This morning was spent with bated excitement as we waited for Pamela to arrive. We breakfasted in the hotel, which has a lovely assortment of cereals, fruits, smoked salmon, breads, and pastries. Then we headed over towards the Circular Quay (pronounced “key”), which we can actually see from our room, to meet Pamela’s ferry. We were early so we took some of the standard tourist pictures in front of the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Pamela told us the ferry would arrive at Wharf 5, which we were dutifully standing in front of at 11:06 sharp. But we were surprised when a voice from the side called out to us, as her ferry had at the last moment docked at Wharf 4.
It was so good to see Pamela again! Dad was lucky enough to see her a few years ago in New England, but it had been a very long time since I’d seen her!
We dropped her bag off in our room (hers wouldn’t be ready until after lunch) and went on a walk towards the Opera House. Pamela pointed out some of the more interesting sights while we walked. We went up to the steps of the Opera House, and then wandered through a charming public park (surrounding the Governor's house) and chatted.
We angled back toward our hotel and had lunch at a little outdoor café by the Museum of Sydney. After a delightful lunch whose highlight was sourdough rolls with oil/balsamic and a crumbly nutty substance known as “dukkah” (made of crushed hazel nuts and a plethora of other nuts and seeds) we strolled back to the hotel, where we parted company for afternoon naps.
We met Pamela in the lobby at 5:30 and headed over to Bécasse for dinner. The restaurant was located in an upscale mall ad was very small (only 24 seats we found out later). You got to it by passing through a wrought iron door threaded with ivy and then walking down an exceedingly long hallway decorated with trees whose seasons changed as you approached the “main” seating area.
I thought the restaurants decorations were very nice, if a little unconventional. The service was very friendly (all Australians are known for being friendly) and very professional. Dad and Pamela did the wine pairing, which was excellent.
There was a bit of discussion about which menu (5 course de gustation, 9 course de gustation, or 3 course a la carte) we were going to have. Three guesses which one Dad wanted... Pamela wasn’t sure she could handle 9 courses, but Dad convinced her she didn’t have to eat all of them if she didn’t want to.
That settled we sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed a very pleasant evening. Dad and I felt the food wasn’t entirely up to snuff for a restaurant that was so clearly high end and knew what it was doing. We felt like while we had many excellent individual items none of the dishes combined to be more than the sum of its parts. This might be due to the fact that the restaurant has recently moved locations and has only been in the Westfield mall for a few months.
However, the company at dinner was excellent.
Many hours later we strolled home, enjoying the cool night air.
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