Sydney Travel Diary || Day One || Part 2

Previously on my Sydney Travel Diary, Day One.....

And I don't know why I read that line in my head with Vincent Keller's voice. *heart eyes* This just proves that I've been binge watching Beauty & the Beast too often and also have repeated the series way too many times.

Anyway, we went to Bondi Beach where they were having the show of Sculptures by the Sea. Apparently this exhibit happens once every year where different artistes (from all over Australia and other countries as well) showcase their work. So happens we were there in time to catch it right on the very last day too.

While the best friend was getting some work done, I took the opportunity to take as many pictures as possible. After all I probably won't be getting the chance to do so anytime soon or ever. So I must make the most of it when I can.

Plus Fina was nice enough to take super nice photos for me so it was major win.

I could definitely get used to living with a view like this.

And the weather is absolute love which makes leather jackets a staple in your everyday wardrobe.

That's kind of ironic because it is supposed to be Summer when we arrived at Sydney and a friend that stays there told me to bring lots of shorts + light clothing since it'll be hot. Rumor has it that the heat wave in the land down under is far worst than any that we've had to endure in KL so I went prepared.

But.... WHAT HEAT WAVE?! -.- The weather was cold and chilly almost everyday although there's sun most of the time which isn't something I am complaining about. Just.. you know, putting it out there.

Decided to stray off the path cause there was way too many people - and dogs that gave the best friend a mini anxiety attack every time one would walk by. Plus the views were just a million times better farther out which we had to indiana-jones our way over.

So this isn't a picture of a sculpture or anything artistic....

But I found it funny that these two guys climbed up to that little alcove to chill and one of them was happily playing a ukelele too. And he some more can smile when I took their picture. So cute.

Standing right in front of the Pacific Ocean. 

For this view and picture, it was worth the trek even in my shoes that was not at all designed for adventures like these. Aesthetic-wise it is perfect. Kinda like the wind in my hair... #Narcissism :3

While we were all just doing our own thing and me taking lots of selfies, I saw a something run past me out of the corner of my eye which made me jump. But when I turned around I didn't see anything except maybe the best friend panicking just a little bit and there was me laughing. (Sorry beb, love you long time tho) 

Turns out that the culprit was this golden retriever. It just bolted from behind us and headed straight down to the cool waters where it stayed there happily waddling about just enjoying its day.

That moment when a dog's life seems better than mine.

And then another pretty fairer Retriever joined the tanned on. At first I couldn't understand where they come from or where their owner was but then he appeared, walking along the rocks also.

When he got a little further he called for the dogs and they took a while before going after the owner. Especially the lighter blonde one that just continued sitting in the water stubbornly. Flip me it was so cute. I don't know why but most of the dogs I've seen are super well behaved whether they were on a leash or not. Most of the pooches walk without it.

After getting enough video contents and pictures, we ventured on to actually see and learn about some sculptures.

Which brings us to this little hilltop where there were plenty of..... Humans. Many of them walking about as they take pictures of the many different kinds of art. We are doing the same thing except the best friend is extra special, so we have a full camera crew with us and two guides.

We met up with a guide who explained what the entire event is about, which artist did what and the story behind each piece. Truth be told I kind of zoned out after a little while and just enjoyed the nice sea breeze plus the scenery.

The whole art thing is probably quite fascinating to a lot of people. But I'm just not one of those and do not find anything too interesting about it all, maybe because I don't quite understand most of it so my mind just wandered.

Except when it came to THIS. The art that the best friend is pointing at is possibly one of the creepiest thing I have ever seen up close.

Basically this is what's left of a tree bark that had burned from the inside out. Apparently this is quite normal during summer because it is so hot there then came along this artist that decides to take advantage of the dead tree.

Faces. Lots and lots of faces.

This looks like something right out of a horror movie. No jokes, I think this is what nightmares are made of and coming from a person like me, this shit is legit scary.

Finally we were all hungry and ready for something good to eat so Duglass led us to the restaurant which we'll be dining at which will be somewhere along Bondi beach. Also known as surfer paradise. (;

Usually I'd be internally screaming at the thought of walking more than two feet especially outdoors. But this time I didn't mind and the reasons are pretty obvious, pretty view & also amazing weather.

I mean look at this. Even though the sky was a little bit gloomy, I think it's perfect and couldn't take enough pictures to keep for myself.

Photography skills win. Actually not really. This is mostly nature and maybe little bit of photoshopping as well. :3

So the restaurant that we will be dining at is somewhere at the beach which you can't even see in this picture. Just imagine how far we walked that afternoon. Though, I actually didn't even notice until now. I was too busy taking pictures & enjoying the super nice weather.

Awkward hands to keep the hair from our face. When the wind is working against you instead. 

Another picture with the best friend as we made it up to the top of another hill and are a little over halfway closer to restaurant. I'm pretty sure at this point I was near starving but still took a moment to have a picture with Bo cause we don't have that many together.

Which is kinda weird thinking about it since I spend quite a lot of time with her hahah.

Then we found this little gem. It's kind of like a clubhouse where you can go, pay a small fee and use their facilities.

