Queensland has the best playgrounds...

We have been away on a long holiday...  a much needed break from the rigours of renovating!  We visited Cairns (our favourite!), Brisbane and the Gold Coast.  One observation that I made on this holiday was that Queensland has excellent infrastructure, far superior to New South Wales... despite the higher taxes, grrr!  Although, it has to be said that on the whole Queenslanders do not know how to make coffee.  (Two exceptions here... Bang Espresso in Cairns is outstanding, better than many many Sydney/Melbourne coffee houses and Campos in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.  Side note... we did our pre-natal classes with a young couple who had opened a little hole in the wall cafe in Newtown, Campos and now look at them!!!  They are often on top ten entrepreneur type lists etc etc and deservedly so, Campos coffee is consistently excellent!) 

Anyway, back to the holiday. We had a fabulous break, the highlight for me was a week in Brisbane where I got to meet my dear friend Veronica's divine new daughter for the first time:

Here she is looking adorable and fabulously glamourous in her Cath Kidston for Maclaren stroller! 

The highlight for the boys though was the playgrounds.  Queensland has the best playgrounds I have ever seen.  In Brisbane, the playground at New Farm is superb.  A brief walk through the gardens from the ferry wharf and you discover a children's paradise, complete with magical Banyan trees. The Captain spent hours exploring every nook and cranny of the trees reminding me so much of my own childhood.  I have very fond memories of playing in a Banyan tree in the grounds of my school in India. 

In Cairns there is Muddy's Playground on the Esplanade, with both a fabulous waterplay area and a maze of climbing nets and tree houses to explore!

On the Gold Coast we skipped the theme park thing, (hoping to avoid it for as long as possible!) but discovered this brilliant contraption across the road from our hotel at Broadbeach:

They seriously spent hours playing on it!  Another brilliant discovery on the Gold Coast was this little gem:

It is called Gov's Espresso and is on the Gold Coast Highway at Mermaid Beach.  We were able to scooter there from our hotel at Broadbeach and it was worth the trek!

In the backyard there is a huge sandpit play area, with a boat in it just like ours! (the third photo down).   It makes me wonder how many other like-minded derelict dinghy in sand pit people there are out there!  Gov's is well worth a visit if you are planning a trip to the Gold Coast.  There is a cafe serving drinks and a small selection of basic food (no hot food) and you can sit out the back by the play area and relax while you drink your coffee, as the kids are very occupied with the sand pit and the assorted trucks and sand pit toys provided.  Then go and explore all the rooms full of vintage treasures!

 

Now to adjust back to the school routine and to get back into the swing of renovating... and at some point I will make an effort to finish the photo challenge! Hope all are well and I am looking forward to catching up with everyone! xx

Photo Challenge - Day 10

"Childhood Memory"

These photos were indeed a challenge.  It is very hard to photograph old photos in 1980s photo albums...

In 1983, I was 10 years old and we lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During our time in KL we often went camping on the islands off the coast of Malaysia.  My absolute favourite trip was the time we camped on Pangkor Island.  On one side of the island there was a bunch of big resorts, the other side though just had a couple of thatched huts and was relatively untouched.  That's where we camped!  To get out to the island we loaded up a Malay fishing boat and hired the "Captain" to take us out to the island. Remember my fascination with pirates and how as kids we were all desperate to be attacked by "real" pirates... well, in the above photo, the pile of luggage you can see there, that is where we were supposed to hide ourselves if we were actually attacked!  Ha, those in charge (the parents) obviously had no idea!  Luckily, we never crossed paths with any real pirates, much to our bitter disappointment at the time though!

That is 10 year old me in the "kitchen" hut! 

Me, my brother and our friend Sean (his parents were with the American Embassy) exploring the lagoon set back from the beach.  We spent most of our holiday playing around this lagoon.

Fishing in the lagoon.  Tom (Sean's brother) at the front, my brother in the water and me at the back. Not sure where we got those rods from, I am guessing we made them.

