Epic fish ‘n’ chips, Vivid Sydney and a flight to Queensland

As characters of our favourite show might announce: Winter is coming! Not that you’d have guessed that from the sunny business Sydney’s making at the moment.

I know this probably has the commentator’s curse written all over it, but the weather at the moment is insanely warm.

Don’t worry – I’m not going typically English on you. I’m not going to ramble on about the 15 ways we can describe different types of rain in the UK, I just mean this week’s looking like a bloody winner for the out-door activities we’ve got planned!

While the sun’s still hanging around, I like to get out of the office as much as possible. This little park in the middle of Sydney’s CBD is my favourite hangout. It’s only a two-minute walk from my office, a five minute walk to Martin Place (if that) and you can almost see Circular Quay from where I’m sitting.

Still, it’s one of the most peaceful places in the city – perhaps because it’s surrounded by so many things going on. If you’re ever in the area, check out Macquarie Place Park.

We decide tonight’s the night for us to explore Vivid Sydney. Every year the city puts on a variety of light and sound shows throughout the CBD. The crowds early on are usually a nightmare, so we have dinner first and head over at around 9pm. The lights go until midnight.

There are some amazing little spots to see the lights around the city during Vivid. We’re up on the Overseas Passenger Terminal for this view of the Bridge. It’s also a great place to see the lights on the Opera House and the rest of the city skyline.

It’s well worth making the effort to check out what the city’s done this year, but try our tip on 3 unusual places to experience Vivid. They’re often not as busy as the usual viewpoints and they’ll give you a completely different perspective on the shows.

We also find the shows at Martin Place are really good this year too. This water show is brilliant and there are lots of other things going on too. There’s also a bar and a little row of food stalls here. Much better than the weird food they sell along Circular Quay.

We haven’t made it to Darling Harbour (yet) but the the shows there look amazing too.

I ‘gluttonate’ on this huge pile of fried goods for dinner tonight. It’s the fisherman’s basket from Crown Street Fish Shop in Surry Hills. It’s WAY too much food, but I always over-order when it comes to fish ‘n’ chips.

It looks like this dinner wasn’t just popular with my taste buds though – this is our most liked Instagram pic to date! Thank you to everyone who double-tapped on it!

Lunch time. Not usually my absolute favourite meal of the day, but when it’s a Tantan ramen at Ichiban Boshi! This is my favourite ramen bowl they do here; spicy, soupy, full of noodles and pork mince!

Mrs Romance and I are out with the incredibly motivating Lien from UltimateBrowShape.com.

And here’s today’s successful attempt at making lunch a much more interesting meal: a ‘Manwich’ from Mr Crackles on Oxford Street. It’s half the salad and double the meat of a ‘Classic Crackles’, and it sends me into a pork belly induced coma.

Perhaps it’s still a meat hangover from my Tomahawk steak exploits the other week, but I don’t seem to be able to hold down as much meat as I used to!

Today on Mr & Mrs, we explore the difference between mezcal and tequila. We also talk to Regina Bueno Ros from Mr Moustache Bristrot & Cantina to tell us about mezcal. Mr Moustache and MexTrade.com.au are one of the biggest importers of mezcal into Australia.

I love mezcal and was really surprised I did when I first tried it last year in the States. Now I’m hooked!

Today’s late breakfast in Pieno on Crown Street, Surry Hills is enormous. I’m hoping it’s enough to keep me going for most of the day. That way I won’t have to stress about lunch too much! Mrs Romance has a busy day today, but I’ve just got to pack for tomorrow’s flight up to Queensland.

And we’re off! The flight to Noosa with for a trip with Tourism and Events Queensland blogging trip with The Remarkables Group. It’s going to be a week of fun, thinking and WORK!

See you soon, Sydney – hopefully you’ll have taken a leaf out of Queensland’s book and stay warm for a bit longer though.

Our feet hit the ground and we’re straight into our first lunch appointment in Coolum. Beth from BabyMac.com discuss My Place’s menu at length and both finally end up with pizzas. I love my capricciosa but Beth’s Americana with pepperoni and basil pesto gives me the food envy.

Across the road from My Place, Coolum Beach is looking very inviting – especially after the warm flight and our lack of beach time recently. No time for that though – the hotel is calling our name.

After we checked in to our room at The Sheraton Noosa, we head out for a walk down Hastings Street and Noosa’s beachfront. It’s a stormy looking afternoon, but a few cocktails and a dinner with some very cool people should sort that out!

Tomorrow’s itinerary is packed full of information, activities and – most importantly – food, so keep an eye on our ‘Instactivities’!

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Where do you go for your bit of tranquility? What’s been your wonder dish for lunch this week? Is lunch your favourite meal or do you prefer a different eating time?! What’s the thing you love on your pizza the most? So many questions! Talk to us in the comments!

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