Icebergs @ Bondi

H and I have just had a blinding weekend. You see, we had been invited over to Bondi to celebrate Vans's 28th Birthday. She had booked a table for 12 of us at Icebergs in Bondi. It is one of the top ten restaurants in Sydney, and is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Australia. It sits on the side of a cliff on the southern end of Bondi Beach and has the most spectacular panoramic view.

The Meal
A few of us had gathered round Van's flat beforehand for some champagne cocktails and nibbles. Everyone was in good spirits and very much looking forward to seeing how the other half lived. A restaurant with valet parking has got to be special. The table was booked for 9pm and we had been told that to accommodate us all we would have to sit on two separate tables of six (posh restaurants are renowed for not taking large group bookings). You can imagine our surprise then when we were told upon arrival that we could go to our own private room whenever we liked. Vans had managed to keep it a secret but apparently there had been a cancellation in the room that morning so we were upgraded. Well there was no time like the present so all we were all taken through the restaurant, onto a roof terrace and then down some steps at the side of the restaurant. Our room was hidden away at the bottom and it had it's own private balcony overlooking the ocean. It was truely amazing. Everyone was buzzing. We even had our own waiter who spent the evening looking after us, refilling our glasses and tidying napkins a la Jamie's 15. Everything was perfect, including of course the food.





























The Birthday Girl and Will.














Smoko on the Private Balcony.














The Party
Once we'd all finished in the restaurant, and settled a very reasonable bill considering the amount of food and wine that was drunk, we all went back to Vans's flat for a party. This went on until 5am and we were joined by a few others. DJ Skinner was in charge of the tunes. As is always the way with these things, it got messy and there were casualties.

Satyan and Vans.














DJ Skinner in the mix. Can I have a rewind? Morph's D'n'B Remix of Witness was a real crowd pleaser.














Fireworks.














Me and Julia.














Me and Chris.














Julia and Melv.














The Day After The Night Before
H and I spent the night at Vans's flat with Will. We had all bought tickets to the AFL game (Aussie Rules!) between the Sydney Swans and Adelaide at the SCG. Given the very late night and hangovers we didn't make it. Instead we spent the afternoon in Bondi. With a North-facing view like this from the flat we were in no rush to leave. We did make it down to the beach though for a very late breakfast.















The Aussie Icon.














Spot the Mullet.














Icebergs is the small white building just about the swimming pool. What a fantastic location for a restaurant.














I took 221 pictures in 24 hours. That's not bad going, even by my photo-happy standards.

H and I have both settled into Aussie life very well. A massive part of this has been down to Will and his group of friends who have been so kind to us. Being able to go out with such a cool bunch of people on the weekend has definitely helped us. We are beginning to make friends in Manly as well which is great but it isn't easy imposing yourself on long-established groups of friends. We'll get there though.

It is hard being away from friends and family, especially now little Freya is on the scene, and we do miss everyone a lot. You are always talked about, believe me. But I do love it here. Maybe I'll feel different when I have to spend 8 or 9 hours a day stuck behind some computer in an office, but I really don't think I will. In fact, I'm actually looking forward to working (or at least earning some cash anyway).