Birthday long weekend

We've had a huge few days in Coogee since my birthday last week. 

We stopped in Wollongong on the drive there to catch up with Ollie - now happily settled in his new share house in North Wollongong. He has the best room in the house and looks set for a much more settled few years ahead as he finishes his double degree and continues to enjoy Wollongong's surf side lifestyle along with his best mates who share the house with him.

We had a day to ourselves in Coogee on Friday. All looked quiet on the beach that morning - a moment of respite for Coogee before the inundation of the long weekend coming.

The young ones arrived Saturday just in time for lunch at our fave Coogee Bay Hotel. After that it seemed like no time at all before we were meeting up for our Uber drive to Circular Quay and the Manly Ferry ride over to our celebratory dinner destination on Manly Wharf.

It was a beautiful evening on the harbour, and not just because of the company. The absolute magic hour - Sydney at her magnificent best!

Our timing was perfect arriving at Manly - allowing us pre-dinner drinks at Four Pines Brewery on the Manly Esplanade before heading to our dinner date.

Our big event dinner was booked at Dan Hong's Queen Chow on the Manly Wharf. It was busy on Saturday night but we got a warm welcome and it took no time at all before we knew we were in the right place, with the right menu and the most perfect level of service for an elevated, delicious, yet still unpretentious dining experience!

Ella and Abi liked the Asian fusion menu (as we all did). Abi gravitated to the lobster dish (served with garlic noodles) without any hesitation, bless her! Luckily we were all able to share the dishes: 1/2 shell scallops, Cantonese roast duck, Wagyu beef, salt 'n' pepper cauliflower with tofu mayo and the best dim sum platter we've ever shared - anywhere. It was all wonderful food!

Rob chose beautiful wines too - a Tyrrells 2018 HVD Semillon and a beautiful 2022 Maude Pinot Noir from Central Otago NZ.

.... and a Pandan sago, coconut sorbet, finger lime dish for dessert - yum! Such a memorable, fabulous birthday celebration for me, with my favourite people in the world!

After a laughter filled family breakfast - cooked by Abi in our tiny apartment kitchen - we set out for Bondi Beach via the 7klm Coogee to Bondi coastal walk on Sunday morning.

The girls wanted to swim at as many beaches as they could along the way.

First up was beautiful Gordons Bay .....

...and then Clovelly beach, crowded today on a perfect Sydney Spring day.

... past Bronte Beach ......

then Tamarama, before rounding the Marks Park headland towards Bondi Beach .....

We were able to walk right in front of the iconic Bondi Icebergs Club this day for the first time in a long while - after all the renovations to the path.

Bondi Beach was as crowded as ever. What was special about today was spotting two whales having their own tail slapping party, not too far off the beach - so lovely to see for us lucky visitors on land!

By now everyone was hungry for lunch. We have a favourite lunch spot in the centre of Bondi's retail strip. The Hotel Bondi on Curlewis Street may not be the coolest place in the village but the food is excellent and the beer garden is never as crowded as some.

Joshy taught me to take a selfie over lunch. I learnt its all about getting the right grip, having long arms and holding your phone above eye level. That's a lot to remember all at once (for me).

Rob and I and the girls Ubered it back to Coogee after but Josh and Jody did the return walk. That's a 14 klm round trip on top of the 5 klm run they'd done in Coogee before breakfast. Not a bad effort after a big night out on the town last night!

Dinner that night was at our fave La Sen up up at the Spot. The girls love the selection of Saturday night treats at the nearby Ezy Mart for dessert.

Rob and I enjoyed an artisanal icecream from Gaia Gelato at The Spot before heading back to our room at the Royal Hotel at the top of Coogee Bay Road - now full of patrons celebrating the Panthers NRL Grand Final win. The beautiful old Randwick Ritz on Saint Pauls Street looked entirely oblivious to all the football fever this night.

We had another long, leisurely, laughter filled breakfast in the same tiny kitchen on Monday morning before the young ones had to pack up and head back to Canberra. It seemed so quiet when they left us .....

