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Vegetables at a Sydney supermarket

It may seem mundane to some people but somehow the vegetable display at a local supermarket in Sydney caught my eye. It was stacked beautifully on stepped shelves with their leaves intact. Fresh and enticing, beckoning me to make a fresh salad or at least take some pictures !

Romantic benches at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney

I am a romantic at heart and the engraving on the benches at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney touched me with their stories. A wonderful way to remember someone who has spent a great deal of time at this beautiful park overlooking the harbour.

The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney and the Domain

Took a ferry ride from Meadows Bank (where I was staying at a friend's place) to Circular Quay. It was really enjoyable as it was a nice, cool day in early winter. Headed to the Rocks for lunch where two seagulls took pecks at my chicken tika wrap with one brilliant move. One distracted me and the other swooped down for the kill ! I was a little perturbed at first but this was soon replaced by amusement. Perky little rascals ! A walk at the Royal Botanic Gardens would do me a whole lot of good at this moment.

It was just next to the iconic Sydney Opera House, through Queen Elizabeth II Gate. Lying straight ahead was the Domain of the Gardens, a beautiful stretch that extends to the world renowned Sydney Harbour. Here you get a panaromic view and if you walk further, it will take you to the historic Mrs Macquaries Chair.

I stopped by every now and then to enjoy the flowers and the trees. Unlike the European continent, Sydney 's winters are pretty mild and the park was still green and blooming with flowers. There were some labels which tell the name of the plants but these covered only a selected number of trees and flowers. I really wished there were more.

I love how nature restores my energy and sense of well being. Long walks at parks clears my head of the fog that life brings, making me see things with a lot more clarity.

To add whimsical to beauty - a whole colony of cockatoos and parakees which seemed to have made the Gardens their home. Most of these birds are tagged and they were very used to human company. Just hold a piece of bread and they will swoop down to say Hello! These birds are a cheeky lot and I observe how they love perching on the heads of visitors. Some are natural born stalkers too. Like the bird that kept going in my direction relentlessly !

The Domain of the Royal Botanic Gardens gives a beautiful view of the Sydney Harbour

The Queensland bottle tree

Cockatoos and parakees love visitors with bread

Natural stalkers, not the Facebook type but just as troublesome. Had one who kept following me around.

The Cake Bake and Sweets Show, Sydney 2015

Friends know that I have a sweet tooth and my favourite meal of the day is tea time on a weekend when there is actually time to indulge in cakes and pastries and a wonderful brew of tea made by my husband. He "tariks" my tea (pulls the tea) which creates a nice foam or bubbles at the top. A lovely gesture which I appreciate very much. Well, if only I could have my tea tarik to accompany the sweet treats that await my discovery.

So glad I made it to Sydney ! I haven't had a holiday since May 2014 and I've become a very dull person indeed with no inspiration or time to blog. Needed some colour, change of environment and something sweet. It came in 2 ways - my sweet long time friend Cynthia who now calls Sydney home and of course the Cake Bake and Sweets Show happening at the Sydney Showground at the Olympic Park from the 12-14 June, 2015.

The colours of the sweet treats were amazing and of course the artistry that goes into the making of these creations too. Macarons in rainbow colours, some even glittery and shimmering, fanciful and whimsical cake displays of Snow White and the evil Queen, Alice in Wonderland , dragons and more. If elegant and sophisticated cakes were more your cup of tea, the range of cakes by the finalists in Australia's Cake Decorating Competition was really the " tip of the icing". Plain fondant sold in tubs take on a different life of its own when it is moulded by skilful, talented hands. . Sometimes, less is more as shown by the winning entries. The devil is in the details such as the combination of colours, the details of the motifs and how it is presented.

Cynthia and I went around sampling sweet treats but we did notice that amongst the sweetness, visitors were actually looking for something savory during lunch and the few stalls that did savouries like pies were doing a good business. We took a sweet break for some Moroccan lamb, beef burgundy, butter chicken and chicken leek with Swiss cheese pies. A cute set of 4 dainty little pies that cost just $8. Quite reasonable and most importantly, delicious !

There were lots to buy if you needed cake making utensils, equipment and of course ingredients. I bought some rose and orange blossom water to tinge my desserts in and a bright red happy spatula for my daughter who just took up baking recently to appease her sweet taste buds. Like the French and the British, the Australians do take their baking seriously and this has generated big business in baking. Came across quite a number of suppliers for all baking needs at the show. In Singapore, cake making supplies are dominated by Phoon Huat. I can't really think of anyone else.

It was just the first day of my Sydney Australia trip and boy was it SWEET ! Quite a change from the regular sight-seeing and I loved it !