London Calling

My treat for my 27th birthday was a trip to London. This was 6-7 months before the 2012 Olympics so it was frosty! Not as cold as the -32 celcius I experienced in Canada but still a chilly 5 degrees. Compare that to a 15 degree winter's day here in Sydney! We arrived the afternoon before my birthday via the Eurostar from Paris. It was such a pleasant trip, Paul and I shared our train carriage with only one other passenger and the meal we got was really nice!

Beautiful French Countryside

This delicious meal on the Eurostar was finished off with a macaron au chocolat and earl grey flavoured chocolate.
The wine was surprisingly good too!

We stayed at the H10 hotel in Waterloo, a convenient 5 min walk to Waterloo station for easy access to the rest of London.

The hotel was very new and clean but also very tiny!

View from the hotel room window

Beautiful sunset to finish our first day in London

An opera singer busking in Covent Garden

I began my evening with a delicious treat from Patisserie Valerie.
Yes I only wanted it cause it was pink. 

So, onto my birthday treats! The biggest thing was lunch at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire.... but that will be elaborated on another time. My experience there deserves a post on its own! After Fat Duck we had just enough time to take the train back to London to watch Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre. It was FANTASTIC! I recommend it to anyone! The next day Paul took me to afternoon tea at the Ritz. A superb 27th birthday.

My favourite sandwich was second from the left with Scottish salmon. Mmmm.

We didn't make any music requests but my highlight was when the Russian pianist broke out
in a slow jazzy version of Outkast's "Hey Ya"

The interior of Palm Court in the Ritz was simply exquisite!

The pianist in the court started to play "happy birthday" and brought out this cake
then everybody stared and clapped.

Montréal

Ahhh.... J'aime Montréal! How I love Montréal! This beautiful city feels just like being in Sydney except with much more history, beautiful food and a French flair. I have had the opportunity to visit this city twice - once in Summer 2010 and last December 2011, in winter. I really, really need to brush up on my Français. Fortunately for me, the city is French-English bilingual (unlike other cities I've been to in Québec) and especially when they hear my Aussie accent they are more willing to converse in English! Apparently they are less willing to speak English to the English Canadians.

Last December it was a must to visit Schwartz's Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen (3895 Saint Laurent, Montréal) for a SMOKED MEAT SANDWICH. I still drool today thinking about how much I loved it.

So juicy, so succulent, so divine!

Action shot of Paul gorging

All you need on this baby is smoked meat and mustard

Restaurant le Pégase: 1831 Rue Gilford, Montréal

This restaurant was so lovely and intimate. It was an old converted terrace house with only about 5 or so dining tables. My only complaint was the lack of space to move around (people often have to get up for one person to leave the table for the bathroom etc) and when you have love handles like I do, you like a bit of space! The food speaks for itself.

Thank you to North Face for protecting me from the -20 degrees Celsius temperatures!

Escargot with caramelised apples and blue cheese

Foie gras

Profiterole with goats cheese and veal cheek

A big hunk of veal

Lamb chops were the signature dish for Pégase and recommended RARE which I normally don't do
but I dared to try it... and I absolutely enjoyed these!!!

La Mort au Chocolat - Death by Chocolate

A great classic - crè­me brûlée

Montréal, à la prochaine fois - until we meet again.

Los Angeles

Paul and I decided to stay in LA for a couple of nights en route to Canada in December last year. It was my first time being in the US other than stopping over - it will definitely not be the last!

I know it sounds strange but we flew from Sydney to Vancouver (14 hours) then to LA on Air Canada. The US is so very beautiful to look at from the sky!

See?

A zoomed in and cropped image of the Hollywood sign seen from our plane

I just loved how glitzy Los Angeles was! The weather was comparable to a Sydney winter although public buildings were better heated/insulated than they are here.

The first thing I noticed was the amount of tipping you have to do in LA - the bus driver, the hotel bellboys, valet guys (most parking in LA is valet) and of course, waiters. I also found it annoying that prices (on tags and menus) were not the final figure, they were the before tax amounts. Annoying if you're very strapped for cash and you think you have enough! Everything is much cheaper there than here in Sydney though.

Los Angeles is also very dog-friendly compared to Sydney. I saw doggies everywhere I went, even in airport departure lounges (the dogs were waiting to get on the planes with their owners) and dogs are permitted in shopping centres as long as they take lifts and not escalators. If only I could have brought Teddy!

Food is a big reason I would return to LA. The quality was excellent for a much more reasonable price than you would pay for an equivalent meal in Australia. However, unless you go to a higher end restaurant, you're going to end up drinking terrible coffee! (I think Coffee is much better in Australia but maybe North Americans would think our coffee was terrible too!)



