A quick trip to Sydney, Wine Odyssey and the Beauchamp Hotel

You might have noticed that things have been a little quiet around here, and if so, you would be correct.  I was away for three days last week in Sydney, so did not have much time for looking after my blog.

My hotel was situated in The Rocks, Sydney, and the view from my hotel room window, featured at the top of this post, was of the Fort St Public School and the Sydney Observatory.  You can also probably guess that this is not the type of hotel I could afford to stay in if I was footing the bill. 

On Friday and Saturday, I met some great people at a conference, and learned some new things.  However, all work and no play makes me a dull girl, and I was there with my friend E, so we decided to do some exploring.

On Saturday afternoon, during a break in proceedings, we visited Wine Odyssey, a food and wine bar near The Rocks markets and not far from my hotel.  Wine Odyssey has a lovely, cosy, fireside chat atmosphere, and to get you in the mood, plays French music in the background.  They have over 60 wines on their list, which was all too bamboozling for me, so I ordered the same as E - a Moppity Wines Estate Cab Sav, a full bodied, deep dark red:

We then went for a stroll around The Rocks Weekend Markets, at which I bought some delightful dried fruit and walnut rolls.  The markets feature arts, crafts, fashion and food, and they are set in and about some great cafes and shops. At the markets, I also spied a lovely pale blue floral sundress in this style, handmade by Poise Fashion, which I snuck back to buy the next day.


On Sunday, E and I  seized the sunny, bright day and walked from The Rocks to Paddington and back.  Some of the sites that we saw included this lovely old chapel from Lachlan Macquarie's time:

and its steeple:

Centrepoint Tower:

Fountain in Hyde Park:

and went shopping in Paddington, where I scored the Orla blouse from Rodeo Show that I had wanted for ages at half price.

We then turned around to head back to the hotel.  As it was lunchtime, we looked for a likely place to grab a bite, and stumbled upon the Beauchamp Hotel (pronounced "Beecham" like Harry Beauchamp in My Brilliant Career) in Darlinghurst:

The pub was bright yet cool, with a wide and reasonably priced bar menu.  Crucially for E, they had some great vegetarian meals on the menu.  E ordered a vege wrap, while I ordered the chicken and leek casserole pie with mashed potatoes: 

The mash in particular was superb, and the puff pastry lid was giddily high, light and crispy.

We plonked down on the couches pictured in the photo and enjoyed our meals with a glass of red each - E an organic red, me with a Six by Six Pinot Noir.  

Feeling relaxed and happy, we opted to have another drink, but E also wanted a cigarette.  By chance, when she went to the bar to ask about smoking facilities (as NSW pubs have strict non-smoking  laws), she struck up a conversation with a guy at the bar called Matt and offered him a cigarette too.  Matt came up with us to the smoking area on the outdoor balcony, and turned out to be a great conversationalist.  He told us he was a voice artist, and subsequent research showed he was the well known voice artist, Matt Thomas.  Matt is the loveliest guy ever, so do believe the testimonials on his website, and consider him if you ever need a voice artist! 

By that stage, it was time for a quick dash through the City and back to The Rocks, then on to the Qantas Club and home.  It was a lovely weekend, which I hoped would never end, but alas, this too shall pass.  Oh well, it's a good excuse to go back to Sydney soon.

Wine Odyssey Australia
39-43 Argyle St
The Rocks NSW

Australia
Phone: 1300 136 498

The Beauchamp Hotel

Corner of Oxford & South Dowling Sts

Three Saints Square

Darlinghurst NSW

Australia

Phone: +61 2 9331 2575