Today, on another gloriously sunny winter's day, we decided to go to Manly - on a mission! We rose early (well early for us, especially on a Saturday) and went to our new favourite coffee haunt, Le Petite Tart for brekkie to give us a boost. Then we caught the ferry to the beach. The particular destination was Manlyblades, where we'd seen some hot wheels just waiting for the right owners to come along! Dean bought a skateboard, or to be more specific, a cruiseboard. And I bought some Rollerblades, the original in-line skates. I have wanted some of these since I was about 12. I'd mastered the art of normal roller skating (those with a wheel on each corner) and saw some cool dude dash past me wearing in-line skates, the new craze! Don't ask me why I didn't get any before now. I suppose I was pretending to grow up, but at last it's caught up with me. I think ultimately I'm not allowed to grow up until I've conquered in-line skating. So, I succumbed! And Dean didn't need much encouragement to join me in this attempt at denying our true ages!
I did try to show some wisdom, by hiring some skates for an hour, just to make sure I still felt the craze. I was a bit unsteady to start with, but by the end of the hour, I was doing fine and soon felt my skills from ice-skating showing through. I was made to wear all the protective gear - very fetching, but I didn't fall!! We returned to the shop (me, much more red-faced than an hour ago) and spent about another hour trying on and choosing the right one/s.
The irony is that as we were nearing our house at the end of the day with new purchases 'under-arm', I slipped on some kind of perfectly round (ball-bearing-like) seed the size of a chestnut and promptly landed on my arse. I put out my wrist, as you do, which received an almighty wallop from the tarmac (now all bruised and tender). I'm not sure if that's an omen or not. I've been dying to put my skates on, but I'm erring on the side of caution until my hand feels better!
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Monday, June 13, 2005
On A Side Note
With all this absolutely gorgeous weather there is one down side! In 2 weeks we are taking a weekend trip down to Thredbo, one of Australia's snow boarding resorts. Only, there is no snow! Bugger! It's a 4 hour drive away, so we're looking forward to having an extended snow board season that is only a short drive away. Last year was apparently the best snow for about 15 years.....looks like it's a little slow this year.
Every day for the next 2 weeks we'll be watching the weather reports and praying for snow in the mountains and also that winter in the city remains as beautiful as always.
Every day for the next 2 weeks we'll be watching the weather reports and praying for snow in the mountains and also that winter in the city remains as beautiful as always.
The Queen's Birthday
This weekend is a bank holiday weekend! Yay! And all thanks to the Queen. Well not exactly! Apparently the original holiday was for the king, but seeing as he's dead it's now officially the Queen's birthday bank holiday! But not in Western Australia for some reason.
Saturday
Wandered down into the city today after a great brekkie of French toast with maple syrup washed down with a large mug of flat white! All set for the day!
Weekends are usually spent doing our photography assignments as it tends to give us the most freetime to take lots of photos. This weeks assignment is particularly difficult, having to take a series of photos from the viewpoint of a giant. a dog, an 80 year old man, etc.
So it was dodging in and out of coffee shops around the rocks, for lots of inspiration....oh and cake too!!
We went over to the Dendy cinema by the quays in the shadow of the opera house. Dendy's a great arthouse cinemas and we'd heard of a Chinese film called 2046, so we booked tickets to return later with Ben and Em.
Not sure it was a good idea! It was a very challenging film. It went on for about 40 mins too long and it had already reached a stage where I thought it had resolved itself and was preparing my bum to vacate the seat, when a new stroy element was introduced and on it went. Ben was able to catch up on some sleep! Sydney Film Festival is on for the next 2 weeks and there's a few films that takes my fancy......so maybe have better luck with those.
Sunday
Got up early in the morning to get down to Rushcutters Bay for 9AM. Sailing seems to be the watch word for amazing weather and today was no exception. After yesterdays little blip with a short spell of much needed rain, this morning was absolutley fabulous. Winter here never ceases to amaze me and I think it was a miserable 23 degrees!! So it was on with the sun tan lotion, and off for 3 hours of sailing around the harbour.
There was a few bouts of bugger all wind, so floating around Sydney harbour taking in the fantastic city sights and the never tiring opera house was the focus of the day. Gigg was my instructor yet again. The very eccentric Swiss (that great sailing nation!!) instructor with a need for speed. The lesson generally sways between him trying to lean the boat over as far as it will go in the water while catching the best possible wind or, if that's not entertaining enough, it's a case of cutting through all the winter series races and dodging in and out of the path of oncoming sail boats!! Certainly makes an interesting morning of sailing when Gigg's onboard.
