Day 86: Sydney Park

10 April 2012

I took the day off work so I didn't have the back to work blues that comes with rushing back to work the morning after your holiday. Carl and I walked to Newtown and got a Moo Burger, then wandered down to St Peters/Alexandria area and perused the retro/2nd hand furniture shops. After a pit stop for coffee and banana bread we walked down to the end of King Street to Sydney Park. There's a nice view from the top of the hill and we always like watching dogs playing. One jumped in the water.

I took the below picture on our way out of the park. I thought someone had left a balaclava in the park at first glance but it was a piece of art made out of a concrete cast.

Day 85: Birthday celebrations

9 April 2012

I got up early on my birthday and helped tidy the last of the house before we left. Carl got me tickets to Karen O's Opera show at the Sydney Opera House 'Stop the Virgens' (can't wait!) and  made me a sausage and egg sandwich for breakfast. By about 9.30 we had hit the road.

We stopped and got the obligatory photo of me and the Port Stephens whale and within half an hour I was dozing in the back.

We got stuck in traffic and took a wrong turn so it took about 4 hours to get back. We stopped at a service station and I had an awful savoury muffin, i've had better birthday lunches but it could have been worse!

We got back around 2pm and went straight out again to meet Katie, Andrew and Indie-Rose in the Royal Botanical Gardens. We went to the Opera Bar for a birthday drink, exactly where we were that time last year. 

We went to Mantra, a restaurant on Woolloomooloo Wharf in the evening. We had lovely prawns, fish, steak and hand cut chips but unfortunately we were freezing cold sat outside. We had to try and eat quickly before our food went cold. They wouldn't let us move inside when we asked to so I can't say i'd recommend it. Having to wait a long time to get someone's attention to be served is never a good thing either. 

Still, all in all a nice birthday spent with special people. I got to speak to all of my family on Skype or on the phone including a Skype call with my Niece and Nephew who were on holiday in India. 2 more years until I hit the big one! 

Day 84: Port Stephens Day 4

For our last full day in Port Stephens we took it easy in the day enjoying the view from our balcony. In the late afternoon, Ian, Carl and I went for a wander to check out a different local beach.

I sat on the rocks and read my Richard Branson book and Ian and Carl played frisbee on the beach.

When we got back to the house we put on a great barbecue - fish, grilled vegetables and houlomi. A huge electrical storm hit just as we were almost finished cooking. It started pouring hard with rain so we had to come in and finish cooking inside. 

We had quite the feast, Ian bought us all some mini easter eggs and the boys bought me a birthday carrot cake, complete with candles. I had a mini bottle of bubbly to celebrate my birthday early and we settled in for the night to play cards. We played 'Hearts', Carl was the loser for the first game and myself for the 2nd. We were up until 2am finishing the 2nd game so I well and truly saw my birthday in!

Day 83: Port Stephens Day 3

On Saturday we ran down to the beach again and got back to the house in time for Ian arriving. He had cycled the 60kms from Newcastle. We had breakfast and headed out to walk to the top of Tomaree Headland for a180 degree view of Port Stephens.

It felt like a big trek to get up to the top, there were lots of sloped paths and stairs involved! It was a great view though, as you can see from the pictures. Along the walk were dozens, if not hundreds of spiders in webs hanging above your head or to the side. It was quite a challenge to ignore them!

Day 82: Port Stephens Day 2

On our 2nd day in Port Stephens we went for our daily jog down to the beach around 9am, had a swim and walked back to the house.

We had breakfast on the balcony and later drove into Nelsons Bay to try and find something for lunch. Unfortunately most places were closed as it was Good Friday. It became a bit of a mission to try and find something gluten free for Carl. Rob and I had a vegetable pasty and Carl had to make himself a sandwich back at the house.

We went on a sand dune tour in the afternoon and went sand boarding, I managed to climb up the dunes and slide down 4 times, they're pretty high so climbing up was a bit of a workout!

Rob and I sliding down the dunes

Before we went back to the house we stopped off at a beach. Carl did some snorkelling and Rob and I sat on the beach. I had a bit of a sunbathe, it was beautiful weather.

Carl on the beach

We had a barbecue on the balcony on the 2nd night, sausages, zucchini, corn on the cob and salad. I spent much of the evening playing Draw Something, very addictive!

Day 81: Port Stephens Day 1

As I write this I am enjoying a nice soak in the huge corner bath in the ensuite bathroom of our Port Stephens holiday home (mustn't drop my phone in the bath!). It has to be one of my highlights of today given that we don't have a bath in our flat. I've got my Yen Magazine and Dirty Granny (cider) at my side.

Rob, Carl and I set off around 10am and got to Port Stephens at about 1pm, by which point we were all starving. We went into Nelson's Bay and bought fish and chips. We all went for grilled blue-eye cod with chips and salad. Very tasty although the chips over here never seem to be hand-cut like they are in the UK, most of them come out of a bag in the freezer.

We got settled into the house and went for a walk down to the local beach just in time to see the sunset as we walked down the hill.

Tomorrow we might go sand boarding at the local sand dunes, but for now I think it's time for me to put my phone down and enjoy my bath... :-)

Day 80: Training

I spent all day yesterday in Excel training. I learnt some useful things but I was surprised at how much time was focused on different ways to cut and paste!

There was a nice view of the city from the HSBC building.

A sign on the bathroom door made me smile!

And the motivational plants in the breakout area! :-)