Curry with a view, pisco with style and a pizza recipe to die for

It’s been one of those week’s here are Romance HQ. A week that’s seemed to go on for ever and yet disappeared in a heartbeat. As I was looking back through the photos for this week’s IG Edition, I got a bit confused because I was sure that some of the images were for a different week.

In a way, it’s kind of cheered me up because I thought that not much had happened this week! One of those rare occasions when I’m happy to be proven wrong.

Anyway, we hope you’ve had a lovely weekend and this week’s looking good. Here’s our latest IG Edition.

The skies over Sydney have been nothing short of weird this month so far. Winter’s really brought on some freakish clouds. Quite pleased with this sky though. Very Ghostbusters.

I can’t think of a better way to start the week than with a curry. And even more so when you have the perfect storm of a curry happen:

– We’re catching up with our mate Rah from rahest.com.au and her fella, which has been on the cards for way too long.
– The curry’s excellent – the beef vindaloo’s got a good hard-to-find kick to it.
– The restaurant is a hidden gem with million-dollar views.

This table of delights is in North Sydney in a little place called the Harbourview Indian Restaurant. And here’s why:

That’s right, this is the view from one of the few tables available in this little place. Thanks to Google Streetview, you can virtually walk right through the Harbourview and check out the scenery. Not bad, is it?

Well worth a visit if you’re into your Indian fair. The food’s great, the service is friendly, it’s a little expensive, but with views like this you can’t really blame them!

On the way home, the obligatory Harbour Bridge, Opera House and city night shot has to happen. Especially when it’s as pretty as this. Just as well really: we’ve missed our ferry by minutes and the next one’s not for another 35. Glad the curry’s still keeping us nice and warm.

Tonight we’re back north of the harbour in Neutral Bay. We’re checking out the food and drinks at La Puerta. This place is a family-run South American restaurant with some excellent food on offer.

The head chef and owner Oscar and his wife Catherine have brought some of the best food over from their homeland of Colombia, plus they’re sharing their knowledge of neighbouring countries’ cuisines too. Peruvian, Brazilian, Argentinian, Mexican… and everything we’ve tried here has been superb.

Make sure you get to La Puerta as soon as you can.

Especially as this month is the Month of Pisco. Pisco is a spirit from Peru (and also Chile) that has really taken off in Australia recently. La Puerta and a few other venues have taken the opportunity of the Month of Pisco to showcase some of their favourite cocktails.

This is La Puerta’s signature El Capitan pisco cocktail. It goes beautifully with the spicy chilli dishes we’re eating, and is light and refreshing. Very pleasing!

This evening, Mrs Romance has coerced me into making these pizza scrolls. It took a lot of arm-twisting (about 3 seconds’ worth) and convincing (“Make these.” “Ok.”). The results were pleasing. The longevity was sadly disappointing though. Yes, they’re all gone now.

This is a recipe Mrs R spotted on NotQuiteNigella.com that you should probably check out. They’re absolutely delicious!

What a way to end the week! This rainbow has just appeared as if from nowhere. It kind of made us jump – thankfully, Mrs R jumped up with my phone to take this shot. It really has been a week of unusual and beautiful skies in Sydney.

This week’s travel recap

Each week we go back in time over some of our favourite travel destinations using never-before-seen photos of our travels. Here’s where we’ve been looking back on this week.

Buffet is a French word meaning ‘to pig out’. They invented it and it’s their fault. However, the Italians have mastered the crafting of a buffet, as you can see here. This was at our friends’ wedding reception in Tuscany. This spread was just the pre-dinner snack. After this we staggered into the castello’s courtyard for an evening of eating and drinking bliss.

Oh, and see that man standing at the end? He’s the prosciutto slicer. Yes, a dedicated prosciutto slicer. And rightly so. Behind that tuft of grass on the table is a whole leg of wild boar prosciutto – Tuscany’s speciality dish. You see, all regions of Italy have their own speciality. The prosciutto in Tuscany is sweeter and more delicate and delicious than anywhere else in the country.

The architectural historical river cruise along the Chicago River is one of the best things you can do in the Windy City. I really wasn’t sure it’d be any good – neither of us were. But when all the locals and the most trusted people of all – our hotel concierge – told us to do it, we went for it.

Especially if you’ve only got a couple of days here in one of my absolute favourite American cities, make sure you get on this. It’s fascinating and gives a superb angle and perspective of this awesome town.

Here’s our review of the river cruise plus if you want to see what else we’ve got to say about Chicago, here’s a link to our Chicago archives.

The island of Capri just off the coast of Naples is absolutely stunning. With so many beautiful places to go in Italy, it’s hard to choose a favourite. However, our memories of the time we spent here make Capri one of the best.

I mean look at this view from one of the beautiful hotels along the coastline here. Stunning.

For more on what we did in Capri, check out our post on the perfect day in paradise.

The dolphins of Monkey Mia, Western Australia are known to have lived here for decades. When this area was busy as a port industry, the pod hung close to the shore and made friends with the new locals. Now it’s a marine reserve and a place where visitors can come and see these amazing creatures close up.

However, you’re warned not to get too close. If you’re not being guided by the park ranger who helps feed the dolphins, stay well back and don’t be tempted to touch.

We saw a lady not watch where the dolphin was swimming and get sideswiped by the cheeky chap’s muscular tail. The same woman tried to stroke the dolphin, which then tried to bite her! At the end of the day you’ve got to remember these are still wild animals with a true sense of mischief and humour.

One of the most amazing experiences you’ll ever have is getting close to these beautiful, highly intelligent creatures.

Mrs Romance has all the luck. On a work trip to the Whitsundays she was treated to a helicopter ride over the coast – some of the most beautiful, dramatic and Instagrammable beaches and islands in the world. Meanwhile, I was stuck at home… no, I don’t think I’ll ever let this one go. I’m a terribly jealous person!

The bright colours of Burano, north of Venice warm the heart. This little island town never used to have street numbers, so the locals made their houses discernible by painting each one a different colour.

Notice as well the shoddy rooftop balcony they’ve constructed here. This is iconic to Venice. Many of the little townhouses throughout the city have these strange and dangerous looking structures balanced on their roofs.

The food in Thailand is always a pleasure to find and devour. There’s so much range, such incredible balance of flavours and the incredible ingenuity of the streethawkers selling their food from little sidecars attached to 50CC motorbikes… it makes my mouth water and my heart yearn to be back here in this mysterious country.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s IG Edition. Now it’s your turn; tell us how your week’s been and what you’ve been up to!

Images by Mr and Mrs Romance via Instagram: @MrAndMrsRomance, @HairRomance, @Christina.Butcher – Mrs R’s Insta account and @AngryBastard of course!