A SOUTH coastline TRIP, A new type of COFFEE as well as A take on book GIVEAWAY

Farewell March, hello April! I don’t understand about you, however this year seems to be going at two different speeds for us.

It’s zooming by on one hand, as well as yet it likewise seems to be crawling past in sluggish motion, packing more as well as more into every week for us as time progresses.

This week is a fantastic example. We’ve been planning as well as looking ahead to our trip down the South coastline of new South Wales for ages, however at the exact same time it feels like only yesterday that we very first had plans.

In this regular Edition, we’re showing you a glimpse of our anniversary event down in Mollymook at the gorgeous Bannisters by the Sea, we’re at an amazing friend’s book introduce (check out exactly how you can win a signed copy of Her middle name is guts here) as well as we have a new special edition coffee to try – with pure gold flakes no less!

There’s likewise the ubiquitous as well as unreasonable amount of food to tell you about as well as some top tips on locations to go in Sydney as well as in the Shoalhaven region as well of course.

We hope you enjoy this regular Edition.

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

The drive down to the South coastline as well as Shoalhaven region of new South Wales is an simple 2-3 hours depending where you’re stopping. We’re on our method to the excellently named Mollymook, which is a coastal town ¾ with the Shoalhaven.

It’s fantastic being back on the road again. Christina as well as I like a road trip, as well as even more so when we’re celebrating.

Our wedding event anniversary is 8th March, however since the month was so busy, we decided to delay the day for when we’re away.

The reason we’re heading to Mollymook is to inspect out Bannisters by the Sea, a extremely regarded coastal retreat hotel. It’s likewise house to one of famous chef Rick Stein’s seafood restaurants, which is likewise extremely interesting for us.

Here’s a quick highlights reel of our time at Bannisters by the Sea – however we’ve likewise written a full hotel evaluation of Bannisters by the Sea right here plus an completely separate restaurant evaluation of Rick Stein at Bannisters here.

Bannisters is named after the bit headland it sits on that juts out between the two gorgeous beaches of Mollymook. It was when a road-stop style hotel however owner Peter Cosgrove (not the ex-Attorney general btw) flipped it into a high-end retreat style hotel that takes full advantage of its unique place as well as the spectacular views that include it.

The lovely thing about this residential or commercial property though, is that it has held onto that mid-century contemporary feel of the original motel. far from making the location feel dated, Bannisters has a wonderful vintage vibe that somehow puts you at ease.

Other hotels have done similar things since then. Halcyon home at Cabarita beach in northern NSW as well as the Ace hotel as well as Saguaro in palm Springs in the specifies have utilised the great bones of old motels to produce amazing locations to stay. however Bannisters did it very first as well as did it well.

Our space – a medical spa Retreat space – is lovely. Spacious as well as well-appointed, it has all the creature comforts as well as mod cons of a contemporary hotel however with a few awesome things added in.

The giant window/wall separating the bathroom as well as the bedroom makes the space feel bigger as well as provides you great deals of natural light in the bathroom too. Don’t concern though, if you want some privacy while you’re taking a shower, there’s a roller blind you can pull down too.

But this is truly the drawcard for this room. The hot tub on your own personal wooden deck overlooking the ocean is bliss.

On the lower levels of the hotel is the pool bar with its amazing infinity pool, loungers as well as personal cabanas. The bar itself has vistas over the water as well as down to the beach, as well as the mixed drink as well as food menus right here are extremely tempting.

If nothing else, you should come down right here for a negroni. They make them well here.

We enjoy our drink as well as watch dolphins play below before heading up for dinner…

We’re extremely excited to be dining at Rick Stein’s onsite restaurant tonight. We’ve both been huge fans of his for so long as well as have watched so many of his cooking shows.

The odor of fresh seafood cooking in the kitchens as we walk in has our stomachs grumbling even before we’ve heard the specials or looked at a menu.

Breakfast at Bannisters by the Sea is a relaxed yet fine-tuned affair. The continental style buffet as well as bagel station has plenty to tempt you without over-filling you. No point eating so much there’s no space for all the other tasty locations to try in the area.

The view though is a thing you can never over-indulge on.

After breakfast, we hit the road to check out the surrounding area. Ulladulla – most likely the biggest town in the direct area – is as adorable as the other towns of Mollymook, Narrawallee as well as Milton, just bigger. It likewise has a working fishing port, where you can watch the boats coming in with their hauls, working in drydock as well as rigging up for the complying with day.

There’s likewise a fish as well as chip shop right here that’s supposed to be quite good.

Our next stop is on the method to Milton, an adorable bit town inland from Mollymook. We didn’t realise that there were any type of wineries in this area, however we stand corrected. Cupitt’s is a family-run vineyard, micro-brewery as well as fromagerie, as well as its cellar door does an excellent tasting.

We’re lucky sufficient to satisfy Gen (Jen with a ‘G’ or Gin with an ‘e’ as she explains) at the cellar door, who takes us with the tasty variety offered at Cupitt’s at the moment.

We get on like we’ve understood each other for many years as well as even discover out we share the exact same date for our anniversaries, which is quite cool.

It might be that Gen has wooed us remarkably that we discover ourselves signing up for the wine club here. however I believe it’s more likely that the wine’s just that good. Also, you get a fantastic discount rate on your very first situation of wine as well as at the bar as well as restaurant.

After stating our farewells to Gen, we head directly for the bar as well as order the cheeseboard, which is packed with a few of the very best of the Cupitt fromagerie that Gen’s likewise offered us on… not that that took much work either!

I’ve likewise ordered an IPA to have with lunch. All I can state is I desire we lived better to Milton – though on the other hand, I believe my waist is grateful.