So after sailing it was a case of back to the house to start preparations for Gav, Jean, Aladar and Debbie to come round for a night of food, wine (and lots of it) and snowboarding stories! In fact it ended up being too much wine as the next morning proved!
Monday
Yes!! woke up with a great hangover. Lisa, who very rarely suffers from the effects of booze, also was a bit worse for wear this morning. That fine Australian wine!
So it was down to Bronte for some fresh air and to catch up with the Team Bondi Posse. Another great winter's day but not as nice as yesterday.
Saturday
Wandered down into the city today after a great brekkie of French toast with maple syrup washed down with a large mug of flat white! All set for the day!
Weekends are usually spent doing our photography assignments as it tends to give us the most freetime to take lots of photos. This weeks assignment is particularly difficult, having to take a series of photos from the viewpoint of a giant. a dog, an 80 year old man, etc.
So it was dodging in and out of coffee shops around the rocks, for lots of inspiration....oh and cake too!!
We went over to the Dendy cinema by the quays in the shadow of the opera house. Dendy's a great arthouse cinemas and we'd heard of a Chinese film called 2046, so we booked tickets to return later with Ben and Em.
Not sure it was a good idea! It was a very challenging film. It went on for about 40 mins too long and it had already reached a stage where I thought it had resolved itself and was preparing my bum to vacate the seat, when a new stroy element was introduced and on it went. Ben was able to catch up on some sleep! Sydney Film Festival is on for the next 2 weeks and there's a few films that takes my fancy......so maybe have better luck with those.
Sunday
Got up early in the morning to get down to Rushcutters Bay for 9AM. Sailing seems to be the watch word for amazing weather and today was no exception. After yesterdays little blip with a short spell of much needed rain, this morning was absolutley fabulous. Winter here never ceases to amaze me and I think it was a miserable 23 degrees!! So it was on with the sun tan lotion, and off for 3 hours of sailing around the harbour.
There was a few bouts of bugger all wind, so floating around Sydney harbour taking in the fantastic city sights and the never tiring opera house was the focus of the day. Gigg was my instructor yet again. The very eccentric Swiss (that great sailing nation!!) instructor with a need for speed. The lesson generally sways between him trying to lean the boat over as far as it will go in the water while catching the best possible wind or, if that's not entertaining enough, it's a case of cutting through all the winter series races and dodging in and out of the path of oncoming sail boats!! Certainly makes an interesting morning of sailing when Gigg's onboard.
So after sailing it was a case of back to the house to start preparations for Gav, Jean, Aladar and Debbie to come round for a night of food, wine (and lots of it) and snowboarding stories! In fact it ended up being too much wine as the next morning proved!
Monday
Yes!! woke up with a great hangover. Lisa, who very rarely suffers from the effects of booze, also was a bit worse for wear this morning. That fine Australian wine!
So it was down to Bronte for some fresh air and to catch up with the Team Bondi Posse. Another great winter's day but not as nice as yesterday.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Sparky and the FA Cup!!!
Saturday Night.
Being what seems like a million miles away from the English footy season, or 'soccer' as it is known over here, I caught wind of the Cup final on the day it was happening! When I say day, I actually mean that kick off was at 12 midnight!
Should I stay up and try to catch it live? Questions, questions!
In the end I found myself nearing 12 and thought well why not, thinking of Andy back home nervously waiting to see Arsenal give his team a football lesson! ;o)
The first half came and went with as much excitement as watching a game of chess unfold with no player willing to take any risks! So I decided to turn in, knowing that some how I would change the luck of the game and there would be a 20 goal fest as soon as I turned it off!
Sunday Morning.
Ben and Em very kindly agreed to drive us to the quarantine station to come back with a well travelled pussy cat! Ben told me the news that the cup final had resulted in a 0-0 draw through full time and extra time, only to be resolved by a penalty shoot out which ended in a 5-4 score line. That would have meant me not actually going to bed that night, confirming I made the right decision to turn it off!
Hard luck Andy! Next year maybe! :o)
So.....we drove to the quarantine station which seemed to take no time at all and before we knew it we had a cat in a box in the back seat, heading back to Glebe. He took the journey well and sat there taking it all in. To be honest he's a well seasoned traveller by now so another car journey means nothing in light of his recent adventure! We let him out of the box and he spent the first ten minutes wondering around from room to room, checking out his new abode just to make sure we had made a good decision about the house and that it met with his approval. He gave a thumbs up the only way he could by non stop purring and giving us the mohican (hairs on his back standing up, which means he's excited) for the next few hours.