Hatfield's Restaurant: 6703 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles

I was only using a small Canon point and shoot I got like 6 years ago so these aren't the best photos

My entree was a delicious buckwheat crepe

My main - 36-hour slow cooked rib

Dessert - Hot chocolate peanut butter truffle cake
with salted caramel ice cream

Bottega Louie Restaurant: 700 South Grand Ave, Los Angeles
I absolutely loved this place and if I lived in LA I would probably be here ALL the time. It is a gourmet food market, a French-style patisserie (macarons guys, macarons!), chocolaterie, cafe, cocktail bar AND restaurant all in one!

This soft-boiled egg with toastie soldiers was $3.
You heard me.
THREE BUCKS.
Probably would have been $18 here in Sydney.

Paul ordered the "Farmer's Brunch"

I ordered for dessert (yes, I had dessert at breakfast) the Belgian waffles with Chantilly cream, seasonal berries
and Vermont maple syrup. Best breakfast I've had in a long time.

In general, I just loved how friendly, polite and helpful LA locals were compared to here in Sydney. People in LA seem to take customer service a lot more seriously than they do here. I loved how generous food serving sizes are and the variety of condiments you can get to accompany your food (I'm talking tabasco sauce!). Alas I did not spot any celebrities... better luck next visit I suppose!

My Wedding

Well my second wedding anniversary is just over a week away so I thought I'd share some pictures of the day (26th July, 2010). Paul and I got married in a small town named Tadoussac in Quebec, Canada. This place has been special to him and his family since he was born. We were surrounded by about 50 of our close friends and family. Weather was 16 degrees and overcast; we were very fortunate that it did not rain! Photography by my most talented lifelong friend, Frank Farrugia.

My Doggie Teddy

It's been over a year since my last post and for the next little while I will share photos of things that have happened during this time. So here's the first thing. Paul and I got a dog, Teddy! Teddy is a jack russell-pomeranian etc cross and I obtained him as a gift from my friend whose female dog had puppies in April 2011. Teddy can sit, lie down, jump, beg and dance! Dance as in jump in a circle... We took him for a walk today :)

Need a Holiday!!!!

I'm counting down the days until I take a week and a day off! Paul's Nanna's coming from Canada to stay for a little while. It's her first time here so we're going to go up to QLD and see the Barrier Reef!!!! It will be my first time too! I've only ever been as far north as the Gold Coast so I'm excited :D

So... naturally I'm trying to slim down to look good while on holiday. So far I've been successful in NOT gaining weight. But that's about it. :( *sigh*

I was determined to not have dinner tonight but I was absolutely starving. So right now Paul's slaving away in the kitchen for his little old wife :) He just gave me a blue cheese/brie and rice cracker platter with a glass of merlot as an entree. He's so good to me :)

Home Alone

I've got the house to myself for the first time in a very long time! The husband's gone out to a friend's house for a boy's night in (cars and xbox anyone?) So far the events of my evening have gone to plan - rose-scented bath whilst listening to jazz and for dinner - buttered baguette with blue cheese, a glass of sauvignon blanc and leftover beef strog (made by the hubby). I might bake something after this post. Been thinking of making vanilla cookies!

This morning I snapped some pics of our happy little friend who visits every now and again. This time I gave him some bacon to try!

Returned from the dead

So I've forgotten this blog even existed... well here I am again! Don't know if I have any followers but I'm sure they'd welcome me back anyhow.

So... to sum up the time elapsed since my last post (Jan 2010) - I am:
1. Employed full time by Dr Benjamin Daoud and working in Fairfield and Kingswood
2. Officially graduated from Dentistry in March 2010
3. Bought my very first car - a 2006 Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro (uses diesel but is very gutsy and economical!)
4. Bought a home
5. Travelled to Canada to meet the inlaws and get married to Paul
6. Shopping and eating out on a regular basis
7. Enjoying food, cooking and photography
8. Spending a lot of spare time watching Foxtel - especially reality shows (e.g. The Hills, Jersey Shore)

And that is it... I shall be posting more regularly from now on.

Happy Birthday To Me (for 2 days ago)

Yes I finally turned a quarter of a century on Sunday. I'm starting to realise how old that sounds. My first mobile phone was an Ericsson GH 688 (it never used to be Sony-Ericsson back in the day) http://www.gsmarena.com/ericsson_gh_688-106.php Now do you see how old I am? I felt so good to get the Nokia 3210 http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_3210-pictures-6.php after the Ericsson.

Well my birthday consisted of: Thai food with Tommy, a 3 course French dinner cooked by Paul (it was quite impressive and delicious I have to say), dinner at Yumei Japanese restaurant with Andrew and Judy and late lunch with my family (Yes, cake was involved).

