City 2 Surf 2014

The City 2 Surf has been on my bucket list and one of my Lululemon BHAGs (big hairy audacious goal) for a few years now. The 14km run from Sydney CBD to the iconic Bondi Beach is one of the most popular running events in Sydney, attracting thousands of people from elite runners to walkers with prams. For me, I wanted to run the whole distance including the infamous heartbreak hill, midway through the race.

2014 was my year to tick this off my bucket list. I'd stated seriously running since about September last year and coaxed the hubby into running alongside me, even though he's a faster/more experienced runner than me. (He's running the marathon in September).

Before September last year I didn't run at all. I refused to run, hated running and couldn't run more than 500m without getting out of breath. But everyone starts somewhere. So I started 3km laps: running as far as I could, then walking until I got my breath back, then continued running then walking. After a couple of weeks of this it got easier and the walking reduced until I was running 3km without stopping. After this, I started to increase my running pace and also slowly increased my distance gradually.

My view of running has done a complete 180. I enjoy it now, feel refreshed and get a good buzz from running. I was quite nervous last night about today's race, as the longest distance I'd ever ran was only 8km and I didn't do a lot of training in the weeks prior due to honeymoon and all other excuses I can pull out of the bag. Running 14km was going to be hard, and especially with all the hills, I was a bit unsure if I'd make it to the end or not. Plus I had 2 days off work sick due to a throat infection. But in true Bateman style, I didn't give up, kept my word about running all the way and made it past the finish line in under the time I had hoped for!

Garry was great company and also a great motivation, even if I did get annoyed at him during the race a couple of times. Only because I was jealous of how easy he found it and how comfortable he looked, while I was breathing heavily, couldn't talk and had a major stitch... Blah blah blah (insert poor excuse here) hahaha. It was great fun running with him, having him there to keep me company and keep my pace up. We started together and finished together :) can't wait to see the finish photos :)

My brother Rave was also a good sport and encouragement - finishing the race just shy of 60 minutes, he then stood road side to cheer us on as we entered the downhill stretch into Bondi Beach.

So I finally did it! I made it, 14km later, with a time of 1:25:25 according to Gaffa's Garmin watch. We were both busting for a toilet while we were waiting to start, but since we were right up the front in the Blue pack, we couldn't get to the porta-loos. So once we set off past the starting line, we stopped at the first available toilets just past the tunnel. Gaffa stopped his watch while we went to the toilet and restarted it afterwards. Our City2Surf recorded time was 1:27:31. Either way, it was under 90 minutes which is what I had hoped for, and will secure us a place in the green pack for next year's race if we decide to run.

My feet and legs are a bit sore but that was expected. It was well worth it, mission accomplished. Thrn we finished off with a yummy brunch at Henleys Wholefoods in Bondi Junction.

Now time to plan the next 6 weeks training for the Blackmore's 9km run across the Habour Bridge on 21 September which my awesome SIL has decided to run with me :) yay. And then training hopefully for Huski Sprint Triathlon in Feb 2015.... :) bring it on!!!

Altitude Degustation

So much has been happening in the last couple of months, so sorry about the lack of posts.  But hopefully you've been enjoying Gaffa's blog posts about his Fat to Fit Journey.

I have to back track to February, but to a very special dinner Gaffa and I had at the Shangri-La Hotel in the Rocks. They have a bar and restaurant on level 36 with amazing cocktails and views to match in the fine dining restaurant Altitude.

I booked a table for 9.30pm on 15th February, yes the day after Valentine's Day because it was the day Gaffa received his de-facto visa many years ago and because Valentine's Day is always so busy! We opted for the Epicurious degustation which is an 8 course degustation menu for $150 ($215 with matching wines). AND it's gluten free!

We arrived early all dressed up and decided to have a cocktail at the bar. Sadly all the seats with harbour views were taken. Finally 9.30pm arrived and we were seated at a rather wide table (so far across from each other!) with views of the harbour night sky.

