Australia Day 9 (and back to Sydney!)

PeeWee's at the Point

I had read that Pee Wee's had the best view in Darwin, with food and service to match (they don't seem to understand that the name Pee Wee's does nothing for it, moniker alone!) So Jay and I booked reservations for Tuesday night. The view was true to promise: gorgeous. Our 6pm reservations ensured we'd see the sun setting. The food was delicious: We started with Garlic and Herb flatbread with a to-die-for tomato chutney. My "main" was: sesame crusted Barramundi filet served with ginger and sweet onion sauce, bok choy, and coconut scented jasmine rice with a tamarind kaffir lime dressing.

The only thing that marred the experience was overhearing our waiter lamenting that we weren't drinking, or drinking by the bottle or anything like that. That really ticked me off. I don't drink, and Jay's not going to drink 6 glasses of wine by himself, so there was no need to order a bottle of wine. The waiter's attentiveness fell off dramatically. I felt like telling that him"I wish I could be sorry that my lifestyle choice does nothing to pad your wallet, but I'm not." He did, however, lose the glass of port Jay was planning to order at the end of the meal. At any rate, the food was good and the view was good, and it was a great value.

Day 10 --Back to Sydney

As relaxing and enriching as Darwin was, I was SO stoked to be returning to Sydney for two more days. Sydney has just captured my heart.

Our flight to Sydney from Darwin was at 1:30am, with arrival at 6:05am, a true red-eye. (I did not sleep well on the plane). (There was a dense fog over the city, the most inclement weather we’ve had in Sydney, but it soon lifted). We took the train this time into the city (bought a one day trains/ferries pass at the airport to use all over Sydney), this time landing back in Circular Quay for our last hotel stay. The staff remembered from our booking that we were on our honeymoon and wanted a great room, so we got an Opera House view! These are the views I have while typing this blog entry:

Our mission for our last days in Sydney was to truly ABSORB. Not to necessarily cram sights in, but to revisit our favorites, to relax and watch, to sit and see what makes Sydney so beautiful and memorable. First, we took the ferry to Neutral Bay, to really see the suburbs of Sydney. This ‘burb had special meaning because it’s where Jay stayed with his aunt and uncle for 6 weeks in 2000, his previous visit to Sydney. It was cool not only see the older houses and iron work in the neighborhoods, but also walk to suburban streets with shops and small cafes. Truly a different side of Sydney. We then took the bus to Balmoral Beach at Mosman Bay—another true “locals” haunt. Less brisk of a lifestyle. Beautiful beach and park, lots of families and joggers (there was a huge group of church kids doing a scavenger hunt). There was a neat stone bridge “across” the tide and onto a grassy park overlooking the bay and in sight of Northhead, one of the cliffs. Had a quick lunch (mango chicken wrap for me, caesar salad for Jay) at Café Balmoral. Not very filling, but delicious nonetheless.

We then visited Chinatown, and walked to revisit Darling Harbour, one of my favorite Sydney spots. So many cool things to do and see. We visited the DH Galleria, and in particular, the Sydney Art Gallery where Jay and I fell in love with a painting of Bondi Beach. Now, it doesn’t take much for Jay to fall in love with a painting—Art is his background after all—but even with my artistic interests and craft-based background, I’m not as moved by art, nor as appreciative of, as he is. However, this unusual painting, with the ocean depicted in a fierce, almost “eye of the hurricane” shape was astounding. It encompassed much of what we love in art and life: the color blue, the ocean, inventiveness, abstractness. It was 36x48, and a once-in-a-lifetime, one-of-a-kind original painting (not print) – and about $3000 American dollars. Honestly, it was a good value to people who can afford to collect art, but not to broke newlyweds like us J We hope that one day prints may become available (we have the artist’s name), but for now, the painting will forever be etched in our minds.

By the time we exited the mall, it was dark and the city lights were alive with color. Sydney is just stunning at night, with the colors on the water.

We didn’t want to spend a lot on dinner, but we were craving Italian, so we asked the concierge for recommendations. For pizza, he recommend Zia Pina (in “The Rocks” area). He did NOT steer us wrong. It was an absolute GEM of a tiny, rustic pizzeria, crammed full of patrons, with some of the best pizza Jay and I have ever had. We ordered a large garlic, cheese, and tomato sauce pizza. So full of flavor and very garlicky! Apparently, the place is famous not only with locals, but celebrities as well: Pictures of Jacqueline Bisset, Aerosmith, Joe Montana, Martina Hingis, Steffi Graf, Jon Tesh, and various famous Aussie rugby, tennis, and cricket players all lined the modest walls. An absolutely delicious way to end our night.

I will be writing the Day 11, the finale night in Sydney, recap tonight and likely posting when we return home. Very tired, and we have to get up early tomorrow (it's 9:50pm here in Sydney) for our flight to Los Angeles.