Gina and cute little Beth picked us up from the airport and our first stop was to the Adriano Zumbo shop. We watched his show on SBS when it was on, and said we'd always like to go there and try some of his treats when we visited Sydney. We were hoping to try his famous V8 cake but had no such luck, but tried every single macaroon and a few different cakes.
That evening we stayed with Gina and Damien, and Chrish came around for a barbeque with us. He travelled far out of his neighbourhood, so it was nice that we were able to catch up. The rest of the time with Gina, Damien and Beth consisted of shopping at Miranda, visiting Cronulla Beach and eating lots and lots at a Brazillian Barbeque place. I think we must of got our iron intake for a month there. There were lots of different marinated meats to try. It was all very tasty and we were glad that Gina and Damien introduced us to it.
Beth is just the cutest baby, she was a but unsure of Uncle Alex looking a bit rugged with his beard, but then warmed to him by the end of the weekend. Probably after he shaved the beard for church did she become more comfortable! She is such a GOOD baby too. We got to meet her when she was less than a month old, and now she is such a happy little person.
A lovely lunch was had before we left Gina and Damien's.
The last time we were in Sydney was over 5 and a half years ago, so we did lots of reminicing while we were there, as it was where Alex served his mission, and where we were married and spent a bit of our honeymoon. We have lots of fond memories of spending a christmas up there when I was pregnant with Maddi. It was good to just see Gina and Damien's new place, and spend time getting to know Beth.
In the afternoon we caught the train into the city. Our hotel wasn't far away from Circular Quay, so it made was very convenient to catch the train in. We did lots of sightseeing through the city and then finished our walk through the Botanical Gardens. It was so lovely and peaceful there, so different to the city. There were several weddings going on.
We walked around the Opera House and then went to Aria Restaraunt for tea. The views were spectacular as it faced the bridge. The service was great and so was the food. I liked that they gave us several free tastings, so we didn't leave hungry at all. My dessert was the brandy snap mille feuille with caramelised bananas, hazelnuts and salted caramel sauce. I love caramel and bananas.
The view from the hotel pool room.
Our breakfast at the Guylian shop.
The next day was a gorgeous day- Nice and warm. It was hard to head home, but nice to see the kids again. We kept saying the kids would love to do this and that while we were there, but it was nice that it was just us on the trip, and we were able to take time together over a meal or two or three!