Looks like the early signs are good and he's more than happy to be here. With Sparky home, our puzzle is now complete and he's a fully fledged aussie feline!
Being what seems like a million miles away from the English footy season, or 'soccer' as it is known over here, I caught wind of the Cup final on the day it was happening! When I say day, I actually mean that kick off was at 12 midnight!
Should I stay up and try to catch it live? Questions, questions!
In the end I found myself nearing 12 and thought well why not, thinking of Andy back home nervously waiting to see Arsenal give his team a football lesson! ;o)
The first half came and went with as much excitement as watching a game of chess unfold with no player willing to take any risks! So I decided to turn in, knowing that some how I would change the luck of the game and there would be a 20 goal fest as soon as I turned it off!
Sunday Morning.
Ben and Em very kindly agreed to drive us to the quarantine station to come back with a well travelled pussy cat! Ben told me the news that the cup final had resulted in a 0-0 draw through full time and extra time, only to be resolved by a penalty shoot out which ended in a 5-4 score line. That would have meant me not actually going to bed that night, confirming I made the right decision to turn it off!
Hard luck Andy! Next year maybe! :o)
So.....we drove to the quarantine station which seemed to take no time at all and before we knew it we had a cat in a box in the back seat, heading back to Glebe. He took the journey well and sat there taking it all in. To be honest he's a well seasoned traveller by now so another car journey means nothing in light of his recent adventure! We let him out of the box and he spent the first ten minutes wondering around from room to room, checking out his new abode just to make sure we had made a good decision about the house and that it met with his approval. He gave a thumbs up the only way he could by non stop purring and giving us the mohican (hairs on his back standing up, which means he's excited) for the next few hours.
Looks like the early signs are good and he's more than happy to be here. With Sparky home, our puzzle is now complete and he's a fully fledged aussie feline!
Thursday, April 28, 2005
I've just been to see Sparky! He's in quarantine at the moment, and looking quite sad, I have to say. He's actually fine, looks well and is eating OK (his fat belly is still there anyway). He recognised me straight away and started purring, which is a good sign! I gave him some 'gourmet' food, which he enjoyed and then he came down from his platform to continually circle my legs. I took my picnic chair and soon he was curled up on my lap purring - that is until some idiots came around the back yelling for their cat - I think they were American!
The Q Station is 40km west of the city, so unfortunately I'm not going to be able to visit as often as I thought. Public transport doesn't really serve the place well, which means we need to hire a car to get there. I'm much happier now I've seen him though and I think I can accept not seeing him so often. He's been assigned Rachel (one of the vet nurses there) who is really nice and friendly. I'll probably make one other visit before collecting him to come home.
Here's a photo of him looking forlorn!!
The Q Station is 40km west of the city, so unfortunately I'm not going to be able to visit as often as I thought. Public transport doesn't really serve the place well, which means we need to hire a car to get there. I'm much happier now I've seen him though and I think I can accept not seeing him so often. He's been assigned Rachel (one of the vet nurses there) who is really nice and friendly. I'll probably make one other visit before collecting him to come home.
Here's a photo of him looking forlorn!!
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Anzac Long Weekend
We’ve just got back from Jervis Bay, where we went for the Anzac long weekend. We drove down Friday night and came back Monday afternoon. It was a bit of a Team Bondi outing – there were five couples altogether, plus three little 'uns.
We weren’t too sure about going away, as the weather wasn’t forecasted to be very good and when you’re going to beach resorts, there's not always a lot of rainy day options! Thinking of that, it just reminds me of rainy summer days in the caravan park in Filey, with Dad teaching me how to gamble, playing cards and board games!!
Anyway, back to sunny Sydney! The specific place was Callala Beach and we stayed in a five bedroomed house called Utopia! It wasn’t quite my definition of utopia, but it was lovely! Maybe they were speaking of the beaches, because they were pure heaven!
On Saturday morning we went to a beach close by called Culburra. The waves here were quite strong and knocked me straight over. It was pretty exhilerating! By lunch time, everyone had left and we were on our own – weird!! There are very few people on the beaches here, it’s incredible (that is apart from Bondi and Manly)!!
That evening we had a fantastic barbeque with lots of wine – yum, yum! Hami and Alex had bought fishing rods and wanted to test them out, so after food most of us went down to the beach with them. A fire was lit and while they set up their lines, I took some night shots. Alex caught a Skate, while Hami provided veggies in the form of seaweed! The beach by moonlight is stunning, but it’s hard to capture that atmosphere by camera.
