Icebergs at the Beach

The past week was long but great at work. We were delighted to host our Chairman and CEO, Tom, in Australia this week. It was a big signal for my team because this Q2 is as large as our Q4, given that most Australian companies have a FYE on 30 June. Having Tom here was great to give the team an energy boost and help them understand how important they are to the firm's success. We had a great happy hour/karaoke night, and Tom was such a great sport! In all truths, I am lucky to work for a great leader who gave me this unique opportunity down under.


So when the weekend rolled around, I realized that I had a lot of plans - unlike most weekends! :)  I shocked myself with rallying to go out on Friday night for my friend Amanda's birthday party at the Sheif, which many friends call their favorite bar in Sydney. Now I know why....fun music, lots of small outdoor rooms filled with trees and heaters (it is winter here) and friends abound. We had a great time though I was home by 1:00 AM for a skype date with Christian.


Saturday, I slept in and then had a great brunch with Devin, Dawn and Tyler at Cafe Dov in our 'hood. YUM! My chorizo, goat cheese and mushroom omelet hit the spot, as well as my fresh squeezed lemonade, flat white and water. Let's be honest...it's not brunch without at least 3 beverages. Right, Christian? I then experienced a series of miscommunication errors trying to connect with my colleague Nicole, who was in Sydney visiting from her new home in Tokyo. We were unable to connect during the day so while out running errands, I accepted an offer from Leela and Pete to head to Bondi for about 2 hours. I have only been to Bondi Beach for dinner, and it was a gorgeous winter day of clear skies and 65F weather, so off we went!


While Pete surfed, Leela and I visited the famous Icebergs Bondi Beach. It's a health club/pool/restaurant/bar with INCREDIBLE views of the ocean and cliffs. It's apparently called Icebergs because in the summer, it puts huge blocks of ice in its pools to keep the water cool. The pools are awesome...they are right at the ocean's edge (see below) and waves crash into them every 30 seconds. WOW. While Pete surfed, Leela and I had a few cocktails and talked about all the travel we have done and want to do. The pictures here do not even do the views justice. But Leela and I both commented several times that we are just so lucky to be able to spend a Saturday like we were - we watched the waves crash, had great conversation, relaxed after a long week at work, and saw amazing views of the expansive Pacific Ocean. Nothing better.

View of the north side of Bondi from Icebergs

One of the pools at Icebergs and the Pacific Ocean 

View of the expansive Bondi Beach from Icebergs 

Me at Icebergs, overlooking the great Pacific Ocean

Saturday night I met up with Nicole for a drink and dinner. It was wonderful....Nicole and I have a close mutual friend, Maureen Kestly, who is simply the greatest gal. Nicole and I didn't know each other well before this trip she's taken to Sydney for the week. But we could share stories of living in Washington, DC, mutual friends, working for CEB and being a few months into living knee deep in a new culture. Nicole has never been to Sydney, so I wanted to ensure she experienced the beautiful Sydney Harbour views! So we had martinis at Cruise Bar and a delicious churrasco dinner at WIldfire. I really loved getting to know her better.

The enormous light fixtures at Wildfire.

Today was fairly ordinary as I ran errands and cleaned my pad. BUT, I knew I had a BhangLassi show at the Old Fitz tonight and they did not disappoint! I met my friend Jason at LL's for a beer before the show, where we chatted with friends Jake and his brother Grady, whoa re also in a band. Then a group of friends all met at the Old Fitz for the BhangLassi show. We had beers and great music and great fun together.

A cool snap of Alex on the keys

All in all, a terrific weekend. I got the best of Sydney and my friends. Now for the close of Q2, a very important time for this region. So I will be heads down at work...all my team's hard work across the past 3-6 months will be proven this week.


12 days until I fly home to the States for a visit....I can't wait.


Until next time...xoxo