It's hard to believe this is the seventh time we've met up in Sydney for the sisters and spouses reunion long weekend.
The fun started on Wednesday this year. We all arrived early afternoon and after an initial catch up, set out like we always do for the headland walk to Bondi and a close up view of Sculpture By The Sea.
The first glimpse, as we rounded the headland South of Tamarama, was a bit of a disappointment compared to previous years....an oversized frying pan buried in sand? ...and a very uninteresting winning entry! We spent some time admiring the very temporary looking beach detritus installation but apart from that we didn't feel motivated to get on the sand and interact with the works more closely at Tamarama.
Other works along the headland inspired us more - I love the ones that play with the coastal light and make you look at the landscape in a different way.
We'd all had an early start to the day and a light lunch so we were exceptionally pleased to conclude Sculpture By The Sea with an Israeli beer and one of Sabbaba's amazing pita bread feasts (the Tunisian is our favourite) in Hall Street Bondi.
Thursday morning and the sisters were off to the CBD for their day of shopping. Rob took charge of the alternative men's program - an hour and a half Rivercat ride to Parramatta, the oldest inland European settlement in Australia (1788), some time to explore and then lunch at our favourite Criniti's in Church Road. The boys seemed very happy with their day and us girls also had a very satisfying time. This year there was a focus on shoes, although outfits were also researched, coordinated with jewellery and eventually purchased. In fact I think we set a record in terms of total value of purchases this year. As is our habit now we also made time to enjoy a leisurely lunch and glass of wine at the lovely Cloudy Bay Restaurant overlooking Market Street to Hyde Park.
At the end of the day we all met up at the Trinity Bar in Surry Hills (for happy hour) for a long awaited Stone and Wood beer and eventually a delicious meal (roast cauliflower salad for me - yum) served on the breezy front terrace.
Friday dawned sunny and 29oC - a perfect day for our planned outing to Manly. A trip on the Manly Ferry is always a great way to enjoy Sydney's perfect harbour and today's ride across the sometimes choppy waters of the Heads was really uneventful. Our plan to eat Moroccan at Out of Africa on East Esplanade had to be revised when we found it was closed for lunch (just for today apparently). Luckily Peter had spotted another Criniti's at Manly so the boys were extremely happy to show us some of the delights they'd enjoyed the day before at Parramatta. Ros and I hit the jackpot with our shared antipasto sampler platter for two. Criniti's is obviously a big Sydney brand now with its own gelateria and pasticceria and in house pasta etc. I do rate their gelati very highly!!
We finished off our time in Manly with a walk along its glorious long beach all the way to Queenscliff. It was so glorious it made us wonder if Manly might be an alternative to consider if a Noosa stay is ever too difficult.
We were back in Coogee in just enough time for an evening drink and nibbles before a walk to The Randwick Ritz to see the "amazing" Gone Girl. That film engendered a lot of discussion afterwards and a few nervous laughs especially from the boys. It's a long film- two and a half hours - but we were absolutely riveted the whole time.
We didn't plan too much for Saturday - a hot sunny and windy day in Sydney. We caught the bus to Surry Hills for a quick look at the (unimpressive) markets on Shannon Reserve and a long wait (too long) for the boys while us girls did more shopping at Pure Magik on Crown Street. The main business of the day was to introduce Ros & Peter to our favourite Danjee in Albion Place off George Street in the city.
We managed to order some of our favourite Danjee dishes (not always easy with such an unfamiliar menu), certainly enough for Ros & Peter to get why we love this restaurant so much. I could eat Korean food like this all the time; so fresh, flavoursome, healthy and vibrant with flavour and textures.
Ros elected to finish off some shopping in the city while the rest of us enjoyed a few hours rest from the heat back at the apartment. We managed to squeeze in one last look at Coogee Beach too between some heavy rain squalls that included lethal lightning and thunder further up the coast (there was a fatality on the beach at Newcastle from a lightning strike).
A highlight of our last night in Coogee together was a Skype call to the London branch. Seeing Davey in his Marshmallow Man hallow e'en costume, talking to Eddie in his shoe shop (while dressed in his bat costume) and hearing all about Cath's meeting with Beyoncé (for Topshop) were just some of the highlights. Davey took us for a tour of the South Woodford house in the course of the conversation - it's amazing what they've achieved in less than a year! Gwyneth Paltrow's decorator (painter) has obviously spent a lot of time at the house with them.
