Best of Mosman in four hours

Mosman is just one of those places that you wish you lived in. If you took a look at the Eastern suburbs trip I blogged about, then this is going to look just as nice. Located just north of the Sydney CBD, Mosman is home to some beautiful beaches and homes. Most of the homes there cost one million and above, due to the beautiful waterfront views and lovely surroundings. I decided that just because I did not live there, there was really nothing to prevent me from enjoying the scenery and have some good food at the same time. 

Mum and I got to the Sydney Harbour National Park at around 2:30pm. The weather looked optimistic and sunny, so I took some scenic shots. 

Unfortunately, by the time I got to The Esplanade, Balmoral at 4:00pm, the weather changed and it got quite cloudy. 

The poor weather only gave me an excuse to head indoors and treat my taste bugs and eyes to some deliciousness.

After finishing our drinks at Bather's Pavilion, I set my eyes on Public Dining Room, which was only about 700m away. I had been to Public Dining Room before and loved it, so it was only fair to go again just to be sure. Again, it did not disappoint. At 6:30pm, I found myself completely relaxed and wishing (for the millionth time) that I could enjoy this lifestyle and neighbourhood more often. 

Back to the East

Just returned from a three month trip to Asia. Visited family, did plenty of sightseeing, and tried a lot of interesting dishes. 


CHINA

ShangHai

My home town really has not changed as much as the rest of the world believes. For starters, the mentality of the people remains the same: competitive, eager to become rich and eager to come out on top. This mentality can be seen everywhere, from getting onto a bus to walking on the road, everywhere there is opportunity to compete when it comes to the Chinese. Picture an empty bus coming into the bus stop with six people queuing to get on. You will find that as soon as the bus gets within 5 metres of the queue, the middle age men and women will start shuffling towards the bus ready to get on while the bus is still moving. It seems almost as if these people were on the run, on the run from the horrible possibility of having to get on the bus last, on the run from the awful thought of not getting the best bus seat on an almost empty bus. I just did not get it. No matter how long I think about it I cannot bring myself to understand why they just HAVE to push and shove to get on an empty bus. It was only after a discussion with a local friend that I found out it was because all Chinese people are possessed by the subconscious or even conscious desire to stay at the front of the crowd for fear of being trampled upon by the rest of the 1.3 billion. I guess when you're in a stampede you just have to run with it.

When you take the people out of Shanghai, you're left with a beautiful city. It truly is beautiful. For once the stars are amongst us, you no longer have to raise your head and look into the universe, you just have to go to the top of the DongFangMingZhu Television Tower and look down from 300m. I only have one thing to say: You have to be in Shanghai to truly appreciate its beauty.

VIEW FROM ABOVE - LOOKING DOWN ON CHENGHUANG TEMPLE

VIEW FROM ABOVE - LOOKING ACROSS THE BUND TOWARDS PUDONG

XiTang

Once you have seen the beautiful city landscape in ShangHai, you get curious about what China was like before all the sky scrapers popped up. Mum and I wanted to see another side of China. We then went to XiTang, a small town about 2-3hours from ShangHai. Unlike other small towns neighbouring ShangHai, this town is still populated by locals not just shop owners. Therefore if you stay overnight in the town, you will still be able to see how locals get around their daily activities, e.g. washing clothes in the waterways. I stayed one night there in a local's home, and the night view was quite magical. However the most memorable thing about that town was the food. The dishes took me back to my childhood when I was in ShangHai, the taste was definitely authentic South East Chinese cuisine, and I cannot wait to go back again one day. 

THE HEART OF XITANG

CHILI ESCARGOT (You're not a true local unless you can finish a plate of this... I finished two)

Eastern beaches tour: Coogee Beach, Clovelly, Bondi Beach, Bronte

Belated post.



