We had a great dinner for our last night in Sydney last night. We asked the concierge at the hotel for suggestions, and he recommended "Fish at the Rocks". Most of the restaurants we had walked past on our hikes have beautiful views of Sydney Harbor and ridiculous prices - like $20 for a caesar salad. A quick note: The Australians called appetizers "Entrees" and call Entrees "Mains" - lends itself to some confusion. The area around the arched bridge is called the Rocks - that's where our hotel was. We walked along the wharves, climbed three sets of stairs and reached Kent Street. There was a famous pub, Lord Nelson Brewery, clearly a popular place filled to the brim with people. We went outside and found seats along the sidewalk - quieter than inside and had our Australian version of British bitter - quite good - name unknown. Unfortunately, so many people were squashed in and around the place, the pub pickup boy kept asking people to go inside "We can't have people standing on the sidewalk drinking, it's against a public ordinance" We then walked over to the Fish at the Rocks. I had baby Baramundi - excellent, despite the baby part of its name. Charlie had grilled prawns - he decided it sounded like shrimp on the barbie.
This morning after breakfast, we got a ride to the airport and took our Quantas flight to Cairns. Warm, tropical, beautiful, if a bit windy. We're staying at a place called The Spa Temple Resort and Spa at Palm Cove. I'm really not a fan of resorts. The last time we went to Cairns, many years ago, I really liked it and was looking forward to getting back. To get dumped 25 km away at a resort seemed annoying. But, as it happens we are traveling way off season. The suite of rooms that we ended up in is absolutely bizarre. We have a full kitchen, living room, dining room, bedroom, lanai, and to top it off, up a curvy ladder we found a hot tub and a huge bar B Q. Good grief. Here's a few photos of this place.
Once we got settled we set off to find the local "town" called Palm Cove. Somehow I keep thinking of Murder She Wrote. It's a tiny seaside place with restaurants, a pub, a post office, and a gorgeous beach. Here's some photos of our walk and the town.
In town, we stopped at a pub, Apres Beach Bar and Grill, and had coffee and cake. Both were excellent. I'm not sure I'd call our cake, "cake". Imagine an apple tart without the crust. That may not sound very good, but it was delicious. Coffee has funny words associated with it around here too. Here's a few:
There are the usual cappucinos and lattes. Flat white, if no one had told me I would have assumed it was a cappucino, but it really is outstanding coffee. Long black, expresso with water. Short black, expresso without extra water. I'll keep adding to my Australian dictionary, as I learn the words and translations.
Tonight we're having sandwiches for dinner. We had bought them because our flight today was over lunchtime. Who knew that Quantas at home provides meals onboard as part of the travel? Until tomorrow.....
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