Sex, Stars and Soap in Sydney

I love Sydney. It’s the city most like New York in Australia. Spend a week-end here and you will understand why it is right up there with some of the world’s best city-break destinations. Throw in a splash of hunk and you have all the ingredients for the perfect week-end love fest.

I hit the Sydney streets with my sexy blonde friend from Victoria. We hadn’t seen each in a while and were excited to reconnect. What I like about my friend is that he blows away any stereotypes that I ever had of naval officers as mere meat and potatoes guys. He is the most gastronomically adventurous Australian I have ever met. He will eat just about anything. We hooked up for breakfast at a swanky little café at the Museum of Sydney (www.moscafe.com.au).

MoS Café is positioned in the heart of the financial district and captures Sydney’s historical past being located on the site of first Government House. MoS Café has a sandstone, marble and glass interior that spills out onto a wide, open forecourt, making it a perfect outdoor breakfast venue. We sat in the glorious, summer sunshine. I was ravenous and dove into a plate of poached free-range eggs with dark sour-dough and home-made Boston baked beans. Blondie tucked into an ample serving of the most scrumptious eggs Benedict with honey-glazed back bacon. Coffee at MoS was fabulous as was the signature freshly squeezed orange juice. This café has a lively vibe, is sleek, sassy and great for people watching.

After an afternoon touring around the harbour Blondie surprised me by inviting me to a contemporary dance show called Soap at the Sydney Opera House. Before the show we wet our whistles at The Opera Bar (www.operabar.com.au), an über chic watering hole frequented by Sydney’s best looking bar stars including us. The location is stupendous, nestled under the Opera House with in-your-face views of the harbour and bridge. We opted for a quieter spot on a bench nearby and sipped on our cocktails while enjoying the million dollar view.

Soap could best be described as bath-time circus - a bit of everything from dance to acrobatics to opera - all inside the bathroom. Blondie really knows how to please me. This show got us feeling sexy with a splash-filled spectacle of svelte dancers, erotic dance moves and crazy tub-filled athleticism. Watching all those soap suds really worked up our appetites. I don’t know why but my mind kept drifting to visions of Blondie lathering up before taking a hot shower. He has that effect on me.

For dinner we walked along circular quay and were hard pressed to make a decision on where to eat amidst the multitude of spectacular-looking wharf-side eateries. We settled on The East (www.theeast.com.au), a traditional Cantonese style restaurant right on the edge of the water. Inspired by age old recipes and cooking techniques, we ordered a kangaroo with XO chilli sauce, braised lamb with shallots and magic prawns with ginger and mixed vegetables. Food at The East was fresh and delicious. The servings were huge to match the prices. Service at The East was very friendly and the location unparalleled which more than made up for the size of our bill.

Just when I thought my day could not get any better, Blondie cooked up the perfect finale - Opera in the Park. We met up with a couple of his friends at Francesca Zambello's celebrated production of Carmen. Described as a vivid evocation of dust, heat and danger under the wide Spanish skies, we enjoyed sitting on our blanket under a star-spangled sky watching the colours and costumes and listening to the gypsy songs being sung in the language of love.

A week-end in Sydney was a great way to kick back and enjoy so many of the pleasures that life has to offer..getting naked and letting the soap suds fly would make it even better. I’ll be back for sure...