The London branch in Sydney

The London branch were well set up in their stylish Randwick Airbnb during their Sydney stay: lots of pool time for Eddie, fantastic toys to play with, great eating options nearby and plenty of shared time with Nanny and Poppa (and us)!  It helped (just) make up for the loss of Eddie and Ivy's Canberra playmates, although I think Eddie lost his Mojo for a bit - it was so quiet ...........

We didn't do too much in Sydney the first two days - it was too hot to venture far from the a/c and the pool. However by Monday we were able to set out on the ferry to Manly Beach - the classic Sydney visitor destination......

Eddie had recovered his Mojo by this and was a very animated traveller....

Manly had all the attributes Eddie looks for in a beach (namely seagulls!!)..........

Ivy had recovered her sleeping Mojo by today and we didn't see much of her until after lunch.

Lunch was truly amazin. We found the best restaurant eva..... chip pizzas on the menu... 3 thumbs up from Eddie!!

Ivy finally woke up - properly - on the ferry ride back to Circular Quay.....

Hope she doesn't forget seeing Sydney Harbour.......
Our last night together (last night) was lovely. We celebrated Eddie's 7th birthday with a cake and presents ..... The rockin rollin laughin kookaburra was a huge hit (yay!) - resulting in big smiles from Eddie....

and great hilarity all around....

... only to be relieved when those batteries wear out (soon I hope)!

Such precious times with these beauties.........

Can't bear to write how it felt to say goodbye!!!

Christmas 1

We had our first Christmas celebration here at Saint Germain last Sunday. There were all the traditional elements: the Canberra clan together, a glass of Majella on entry, Christmas carols on rotation (groans from Ella), Secret Santa presents to open (yay says everyone)..........

Abi's present struck the right note: a squeaky toy for her Sniffy dog and a new food bowl for him too (apparently Paddy the dachshund gave it his seal of approval too after quite a fuss!)........

We were so lucky to have Claire and Angus with us - despite Angus's surgery a few days before......

A beautiful late lunch: turkey, ham, prawn salad and creamy potatoes, following on from Josh & Jody's yummy canapes..........

Ella was the star turn at lunch: a 20 minute tour de force of her free form social commentary complete with cockney accent - hilarious!! How does she do it?

A game in the park then icecream dessert and the rare treat of chocs and licorice allsorts: a perfect day, though somewhat tiring by the end! .............................

Golden anniversary

50 years ago today (25th November 1967) this beautiful pair got married, on a sultry afternoon in Brisbane (and I know they did because I was there) - a very happy excuse for a family celebration today at Josh & Jody's.

in 1967 they looked incredibly young to be married - but oh so beautiful! Maxie was a week off turning 21 and Rod was 21 and 4 months (that's how it was done in those days!).

The pic below was taken in Canberra about 15 years later (New Year's Eve 1982-83). In the first decade of their marriage Rod and Maxie had moved to Canberra, built their beautiful architect designed house in Torrens and welcomed Claire (02-07-1975) and Davey (23-09-1977) into the world. They had a lot to celebrate!

 The pic below was taken a year later in January 1984.

The pic below was taken on Christmas day 1988. Rod and Maxie had been married 21 years by now! 

The pic below was taken in August 1995. Maxie and Rod were parents of a 20 year old (Claire) and an almost 18 year old (Davey) by now and they were both approaching their 50th birthdays (and looking good!). Exciting times!

I can't find a date for the pic below - but I think it would be in the early 2000s. It must have been before they sold their house at Torrens after the devastating Canberra bushfires of January 2003. Maxie and Rod became grandparents in 2004, by which time they'd moved into their beautiful new home in Jerra (close to Jeremy and Claire and baby Ollie). They celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in 2002.

The beautiful pic below was taken in April 2009 at Erin's wedding. They'd been married 42 years by now and had two beautiful grandsons (Ollie and Angus) and had seen Davey happily settled in London with the beautiful Cath. Have you noticed that Rod is nearly always on the left when a picture of he and Maxie is taken?

In amongst all this celebration of a such a magical (and inspiring) partnership Abi's big news today was her newly missing bottom front tooth.

Let's get the big news stories in perspective here!

Welcome back Maxie

It was so good to be with Maxie and Rod for 5 days of fun in Coogee/Sydney. Maxie says she is feeling great; she looks wonderful and has plenty of spark, enjoys her food again and is gradually regaining her strength and energy levels. We had a wonderful time!

