The only way to start off the week – to start off most things actually – is with a good coffee.We try the newest place round the corner – the Paramount Coffee Project‘s coffee hits the spot nicely.
The coffee’s so good, we decide brunch is in order. Mrs Romance has the salmon, black quinoa and egg. It looks good, but I can’t really concentrate on it. Because of this:
…my Philly cheese steak sandwich! Pretty darn tasty!
Then I notice the peanut butter and jelly milkshake! Oh dear lord. So pleased I have discovered this. I’m just worried about how close this place is to my apartment. The only thing keeping me from Paramount’s door every day is it’s a tad pricey here.
Anyway, it’s the start of a pretty good day!
This evening we head to Icebergs at Bondi Beach. It’s the coolest location for a very cool event: Aperol are starting a new campaign in Sydney called Aperol Sunsets.
From now until 1st December 2013, pick up one of these bad boys for $10 every Sunday either at Icebergs at Bondi or Watson’s Bay Boutique Hotel.
We enjoy the views from Icebergs with our Aperol spritz and in the good company of Sassy Bella. Mrs Romance takes this cool pic for me – so meta!
We get up (reasonably) early for a bit of exercise down by Sydney Harbour this morning.
Our friends from the UK – Wez, Nicky and their little boy Arthur – and we head up the Sydney Tower for a view of the city. It’s great to be a tourist in your own city sometimes!
The weather has turned on the waterworks for a few days… it’s nice to see the sun again. I feel obliged to snap our street while the sun’s still out!
I head down to Circular Quay for my lunch break. It’s a lovely day… until the gulls get too close. Heading back to the office early isn’t running away, okay? Not running away at all. I’m just very busy.
Since Provence we’ve been taking more notice of rosé wines. Pretty happy with this one – Polin & Polin’s 2009 John Rook’s rosé from the Hunter Valley. Very nice. And no hangover, which has been my experience whenever I’ve had rosé in the past!
We head out to Balmain to the Town Hall Hotel to meet up with our mate Steph from LipstickAndCake.com fame. The burgers here are… sorry, drifted off there for a minute.
My cheeseburger is a stroke of genius and Mrs Romance’s crispy pork belly burger is something I’d declare an urban myth if I hadn’t seen it with my own grateful eyes. Steph’s chilli chicken burger is also brilliant! And the fries…
We decide cooking breakfast is going to be just too difficult this morning. Especially as I haven’t been shopping and it’s raining heavily this morning.
We head to our closest cafe – Two Good Eggs, which is thankfully pretty good. This chorizo, hash browns, salsa and eggs is a delicious daily special.
We head to Pyrmont this afternoon for our one night’s staycation. Just like heading up Sydney Tower, we love being tourists in our own town. We’re staying in 1888 Hotel tonight.
The place is really cool.The building used to be a wool shed back in 1888. The rooms are all designed to fit in with the original architectural features.
We head out to explore Pyrmont and find the Quarryman’s Hotel has been renovated. It used to be a bit of a dive, but now it’s a popular spot with some great little spots inside.
There’s a nice little courtyard, a top-floor billiard room and a bistro eatery. Best of all, it has a rolling menu of 24 craft guest beers on tap!
This morning, we decide not to go down to eat breakfast with the other guests of 1888 Hotel. Breakfast in bed to finish off the staycation is a great idea. I fully recommend it!
Andrea from Fox in Flats won two awards at the Star Beauty Directory Awards 2013, so we head out to Double Bay and to Mrs Sippy for drinks and celebrations!
Sunday. It’s raining. The only thing to do is watch ’80s films, lots of Friends reruns and make gluten-free granola. It’s a great recipe I adapted from manouvellemode.com’s. Works a treat – though I do wonder if I should be doing more manly stuff like fixing an engine or something.
Anyway I am now looking forward to my morning breakfasts… and breakfast as dinner too of course!
How was your week? What was the best thing that happened?
Sonia
You guys love doing all the same things my husband and I enjoy doing. Seriously, if we were ever in the same city, we would have one helluva time! Thanks for the hot tip on the Polin & Polin’s Rosé. I love a drop on a warm day, but hate the inevitable hangover the next day (no matter how much, or little, you drink).
Mr Romance
As and when we’re back in Adelaide, Sonia, we’ll be sure to give you a call! One of my uni mates lives there, so we do visit occasionally. If you’re ever in Sydney, do the same. Would be great to hang out with you guys!!
Definitely try the rosé. Very nice. There are a few rosés around now that aren’t just white wine with some food dye chucked in, but you have to do your research – or stock up on Panadol!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Ooh I love the glimpse into 1888! I wondered what the renovations would look like and it looks really nice 🙂
Mr Romance
It’s a great little hotel, Lorraine! We were well impressed. There’s a more in-depth review coming up about it tomorrow if you want a bit more detail. They’ve done a really good job considering the building was used as a car park for years!
Natalia
Looks like you had an amazing week! And delicious too, making me hungry just looking at all the pictures. Thanks for the shout out too, hope you liked the granola!
Mr Romance
Hi Natalia! Yes, big week last week. Hopefully this week’ll be a bit calmer. Thank you for the granola recipe. It makes so much and it’s delicious too!
Steph
Mmmmm those burgers! We’ll have to go for another one when I get back.
Mr Romance
That sounds like a plan, Steph! I’ll get some more research done in the meantime. You know… there’s always a better burger somewhere… and I’d hate for you to miss out on anything. So really, I’ll be eating lots of burgers for you! Aren’t I a good friend?!