Before we head back to Sydney, we pop into Milton to inspect the town out. It’s a charming bit location full of shops as well as cafes.

We were suggested many different locations to eat while we’re down here, however one location in specific is Pilgrims, which is a vegetarian cafe.

Neither of us are as well hungry at this point, however we’re keen to see what the fuss is about around Pilgrims. We order a Bliss Burger, which is packed so full it’s falling out when it arrives.

The mixed grain pattie isn’t rather like meat, which is most likely the idea, however it’s full of flavour as well as has a fantastic texture. With it comes fried onion, avocado, grated cheese (which would have been much better if it was more melted), tabouli, sprouts as well as peanut sauce all on a toasted wholemeal roll. even between the two of us it’s lots of food as well as extremely tasty too.

They likewise do fantastic coffee here, which is always great to know.

With one last glimpse of Mollymook beach as well as its striking headland coastline, we head north once again making our method back to Sydney. As we leave, snorkelers as well as spear fishermen show us what we’ll be missing out on.

The drive up from Mollymook is truly extremely easy. A bit over three hours as well as we’re back in the rush as well as push of the city, as well as our anniversary events are just happy memories. The sun glints with the cables of the Anzac Bridge as well as house beckons us back.

Once home, we settle back in as well as find Nespresso has released a new restricted edition Master origin – this time around from Costa Rica. however this Master origin seems somehow different to the rest.

It’s strong sufficient to have as a latte as well as blends completely with the hot milk, however on its own as an espresso, it’s lovely, as well as seems much more complex than its level 7 intensity.

The coffee includes some beautifully made cups in the Costa Rica line, which add to the experience. I do like the fascinating varieties of cups as well as accessories Nespresso brings out.

Further investigation tells us that this Costa Rica Master origin coffee is in truth rather special. These central American beans are all hand-picked then soaked in the hot spring water of a close-by volcano, so perhaps it’s the minerals from the volcanic stream that provides this coffee its intensity.

Either way, the end result is a biscuity, wonderful coffee with a tasty hazelnut note as well as a dry finish.

Other coffees offered in this Master origin variety have similar complexities from the method they are processed as well as treated before you get to enjoy them. apart from this excellent Master origin from Costa Rica, there are ones to try that we’ve talked about before from Indonesia, Ethiopia, India, Nicaragua as well as Colombia in the original capsule line.

There are likewise two in the Vertuo line that we like as well from Mexico as well as Colombia.

The other thing I like about this Costa Rica Master origin is the story behind the coffee itself. There’s the handpicked fruit as well as the amazing volcano aspect to the story as we’ve already mentioned, however likewise exactly how the locals phone call coffee the ‘golden bean’. Coffee is the most valued product of Costa Rica, which is stated to comprise around 11% of the country’s GDP.

In a nod of recognition to this, Nespresso sent us the coffee with these gorgeous bit gold leaf hearts to sprinkle on the coffee. It’s a show of recognition that they comprehend the value of this crop to Costa Rica as well as a indication that we should value what we’re drinking just as much.

This evening we’re at the storage tank Stream Bar for the introduce of our buddy Heidi Dening’s remarkable book Her middle name is Courage.

Heidi is a expert orator, teacher as well as businesswoman. Her 20 years’ experience in these fields as well as her acumen as well as entrepreneurial-ship have provided her the understanding as well as guts to overcome many difficulties in life.

Her book approaches these difficulties head on with humour as well as tenderness. as well as from her own stories, Heidi leads you with many of the difficult paths in life as well as teaches self-leadership.

And her stories are rather incredible.

From paralysing illnesses where she lost the utilize of her legs to gunpoint kidnappings, from tsunami fear to firebomb attacks, Heidi definitely hasn’t lived a peaceful life!

You can buy Heidi’s book Her middle name is guts on Amazon, where it’s a #1 best-seller, here.

The turn-out at the storage tank Stream to see Heidi introduce her book is incredible. In fact, there’s almost no space left in the bar! It’s an indicator of the type of magnetic person Heidi is as well as the influence her positive energy has on people.

This likewise comes out in her writing.

You don’t have to checked out extremely far into Her middle name is Courage to discover that compelling nature that Heidi brandishes so naturally. Her honesty, decision as well as intelligence are never far away:

I’ve frequently felt like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. I am not sure what the emerald City will look like at the end of the yellow brick road, however I understand that as long as I keep taking one more step forward, I will show up at a wonderful destination.

It’s a fantastic book – as well as if you want your own copy, keep reading.

Win a signed copy of Heidi’s book from us by either leaving a comment on this post, signing as much as our regular newsletter, comment as well as like our Facebook publish about this or just emailing us!

We’ll pick a champion as well as send out the prize in the next two weeks.

I believed we’d end this regular edition on a food note – as it’s never far from my heart – or mouth!

We just recently revisited an old haunt in Sydney’s northwest to inspect out a new renovation. The Carlingford sports Club – affectionately ‘Carlo Bowlo’ – utilized to be a quite great location for a laksa or poultry cashew stir fry, as well as its schnitty was always on point too.

But huge modifications right here in this old-school bowls club have brought a wood-fired pizza oven as well as new out-door dining area, as well as and a menu that’s a long method beyond what you usually discover in a suburban club.

Exhibit #1, grilled salmon risotto as well as rocket salad. Not bad, ay?

You can just see what’s left of one of the stone-cooked pizzas in the background, however most magnificent is the club’s slow-cooked pulled beef pie, mash as well as mushroom gravy.

This thing of beefy beauty is worth coming right here for on its own. as well as I’m basically waiting on the next chance to get back to Carlingford so I can have another!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this regular edition as well as great luck with the book competition.

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

We stayed as guests of Bannisters by the Sea as well as dined at the enjoyment of Rick Stein.