Entree: vol au vents with asparagus and cheese sauce

Main: lamb en croute

Inside view of the lamb en croute with stuffing

Dessert: coffee pots de creme

Today I met with my future boss about the job. Turns out the guy I was brought in to replace is leaving in about 3 weeks. I start on Thursday then I'm off until February 2nd then on the week starting the 8th I'm flying solo full time (the boss is going away). Sounds scary but I have to stand on my own two feet someday! He also gave me the ok to take leave for the wedding. It's all looking good :) 

NYE Report

The following is a description of NYE 2009 (or is it 2010?). We left Paul's work place after 5 (left the car there also cause there was no way we were driving into the city and looking for parking on NYE) for an annoying humid half hour walk to Granville station. We then discovered that we had no cash for train tickets and that the minimum transaction amount for using eftpos was $24. Which then meant hunting down an ATM.

The train ride was more pleasant, we found a 2-seater and it was air conditioned. Changed trains at Central for a train to Edgecliff. No seat on that train but it was like a 10 min trip. Called Tommy to find out what was happening. He suggested we go to Coles and buy a bbq chicken and bring it to his friend's apartment. Paul and I tried to look for Coles but found a Beer Wine & Spirits store instead where Paul purchased some bubbly - Yellowglen Vintage Bella and a full case of Sol cervezas. I then called Tommy to ask where the Coles was which he then gave me directions to. Next to Coles was an Asian bakery - still open to my surprise (it was after 7pm already) and we purchased dinner: 2 croissants, 2 spinach turnovers, 1 spinach and ricotta quiche to share and 1 chicken pie for Paul. He also purchased some flavoured milk for me from Coles.

We sat in front of Coles eating whilst awaiting Tommy's sister Rosa and her husband Robert. We then walked to Tommy's friend's apartment - poor Paul had to carry our heavy liquor and direct us. The apartment's view was just as breathtaking as last time. Tommy lay down some housekeeping rules - avoid spillages on the coffee table thing that looks like a long, giant oversized ottoman (it was upholstered in Italian silk) and no touching the expensive glasses ($200 a glass!! They were handblown in France or something).

Rosa prepared a cheeseboard for us and so we ate, drank and were merry until the 9pm fireworks. Afterwards Tommy put on Seinfeld DVD's and we indulged some more. We started tidying up before the midnight fireworks and left somewhere between 12:30-1. The walk back to Edgecliff station was irritating due to huge crowds. Being greeted into the new year by the gay group was amusing. Behind me for a good 5 minutes straight was the most annoying scraping sound of a suitcase being dragged. Who brings a suitcase to NYE!?

The queue for tickets at the station was REEEEEEEEEALLY long (Tommy didn't have a ticket) and then the ticket machines suddenly died so cityrail staff handed out "pay at destination" tickets which are essentially IOU's. The trip was interesting - across from us: a middle aged female cityrail employee eating pumpkin seeds and not being very neat about it (seed shells dropping on the floor and stuck around her face), a strange lady with ridiculously thick glasses staring Tommy and I down (seriously, the thickness made her eyes look huge to worsen the effect), and a special needs type young lady who was shit-faced, repeatedly stroking the back of her right hand with her left fingers - and she was REALLY concentrating on the task. We contemplated where we would change stations - Town Hall, Central or Redfern?

We made the mistake of choosing Central. There was a very large crowd surrounding the stairs for platform 18/19 and it wasn't moving. I was very sweaty. Paul suggested taking a train around the city circle and hoping it would lead us to where we needed to go. Sneaky but ingenious.

The trash littered all over Circular Quay when our train passed was UNBELIEVABLE. So glad to have had the comfort of an apartment with all the necessary amenities. Somewhere around Flemington or so staff told us to move up to another carriage. We assumed a vomit situation was at hand. Finally Paul and I got off at Auburn for another long annoying walk. The garbage trucks happened to be doing their rounds right at that moment so we were exposed to the most unpleasant smell for a good half hour whilst cockroaches dodged our steps past a long row of open empty bins.

We got to work and as Paul pressed his keyring button thing to open the gate this weird French tourist couple had parked their 4WD nearby and the gentleman asked Paul whether it was safe for them to sleep in their car there. Paul assured them no one ever came back there. I felt extremely disgusting at this point and dehydrated so we stopped into the office for cold water and I washed my face etc. When we got in the car and drove out, the tourist 4WD was completely covered in some sort of tarp. It must take a lot of skill and experience to be able to completely cover a car and get into it simultaneously. Within a few minutes I blacked out and Paul drove home.

So, here are some pictures:

Our fantastic view

Cheese, Crackers and Haigh's Chocolate

The Midnight Fireworks

The Aftermath