A few holes

In the ceiling ...

Railing

And corflute board.

Rendering has begun

They have done most of the corridor outside my apartment, they are doing the section directly outside tomorrow. 

Balcony update 2

Foggy morning

Balcony update

Royal Botanic Gardens

We walked around twice and then stopped for rest, and these guys wandered by.

Albert St

A pub up in Brunswick. 

Brunswick bitter. 

Grilled Haloumi, zucchini pickle.


Salmon tartare.

Wacky and amazing wine waiter who turned out to be the sommilier. His name is Stuart Brookshaw.

Cavalier brown on Stuart;s recommendation.


‘Albondigas’ - Goat meatballs, yoghurt, preserved lemon

Quail saltimbocca, gnoccho fritto, marsala.

Mushroom pizza and a side of Green beans, red wine onions, almonds, goat curd.

‘Carmen Miranda’

Blueberry clafoutis, toasted almond milk ice cream with a glass of 2010 Mount Langi Cane Cut Riesling Grampians, Vic.

The Yarra

Flowing upside down as usual. 

Dinner at Longrain

Seared tuna

Barramundi green curry

Followed by black sticky rice for dessert. 

Dads shed.

The dark chest in the second photo is my grandfather watchmaking kit and the tools on the wall are hanging on a whole lot of hard drive magnets that I gave him.

Dads medal.

More breakfast at Spoon and Servery.

The next day of course.  ;)

Flat white. (yes, it's my favourite coffee style. )

Moroccon eggs. 

Apple porridge. 

Breakfast at Twenty & Six Espresso

Of course, straight into the food photos. 

Flat white. 

Omelette. 

Cassolet. 

Plane flight

Window seat. 

Sunrise. 

Clouds. 

Sun dog. 

RIP

John (Ian) Edward Murdoch.

16 April 1929 - 14 September 2012

"If there is another world, he lives in bliss. If there is none, he made the best of this." - Robert Burns

Japanese treats

Luigi came back from Japan with sweet potato (left) and chestnut
wagashi. (Sweets)

Pedals

I needed new pedals after the old one fell out. I tried pedals with clips but they were too narrow, so I upgraded to cleats. 

Renovation update.

Waterproofing the balcony. 

Concrete poured. 

Rome photos update

Days one to five here.

Tourist post

Some tourist ideas for San Francisco.

I wrote an email to some friends who are visiting and thought that I'd make a blog post of it so I have it for future reference.

Ride a cable car.  They also have a museum.

Cruise on the bay, apparently this one is good.

Lombard st is worth a look.  And if you want to drive down Lombard st, the best way is to drive north along Hyde St and turn right as most of the traffic comes straight along Lombard st and there can be a three block queue. Map

Golden Gate park, and this one. And a map.   They also have buffalo !!

The Golden Gate Park also has the California Academy of Sciences in the middle and is definitely worth a look just for the butterfly house and aquarium.

Golden Gate bridge.

I'd recommend hiring bikes and riding across it to Sausilito.

I've heard very good things about The Exploratorium.

I've heard Alcatraz is a bit too touristy with not a whole lot on offer, but I haven't been personally. No idea if these guys are any good.

If you want seriously touristy, head for Pier 39 and all along the foreshore to the chocolate house at Ghirardelli.

I'd stop and have a look at the SS Jeremiah O'Brien on Fisherman's Wharf, but that's only because I'm an engineer and like ships. ;)

Also near Union Square which has a lot of the major shopping places, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Macy's, Louis Vuitton etc.

Are you thinking of hiring a car ?

A nearby place to see California's redwood trees is Muir Woods, named after John Muir, who convinced Theodore Roosevelt to create the National Parks. Map.

I can also recommend Marin headlands, which is just across the Golden Gate and has lots of interesting forts and a 1950's Nike missile site.  Map.

I'd also recommend a drive up to Mount Tamalpais, if the weather is clear. It offers awesome views of San Francisco and the Bay area.

Balcony

My new balcony.