There was a dead palm tree hanging over the water of the lagoon.  Somehow we scaled it and then dropped into the water.  I recall this as being fabulously fun, looking at this photo though I think I might have been a bit uncertain about the whole thing!

My brother looking much more confident!

We took a little inflatable Zodiac with us to explore and also to pick up fresh food and water.  I can remember snorkelling at this beach and finding lots of bits of old china that had washed up from shipwrecks.

A truly wonderful holiday and I am forever grateful to my parents that they had the courage and the trust to take us on a holiday like this and leave us to pretty much do as we pleased without any intervention.  Yes, we all nearly drowned... but I will save that story for another blog post.

The Wind in the Willows

For the past few years, every January we have taken the boys to see the brilliant Australian Shakespeare Company's production of the Wind in the Willows.  Performed in the Botanic Gardens, located on Sydney's spectacular harbour, it is a truly magical evening.  Although it is possible to attend a daytime performance,  I have found attending the evening show the most fun.  It is a lovely opportunity to sit on the grass and have a picnic dinner with the kids before the show actually starts and the Botanic Gardens are stunning, with bamboo groves, ponds and sweeping lawns by the harbour for the kids to explore. Then as the glare of the sun fades and the sea-breeze picks up, you can relax on the picnic blanket with a glass of wine, as the kids watch the entire show in wide-eyed enchantment!

The boys simply adore it as audience participation is encouraged and the location outdoors is well utilised.  About halfway through the performance the entire show moves from the Main Pond to a nearby location (about 150 metres away) which is the site for Toad Hall.  From here Ratty and Mole then take the older children to the Wild Wood to search for Portly.  This year for the first time Nicholas raced off with all the other kids to join in the hunt! 

Allowing the children to participate and have a run around during the preformance ensures that they stay focused on the production and thoroughly enjoy it. 

Anyone unfamiliar with the Wind in the Willows, I highly recommend the book.  Written by Kenneth Grahame for his son, it is an unforgettable tale of adventure and friendship and most certainly a childhood classic!  Reading it aloud to Nicholas recently I have found it as enchanting as I did as a child.

"On the Loose" Lego Exhibition and Sydney Aquarium

As I am currently CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer) of the School Holidays, I have been busy trying to keep the Pirates occupied and out of mischief.  Lots of excursions have taken place and one of the best was a trip into the city to see On the Loose, a Lego exhibition at Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World.

The pirates (and friends) examining one of the lego murals up close.  These were absolutely spectacular, even for a non-lego person.  Created from one dot lego pieces, up close they resembled a pixelated image on a screen:

But with some perspective became a remarkable mural:

The lego murals and figures, life size models of sharks, mermaids, scuba divers and so on were dotted amongst the exhibits in both the Aquarium and Wildlife World, making the experience of attending the exhibition twice as exciting. 

I adored these dainty little glow-in-the-dark Jelly Fish:

The boys favourite?

Yes, the sharks were a highlight (especially the feeding of them) but it must be said that they spent most of their time in here:

The lego play room at Wildlife World.  Luckily, there were chairs and a Cafe in this room!

Danks Street, Waterloo

On the weekend I had a brief break from the massive de-cluttering that is taking place Chez Pirate to head East as Ross was craving Wagyu Burgers from Cafe Wah Wah.  I love Dank St as many of my favourite shops are located in the area but I had never been to the Bromley Arcade, clearly an oversight as he is one of my most loved artists.  I have one of his paintings, which I treasure and I am also obsessed with Mark Tuckey.  Tuckey and Bromley established the Bromley Arcade as a joint venture and for me it was a heavenly combination....

The boys recognised Pirate Boy immediately!

This would be divine in the little one's room!

Love!

My pond yacht obsessed pirates adored this little boy as well.

After exploring the wonders of the Arcade (if in Sydney you must visit!) we popped into Eco Outdoor.  The shop where we sourced the stone for our retaining walls around the pool and I noticed that they had the same vintage wine baskets as I do.  Only I had never had the brilliant idea of using them as hanging baskets for plants.  They literally had them hanging en masse at the entrance of the shop and they looked stunning. 

