Not the best month

This has not been the best month for our Canberra based family. There's been some things happening health wise that are causing us some angst .......but this blog is about the positives in my life - so that's what I'll focus on..... a bit of a catch up on the last month or so.

It's been 5 weeks now since our gorgeous Ella ran her best in the ACT finals of the Schools X Country Carnival at Stromlo Forest.  It's no surprise to any of us that she's one of the fittest and fastest 11 year old girls in the Territory!

 A few days later a dear friend of mine (Irene) who is getting near the end of her chemo treatment was well enough to enjoy a celebratory breakfast with us "girls" at the Arboretum ..... it was a freezing but clear and sunny June morning, and we all felt happy that things are returning to"normal" for Irene. 

BUT then a week later disaster struck for me ... I fell over on the edge the road and fractured (and displaced) my distal radius (wrist bone). I ended up needing surgery (involving a 3 day wait and an overnight stay at Canberra Hospital) to have a plate fixed. It's my dominant hand too - so I've been fairly useless ever since!

Everyone has been lovely about this, and so supportive. Maxie and Rod and Josh and Jody have been wonderful, cooking us beautiful meals and keeping our spirits up. We've even had one of our lovely new neighbours at Saint Germain make us up some pots of soup.

And a week ago I had my plaster removed and replaced with this steel and velcro brace - which has given me a lot more flexibility (and wardrobe choices). I have to wear this for four weeks.

A week ago we started the journey north to Brisbane: starting with a night at Coogee to catch up on the annual apartment (EC) business ..... then a night with Ros and Pete at Sandy Beach ....and a chance to catch up with their dramatic plans to relocate to Geelong!!!

We made it to Brisbane by last Thursday afternoon and straight away made our way to see Rob's Mum Bobbie at her new "home" at Cazna Gardens. She looks bright and chirpy as ever, but increasingly frail - time to move out of her independent living unit and into a higher level of care (as of two weeks ago).

 As well as having some time with Bobbie we had a few days of packing, sorting and cleaning to do to clear her unit (after Rob's brother and his wife had done the bulk the work). In the process we saw a fair bit of Brisbane we don't normally see - like the local tip (Resource Recovery Centre). I thought this place was amazing!!!

But we managed to enjoy some downtime in Brisbane too - checking out the wonderful food scene in the diverse suburbs surrounding Cazna Gardens (Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese)..........

 Two trips with Bobbie to beautiful Manly on Moreton Bay ......

 (loved the sight of these nesting Lorikeets in the mangroves on the edge of the Bay).........

 And admiring the lush gardens and picturesque architecture of the older suburbs of Brisbane ....

 It's our last day in Brisbane today and we enjoyed another lovely seafood lunch together at Manly. We have finished the clear out of Bobbie's unit and she is settled into the new situation at Cazna. It's a stressful transition ...... we hope it works out for the best and she stays strong enough so we can share many more lunches like this with her in the future

NYE Sydney

Our darling nephew Joel invited us to this AMAZING place at Milson's Point, overlooking Luna Park, Lavender Bay and Sydney's Harbour Bridge, to view the greatest show on Earth, Sydney's NYE fireworks, last Sunday night. 

I was so excited I could hardly believe I was really HERE........ Seeing the New Year in on Sydney Harbour has been on my bucket list for at least 60 years! How did you know that Joel?

We made our way from Coogee by bus and train and were well set up with drinks and nibbles on the balcony, before 6pm..... ready for the year's best show in Sydney (the world?)...... and only six hours to go...... 

 It's so special sharing this wonderful night with our South Korean family too (starting the celebrations with a glass of our fave Kardinia Rose).

The first (short) fireworks show started at 9.00pm ..... so the kids could go home early.......

Fireworks were exploded on pontoons stationed all along the harbour and the Parramatta River beyond. It seemed like the display on this pontoon directly opposite our balcony was just for us.......... 

I loved the way the cruise boats were all lit up with LED lights - a beautiful light show to complement the main action.

But then close to midnight the countdown begins: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ..... and then the bridge explodes with light and colour .......... We gasp, and scream, cameras click, ears boom with the exploding sound. and when the bridge show pauses it's back to the pontoons spread across the water, a moving feast of glorious colour, light, sound and fury. Twenty minutes of the most thrilling show on Earth ......

And then it's over......... and a New Year begun.  A spectacular way to start 2018, in the best of company.

I'd been dreading the trip back home. A million people gather round the harbour to see this show and I thought there would be huge delays getting back across the harbour, at the very least.