First stop on the drive into Coogee was at the very instagrammable: The Grounds, Alexandria, for lunch and a chance to get up close and personal with one of the resident macaws!

On Wednesday we saw "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical" at the Lyric Theatre, a wonderful experience, made even more fun by the chance it provided to check out the lunch time crowds at the Star Casino while we enjoyed lunch ourselves at "Harvest".

Thursday we headed out (via Manly) to the ceramics department of the Northern Beaches Campus of TAFE at Brookvale so we could meet the head of school, Christopher James and collect some of his beautiful handmade mugs.

Because we went via Manly that was the perfect excuse to stop for lunch at Crinitï's at the ferry terminal.

Friday was a fun day too: seeing the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition at the AGNSW, lunch at Sabbaba in the CBD, viewing the Loft Market in the beautiful old Strand Arcade (presented by Courtesy of the Artist)...........

 ..... time to check out the Fabric Store in Surry Hills, then a well deserved Newtown Young Henry's (beer) at our fave Trinity Bar on Crown Street.

We love walking through our little park near the bus stop at the top of Carrington Road, at the end of each day..... especially now the Jacarandas are in full bloom (which means it's exam time for the kids).

We started the day on Saturday with a fantastic breakfast at Bake Bar on Frenchman's Road at Randwick....... and a successful watch buying session for Rod afterwards at Bondi Junction.

 .... and then a late lunch at Tim Ho Wan's and a catch up with Alan and Tania at Chatswood (another big day).

Sunday we had to head back to Chatswood to introduce Maxie and Rod to Ippudo at the Interchange - best ramen in Sydney and the same chain of ramen stores we enjoyed eating at in Tokyo! 

A fabulous five days, full of fun and great food and great company - but the best part is seeing Maxie well again and enjoying life to the full!! 

In Sydney again

Our last few days in Sydney have seen plenty of highs and a few lows......  but this blog focusses on the positives....   and there were indeed, plenty of those.

On the way up last Wednesday we stopped off at the Goulburn Regional Gallery and were blown away by Claire's work in her current exhibition Presence: Two Visions of a Landscape. The pic below may not be the biggest or best work in her exhibition - but I thought it looked really good beside Maxie in her perfectly coordinated outfit.

Last Thursday was a huge day for everyone (especially Maxie and Rod) but we debriefed over a fabulous lunch at Matt Moran's Chiswick at the Gallery and a few hours enjoying the Gallery (and some shoe shopping later for Maxie and me).

Friday we walked from Coogee to Bondi on one of Sydney's stunning, superlatively beautiful days, then lunch at our fave Sabbaba in Hall Street - a gorgeous day! 

Judy and Jurgen joined us in Coogee on Friday night in time for our trek to the buzzy Pool Cafe at Maroubra Beach for Saturday brunch.

I had to include this close up pic of Rob's "fully loaded breakfast burger". Just as well it's an 8 klm round trip, walking to the Pool Cafe!!

We were able to celebrate our dear friend Fiona's big zero birthday on Saturday night. We started with drinks at the spectacular rooftop bar at the Hyatt Regency, overlooking Darling Harbour. The pic below shows us just settling in at the Zephyr Bar before we worked out the complicated system for ordering a drink (it was a bit too cool for school!).

 Rob and Jurgen - looking more relaxed after the drinks were ordered!..

The pic below is of Charlotte and me admiring the sunset while talking through some of the work challenges we've shared (although she's been much braver than me!).

 James organised the most fabulous sunset in honour of Fiona's birthday.......

 .... which finished with a spectacular firework's display - as you do!

We enjoyed dinner together at Chat Thai in Campbell Street. The food is always wonderful at Amy Chanta's Chat Thai and there were queues of people waiting their turn for a table when we arrived (at the appointed hour). The city was absolutely pumping on Saturday night - a spectacle of lights, sights and sounds.

We all enjoyed a slow start this morning and a post party catch up for brunch at Barzura's at Coogee Beach. The beach looked PERFECT this morning - all sparkle and dazzle, and gently rolling surf.

We had the whole day to enjoy together today: a long lazy brunch, beach time then a beer at the Coogee Bay Hotel. Luck for us Charlotte, Fiona and James did not have to return to Melbourne until late afternoon (and they weren't looking forward to flying back through the storm fronts over SE Australia).

Happy Birthday Fiona! Thanks for sharing a perfect celebration with us. Can't wait for the next one!