Camping and Candlelit Carols

When I first heard about what my latest adventure was going to be, I wasnt exactly sure. Camping. With most of my previous camping experiences being not exactly enjoyable, I wasnt looking forward to a weekend in a tent. My fears were heightened when we awoke on the morning of departure to heavy rain. It was the first bad weather I had seen since I left Britain and we were about to go camping....brilliant.

We were camping at Horseshoe Bay, which is a gorgeous little beach village about an hour and a half drive from my sister's. It wasnt the most comfy drive of my life though, we had packed so much stuff that none of us actually had anyroom to really sit down properly. The kids had their feet up on top of boxes and duvets, Katy was squeezed inbetween them hugging her knees and I was sat crossed legged in the front seat as I didnt have a footwell, with blankets and towels piled so high on my lap I couldnt actually see out of the window. This was also after the drama of actually getting in the car because we didnt think we could get the car up the steep drive. We solved the problem by me and Katy waiting at the top of the road in the rain while Boot managed to get the car out. So we were now completely squished into the car and soaking wet. Fabulous.

Luckily though, the rain stopped about ten minutes after we arrived so we put the tent up, unpacked all our stuff, grabbed a fish and chip lunch and then headed down to the beach. We had the entire beach to ourself so spent a great couple of hours playing about with the kids, running around and jumping in the waves.

The beach frolicking really set the tone for the rest of the weekend. We were joined by some friends later that day who have two kids the same age as Scarlett and Josh, so we took turns in taking the kids to the playground and staying by the tent and having a few casual drinks looking out across the sea. The next day we left the guys and kids at the beach while me, Katy and Sam snuck away to have a coffee. My first cup of proper coffee in weeks and it was goooood! We stopped off at a bakery on the way back though and we all had a cake/donut/eclair picnic on the beach. That evening was barbie time and then just chilling by the tents with some ciders. It was pretty stressful, let me tell you!

So as you can probably guess, I had a pretty good weekend. We were lucky with the weather and although it was a little chilly it only rained overnight so we werent stopped from doing anything. We packed up sunday morning and headed home with two tired little kids in the back of the car, but not without one last trip to the bakery....



Sunday evening was then time for some festive fun. Me, Katy and Scarlett headed into the city for Carols by Candlelight. Its an open air concert on the banks of the River Torrens, which becomes candlelit once the sun goes down. There were so many people there and everyone was getting into the christmas spirit and singing along. I have been struggling with feeling festive because it feels like its the middle of summer at the moment, but last night really got me excited. Looking out over the park and seeing thousands of people all waving their candles was an incredible sight. I admit I did even get a little emotional and the homesickness kicked in a little. It will be strange not being with some of my loved ones this christmas, but then getting to see how excited the kids are already I think christmas morning will be amazing. 8 more sleeps!!!!

Birthday Celebrations

So I have been in Australia nearly a month now and things have finally started to calm down. Last week I even had a couple of days which could be described as quite....I know, it had me fainting in shock too. So as it goes, I dont have a whole lot to report. I did have a couple of exciting days though, because it was my birthday!!!! It only seems appropriate to divulge my aussie celebrations to you all.

On the morning of my birthday I was woken up by the kids who I think may have been even more excited than me. Josh was jumping up and down on my bed shouting birthday cake. He knows about the important things in life obviously. Then I did a few skype calls to the family back home so they could se me open my cards and pressies. It was my first birthday spent away from home, so a little strange. But, it was also my first birthday spent with my sister in over a decade!! Katy took the day off and after a lazy morning in PJ's, we headed out for a girly afternoon. She took me to the cinema, but not just any old screening, the GOLD CLASS screening. It had to be one of the most awesome birthday treats ever. I was sat in an electric reclining armchair in a room with only about 20 other people watching the lastest bond film. Then we had drinks and food delivered to us at various intervals during the film. Our menu was as follows:

Trailers: glass of sparkiling rose
30 mins in: BBQ chicken pizza with sweet potato fries and onion rings with various dips
1hr in: another glass of sparkiling rose
1hr 30 mins in: churros and melted chocolate

What more can I say really.....fab, fab, fab.

We spent that evening at home as Katy and Scarlett werent feeling that well, but they both somehow managed to recover enough to help me eat my choccie mud cake....mmmm.

My second birthday celebration was a few nights afterwards when we went out for dinner at Hog's Breath in Glenelg. Its the first time all five of us had gone out together and we all had a great time. I even got a slice of chocolate brownie brought out with a sparkler in it as a surprise. Well when can a girl ever get enough of choccie cake...

So that was my birthday over and now getting geared up for christmas. Really struggling to feel festive when it is so hot but Im sure the kid's excitment will quickly be passed on.

