Balmoral Beach

 

Have I mentioned the beaches here? ‘Cause they are amazing. Sometimes it doesn’t seem possible that there are beaches as beautiful as this one only 10 minutes away. Pinch me, I must be dreaming!

Pete, Ash, and Anderson often go to the beach in the morning shortly after Anderson wakes up (read: as early as 6am sometimes). Usually I am still sound asleep...not much will get me out of bed before I absolutely have to be up. I’m not a morning person by a long shot! They come back with so many stories of how great the coffee was or how beautiful the view is or how lovely it is to be there when hardly anyone is around, etc. You get the point: they have a great time and I always miss out.

The Boathouse at Balmoral Beach

This time, I decided that it was worth checking out what the big fuss was about. Or maybe it was the fact that they promised me coffee and banana bread. Either way, I went and loved it.

coffee that's almost to pretty to drink. almost.

banana bread with honey, butter, and cheese

We munched on banana bread and enjoyed our cappuccinos with an awesome view at the Boathouse. Pete went for a swim and Anderson took a nap while we went for a walk and then we hung out for a bit: a good morning had by all.

brekky with a view

love this little munchkin so much

the sweet Malone family

all the excitement wore buggy out!

This time we didn’t go quite as early as they usually go, but I’m hooked now and will totally be joining them any time of morning that they go. Er, well maybe not before 7am. ;)

The Laneway

It didn’t take me long to find a favorite cafe and conveniently, it happens to be just a few short blocks from the apartment. Not only does this place have the best coffee, but they also have the most incredible muffins. As in so incredible I have to stop myself from going by the cafe more than once a day. The struggle is very real.

See! These muffins even look delish. Plus, some of them have chocolate mixed in with the berries. I mean, I have to keep going back just to increase my odds of getting a chocolate one. Or so I keep telling myself.

The cafes here have been a really nice change from my Starbucks routine back home. Don't get me wrong, I'm still all about Starbucks, but there's just something about the cafes over here. Sydney does cafe breakfasts + coffee really well in general. As the barista from The Laneway put it: "Seattle does coffee really well and breakfast really well, but there aren't many places that do coffee and breakfast together very well." Turns out she was confused and had actually visited Portland instead of Seattle. Either way, I feel like it applies to Seattle as well. While I have many favorite coffee shops (outside of Starbucks) and restaurants in Seattle, Sydney cafes just feel different. It's hard to describe so just come and visit to see what I mean. ;)