And now I can add to the list the best toast I've ever had. Thick cut Quinoa seed toast at the Quantas lounge, Sydney Airport. Did you know they have a full service restaurant in the Quantas lounge? It's amazing. They take your order and bring it out piping hot before you can finish perusing the front page of USA Today. It's awesome!
But I'm getting ahead of myself here. The toast was my last delicious token of our trip to Australia.
I still had a few days to go. After Barossa we returned to Sydney. Russell had to fly to Melbourne for a meeting. He left me to fend for myself at the Shangri-la Hotel. It wasn't hard. Our room had a great view of Sydney Harbor and a couple good restaurants, not to mention room service, so I was set.
View from our room at the Shangri-la.
The first afternoon back we went to one of Russell's business associate's house for a BBQ. His name is Charles. He's from New Zealand and he is fabulously disheveled and funny in a oh-so-charming way. His lovely wife, Sara, was still at her Bondi Beach life guarding job for the first part of the evening, so Charles was hosting dinner by himself. They have three tow-headed, adorably chimerical kids and it was heartwarming to watch Charles juggle filling wine glasses, cooking the lamb, and ensuring the kid's movie didn't run out before dinner was served. We had a great time thanks to his and Sara's warm hospitality.
Charles' tenant - Mr. Lizard.
This guy was huge!
After our lovely supper, Charles walked us down to Bondi Beach to catch a cab. We saw this wanted sign for a Punk Singer and were tempted.
Russell would look great in a mohawk!
The next day Russell left for Melbourne. I had the day to myself. So I ran to the Sydney Opera House and around the Botanical Gardens. It reminded me of the first time we came to Australia for the 2000 Olympics. That time we were guests of NBC and stayed on a cruise ship docked in Darling Harbor. The area wasn't quite as built up as it is now. Every morning I would get up and run to the Opera House and through the Botanical Gardens. Running to iconic locations is one of my hobbies. Like running to the Eiffel Tower while in Paris.
The Botanical Gardens were as awesome as I remember - the cockatoos, the bats, the surrealistic views of the Opera House and bridge. Makes you feel like you're in a dream. The only thing missing were the giant toads. Instead, I discovered the slimy, nefarious eels. There were lots of them in the Botanical Garden ponds. Lurking in the shallows trying to eat the ducklings. Ewww. Scary.
I love this place and it's free!
Menage a' cockatoo
Odd looking bird.
Hopefully he eats eels.
Surrealistic view of the Opera House.
These are not seed pods.
They're bats.
So cool.
After the Botanical Garden, I went to the New South Wales Museum of Art. They were having a wildly advertised Picasso exhibit. Call me CRAZY, but I don't care for Picasso. So I went to the pre-1900s art section instead. I like that better anyway, especially the realistic or romantic paintings from olden times. I love the exquisite details: the blush in the seemingly translucent cheeks of the portraits, the folds of silk in the curtains, table cloths and costumes. Some are so real you can practically feel the luxurious silk between your fingers.
I spent about an hour admiring each of the old pieces and then I came across an especially arresting work. It literally brought tears to my eyes. It was a painting of a deceased knight, in full armor, laid out on a table with an elaborate cloth. But the part that took my breath away, was the loyal dog, forlornly leaning against the table, mourning his master. It's amazing. I even went online afterwards to look up more works by the painter Briton Riviere. The painting is called Requiescat (1888).
I love the realistic way the dog is sitting.
Russell and I spent our last night in Sydney the way it began, eating and drinking. We had dinner at the Shangri-la's gourmet restaurant called Altitude. As you can imagine from the name it has an awesome view and the food is good too.
Altitude Restaurant overlooking Sydney Harbor
The view from the bar doesn't suck either.
After dinner we walked along the quay. The weather was perfect. We snuck into the Opera House and admired the architecture. Interestingly, it's much nicer on the outside than the inside.
Walking along the quay.
Amazing architecture.
Cindy told us to make sure we got to the airport early the next day for our flight back to Tokyo. But not because she was concerned we would miss our flight, the Sydney airport is quite efficient. No, she wanted to make sure we took advantage of the Quantas lounge. It was the best advice we got all trip. Hence, the best toast of my life.
It was a fitting end to a great vacation in Australia.
The architecture in the lounge is pretty cool too.
Now that's nice.
Russell's egg benedict.
I get half.
Thee toast. No sharing this.
I'm salivating just looking at it.
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