A gin education, visitors and Bondi Beach

I have a confession to make. This week I watched the Lego Movie. It wasn’t my idea, but I still couldn’t stop watching it. It’s got to be the trippiest film I’ve ever seen. It’s crazy! I apologise in advance if this post’s a bit weird. Blame it on the LegoMovie.

Have you seen this mind mess of a film? How long did you have to spend in therapy after?

What a way to start a working week. I’m in The Rook – a little bar on the top of an office block in the city. Yes, it’s Monday lunchtime, and yes this is a negroni. But it’s all part of the amazing talk delivered by alcohol historian and master distiller at Sipsmith: Jared. You can just see him there in the background holding the mic.

This negroni’s the best one I’ve ever had – I can’t wait to go back for another one – but the stuff Jared was telling us is incredible. He knows so much and is so interesting. I could listen to him chat about booze all day. He also reminds me a lot of Jeff Bridges!

My breakfast this morning is just about my favourite non-bacon based breakfast choice I can think of. It’s to be found at Two Good Eggs in Surry Hills and is a work of art. The dish is called ‘Goats on Toast’ for the simple reason that it’s goats cheese on toasted sour cherry loaf. It also has smashed walnuts, a drizzle of honey and half a sliced crisp apple.

I love this dish. I tried a side of bacon with it once but it just didn’t work. I was astonished. Bacon – not going with something? Perhaps it’s more like Goats on Toast not going with bacon… yes, that sounds much more plausable!

Mrs Romance and I are so excited. Our friends from San Diego – Mona and Brendan – are here visiting. They’re staying with us too, so we’re really happy to be spending some more time with them. At Mona’s request we’ve had a quick walk through the QVB, her favourite building in Sydney. I can see where she’s coming from. It must be one of the loveliest shopping malls around.

For dinner tonight, we’re all in The Botanist in Kirribilli. We’ve mentioned it a couple of other times in the past, and I think it deserves a bit more of a shout-out. It’s a cool little place, and the drinks and food are great.

Mona and Bredan have brought with them from California a relic of the ancient times! We couldn’t help it – we had to compare these two phones. Mrs Romance’s is the one on the right, but Mona’s on the left has a much longer battery life! It seems strange now to think we used phones just like that (and thought they were the pinnacle of technology) a few years ago.

Mona was texting on it earlier and the click-click-click of the buttons really took me back!

We’re on Throwback Thursday today with a shot of us in Milan last year. It’s part of our post about 10 Top Things to Do in Milan. It’s a beautiful, intriguing city and well worth a visit.

We’re out for a few drinks and dinner tonight. Somehow we end up in Hinky Dinks in Darlinghurst. It’s a pretty cool venue – very ’50s diner vs Tiki bar. It’s lots of fun and the drinks are excellent. Make sure you pop your head in if you’re in the area.

Mrs Romance is shooting some last-minute glamour shots in our ‘home studio’ (lol) with the lovely Sarah-May from MakeupUtopia.com. Mrs R’s making the most of this time with her before she and her jolly good bloke Pat move the family over seas for a while. They’re moving to Holland, which sounds awesome. We can’t wait to go and visit them.

Anyway, I got to hang out with Mr Utopia for a while but then made my way here to Bondi Beach to catch up with a good mate of mine and his bro I haven’t seen in ages. It’s also the eve of the City to Surf race, so Bondi’s a hive of activity at the moment. It’s one of those amazing Sydney winter’s days that’s just perfect for a coffee and stroll along the beach.

And the people-watching today is even better than it usually is!

This evening, Mrs Romance and I, and Mona, Brendan and a host of their friends from all over, have convened in Opera Bar for drinks and celebrations. The sky seems to have got our invitation too, and has put on its best outfit on. How’s this for a view? Amazing, isn’t it?

This morning, Mrs Romance is in The Grounds of Alexandria – a very unique cafe spot – to say final fair-wells to Sarah-May and Pat before they ship out to Holland. Very best of luck, my friends. We’ll see you again soon. 🙂

Have you been to The Grounds? How long did you wait for coffee? Have you seen the Lego Movie? How long did the nightmares last? Tell us in the comments!

Images by Mr and Mrs Romance via Instagram: @MrAndMrsRomance, @HairRomance and of course @AngryBastard!