Woke up still amazed from the opera the night before. Slept much better. Gentleman above me silenced his phone so there were few ambient noises, sans the snoring of him and another bunkmate.

Got up and Y&M’d. Beautiful views of part of the CBD (central business district) with the sun shining through with blue skies. Really lovely.

Multiple people, including those kind folks whom I met at the bar on the first night, had wonderful things to say about Bondi Beach, and that it was a must see with incredible views and an enjoyable hike/walk. Public transport would have taken nearly an hour to get there. To save time and streamline the day, hopped in the Uber to make my way over. My driver, Orlando, was from Patagonia in Argentina, and we spoke at length about the changing real estate market and the high cost of purchasing homes in Australia. Part of our drive drove by larger homes, cut across by a road, with smaller wall-to-wall dwellings. Back in the day, these wall-to-wall spots were the working class homes. Now, as we can imagine, they are all types of rustic-chic and modern looking at around $1.5-$2M.

Orlando told me to check out a couple spots, and directed me as to how best to walk/hike. Jumped out the car and was in the middle of Bondi Beach. Walked to the ‘boardwalk’, checked out the views, and did a little walking on the beach. Lots of surfing and people exercising. The air was that mix of warm/cool, though getting in the water seemed a little OD. Really beautiful scene.

Had a short walk on the beach, and made my way up to the Icebergs Dining Room and Bar atop a ‘hill’, a spot that was recommended to me a couple of times to check out. The views were spectacular, sun shining, with a cool breeze. They were cleaning the pool below, otherwise I think it would have been even more amazing. I wanted some eggs. They only serve breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. I was like “huh?” Got a small salad, some bread, and a coffee to enjoy the view.

Wrapped up then started walking/hiking. I hope the pictures can do some amount of justice to these views, really breathtaking. The sun was shining so brightly, perfect breeze, had to take the jacket off as I was getting a bit warm. Got down at one point to check out the formations and shell life. I wanted to take a shell home, and then realized that the life inside wasn’t going to let go so easily! Had to walk carefully so as to not disturb/crush any of them.

Made my way back to Bondi Beach and hopped back in the Ubes to get back to the hostel and get ready. Turns out my driver, Simranjeet, is one day older than me! We chatted about family dynamics and being brown in Australia. Really nice guy!

Got back to the hostel, got cleaned up, and made my way out on the town for the afternoon. Was FIENDIN’ for some eggs at this point after all the exercises. Walked back to MO, they were closed. Went to a different spot, closed. And then again, another spot, closed. I was getting heated, literally, walking all over the place.

Found my way to Le Monde café, and this place was the world! I mean it had food, in particular poached eggs, so I was thrilled. Got a yogurt with granola and some berries, an iced green tea late, and then these truffle oil poached eggs. When all the food made it to the table, I was like ‘shoot man’, this is too much. But I ate it all, and it was fantastic.

Got done and made my way down to The Rocks, an area of Sydney across the ‘inlet’ from the opera house, probably a 20-25 minute walk from the opera house given the round-about nature of traversing to arrive.

Mike and Nikki Tennant (love to y’all!) had recommended checking out this artist, Graham Attwel, Atty. When I had visited M&N last fall they had adopted Ronald, a rather large Emu with a wonderful look on his face. The piece POPS. I had to peep the gallery.

I think in the back of my mind I knew I was getting something. Walked in, and this one piece of an elephant was so vibrant, that was it. Spoke with Jacinda and he called Atty a couple of times and we nailed down the details. Turns out I’m also getting #5 of 250 which wasn’t supposed to be sold, and rather, held onto to sell at a higher price. Sweet. Mom and Dad, Winston will be on his way soon unframed and rolled up nicely, be on the lookout!

Left the gallery and the sky was awash with the most radiant pinks and blues. Spoke to M&N who happened to be up at around 3AM their time prepping for a competition. With a little bit of buyers remorse, made my way to Grain, a rated cocktail bar around the corner. Ordered a rendition of an item on the menu. Buyers remorse gone.

Started making my way to The Gantry Restaurant, and realized that I was about 30 minutes late to my reservation. Walked in and, Pamela the hostess, said there wasn’t a problem and sat me down. There were two menu options, a la carte or the tasting menu.

Y’all know me.

Tasting menu it was.

Up until this meal, ParisButter had the best tasting menu. This meal was slightly better, due to ambience of the space, attention from servers, and the sommelier, Karolina from the Netherlands. She paired me this wonderfully balanced chardonnay to start, and then paired me with a Syrah blend for the main dishes. Pamela and I ended up chatting for a bit. We discussed race and racism in AUS compared to the USA, and experiences growing up. She told me that, here, they don’t have such strong racial delineations and categorizations. That’s slavery for you. She told me that she, her son, and her partner Daryl are moving to Fiji, and if I make it there next year, they’ll take me out and show me around. Also her son is 3 years old and meditates for 15 minutes a day! Incredible!

Ok…the menu and the dishes. The first two places were seafood based and scrumptious. The chacken was chackeny, though the saucy thing that came with it made it pop. The kangaroo was AMAZING, and it had some pigs blood with it, that combined with the radish and additional accoutrement really made the dish. THEN THE DESSERT! Ok so remember I’m not a sorbet guy? This club sorbet was DIVINE. So so good, and with beet sauce! Never thought that the two would vibe, but vibe they did. Then the last part was all types of rich, so much so that it was a little overwhelming. The ‘log’ of chocolate tasted like brownies, Twix, and all types of other chocolatey things. I was for real super full, though, if they halved the last plate I would have been set.

After dinner, Jacinda (from Atty’s shop) told me check out The Baxter Inn for a wide array of whiskey, bourbon, and cocktails. Left The Gantry, and after all that food, needed to walk. Got a litttttle sidetracked due to dead ends in getting there, but made it. You actually walk into one alley, they down another alley, and some shady stairs, into the bar.

What a vibe in here! Swanky little spot playing old school tunes from the 1960s. Ordered a rendition of a Manhattan that, was a little more bittersweet than originally thought. Also it packed a punch, and for a moment, wasn’t sitting right. Was talking to the bartender about recommendations for Melbourne and he gave me a couple of spots to check. AND, he gave me the drink for the price of on the house! Said that I was the most ‘rug’d’ (?) up person who has come in there, which I took to mean well dressed. Gave him my thanks and appreciation, and made my way back to the hostel. Got in, showered up, and went right to bed. What an amazingly wonderful, full day! So so lucky.