Sydney baby!

My latest adventure was an amazing four days in Sydney with my sister. It is an incredible city and it was a brilliant place to spend my birthday weekend. We arrived around 9pm on Thursday, dumped our cases at the hotel and headed out to explore. By 10pm we were in Darling Harbour and drinking a pitcher of sangria...shocking I know.

Friday was the tourist day, starting off with breakfast pancakes at Bondi Beach. After spending a few hours sunbathing and people watching (and by people I of course mean hot surfers and life guards) we headed back into the city. Not wanting to waste holiday time we didnt bother getting changed and headed to Circular Quay still in our beach gear. The usual tourist pictures of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge were then captured in numerous poses and positions before we felt the calling of alcohol once again. I must say I felt a little under-dressed sat in the Opera Bar in beachwear, but after a few glasses of wine I just didnt really care.

It was around 5pm that we both had the amazing idea of heading back to the hotel but stopping at every bar we passed along the way and having a different drink. We had a cider at an italian bar at the Rocks and then a beer at an irish bar on some random side street. At this place we also managed to steal a couple of santa hats because a group having their christmas party had left them behind. It only seemed appropriate to continue the bar crawl sporting said hats.

I would try and relay the route to you, but surprisingly it all goes a bit fuzzy after the irish bar.... I do remember that we didnt want to waste money on dinner so we had our evening meal in mcdonalds at which point I became increasingly concerned that I wasnt wearing underwear so after a quick detour back to the room to get changed we headed back out into the city. We spent a fair chunk of the evening in a student bar called Star Bar. It was happy hour so as the drinks were cheaper, we bought two each time instead of two...logical. I have vague memories of getting tequila shots bought for us by a random guy from which we ran away and being asked to drink a glass of water at the bar before they would serve me another shot. Aussie's are strict on that kinda stuff!! We eventuallly made it back to the hotel with my sister wearing my shoes and me in bare feet (don't even ask) and collapsed into bed. I was especially impressed that even whilst drunk I had enough self-control not to eat the gingerbread house that was on display in reception no matter how amazing it smelt everytime I walked past. An achivement worth recognition, don't you think ;-)

 

So we awoke on Saturday morning and I had the worst hangover I have ever had! We had prepaid to go to Sydney Tower where there is a revolving restaurant that overlooks all the city. The food was absolutely gorgeous and I had been looking forward to going for ages. However, my body decided to punish me and so I spent the entire time trying to keep down what little food I had managed to eat...very sad times. I couldnt manage doing anything strenuous that afternoon so we hopped on the ferry to Manly and sat at the beach for a while doing yet more people watching and just letting the world pass by. I started to feel human again by late afternoon so we headed back to the city and spent some more time in Darling Harbour. We drank some gorgeous cocktails in Cohi bar before meeting up with some friends for dinner. There was also and amazing fireworks display around 9pm as the countdown to christmas had begun!



 

 



 

 

After and alcohol-free detox day I was ready on Sunday to do some more exploring. We met a family friend from home for brekkie and he showed us around his part of the city. I especially enjoyed the visit to the macaroon shop and the gingerbread macaroons..yuuuuuummmy! More tourist times followed with a walk around the botanical gardens. Gorgeous settings but sadly the colony of fruit bats that I really wanted to see had been moved on so I had to make do with some funky-looking birds instead. Not quite as David Attenborough worthy, but cute nonetheless. It was walking back to the hotel that I saw a pretty awesome sight. We heard music behind us so we turned around and saw an old guy dressed in what can only be described as the clothes oxfam rejects. He was riding on a mobility scooter to which he had fixed a speaker and amp to the back and a massive elvis ornament to the front. He then was just riding around the city blaring out elvis music as he went. Very bizarre.

 

 

Monday was our last day and as the weather was terrible we headed to the aquariam. It has to be one of the best I have ever visited and got to check another thing off my wishlist: seeing a duck-billed platypus!! It was then time to head to the airport. Ok, so we were four hourse early but Katy had won quantas platinum membership for the year, so as were allowed into the quantas club lounge it only seemed appropriate to make as much use of the free food an alcohol as we possibly could. My highlight would have to be the chocolate orange bread and butter pudding. Yummy, yum, yum, get in my tum!

 

And so the flight home....and shall I just make you aware that we got a business class upgrade for the first time. Woohoo! Pretty awesome birthday pressie from my amazing travel consultant of a sister. Strawberry juice on take-off, followed by pre-dinner wine, a roasted duck salad and chocolate torte for dinner and yet more wine. Not bad for an hour and a half flight. Lets just say, I don't do economy anymore......