THE RETURN OF AN ABSENT BLOGGER

 Hi everyone, hope you are all well

It has been a long time since my last post. After a long hibernation, I finally managed to shake off the winter slumber and decided to get back on the horse or in my situation, back to blogging.  I can't actually put my finger on why I completely withdrew from the blogger-sphere.  It just happened, one day I woke up and felt that I want nothing to do with it.  I tried to rationalise my feelings but it was nothing there to work on.  Let's just call it hibernation and move on 😄.  Surprisingly, seems like my mojo has come back thanks to return of spring and hopefully it will stay for a long time.

Speaking of spring, we are in the second month of it already but the weather is still like a yo-yo.  One day we are all heading to the beach and the next are shivering in our t-shirts and thongs as we Australians call flip-flops 😎.

My husband and I are not big beach lovers anyway, we both prefer the walks along the coast or cooler weather so we can go for long walks along the coast for a breath of fresh ocean air and be closer to nature or do something totally different and embark on one the of the urban walks discovering new neighborhoods and their surroundings.

Last Sunday we chose to have a city walk between Barangaroo and The Rocks.   Barangaroo is an area of Central Sydney within walking distance from CBD named in honour of an Aboriginal woman, the second wife of Bennelong, who was an interlocutor between the Aboriginal people and early British colonists.  Historically it was important land for Aboriginal People prior to colonial settlement.  With the arrival of Europeans, the indigenous people were driven off this land and what was once their hunting and fishing grounds, was redeveloped into multiple shipyards.  Over the years, as the ships became bigger, more capacity was required to accommodate them thus new bigger shipyards were require to accommodate them.

Thus this area has become abandoned and been hardly used until about twenty years as the State Government designated the site for redevelopment into parklands and also commercial space.  It took many years of planning and designing, not everything went according to plan and there are some bits and pieces needed to be finished but the whole development looks absolutely amazing.  

Today it is a thriving hub busy with all sorts of activities.  Its three high-rise towers are the home for myriads of offices, the residential apartments cost mega bucks, multiple dining venues offer food from all around the world.  There is a hotel with a casino on its premises and award winning restaurants such as 3-Michelin star Oncore by Claire Smyth where we went to celebrate my husband's seventieth birthday last year.  And right next to this bustling precinct there are beautifully landscape parklands and vast areas of public land for all of us to share and enjoy.

It is a short Metro ride for us to get there which is great because finding parking in this city has become an absolute nightmare.

We alighted at the station, and within minutes we were on a walking path that snakes gently following the shape of the shore and as we walked and watched the bustling ferries, private yachts  and tug boats darting up and down the bay with the neighbouring suburbs beckoning across the water the smoothing lapping of the water accompanied our stroll.

Once we left the parklands, we found ourselves directly under the Harbour Bridge in the historic neighbourhood  The Rocks.  You can read more about this fascinating part of Sydney in one of my previous posts here.

It was rather a long walk and we felt quite hungry.  The Rocks is full of places to eat, from fine dining to pub staples.  We settled for the latter.  I love pub food, the portions are big while the prices are not.  Besides, you get this lovely atmosphere where everyone feels like they belong, especially after a glass or two of wine 😊.

I had good time writing this post.  Hopefully, it will stay with me for a long time.  Can't wait to see what you my dear bloggers have been up too.

Catch up with you soon

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

SUNDAY WALK AROUND CAMELLIA GARDENS

Hello everyone, hope you are all well.

I know people who love winter but I am not one of them.  I didn’t like it back when I was living in Ukraine and although Australian winters are not even remotely as cold, I still don't like it. 

I am convinced that Australians in general are in complete denial.  You’ve probably seen pictures on social media of men and women walking around dressed in shorts, t-shirts and a pair of thongs (flip-flops) on their feet totally ignoring the fact that the temperature outside is no higher than 15 degree Celsius.  Believe me, Sydney’s winters are cold and unpleasant.  

Even when you live near the coast like I do and the temperature is a few degrees warmer, it does not make much of a difference.  For me, the biggest problem is that our dwellings are not properly insulated like the homes in Europe or North America.  

There is no double glazing on the windows and the frames are quite often are not sealed tightly, there is no central heating that keeps your home warm all the time.  If you live in a building that is 40 years or older, they don't even have built-in air-conditioners, you have to install your own which is quite costly or get yourself an electric or oil heater.  Unfortunately, they have to be on all the time because the moment your turn them off, the temperature in the room drops and the air inside your home is about as cold as it is outside.

Of course, you can let them run all night but be prepared for a very high electricity bill.

However, like everything else, there are two sides to each coin.  As much as I prefer warmer months to winter colds, there are few things that I love doing in winter.  Number one – the mulled wine, that is love, is back on the menu and two – visiting parks and gardens that contrary to the continental winter are alive and blooming.

Previously, I shared with you our visits to Breenhold Gardens  and Nooroo Gardens during winter months. Today’s post is about visiting Camellia Gardens.  The beauty of this place that you don't need to drive to Blue Mountains like we did in the past, they are situated within the city limits and it only took us about half an hour to get there.

These gardens are over 50 years old and are recognised by the International Camelia Society as a "Camelia Gardens of Excellence".  They are very popular not just amongst the locals but with tourists alike.   Apart from for its picturesque grounds, you can also find a period looking cafe where you can pre-book your afternoon tea with scones and jam or just have lunch on the veranda overlooking the gardens.  The kids love chasing the ducks and at certain times you can actually feed them.  