We decided to order a bottle of wine to celebrate and were recommended a lovely red wine that we thoroughly enjoyed. It ended up being the same price as having the matching wines. But at least with 1 full bottle we knew we liked it and could enjoy and savour its taste.

The night started off with an array of breads. We were also given a couple of complimentary fresh oysters to begin. They were nice but has the 'sea' taste that I don't particularly enjoy.

I'll keep this post short and let the photos do the talking. The food was delicious. My favourite dish was the swordfish. We also received complimentary glasses of bubbly as a sorry from the restaurant for taking so long to bring out the dishes. But we didn't even notice they were busy... the cheese plate incurs an extra $15 ontop of the $150. The dishes look small but by the end of the degustation you'll be pretty satisfied!

Before the main courses came out there was an unexpected fireworks show. It was a nice touch to our special night. We ended up being one of the last tables to leave at around midnight.

Our waiter was very nice and even went out of his way to find out some info for us. During our previous visit to the bar we noticed there was a cocktail on the list for $10k which included a diamond. We assumed this was for all those men who wanted to propose. But what was really included in this $10k package? Well the $10k diamond cocktail means that you can use $10k to cover the ring, dinner, drinks and room stay. And we were told that they get at least 1 proposal every week at Altitude! So any guys reading this who are stuck on a proposal location, check out Altitude...

I highly recommend the degustation menu. Food is prepared well, service is top notch, and the price is fairly competitive compared to other degustations at other fine dining restaurants around Sydney. Plus the views are amazing! Gaffa and I had a great night :)

Foneymoon in Byron Bay

Yep, that's not a typo. Foneymoon, as in a honeymoon with your family. It could of been funnymoon as in haha funny, but there was nothing to laugh about spending your first week as husband and wife with your in laws as well. Others were maybe laughing, but we were just happy to spend the relaxing time with them since they had travelled so far to see us.

The morning after the wedding Gaffa and I enjoyed our buffet breakfast at the Sofitel. Even after a yummy 4 course reception lunch at Limani's followed by an 8+ course chinese banquet for dinner, we were still able to fit in breakfast. Who can resist real honey, french toast, gluten free options, fresh fruit and juice.... mmm...

Anyway, The Spot was kind enough to drop us off at the airport and we arrived in Ballina to collect our rental car for the week.

We hired a holiday house from stayz.com.au just outside of the main Byron Bay town, at a cute little village called Suffolk Park. The beach was a short walk across the road and through the trees, and the house had a pool, bbq area and even better: Gaffa and I got the master bedroom complete with ensuite and rain shower :)

The week was spent lazing around at the local beaches, exploring the main town, getting massages, enjoying the local organic and gluten free foods, bbq dinners, a kayak trip to find dolphins, a trip to Crystal Castle, and watching the sun rise at the lighthouse.

The best places that I recommend in Byron Bay are:

Top Shop. This place has delicious burgers and coffee. Yep, I drank their coffee and enjoyed it! (It was a mocha though). Their breakfast burgers and lunch burgers are great. They have quinoa and gluten free buns as well.

Bay Leaf. Nice place for brunch and coffee too. Gaffa preferred the coffee here to Top Shop.

Naked Treaties. Across the road from Bay Leaf,  this organic, gluten free, sugar free, vegan cafe sells raw treats that are just so moreish. Yum yum. We went there almost every day. Fresh coconuts and a slice of cake to end the day: bliss!

Massage: there are a lot of massage therapists in Byron and we drove around to find a nice one that was available, but some were closed, relocating or busy. We found one upstairs from Surf Dive & Ski. (Sorry can't remember the name). It was quite good and they did a special deal for 2 people,  so we went back again the next day.  Normally I don't like massages because they tickle or hurt. But the lady went gentle on me and it was quite relaxing,  so much I fell sleep both times.

