Steves Nedlands hotel in Perth Western Australia

Big Sunday Breakfast. Hot morning food. Close to the Swan river for bicycle ride. See below. 

See their website http://www.steves.com.au/ Check the menu and prices before you try or do an extra heavy workout. You will know why when you get there.

We booked using the Qantas restaurant booking system also supported by Dimmi http://www.dimmi.com.au/.

Nice for breakfast in autumn as we sat on the verandah. The prices are in the high teens for breakfast staples and low 20s for the steak. Expect to feed the family as a treat on special occasion otherwise you would not be able to justify it on a budget.

We had family from overseas visiting so it was a great experience for them. Lots of locals and regulars dining who helped themselves to service and barterted with the waiting staff. Some of the diners on our table rode their bicycle to the restaurant and really enjoyed the weather and the Swan river. Map of ride below.

Salmon and house hash potatoes.

Stomach stuffing Steak and eggs (poached or scrambled - two photos of the different styles) 

The good old big breakfast with sausage and eggs side up.

Ride your bicycle to breakfast. Take a trek along the Swan river. This description of the ride below is from Western Australian bicylce riding brochure available at  http://www.bwa.org.au/file/file/AT_CYC_P_Ride_around_the_rivers_12_rides.pdf 

Ride 3 - Nedlands (Steve's Hotel) to 

Mosman Park 

Proceed along the shared path 

running between the river and the 

Esplanade. This takes you past the 

Nedlands Yacht Club, Gallop House 

and the Perth Flying Squadron and 

continues on past Tawarri Restaurant 

for about 400 metres. Here the path 

ends and you must carry your bike 

up the stairs to Birdwood Parade. 

There is a cycle path on the right side 

of the road before you reach Tawarri 

Restaurant, if you would prefer not to 

carry your bike. 

See map below. 

Turn left into Birdwood Parade and 

follow the road as it becomes Jutland 

Parade. This is where some of WA’s 

most expensive houses are located. 

The road curves right and becomes 

Victoria Avenue – which has bicycle 

lanes on both sides (part-time peak 

hour lanes only). On the left is the 

Old Claremont Museum (open 

weekends). After a small, sharp bend 

in the road you come to Christchurch 

Grammar School. At the Stirling Highway lights turn left 

onto the shared path. Cycle up a 

steady slope before turning left at 

Corry Lynn Road. 

Continue along then turn right into 

Brae Road and ride for about 100 

metres then turn left into Cliff Way. 

Take another left at the T-junction 

into Richardson Avenue and continue 

downhill where the road becomes 

Bindaring Parade. 

After approximately 200 metres a 

sharp and dangerous sweep to the 

right will start you on a very steep, 

but picturesque, run down to the 

Esplanade. Care should be taken on 

this steep descent. 

You are now in Peppermint Grove and on your left is the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club. 

Proceed around a small roundabout and continue to follow the river past Keane’s Point until you reach the 

Mosmans Tea Rooms – an ideal start/finish point. More about Perth bicycle riding at http://www.bwa.org.au/bikes-and-riding/231/

El Asador The grill Old San Juan

Nice colonial touch place with wooden tables and benches.
We loved the rustic ambience of the walls and the bar where patrons were drinking mojitos. Check their website at http://elasadorpr.com/site/

We ordered from the set menu pictured below the soup starter.

The soup had a saffron tickle. 

The set menu below. For a more complete a la acrte list see Al Asador Menu

Salad from the set menu. Plain without a dressing to keep the figure trim. 

Saw Fish in Creole sauce and chips. Share the chips around the table.

Wow this spaghetti marinera was super with a slight zing.

Lemon Chicken with steamed rice. The rice was a blessing for those monitoring the calories.

 Two Desert. Only for those who did the two forts walk - see below. The guava cake with a nice Caribbean touch.

Coconut custard a slight twist to the old creme brulee.

For an after lunch walk try the walking the Forts in Old San Juan. This is a fairly long walk and guaranteed to burn off the calories at a lazy place with plenty of history. Some dungeons and history of the Spanish Armada. We estimate on foot a walk of about 10 kilometers or about 6 miles if you try to see all the dungeons, ramparts and walls of the historic sites from start to finish before ending up at the Al Asador restaurant. Could burn anywhere from 400 to 800 calories depending on how keen you are on the history of the Caribbean and seen by the Spanish and other colonialists. Some background at lonelyplanet guide on fuerte san-cristobal. Make a day of it. 

Bring plenty of water and the sun is hot and the weather tropical. Some electrolytes may also be helpful if you sweat plenty. 

See the National Park site  Old San Juan National Park with San Juan National Historic Site includes Castillo San Cristóbal, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Fortín San Juan de la Cruz known locally as El Cañuelo, and three fourths of the city walls.

"Take a Bao" at Century City Los Angeles

Open faced Bao. 

Nice American touch to a traditional Chinese staple. 

The open faced bao is a little pocket - sort of a pillow shaped burrito. The pastry is still the same light steamed slightly sweet yeast raised steamed bun. Not as heavy as those pastries which have an oil base or are fried. 

Must try for fusion foodies. Two Bao with Salad for USD 10.  Check out their site www.takeabao.com/ Two food outlets in LA.  

Have to be careful not to let the fillings in the Bao drop out. 

Also tried their Udon noodles USD10. I enjoyed the open faced Bao and the fusion salad. Chinese food purist might be turned off. 

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel Century City about 15 mins walk away. See marriott.com.au/hotels/travel/laxce-courtyard-los-angeles-century-city-beverly-hills/

It was a beautiful winter morning in LA. There is a petite little gym under a gazebo in the hotel which is worth a visit for some yoga and stretching. A small selection of weights and some aerobic machines.