There is a calm and clean stream tickling along and you can see ducks and other birds swimming up and down the stream. 

The best time for visiting the Gardens is in autumn or winter because it when the Camellias are in season.

Luckily for us, the day when we chose to go there was sunny and quite warm so there was no need for a jacket. 

All and all we had a very nice relaxing outing, having a nice break from the busy activities of our everyday lives.

Hope you had a nice weekend too.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

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WHAT I WORE FOR MY HUSBAND'S BIRTHDAY LUNCH

Hello, my dear readers, trust you are all well.

It seems that I am taking longer and longer breaks between the posts for reasons that I cannot explain, I just do.  It is not that I have left free time left for blogging, I still work the same number of days (just 2) as I used  do in my old job, look after my grandkids twice a week as before and three times a week I go to the gym as I have been doing for years.  Yet somehow I find it challenging to keep up.   It upset me at first but then I said to my self that since blogging is not my livelihood, I have no reason whatsoever to stress out over it.  Just do it when you can and when you feel like it and feel much better now.  Have you been through the situation like this and how have you dealt with it?

So it should come as no surprise that this post is over month overdue.  It is about the outfit that I wore for my husband's birthday that was in April but as they say: "Better later then never", right?  The birthday was not a significant milestone so just the two of us went to have lunch at one of our long time favourite places,  Ms. G's in Sydney's Potts Pont.

Since it was a celebration, I wanted to honour it by dressing for the occasion but since it was a casual lunch, I didn't want to look like I was trying too hard.  This bustling place that serves inventive Asian-fusion plates is loved by young and funky crowd and I wanted to play along.  

Well, I've decided to compromise. Have you ever heard the expression "Business in the front, party at the back"?  Historically, referred to a hair style called the Mullet, I gave it a slight twist and applied it to my outfit:  dressy top and casual bottom - a grey silk blouse decorated by a string of pearls bought at Almacenes San Jose Handicraft Market in Havana when we were on holidays in Cuba paired with black Levi's jeans and LV sneakers.  

I don't even care to remember when I bought this blouse, seems like years ago but it was made in France of pure silk and you don't easily throw away a silk blouse from France.  The jeans, on the other hand, is quite a recent purchase.  I deliberately avoid buying something that was on trend but instead went for a classic cut that I can wear anywhere, whether it is a casual Sunday outing or a day at the office.  

I do, however, remember how long I have these sneakers:  they were a birthday gift from my husband, among some other things, for my 60th birthday, nearly 4 years ago.

The food is always great at Ms. G's and this time it was no exception.  They also make delicious cocktails and after having a couple of those (my husband volunteered to be the designated driver for the day despite the fact that it was his birthday), I was on cloud 9.

Afterwards, we went for a leisurely stroll around the neighbourhood admiring the tall art-deco buildings with their ground floors occupied by a book store, fashion boutiques, homewares and antique stores stopping near the famous El  Alamein Memorial fountain for a photo shoot.

We had a lovely time and I could see that my husband was quite happy to have his birthday this way.

Be well, my dear friends 

Until then

Anna

xoxoxo

WHAT I WORE LAST WEEKEND

Hello my dear friends, hope you are well

After  a few weeks of torrential rains, Mother Nature finally took mercy, cleared up the skies and let the sun shine upon us. Hallelujah!!!

The timing coudn't be better as the pile of washing in my laundry has grown up to the ceiling and everything in my wardrobe and linen cupboards felt damp to the touch.

But when I woke up and saw the sun streaming through the blinds, my first urge was to go down to the beach and have a nice long walk along the coast to enjoy the warmth of the sun on my face and to take a deep breath of the fresh smell of the ocean and so we did.

There are many coastal walks around Sydney, each of them offering different views, all of them spectacular in their own way but for me there is one walk that every visitor and resident of Sydney should take – a cliff top coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee in the Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. Whenever we have visitors from out of  town or overseas, we always recommend them to take this walk.  It runs for almost 6 km and although we have never done the full circle as in some parts of the walk could be quite steep or there would be a lot of up and down steps which my husband is not a big fan of so over the years we developed our favourite routes that suit his fitness and like to alternate between them.

As the name suggests, it runs along the coast of the Pacific Ocean and features stunning views, beaches, cliffs, bays and rock pools.  You can stop at any time to take a dip, to surf or have a coffee and a snack at one of the many coffee shops along the route.

On this particular day, we chose the path that runs between Bondi and Bronte beaches for two reasons.  Number one, the path is mostly flat and number two - we were meeting our friends for lunch at one of the cafes overlooking Bronte Beach. 

Normally, if we are going for a walk, I prefer to wear my gym clothes but since we were having a lunch too, I didn't want to look like I have just finished my training session at the gym.  These days many people, young and old, tend to wear gym clothes anywhere they go but I resent doing that.  I am a big believer that different occasions require a different style of clothes.  

I still wanted to feel comfortable and not so out of place, so I put on my wide-legged ecru colour un-cuffed jeans and a bright orange oversized shirt.  I feel that my clothes should reflect the sunny weather and my good mood.

As for accessories, I chose to wear a long string of beads wrapped around my neck in a complimentary blue colour.  If you follow my blog, you might remember me talking about the the nature of complimentary colours in relation to colour theory and today I am following the same principal.  I like how the blue colour really stands out against the orange.  I am also wearing a turquoise ring to complement the necklace.

And that is that.  Be well, everyone

Until then

Anna💖