Last week my family, my boyfriend and I went to tour the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Mum used to work there and was reminiscing the good old times. She was curious about the change that had taken place since she moved on from her old work. For me, it was interesting to visit the place of all her work stories. Coincidentally I had not visited the eastern beaches for over a year now, therefore it was good to visit those places again.

Our first stop was Coogee. It was a really sunny day so the photos turned out great. I love the rock pools. I went there with my boyfriend before we started to date. It was summer, and we went for a swim in the natural rock pool and it was just one of the most fantastic experiences I have had at a beach. The waves would roll over the rocks and make the rocks shimmer. When it got hot you could just sit on a rock, lay back and get a nice tan. If you were lucky, every now and then a small wave would come and just barely wash over the rock you were laying on, giving you a nice break from the heat.

This time I took out my new camera and started snapping away instead. Being winter, I did not see anyone braving the cold to swim in the rock pool. However it was still fun climbing the rocks. The others went on to spy on little crabs and sea creatures hiding under rocks.

The rock pool (I like lying on the rock in the centre of the photograph)

Sitting in the sun, breathing fresh air and watching the waves roll in... what better way to spend a weekend.

View of Coogee beach from the rock pool

Mum on the edge of this continent

View of Clovelly from Coogee

Our next stop, Clovelly, was just as amazing. I went there to view the sunrise with my boyfriend when we first started dating. I remember vividly how we sat on the edge of a cliff watching the sky change from dark gray (it was a cloudy day unfortunately) to light grey and then finally revealing a small slip of ray as the sun passed the horizon. There was a car park next to the cliff, filled with cars belonging to those who traveled to see the beautiful view. This time as we were parked and sitting in the car having some snacks, a couple parked next to us with the back of their small ute/truck facing the ocean view. We watched as they got out with their lunch and sat on the back of the vehicle and laid back enjoying the sun and their meal. I thought to myself that their idea was ingenious.

When we finally left the car, we were all very excited by the sound of the crashing waves. As we approached the edge of the cliff, we could see splashes coming from the impact of the waves against the rocks. It was very beautiful. Walking around Clovelly and the small family friendly beach I began to appreciate the lifestyle that people enjoyed in Sydney. Nested in various areas around the beach there were orange semi-nude men and women in their swimwear, young parents pushing their baby in a pram, packs of tourists, young families enjoying a lunch at the beach or at the adjacent cafe, and fishermen perched on the edge of cliffs pulling in large breams. It was a lovely scene.

My brother settling into the Australian lifestyle

Beautiful view from the top of the cliff

Waves would come up through a hole in the rocks

Beautiful live sea snails

Next was the infamous Bondi Beach. We headed there when we realised that it was 1:30pm and we just really wanted to eat lunch. After explaining to mum that the best ribs in Sydney were found at Bondi Beach, we drove straight to Bondi Hurricanes and ordered 2 full lamb rack combos and 1 half lamb rack and half-chicken combo with a caesar salad. Let me just say, between the four of us we still had a full lamb rack leftover. It was so delicious but impossible to finish without making our stomachs explode. Great idea but I was enjoying the food so much that I forgot to take photos. Oops.

Our final stop was Bronte. I was not familiar with the name, but when I got there I realised that I had been to the place before... at 2am in the morning after a party. The place was so serene at night without a soul in sight last time, but this time it was filled with young families and young people. As I approached the beach I saw small children riding with their parents in a mini-train going round and round, laughing so happily. Brought back great childhood memories. When I walked up along the right side of the beach towards the top of the cliff, I passed a man-made aquamarine rock pool that looked so pretty against the turquoise sea, I made a mental note that I should come back and swim there in the summer.

The beach and the rocks

A seabird enjoying the view from its pedestool

My boyfriend looking effortlessly handsome ( I love this portrait of him, there's something about those rocks that capture him as a person)

I had so much fun that day. It made me realise that Australia has so much to offer, so much beauty that it was not necessary to travel far or spend too much money to witness true natural beauty.

xoxo

Z