ALLO! ALLO!
How did we get to this? A five star overnight stay in the (French)SOFITEL in Darling harbor and a French restaurant in one of Sydney’s most vibrant tourist areas. For a lot of people this would seem unattainable… If there is one thing this covid crisis has done, it is to make the unaffordable just within reason. I nearly threw up my baguette…oui oui (…just a wee bit of French inflection there) when I looked at the prices they usually charge ( mein Gott…) oops getting off page with a wee bit of German) …you’d have to be rolling in it, to be able to afford a bit of five star luxury…. Nearly $1200.00 bucks a night! …Who can afford that!!! Non Non…Obviously not this brown duck! … But here’s the thing…I’ll just put you in the picture….
Forty one years of marriage should be celebrated, don’t you agree? …I laughingly like to call it married blitz… but just for now I’ll call it married bliss…There’s a great wee helper in the name of Groupon… I thought I’d suss out some nice restaurants in Sydney….I know Sydney quite well so the location wouldn’t be a problem, but obviously the price is something I like to keep an eye on… Friends told us of THE LITTLE SNAIL French restaurant in Darling Harbour …and so I got to work …A Groupon coupon…. A great reduction off the full price !… right up my alley!
So Restaurant sorted… on to the search sites, Trivago, Last Minute etc …I was pleasantly surprised to see the massive savings for a decent hotel…. We have stayed in a couple of cheapo doss houses in Sydney before… well , maybe not doss houses, but not your more eloquent establishments. Y’know, where the rooms are so small you have to go outside to change yer mind. You can be lulled to sleep by the ringing of the pokie machines through the wall or some wee chinaman rattling on yer door at two in the morning thinking he was sleeping with you in your room.
There are a couple of things I look for in anything I purchase… a bargain …and value for money, and going by the last couple of times where I’ve invested less, you might say we were left wanting. ..c’est lavie …So, this time I was willing to loosen the strings a little… and to be honest we had a big one on last year for our fortieth in PORT DOUGLAS northern Queensland … I could make any excuse with covid for not going to Melbourne… but I’ve been there, done that…. It just reminds me too much of Glasgow with the Victorian architecture.
So Sydney’s Sofitel it was… thirty fourth floor it was … the view was stunning so it was. The room was super comfy. And the rain stayed off until we were safely inside. MAGNIFIQUE! Even the rain went off to allow us an incredible vista on a starlit Sydney cityscape. Incredible! … at a seventy odd per cent off rate… now that is a winner!
Have you ever tasted French food apart from Mc Donald’s French fries? We were in Paris a good few years back. And we must’ve tried l’escargot’ (I think that’s how you spell it) but my memories are a bit crowded now as they mix with my imaginings… Well here we were now staying in a French hotel and now going to a French restaurant…even if it was in Sydney. That way we didn’t have to deal with the French public)… c’mon you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t speak French in Paris a particular French attitude may prevail…
But I loved my time in Paris, and I loved my time in the Little Snail restaurant. And so the signature dish was ordered…tre bien… very nice if you like a garlic butter taste… they had the usual beef, lamb, chicken, veal, seafood offerings…. but me, being a bit of a rebel… I went for the Kangaroo… It was great… We were in Australia after all and if anyone should taste a bit of our national emblem it should be someone who resides here… and so we had a wonderful time in the city enjoying our wedding anniversary…merci beaucoup, but I have to say living on the south coast beats it hands down…oui…oui. As far as I’m concerned there is no place like home and for near on seven years we’ve made Wollongong our home.
So… to all and sundry! MANGEZ BIEN, RIEZ SOVENT, AIMEZ BEAUCOUMP! Eat well, laugh often, love abundantly…
Au revoir