But Joel had booked us a big "Bling Taxi" to ferry us home. We were picked up in Kirribilli at about 1.30pm and we were back in Coogee barely 45minutes later with very few delays. The "Bling Taxi" delivered on its name in spades. We laughed all the drive home - the envy of everyone in view. This night could not get any better! HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone............

Night at Bennelong

Friday night (29th) we were booked into the iconic Bennelong Restaurant at the Opera House - you have to wonder how a restaurant menu can possibly compete with this amazing setting?

You can't help but learn more about taking photographs with Joel around: get the bridge in the middle...aim higher, lower, watch the light!!

 This is one of Joel's beautiful pics inside Bennelong......

Tasmanian octopus, shaved squid, Fraser Is spanner crab, local prawns were all on the entrees menu....

Rob raved about his roasted John Dory and I loved my Macleay Valley suckling pig for mains.
Desserts at Bennelong are all deconstructed/reconstructed versions of the old clichéd favourites. This is Peter Gilmore's version of a cherry jam Lamington.....

 and his interpretation of pavlova......

Joelly loved his chocolate cake (the volcano cake!) and my crème caramel vs mille feuille was to die for. Another amazing meal!

We broke our usual Sydney rule and and caught a taxi back to Coogee after this fabulous night at Bennelong. We were prepared to party on back at Coogee, but the young ones stood us up. They'd spent the last of their energy getting up early and swimming up a storm to be able to party on with the oldies.

South Korean family in Sydney

The South Korean branch of the family arrived in Sydney last Thursday for 5 days of feasting, sightseeing, great conversations, lots of laughter and eventually some tears (when we had to say goodbye this morning).

The laughter and feasting started on our first evening together at our fave Barzuras in Coogee.

This is the gorgeous couple (Joel and Soyoung - Kay) that has brought our families together......... This is their first visit back to Australia since their wedding in September 2016.

On Friday we took the ferry to the Taronga Zoo wharf and headed East along the Bradleys Head bush track to.......

the Athol Hall Café for a light lunch on the verandah, overlooking beautiful Sydney Harbour.......

This visit there were temporary fences lining the usually picturesque entry to the building (apparently in preparation for the NYE crowds), and the usually well behaved resident kookaburras were quite feral - swooping the tables looking for gourmet fillets of barramundi and calamari - very unnerving, and disappointing for me as the visit organiser!!

We have a photo of the London branch taken in the same place in the grounds of Athol Hall in February 2010.

 The harbour looked exquisite that day......

Friday night the fun continued with a wonderful meal at the iconic Bennelong Restaurant at the Opera House. It was a very photogenic venue so I'll do a separate post on that.

Saturday we caught the bus into the city so we could take Kay's Mum and Dad to lunch at Sydney's best Korean Restaurant: Danjee in Albion Place, off  George Street.

Kay's Mum is a wonderful cook and very discerning. She gave Danjee her top rating - Yay! After lunch we filled in a few hours taking the ferry to a very crowded (and HOT) Watson's Bay. We wanted our visitors to enjoy this beautiful spot on the Harbour but I suspect it must have seemed quite a trial in the heat with all the crowds.

Meanwhile Kay's brother and his girlfriend had arrived in Sydney too (from Seoul). They settled quickly into their Airbnb rooms at Coogee and managed to make their way to meet us at Darling Harbour late afternoon without once getting lost or confused. Amazing!

Nick's Seafood at Darling Harbour was Joel's choice for dinner. He'd been dreaming of Nick's bountiful seafood platters ever since his last visit home. 

Sunday in Sydney was a quiet one, in readiness for our HUGE night out for New Year's Eve on the harbour at Milson's Point. This wonderful night needs its own post!

We did final planning for our big NYE night out over lunch at the Coogee Bay Hotel (the young ones had spent the morning swimming at Bondi with Kay's Mum and Dad).

Joel & Kay and her Mum and Dad's Airbnb at Coogee gave them the most beautiful views North towards Clovelly - and over Dunningham Reserve, close to Giles Baths.

This is Joel's amazing early morning shot of sunrise over the Giles Baths rock pool.....

 and crowded Coogee Beach during its busiest week of the year.

Yesterday was an extremely quiet day for us after getting home from NYE celebrations close to 3.00am. After a very late to the day we enjoyed a reviving ale at the beautiful old Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel at The Rocks (Rob's suggestion - he loves this place!).

We spent our last night together enjoying Chat Thai curries, Fujiyama sushi and Pavillion pizza at Joel and Kay's apartment. We felt very sad to say goodbye to our wonderful South Korean family and the fabulous times and great conversations we've shared together during our Sydney stay. We don't want it to end!