Look at that swimming pool that's right by the ocean. Just watching the waves crash against the structure was super therapeutic and makes me want to jump into the pool, stay there for the entire day just staring out at the clear blue waters. I don't even care if its too cold for that - fuck the cold.

WHY DO I NOT LIVE HERE. ;-;

The famous Bondi Beach.

And finally after walking for what felt like almost an eternity (big exaggeration right here), we reached the restaurant which we'll be dining at. At least there's a freaking gorgeous view or else I'd be grumpy the entire way.

North Bondi Fish; where seafood is their expertise and you get to dine next to an amazing view of the beach. What's not to like about that?

I quite like the interior of the restaurant. There's nothing overly fancy but yet pretty enough for me to imagine the Sex & the City girls dining there for their usual get together.

But of course we decided to sit outside where we can enjoy the nice view plus the cool weather. It isn't often we would get to say that we had an amazing dinner by Bondi Beach and plus, I know that I'd never choose to sit outside back in KL. So when in Sydney........ :)

Just a simple and straightforward menu with produce from sea and also land. Took everybody a while to decide on what to order but

We decided to order some cider to sip on while we wait for our food. This Cloudy Lobo Cider was pretty good cause it was more fruity than the other ciders I've tasted before. Plus I like the bottle and label.

This is my pretty best friend with the view as we buy time & wait for our food to arrive. Taking pictures helps to distract ourselves from our starvation.

Here's my make-believe candid shot which bo took quite a few of before getting the right one. And therein lies the elements of irony. No 'candid' shots are truly as we think but I guess the end results makes it worth it.

And then there's this when I was trying to fix my hair for another picture. Or at least that was the idea until our starters arrived and immediately my stomach took control.

Picture stolen from the best friend. :3

This was the lobster roll which the best friend ordered which comes with a side of chips. As in literal potato chips and not fries which we associate 'chips' to be. THIS LOOKS SO GOOD, but I didn't try it other than stealing a chip or two.

And then there was my freaking awesome slider with my face next to it cause why not. Am I at a blogger's level of vanity yet?

I got the Alaskan King Crab slider as a starter and hell it was amazing. The patty was deep fried to perfection and the meat inside was surprisingly still juicy. Both buns toasted with butter, hen topped with some aioli and a crunchy piece of lettuce.

This, I miss. The burger patty wasn't damn yums cause inside, the meat of the king crab was in chunks and damn juicy. I want ten more of this right now. ;-;

For my main dish, I got something from the land portion of the menu - lamb cutlets with chimichurri sauce. As expected this was also very yummy.

Then because I'm a carb-oholic on a holiday, french fries with aioli is a must and these were really damn good. Trust me when I say that eating fresh-out-of-the-fryer fries on a cold day by a picturesque beach is amazing beyond words.

We also got two different kinds of salad - there was an asparagus mix & another is I cannot remember what. Proves that I wasn't very interested in them because fries & lamb are the perfect combination. :3

Picture may or may not have been from the best friend. :3

This was linguine with bugmeat. That sounds quite weird but it's just a kind of prawn that the Aussies are quite used to eating & the best friend really wanted to try so this was her main. I tried some and liked how it tasted cause it's kinda lemony. Refreshing.

For our first dinner in Sydney it was amazing and then came time to make our way back to the hotel. Except Emily started talking about getting some ice cream which brings us to.... Dessert! 

As if it wasn't already cold that evening, we all went to get some Ben & Jerry's ice cream because why not.

While we only have Haagen Daaz & Baskin Robbins outlet stores, they one-up us by having the famed duo which I hear a lot about when watching US movies/tv shows. And the flavour that rings in my mind the moment B&J (*childish giggles* GEDDIT GEDDIT?) is mentioned is the popular chocolate chip & cookie dough.

Lo and behold, they had sooooooooo many other kinds of flavours there. All the nutty kinds or odd combinations for you to try until you find the one that you like the most. At first I was too full for dessert though I was actually really into the whole cookie dough ice cream idea, but I didn't get that.

Instead I got a single scoop of Berry Sorbet. And yes, that giant lump is ONE scoop which looks more like a double of what we'd get back in KL. In my head, this is 'healthier' cause its basically just fruits rather than cream and the sorbet is actually nice cause it's sour. 

I actually really like the sorbet but then it made me feel even colder than I already was. Plus it's way more than what I wanted since I was already quite full from our dinner and also hella sleepy. So I didn't finish it.

Bye bye Bondi Beach. 

And then proceeded to fall asleep like the fatty I am. I honestly was so tired after a sleepless night on the way to Sydney and then spending a whole day out. Usually I never sleep in car rides whether its a long or short on. But Bo and I zonked out completely. 

Actually it was quite funny cause she was still holding onto her sorbet when she fell asleep and accidentally spilled some on herself & my bag, then proceeded to freak out that lead to me waking up. Which made me panic also. But after all of that, it was back to our rooms to just sleep which took me like two seconds to knock out when it would usually taken me few hundred years to. No Atarax needed. 

And that was the end to my first day in Sydney. It was pretty eventful but there's even more in the next few days which will seriously surprise you since it certainly did surprise me. Bye!