The next morning, Alex and Hami were straight down to the beach again and we followed shortly after. This is Callala Beach, just two minutes from the house. It's extremely long and for the most part quite straight, so each wave breaks in one long line. It has lovely white sands and aquamarine (!!) water. It had a very gradual slope too and once you passed the gently breaking waves, it was like swimming in a pool, but without the walls! The water was so calm and glassy - it was the most fantastic place to swim. I honestly didn’t want to come out and was only forced to because the sun felt so hot. We felt like we were being toasted so we decided to go for some lunch in Huskisson before hitting Hyams Beach. We were taken to visit this beach by Phil and Bee when we first came to Australia 2½ years ago, so we had fond memories of it. We got there a bit late in the day though and we had about an hour of sun before it dropped behind the trees. It’s weird – because it’s still so sunny and hot, you’re fooled into thinking it’s still summer when the sun would be out into the night. But it’s actually autumn and it’s setting at around 5.30 now. Just before we left, Dean had to go in for a dip. He claimed it was really warm, but because the sun was going down it was getting slightly chilly and I didn’t want to risk it!! So then it was time for coffee and cake in Hyams Café before heading back to the house and another barbie!
There was another fishing jaunt, so we went just to walk along the beach. We came across a small shark and presumed someone had caught it by accident and left it. Apparently it’s illegal to fish for sharks.
It was soon Monday morning and our last day! I suppose luckily for us, the weather was overcast, which made it easier to think about going home! We were heading for Kangaroo Valley, a slight detour on the way back! It’s a lovely little place with some nice quaint shops! We stopped for some lunch and then got straight back on the road, missing most of the traffic that way!
What a brilliant weekend. Hope you enjoy the photos.
We weren’t too sure about going away, as the weather wasn’t forecasted to be very good and when you’re going to beach resorts, there's not always a lot of rainy day options! Thinking of that, it just reminds me of rainy summer days in the caravan park in Filey, with Dad teaching me how to gamble, playing cards and board games!!
Anyway, back to sunny Sydney! The specific place was Callala Beach and we stayed in a five bedroomed house called Utopia! It wasn’t quite my definition of utopia, but it was lovely! Maybe they were speaking of the beaches, because they were pure heaven!
On Saturday morning we went to a beach close by called Culburra. The waves here were quite strong and knocked me straight over. It was pretty exhilerating! By lunch time, everyone had left and we were on our own – weird!! There are very few people on the beaches here, it’s incredible (that is apart from Bondi and Manly)!!
That evening we had a fantastic barbeque with lots of wine – yum, yum! Hami and Alex had bought fishing rods and wanted to test them out, so after food most of us went down to the beach with them. A fire was lit and while they set up their lines, I took some night shots. Alex caught a Skate, while Hami provided veggies in the form of seaweed! The beach by moonlight is stunning, but it’s hard to capture that atmosphere by camera.
The next morning, Alex and Hami were straight down to the beach again and we followed shortly after. This is Callala Beach, just two minutes from the house. It's extremely long and for the most part quite straight, so each wave breaks in one long line. It has lovely white sands and aquamarine (!!) water. It had a very gradual slope too and once you passed the gently breaking waves, it was like swimming in a pool, but without the walls! The water was so calm and glassy - it was the most fantastic place to swim. I honestly didn’t want to come out and was only forced to because the sun felt so hot. We felt like we were being toasted so we decided to go for some lunch in Huskisson before hitting Hyams Beach. We were taken to visit this beach by Phil and Bee when we first came to Australia 2½ years ago, so we had fond memories of it. We got there a bit late in the day though and we had about an hour of sun before it dropped behind the trees. It’s weird – because it’s still so sunny and hot, you’re fooled into thinking it’s still summer when the sun would be out into the night. But it’s actually autumn and it’s setting at around 5.30 now. Just before we left, Dean had to go in for a dip. He claimed it was really warm, but because the sun was going down it was getting slightly chilly and I didn’t want to risk it!! So then it was time for coffee and cake in Hyams Café before heading back to the house and another barbie!
There was another fishing jaunt, so we went just to walk along the beach. We came across a small shark and presumed someone had caught it by accident and left it. Apparently it’s illegal to fish for sharks.
It was soon Monday morning and our last day! I suppose luckily for us, the weather was overcast, which made it easier to think about going home! We were heading for Kangaroo Valley, a slight detour on the way back! It’s a lovely little place with some nice quaint shops! We stopped for some lunch and then got straight back on the road, missing most of the traffic that way!
What a brilliant weekend. Hope you enjoy the photos.
Monday, April 25, 2005
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