Blue Cockatoo Traveller

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Stonehurst Cedar Creek, Wollombi Valley Wine Trail, Grape Picking

Grape picking at Stonehurst Cedar Creek, Wollombi.

Lending a hand with the picking was fun on Sunday, gorgeous day and happy times with the Heslop family. Shiraz next ...

Friday, February 15, 2013

Updating Stratford & West Midlands App

Checking prices and news for 2013 for an app update ... tell me your news you Stratfordians/West Midlanders I haven't contacted yet! Thanks Sadie at The Fleece, Bretforton, for the asparagus festival image.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Love shopping at Heathrow.

Love shopping at Heathrow Terminal 3 and finding something for £12 in the Zara sale. Makes a change from gazing into the hallowed halls of the designers with costs equal to another flight. Nice things, though.

Celebrating Chinese New Year Early ...

... with a brown snake in the house under the fridge. Hope it's a good omen!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Five Star Service: Singapore Airlines & Enterprise Car Rental

Fantastic service from Singapore Airlines at Heathrow last week. Thanks to the team on the desk (especially Miriam), a problem was solved without any fuss and Enterprise Car Rental made it a pleasant experience to hire a car at short notice. I'll be using your services again.

My flight back to Sydney with Singapore Airlines was great – Changi is an easy airport.

Fantastic, thank you all.
www.singaporeair.com
www.enterprise.com

Monday, November 12, 2012

Meet you for lunch: The Dining Room, Park Hyatt Sydney

The Dining Room, Park Hyatt Sydney.

Having lunch at the new look Park Hyatt Sydney reminded me how much I love this location! The waterfront restaurant has become The Dining Room and you can enjoy Chef Andrew McKee's seasonal Australian lunch menu with a choice of one ($39), two ($59) or three ($69) courses with a glass of selected wine Monday to Friday.

A dish of cow's milk burrata with heirloom tomato and apple balsamic hits the spot as do crispy balls of potted Alaskan King Crab. Goat cheese gnocchi and a delicious truffle mushroom risotto leave little room for dessert which in my case would have been the hazelnut dacquoise, milk chocolate ganache and milk ice cream. (A dacquoise is a layered dessert cake of almond and hazelnut meringue with whipped cream ... so I'm just hoping it's on the menu next time.)

The Living Room and The Bar also echo the lifestyle feel of the new-look Park Hyatt and an inspection of the stunning premium Sydney Suite leaves us longing for an opportunity to be able to experience the incredible views for longer than just a ten minute look-see.
http://www.diningroom.com.au/diningroom/menus-en.html
http://sydney.park.hyatt.com

The Dining Room at dusk, Park Hyatt Sydney.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Hunter Valley Uncorked at Balmoral

The laid-back Sunday crowds were out in force as the Hunter Valley brought its wines to Sydney against the stunning backdrop of Balmoral Beach last Sunday. The day was perfect for a picnic and the chance to meet the winemakers and their teams and sample trophy and gold medal wines, iconic Hunter Semillons, new release whites, Hunter Valley Shiraz as well as chilled bubbles and rose. The Hunter Valley's Andy Allen, aka Masterchef 2012, was a special guest preparing seafood to complement Hunter Valley Semillon and beef to pair with Hunter Valley Shiraz.

Three-piece band Mimesis took centre stage on the iconic bandstand, delivering sounds that really suited the day and the tastes of the Hunter were a reminder of how good it is to spend a weekend away just a two-hour drive from Sydney!