into some fairly residential-feeling territory. It’s definitely bustling but I think, if anything, we’ll appreciate that, coming from New York. We walked up to Icebergs and took in the view from the top of the hill. I think we’re sold!
View of Bondi Beach from near IcebergsView of Bondi Beach from Campbell’s Parade
Greetings from Sydney! Two whirlwind days have gone by and we’re settling in and enjoying our time in Australia. Our Qantas flight deposited us at Kingsford Smith International early Friday AM and, after shepherding our many bags through customs, we arrived at our corporate apartment to learn that check in starts only at 2pm. Hmm. We spent the morning opening bank accounts and investigating phone plans and after some half-hearted unpacking, we let the jetlag get the better of us, passing out early in the evening.
Saturday was much more eventful. After a morning run around the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens and an Australian breakfast, we made our way to Paddington to kick off a jam-packed schedule of open houses. Sydney’s “Paddo” appears most similar to New York’s West Village and London’s Notting Hill: cobblestone streets, open air cafés, boutiques and art galleries and plenty of gastropubs. Paddo is known for its leafy, narrow streets and terraced 2 and 3 storey houses with wrought iron lace balconies. Its central location, midway between downtown Sydney and the Eastern Beaches, and its proximity to Centennial Park makes it a popular neighbourhood for young professionals.
A typical 19th century terrace house in Sydney’s trendy Paddo
We saw a total of eight houses in Paddington and, as much as people complain about rents here, we were frankly amazed at the space available to us for the price of a New York shoebox. We were also impressed by how high tech most of these 19th century homes appeared to be. Our excitement peaked with our seventh viewing and we spent part of the remaining afternoon considering our bid strategy over a delicious lunch at Chiswick.
Lunch at Chiswick in WoollahraBeetroot, Quinoa, Fennel Salad
Getting back to the CBD turned out to be a bit of a pain but we managed some downtime in our apartment before heading out for the Lions vs. Wallabies game. Some of Niraj’s colleagues picked us up and, as it turned out, spent most of the 1 hour commute giving us the hard sell on living in Bondi!
The sales pitch continued at dinner and persisted even through the car ride home. We had originally thought of living by the beach but after experiencing the painful bus commute when we last visited Sydney, we’d thrown that idea out the window. Besides, wasn’t the beach a little too touristy and chaotic to make a permanent home out of? Apparently not. As we listened to these guys expound the merits of a beach side property, the answer seemed incredibly clear: Paddington was going out the window and we were going to start our search from scratch…in Bondi!
Oh and side note but the Wallabies vs. Lions game was absolutely incredible! It’s been an amazing first few days in Sydney!
30k British and Irish fans travelled to Australia for these series of games
A Wandering Feast 