Crystal Castle.  Only a 40 minute drive from Byron Bay,  it's well worth the visit. Filled with beautiful gardens, peaceful surroundings to meditate and reflect and pretty crystals to chanel your inner self.

Lighthouse. Byron Bay is the most easterly point of Australia,  so you can be the first person to see the sun rise over uninterrupted views of the vast ocean. Get there early because the car park does fill up and it is a bit of a walk. We brought some breakfast with us and watched the sun rise from the park bench. It was beautiful!

Any of the beaches in Byron are good. A beach is a beach to me. As long as it's not overcrowded and has nice sand to sunbake on. Obviously during summer the main beach car parks were packed and hard to find parking. But there's a whole coastline of white sand to explore, some great for surfers and others with calmer waters.

Gaffa, his cousin and I decided to spend one morning kayaking and dolphin watching. It was great to get out onto the water and do something different. Unfortunately we didn't see any dolphins but it was still good. We stopped off at small beach mid way and Gaffa and I capsized the kayak riding it in. Oopsies. But we had tim tams to make us feel better. They do let you go out again if you don't see dolphins the first time. Gaffa's cousin went again and was third time lucky at seeing them. 

I would definitely go to Byron Bay again. There are loads of running/walking tracks around the coast that we wanted to explore but didn't have time to and markets as well. It's a really chilled out place, great to get a way from it all, relax, learn to surf, enjoy some organic food. The flights to Ballina are relatively inexpensive. I think we only paid $79 per person one way. We were thinking of driving up but we didnt have enough time. But there will definitely be a next time :)

Until then,, peace out bro!

24 Hours in Jervis Bay

As most of you know, Gaffa is down in Jervis Bay completing his Officer training with the Royal Australian Navy. He spent a week down at HMAS Cerberus (where he'll be spending about 5 months next year doing his Engineering training course), but this time he was doing small arms training down there.

On Saturday morning Flinders Division hopped onto a bus and drove all the way back from Crib Point back to Jervis Bay - a 10.5 hour journey with stops every 2 hours. I booked a last minute motel room at the Huskinsson Beach Motel ($160 for the night, with a queen and single bed in the room), which is very close to the main strip of shops in Huskie.

I left Sydney at about 2pm and ended up arriving at the motel at about 5.30pm - a longer drive than normal due to the Sydney traffic in the Sutherland area. The sun was still up so I decided to go for a short walk to explore the area. It was a bit windy out and I'd only brought a light cardigan, so I didn't stay out for long.

Back in the motel room, I amused myself by painting my nails purple - for the prelim finals of the NRL, Storm vs Knights game that night, and watched the pre-match entertainment and the first half hour of the game on TV.

Gaffa finally arrived, in his chinos, collared long sleeve shirt and smart brown shoes, while I was wearing my jeans, Storm jersey, cardigan and purple Tigers. Gaffa decided to take me to the fanciest restaurant in Huskinsson - Wild Ginger, a South-East Asian restaurant and wine bar. Man did I feel under-dressed!

We ordered two mains to share and some rice. There are only 4 mains on the a la carte menu so it was not a tough choice. Gaffa previously dined at Wild Ginger with a few of his Navy friends, and larger groups are required to have the banquet - which I've been told are really good too. We decided on the light yellow curry of snapper with thai pea eggplant, oyster mushrooms, coconut cream and sweet basil. Our second dish was the 3 hour braised beef cheeks with a southern style green curry + holy basil and snake beans. The mains came out quite quickly, considering the restaurant was pretty full.

The beef cheeks green curry was my favourite, not overly spicy but had a nice curry taste. The yellow curry came with a very large piece of snapper, well worth the higher than average price that you'd pay for a Thai main. The rice was needed as both curries had a lot of sauce. We decided to skip on dessert as we had raw treats waiting for us back at the motel. We made it back to the room just in time for the end of the game. Unfortunately the Knights won :(

The next morning we woke up early, finished off the raw cheesecake and checked out of the motel. We decided to go for a walk along Huskinsson beach first before heading to Kiosk for brunch. At Kiosk we managed to get a table out front in the sun, and it was a glorious day for brunch! Gaffa ordered a coffee and I had a juice, and we both ordered the Coyote breakfast with corn fritters, bacon, black beans, avocado and a poached egg. Yuuuum!

