tudi in sydney: to the mountains and the fish market

I took Tudi to the Blue Mountains where we did the touristy thing of taking pictures with the famous Three Sisters at Echo Point. We also went to find a few waterfalls only to be disappointed by the 'humongous' falls. Flower pot scones at the Wayzgoose Cafe in Leura were great as usual and the highlight of the trip up.

We also had a pig out session at the fish market where I overdid the sashimi thing to the extent I think I'll stay off them for a while. The half dozen oysters, on the contrary, weren't enough to go around because someone who claimed wouldn't touch the oysters ended up stealing 2 out of the lot!

tudi in sydney: at the beaches

Going to the beaches is a must for any itinerary for visitors to Sydney. I took Tudi to three different beaches on three separate days - Maroubra, Bondi and Manly. The lazy bug is still here... no writing, please see pictures below.

tudi in sydney: hunter valley gardens

One of the items on Tudi's itinerary in Sydney was to head up to Hunter Valley. Out of so many times I've been to the Hunter Region, this was my first visit to the Hunter Valley Gardens. My favourite was the Story Book Garden where we went up close and personal with some of my favourite characters like the Mad Hatter!

Again, I'm too lazy to write much so I'll just let the pictures do the talking. Next time you head to the Hunter, do set aside a few hours to explore the beautifully manicured gardens on top of your wine tasting tours if you haven't been there.

x'mas day

We had the honour of having my favourite Tudi, pretty Vanisha and princess Summer over on X'mas day.

Tudi was tasked to make Jamie Oliver's tuscan salad and it turned out to be the best homemade tuscan salad we've ever had.



Pawpaw was in charge of the main course. He swapped the stuffed turkey for a stuffed chicken and made his own signature stuffing that was heavenly. The chicken skin got torn in the stuffing process hence the poor bird looks naked below.



I made dessert - pavlova with freshly whipped cream and fresh strawberries on top served with homemade berry compote on the side. I have to admit I cheated by buying a ready made base instead of baking it from scratch after I saw how cheaply it was selling for in Coles.



An obligatory group photo with our colourful party hats from the X'mas bonbons. Check out how intensely Summer was looking into the camera!



Following the sumptuous dinner, we settled comfortably onto the couches with our wine glasses and miscellaneous snacks for a quiet DVD night.



A simple affair and yet full of smiles. I feel blessed.

adriano zumbo

I have never liked macarons until I tried the ones from Brunetti when I was last in Melbourne. I then checked around with my Sydneysider friends on where I should get my macaron fix back here and the unanimous recommendation was Adriano Zumbo.

Finally laid my hands on a box of Zumbo macarons and I must say I was pretty impressed by the range of exotic flavours available. However, I still declare Brunetti's macarons the better ones for their melt-in-the-mouth crusts.