Sunday morning and our collective departures from Sydney arrived too soon. The six of us have coped with some health scares this year and it is a great relief that everyone is in recovery mode now and we can all enjoy wonderful times like this together. Here's to good times ahead for the sisters and their spouses and lots more opportunities to share them together.
The fun started on Wednesday this year. We all arrived early afternoon and after an initial catch up, set out like we always do for the headland walk to Bondi and a close up view of Sculpture By The Sea.
The first glimpse, as we rounded the headland South of Tamarama, was a bit of a disappointment compared to previous years....an oversized frying pan buried in sand? ...and a very uninteresting winning entry! We spent some time admiring the very temporary looking beach detritus installation but apart from that we didn't feel motivated to get on the sand and interact with the works more closely at Tamarama.
Other works along the headland inspired us more - I love the ones that play with the coastal light and make you look at the landscape in a different way.
Thursday morning and the sisters were off to the CBD for their day of shopping. Rob took charge of the alternative men's program - an hour and a half Rivercat ride to Parramatta, the oldest inland European settlement in Australia (1788), some time to explore and then lunch at our favourite Criniti's in Church Road. The boys seemed very happy with their day and us girls also had a very satisfying time. This year there was a focus on shoes, although outfits were also researched, coordinated with jewellery and eventually purchased. In fact I think we set a record in terms of total value of purchases this year. As is our habit now we also made time to enjoy a leisurely lunch and glass of wine at the lovely Cloudy Bay Restaurant overlooking Market Street to Hyde Park.
At the end of the day we all met up at the Trinity Bar in Surry Hills (for happy hour) for a long awaited Stone and Wood beer and eventually a delicious meal (roast cauliflower salad for me - yum) served on the breezy front terrace.
Friday dawned sunny and 29oC - a perfect day for our planned outing to Manly. A trip on the Manly Ferry is always a great way to enjoy Sydney's perfect harbour and today's ride across the sometimes choppy waters of the Heads was really uneventful. Our plan to eat Moroccan at Out of Africa on East Esplanade had to be revised when we found it was closed for lunch (just for today apparently). Luckily Peter had spotted another Criniti's at Manly so the boys were extremely happy to show us some of the delights they'd enjoyed the day before at Parramatta. Ros and I hit the jackpot with our shared antipasto sampler platter for two. Criniti's is obviously a big Sydney brand now with its own gelateria and pasticceria and in house pasta etc. I do rate their gelati very highly!!
We finished off our time in Manly with a walk along its glorious long beach all the way to Queenscliff. It was so glorious it made us wonder if Manly might be an alternative to consider if a Noosa stay is ever too difficult.
We didn't plan too much for Saturday - a hot sunny and windy day in Sydney. We caught the bus to Surry Hills for a quick look at the (unimpressive) markets on Shannon Reserve and a long wait (too long) for the boys while us girls did more shopping at Pure Magik on Crown Street. The main business of the day was to introduce Ros & Peter to our favourite Danjee in Albion Place off George Street in the city.
We managed to order some of our favourite Danjee dishes (not always easy with such an unfamiliar menu), certainly enough for Ros & Peter to get why we love this restaurant so much. I could eat Korean food like this all the time; so fresh, flavoursome, healthy and vibrant with flavour and textures.
Ros elected to finish off some shopping in the city while the rest of us enjoyed a few hours rest from the heat back at the apartment. We managed to squeeze in one last look at Coogee Beach too between some heavy rain squalls that included lethal lightning and thunder further up the coast (there was a fatality on the beach at Newcastle from a lightning strike).
A highlight of our last night in Coogee together was a Skype call to the London branch. Seeing Davey in his Marshmallow Man hallow e'en costume, talking to Eddie in his shoe shop (while dressed in his bat costume) and hearing all about Cath's meeting with Beyoncé (for Topshop) were just some of the highlights. Davey took us for a tour of the South Woodford house in the course of the conversation - it's amazing what they've achieved in less than a year! Gwyneth Paltrow's decorator (painter) has obviously spent a lot of time at the house with them.
Sunday morning and our collective departures from Sydney arrived too soon. The six of us have coped with some health scares this year and it is a great relief that everyone is in recovery mode now and we can all enjoy wonderful times like this together. Here's to good times ahead for the sisters and their spouses and lots more opportunities to share them together.
2 comments:
What beautiful photos of you three at the end! Was great catching up last weekend too - although I always feel that Me and Eddie hog the conversation... Lotsa love x
What a lovely weekend we had. So nice to relive on blog. Thank you Judy xx
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