Much later that afternoon we headed back down to the beach - filled with golden late afternoon light and thousands of people from every part of Sydney (and the world) enjoying Coogee's charms in the dying light of the Labour Day public holiday. The shocking events of the world, particularly on this day of the year (7 October) seemed an awfully long way away from this gorgeous and mellow part of the world. We are so very lucky!

We eventually found a quiet place up past the Ivo Rowe Rock Pool in South Coogee (the locals call this part of the coast the Honeycomb apparently).

... overlooked by this amazing property ........

We took a few photos including my best selfie yet ... but then put the phones away and enjoyed a quiet half hour of watching the waves break over the rocks while having the most amazing view of the coastline stretching from Maroubra to Bondi ......

Love Coogee!! And so grateful to share this time, around my birthday, with the ones I hold so dear. xxx

Sam's the One!

After a few months of searching, a few false starts, and some disappointments and stresses along the way, Abi now has her own horse! 

Sam the 5 year old, 14.1 hh, light bay Welsh/Anglo pony finally joined the family last Thursday - delivered to his beautiful new agistment out at Freshford Equestrian Centre near Point Hut Crossing out the back of Tuggeranong. He'll be quarantined in a special paddock there for two weeks before he's able to move into his (overnight) stable and join the other horses out in the main paddocks when he's not spending time with Abi.

We met Sam for the first time on Sunday out at Freshford, after picking up his brand new saddle from Fyshwick. It was so lovely to see him running up to meet Abi when she arrived. He was so excited to see her; no need for a lead rope here!! 

He was actually excited to meet the whole family...

.. and he had no objections to his new pink halter .....

He doesn't like the expensive horsey treats - carrots are his favourite!

He had no problems with the classy new bridle either!

What a pair of cuties!

The property is beautiful in its wild, expansive Australian bush setting, sited at the foot of a mountain range. This old wombat is obviously used to horsey people being around the paddocks here. It didn't seem to care how close I got to get this pic.

Sam using up a bit of his 5 year old energy in the lunging ring....

... and trying on the new saddle for size .... Verdict: saddle is perfect size but a smaller girth strap is needed (add that to the already pretty extensive shopping list!)

... and back to the "hospital paddock" for Sam ......

It has been so wonderful, so rewarding, to share in Abi's happiness and excitement - here's to all the Sam love and adventures ahead!!

Geelong visit

We've just returned from a four night stay in Geelong, catching up with Ros and Pete for the first time since we said our goodbyes in London back in May this year.

Its been a tough few months for Pete in particular, recovering slowly (too slowly says Pete) from knee surgery and quite a few other issues complicated by his cancer treatment over the past year or so.

On Friday night he felt well enough to enjoy dinner out with us at 1915 in North Geelong.

 

The restaurant is set in the century old boiler house that once powered the entire Geelong Federal (woollen) Mills. Serving high end food with a focus on locally sourced food and wine, 1915 is a real asset to Geelong's already well developed dining scene. It was Ros and Pete's second visit here; thank you Kay for discovering it for us!

Ros always inspires us to do a lot of walking during our Geelong stays. Walks along the Barwon River always beckon us.......

..... as does Born and Bread, Geelong's best bakery, just off Pakington Street in Newtown. Rod and Pete joined us here (by car) on Friday and Saturday morning for a coffee and ... almond croissant, cheese pretzel, blueberry Danish and olive baguette breakfast. Worth queuing for ..... yes!!!

Rob worked hard to keep up with us on the morning we walked over 11 klms.

Saturday we drove to Port Arlington - a lovely drive and a great source of fresh seafood - Tasmanian Pacific oysters, a kilo of cooked prawns and a kilo of prawn cutlets we cooked in oil garlic and chili, on the bar-b-que - a wonderful feast at home!

Sunday we drove to Ocean Grove - via Torquay .... another windy, cool day in Geelong, but at least the rain held off.

We enjoyed lunch together at the beautifully located "Dune" on the beachfront at Ocean Grove..

We didn't spend too much time outdoors at Ocean Grove admiring the view out to Bass Strait as it was blowing a gale and feeling very cool.

We said goodbye to Ros and Pete yesterday morning after another wonderful stay with them in Geelong. We've all got our fingers crossed that Pete's health continues to improve, but at a much faster rate, and he and Ros can get back to the active life they enjoyed together in this beautiful part of the world.