Wednesday 22 October 2014

Off the beaten track

Being 35 weeks pregnant with our second, I think I can be forgiven for dreaming of a time when I had the energy to go for long adventurous hikes in Sydney’s beautiful national parks. These days, if it’s not lack of sleep and energy that’s letting me down, it’s the fact that there’s big cliffs, fire trails that are unsuitable for prams and other child unfriendly hazards. Which essentially means that I am pretty much confined to the beach - about the only place where our darling daughter will sit still long enough for me to have a rest. I know, it’s a tough life :) 

Sedentary though my current lifestyle may be, it doesn’t stop me from dreaming about all the beautiful walks and views around here.

Here’s one of my absolute favourites from my pre baby days – the Bundeena to Marley head loop track in the Royal National Park. 

It’s about 11 kilometres long and both starts and finishes in Bundeena, which is accessible both by ferry from Cronulla, and by road through the park. 


Part of the Royal National Park's coastal track, this walk features stunning views of Sydney, as well as out to sea, with huge cliffs and amazing white rocks. 






As you can see from the trail, this terrain is unsuitable for even the most off-road worthy of prams (and trust me, I've thought of trying) but that no doubt adds to the charm...





And at the end, or rather half way through (it is a loop track after all) you get to hang out on this gorgeous beach...




Just make sure you leave enough time to get back on that last ferry...:) 


Sunday 12 October 2014

Playing tourist

What an amazing couple of weeks it has been. After almost a month of non-stop rain, the sun is out, the skies are blue and to top it all off, we were lucky enough to be able to spend lots of time catching up with one of my very good friends from the UK who came to visit us. It’s been such a magical couple of weeks that I’m feeling quite sad they've had to come to an end, so I’m going to cheer myself up by blogging about some of the highlights we have shared...

Gorgeous beautiful Bondi, without the masses of tourists that will be a familiar sight come summer...




A magical afternoon on Jibbon beach in the Royal National Park – I really can’t get enough of this place, for obvious reasons, and it’s been so lovely to be able to share this beauty.








Rose bay – perfect for children, due to its shallow waters. Which means it’s perfect for parents too. A great place to actually relax :)




Milk beach, quite possibly the most perfect beach in Sydney...




And brunch at Watsons bay, followed by more beach time...


Saying goodbye is the single one part of expat life that I really don't like and I don't think I will ever get used to, but at least we have some amazing memories that will last a lifetime...

Monday 15 September 2014

Life's a beach


Well, in Sydney it is, which is part of the reason why I am so in love with this city. It’s also incredibly convenient with kids. Give my daughter a bucket and a spade and she will happily spend the rest of the day building sandcastles, which beats looking for creepy crawlies in the park any day.

Since I often get questions about the best places to go around here, here’s my list of favourite Sydney beaches...

1.   Milk beach. Beautiful beautiful beautiful. This little Vaucluse-based gem has to be the best beach in the whole of Sydney. It’s a bit of a hike, not ideal with a pram, though it is do-able if you’re not afraid of a good workout. Quiet, especially mid-week, and gorgeous views of the bridge and city.



2.    Watsons bay. Touristy, yes, but who cares when you’ve got the best fish and chips and some of the most amazing views around. We go here a lot, though again, mostly mid-week.





3.   Camp Cove. Watsons Bay’s slightly quieter neighbour. Parking is a nightmare, but not impossible if you're happy to drive around for a while. Also the start to a beautiful loop walk around Sydney's South Head...







4.  Balmoral beach. A bit of a drive from my Eastern suburbs-perspective, but totally worth it...


5.    Bondi. Our local beach – and a real one at that... I love Bondi – even at the height of summer when it is over-run with backpackers and other tourists. The buzz is just incredible and if that’s not enough, then have a look at these waves...!




6.    Jibbon beach. A little further out in the Royal National Park but since you can see the city from here, I figure it can be included. I love love love this beach. Quiet, peaceful, and simply stunning, especially at sunset...



7.    While you’re there, check out nearby Bundeena beach too. A beautiful shady spot near the rocks provides perfect cover for those hot summer days...



Just mind the waves...


8.    Nielsen park. Perfect for swimming thanks to a top to bottom shark net that covers off a decent part of the bay.



9. Shelly Beach - Manly. Bondi's North shore-based "other half"... well, kindof. They are very different beaches, but equally iconic. I particularly love Shelly beach, which is just off Manly beach. Also the start of a beautiful loop track around the North head...








10.   Double Bay. I love this quiet little beach, that’s just a stroll down the hill from our house... Nearby Red Leaf pool is pretty amazing too...







These are my top ten beaches, if you think I'm missing any - or have any other tips - I'd love to hear about them!

xxx


Wednesday 30 July 2014

One fine day

What do you do when it's 25 degrees, there's not a cloud in the sky, and you've got the day off? We headed to the beach, where we ate fish & chips, chased seagulls and dipped our toes in the water. Sydney winters really don't come much better than this...









xxx from Watsons Bay

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Bondi baby

Spring is in the air! Well, technically it’s still a month off, but with the sun out and the mercury on it’s way up, it feels just like summer is around the corner. 

With temperatures in the early twenties, we headed down to Bondi for some quality beach time. Here are some pics, taken on my iPhone and edited with a free app I love called Photo Editor











And the best part about it? We had the beach all to ourselves... Winter isn’t so bad after all :) 

Thursday 6 February 2014

First birthday celebrations

It’s been a little quiet on the blogging front, but all for a good reason. For the past few weeks, I’ve spent every free moment of my time planning a Very Important Party… That’s right, this week, our little girl turned one!


Picking a location to celebrate this joyous occasion was the easy part – after having spent the best part of the past year in Centennial Park, this was simply a matter of deciding which of all the beautiful locations would be our favourite.  In the end, we decided on Pascale's tree – yep, this tree actually has a name - a beautiful spot with plenty of trees to provide much needed shade and a backdrop for our festive home-made bunting.





For the cakes, I resorted to Nigella’s guide to a domestic goddess, a treasured birthday gift from Pienkel that’s inspired me to try my hand at home-baked delights. In this case – it being typical Aussie summers’ day – I went for plain cakes (including a lemon loaf cake, an almond cake, an orange poppyseed cake and a big stack of vanilla cupcakes) that could withstand the 30 degree plus temperatures. Thanks to my lovely friends, without whom we definitely wouldn’t have been able to pull all this off, we also served delicious chocolate caramel brownies, Dutch apple pie, zucchini slices and a cheese platter.






To celebrate the past year – and relive those beautiful moments that have just flown by – we also added some “real” baby bunting, in the form of a photo for every month of the year. Glued onto patterned cardboard and pegged to a piece of string with some festive heart-shaped pegs, it added a festive touch to the party, and reminded us all of those beautiful moments in our little girl’s life.




All in all, it was a beautiful “end” to a beautiful first year, and a brilliant start of her life as a one year old. Here's to many more!



xxx

Friday 10 January 2014

I love summer

Need I say more...?












And just like that, I've entered the last week of my maternity leave. A strange feeling, to think that in a week's time I'll be swapping the beach for the office, but also an exciting prospect. I love being at home with our daughter, but I also love my job, and going back part time will (hopefully) allow me to have the best of both worlds. Quite how it will work out in practice remains to be seen, but if anyone has any tips on how best to manage a home/office life, I would love to hear about it!

xxx