Sydney - July 2023

 Back to Winter in Sydney. Callum turned 19!

It's cold!

Caught up with some old friends...

Went to see Barbie with Callum. We even dressed up for it...

We had a Christmas in July party at work with an ugly jumper competition...

Rediscovering my home town...

Took one of my teams to Bar Luca for lunch. This was the Blame Canada and was good.

Hong Kong to Sydney - Wednesday 12 July

Woke up and headed to the office. This is the view from my room at the Cordis Mongkok...

This is the view from Central Plaza, where our office is. It's a lovely day.

Had pho for lunch, close by the office in Wan Chai...

Left work at 6pm and went back to Mongkok and had ramen for dinner...

Then caught an Uber to the airport for my 23:55 flight. It was delayed an hour which was annoying as I'm pretty tired now.

Landed about 12 noon and caught an Uber home. Great trip.

Hong Kong - Tuesday 11 July

Arrived from Paris about 6:40am. Caught an Uber to Cordis Mongkok and fortunately they gave me a room. Showered and caught the MTR to Wan Chai and spent the day in the office. It's very hot.

At lunch I caught the MTR to Sheung Wan and lunch at my go to place, Yum Yum...

That night I met friends for dinner in Lai Chi Kok at a Spanish place I'd been to before called Rustico. Great food and company.

Caught MTR back to Mongkok and went to bed. I lasted better than I thought I would!

Paris - Monday 10 July

 It's time to leave! Got up and went for an espresso. 

Another beautiful day...

Caught an uber to Charles de Gaulle and checked in easily for my Cathay flight to Hong Kong. A long walk to the gate...

Paris - Sunday 9 July

Got up and caught the Metro to Opera to a famous patisserie I wanted to check out called Cedric Groulet. There was an insane queue so I took a photo and left. The croissants looked great though...

Walked randomly and came across Place Vendome...

Walked over the river...

Palais Bourbon which is the meeting place of the National Assembly...

Stopped for a coffee and a crepe at Cafe Concorde. To be honest, I think crepes are over-rated :-)

So much nice architecture...

I think this is a fancy hotel...

Walked past another beautiful patisserie...

Someone had recommended Bourse de Commerce which was the Paris Stock Exchange and now houses an exhibition funded by Francois Pinault (married to Salma Hayek).. It's a beautiful building.

Fake pigeons :-)

Nice exhibition...

Time for lunch! The restaurant was called Au Chien Qui Fume near Pont Neuf...

Then kept walking, and found this famous fromagerie...

And past Jardin Nelson Mandela, which is overlooked by Eglise Saint-Eustache....

Went back to hotel for a rest. Later, headed to dinner on Rue Mouffetard. Found a cute bistro...

Started healthy with a prawn cocktail...

Soup...

I was drawn in by the beef burgundy...

Then needed to walk off dinner. This was near the Pantheon...

Stopped for a drink where a band was playing. But it started to rain so they packed up!

Walked back to the hotel and crashed. Long day.

Paris - Saturday 8 July

 Saturday morning I walked around Montparnasse and found a local market...

Then had breakfast. Lovely day.

Then checked out of the Pullman Montparnasse and caught a taxi to the new hotel in the Latin Quarter. Went for a walk and had lunch...

Walked around a bit, as you do in Paris. This is Place Sainte-Genevieve near the Pantheon...

The Pantheon...

Headed to the river and found Notre Dame...

Headed back to the hotel for a rest. Then headed to dinner close to the hotel. This is a great street with many great bars and restaurants...

Sat outside as you do in Paris in Summer. The risotto was great...

Then walked off dinner back to the Pantheon as I wanted to see it at night. I think it's a beautiful building...

Walked across the river again...

It's so nice just walking around...

Found a bar and had a drink. Then started to walk back.

It's now 2am and pretty busy...

Walking over ile de la Cite again...

Then back to the hotel to sleep.