Watch this space to see my interpretation of this brilliant idea!

They also had very interesting lighting, I guess for any room but especially fantastic for outdoor rooms.  These ones reminded me of Mark Tuckeys work and also conjured up images in my head of paddocks and barbed wire fences (I went to boarding school in the country!).

These lights are made from Tumbleweeds and were very impressive in real life, unfortunately the photo does not do them justice. A visit to the shop is well worth it!

The Gruffalo

This morning I took the pirates to see the stage production of The Gruffalo.  The Captain, who can almost recite The Gruffalo in it's entirety, just loved it and the baby watched wide eyed and adored roaring when the "mouse" requested that the children in the audience roar!  To anyone who is unfamiliar with the books and has young children, I highly recommend all of Julia Donaldson's books but in particular The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child.  Written in rhyme, the story will appeal to most children and is so clever that I actually don't mind reading it over and over again!

Bangkok!

I am feeling a bit in need of a holiday.  I don't know if it is because it is school holidays and I feel like I am supposed to be on holiday or if I am missing my old life a fraction.  In my former life I was a flight attendant, a job I absolutely loved! Plenty of opportunity for travel,  suprisingly generous rest time and holidays, plus the very unique bonus of an ever changing workplace and workforce.  I don't miss those carts at all or the occasional tedious passenger.  I do miss the people, the lifestyle and the travel though, in particular Bangkok!

I have a bit of a passion for Thailand, probably because I was born there and also because it is such a wonderful place to visit. 

Some of my favourite things about Bangkok include:

The unique gardens!

                                                     

                     

The Markets.  The photo above is of the Suan Luam Night Bazaar.  Lots of small shops and some fabulous outdoor restaurants.  Nothing like the notorious (and horrid) Patpong Market.  For daytime markets either travel out of town to the Damnoen Saduak (the floating market) and a must is the Chatuchak Weekend Market.  I have been going to Chatuchak since I was a little girl and am still in awe each visit. 

River life.  Never take a tuk tuk or a taxi if possible. Travel on the river taxi's.  It is the best way to see the city and so much faster and cheaper.  The average fare is less than a $1!  Bangkok is built along a river and is interlaced with canals so it really is a marvellous and scenic way to travel. 

Yes, Bangkok is grimy and corrupt but there is also a remarkable beauty in this unique and dynamic city if you look for it.  I am longing to return. 

The school holidays so far...

We have had a fairly quiet holiday. R (husband/dad) has started up his own business so we don't anticipate travelling anywhere anytime soon. Instead we have had lots of play dates and pottered about at home.

The pond yachts in these photos are family heirlooms! We were in London in the early 1980s on a family holiday and my father bought them for me and my brother at the most extraordinary and amazing toy shop...Hamleys! It was basically a toy department store, I think there were 7 different floors of toys. I can't remember what else we bought but these little pond yachts have lasted well and are now close to 30 years old! The boys have been playing with them in our almost empty pool (it is about to be resurfaced) every day.

The Captain is growing up so quickly. We have completed his school enrolment for next year. It hardly seems to be possible that he could be heading off to big school in six months time! We have chosen a very small (120 students in K - 6), slightly alternative private school that I am confident is perfect for him. They teach meditation (perfect for his somewhat volatile temper!) and provide a hot lunch (hooray no school lunches to pack and ideal for his endless appetite!) and teach classical languages and literature! The whole school even performs in an annual Shakespeare festival, including the lower first , as they call kinder! So looking forward to that!

To assist with entertaining the boys these holidays, R built the boys a fabulous sand pit. In the centre of which is a lovely old wooden row boat that was destined for the tip. It now has a new life as a pirate ship, police boat, naval aircraft carrier, submarine and even occasionally fills in for the Manly ferry! We have all sorts of sand pit toys and endless trucks but the Captain's favourite sand pit toy? Some old wood off cuts that we made into a wooden version of the northern beaches!

Ah yes, Manly Hospital... been there a few times with my rascally boys!