After brunch we went for a walk around the shops on the main street. It's your typical small beach town; with a book shop, small clothing stores, milk bars, take away shops, and whale and dolphin cruise outlets. Gaffa showed me the gluten-free ice cream store that he was waiting for me to try it with him. Strong self control there H2B, considering ice cream is his kryptonite!

Next we decided to drive from Huskie to Hyam's Beach, which Jervis Bay is best known for. The long stretch of white sand with crystal clear blue water, sheltered by the bay so it has small waves. A perfect place to relax and chill out. Instead,  Gaffa and I walked from the main entrance to Hyam's Beach to the edge of the Navy base. Civilians aren't allowed onto the base via the beach access, and this is one of the many jobs that the officers in training have - to patrol the beach for unwanted backpackers :P

We spent the best part of the afternoon walking along the sand, dipping our feet in the water and chatting about everything. We even managed to get a full length photo of the two of us, plus the usual selfies.

By the time we got back to the car we were feeling peckish - it was time for ice cream. We drove back to Huskie and got a scoop of gluten free ice cream,  Gaffa went for a cone, which I'm not sure was gluten free... we walked along the water's edge while enjoying our "healthy" snack. Caramelised fig btw - YUM!

Gaffa wanted to show me around Creswell next, so we hoped back into the car and headed to Gaffa's home away from home. Getting me a visitors pass was quite easy and soon enough we were driving along on base watching the kangaroos basking in the afternoon sun.

We parked the car and Gaffa "pegged in" so that people knew he was on base, in case of any emergencies. We walked around and Gaffa showed me where he eats, sleeps,  marches, takes classes,  does EMA (early morning activity) and where he relaxes and plays darts. It was pretty cool to see all this as it really made all the stories Gaffa tells me seem more exciting and real.

It was almost time to head home. But before we went our separate ways we had an early dinner at the Huskie Pub. A gluten free pizza and clam chowder to share.

Driving back was only a 2.5hr journey. Not the easiest drive at night along the winding roads around Nowra and Berry and oncoming head lights; but I made it back in good time, safe and sound.

Jervis Bay is a beautiful place, one of Australia's hidden gems on the south east coast. Definitely a place I'd recommend taking a short trip to in summer.

Vivid Sydney

Every year when the weather starts to get cold, Sydney decides to put on a show of lights, music and ideas called Vivid. This year it runs from 24 May until 10 June. The city near the harbour lights up from 6pm onwards into a spectacular array of colours,  providing a great night out; just remember to wrap up because it's chilly outside!

Gaffa and I went to Vivid many years ago when we first got together, and again this year. The highlight for me at Vivid is seeing the Opera House projected with beautiful lights on its sails. The classic Sydney icon is transferred from its basic white facade into beautiful,  bright designs, worthy of numerous photo snaps.

Here are a few of my photos from the night. 

Mindil Beach Sunset Markets - Darwin

Hey hey! Gaffa and I are in our last week of work! YAY!!! Only 3 days, 7hrs, 13 mins to go... haha I'm not counting down the time, I swear!

Anyway, Gaffa is working on his packing posts, so I thought I'd sneak one in about the markets in Darwin. We were told about these markets by close friends of Shrimp Dog and Shrimpette who use to live in NT. While we were travelling up through the National Parks and working out our itinerary for the last week, we found out that they were on Sunday and Thursday nights. So we had to rearrange our visits to Litchfield and Kakadu so we could visit the markets. Lucky enough, Kakadu was a quick visit and we made it to Litchfield and to Darwin in time for the markets on a Sunday night - yipeee! I love markets!!

Mindil Beach sunset

WINGAZ 01/05 2011