For the third day on the trot we are celebrating a birthday, although we have to admit this is one in advance.

With Amelia turning 20yrs old on the 21st January, we wanted to have a party when we were together to acknowledge this special day and really celebrate with all her friends in Manly.

As a morning starter Amelia was keen to visit the cafe Roller just off the Corso in the centre and there we indulged in some sweet treats and caffeine kicks to get us in the mood for a full day of fun.

We then headed to the water for some tanning and general relaxation, with the girls deciding to hang out next to the sea pool at Fairy Bower beach whilst we walked a little further down to our favourite Shelly beach.

After searching high and low for a lunch venue we settled for a lite bite and some sushi, before it was time to go back to change and get into our party attire in readiness for a drive up to the Newport Arms and Amelia’s official early birthday party venue.

The Newport Arms up in Newport towards the top end of the Northern beaches is one of our most favourite places to eat and drink with incredible views down to Old Mangrove Bay. We weren’t to be disappointed on tonight’s visit with a wonderful sunny evening, great music, a lively atmosphere and lots of laughter and fun.

Amelia has so many great friends, but in Australia her special buddy is the one and only Eva. They are very much alike and love to be around each other and make happy memories being silly and having fun.

Through the afternoon we caught glimpses of the wonderful scenery surrounding the pub making it feel like we were in our own little paradise.

Some of Amelia’s birthday gifts included makeup so that meant she was keen to try them out on some of us, including Jamie who seemed very happy and excited to try out an eye cream.

To be in Sydney again for a second Christmas has been so amazing and made us realise how fortunate we are to have such wonderful friends. We love spending time with them whenever we are in Australia and hope that we can continue to return every year or so to maintain these bonds of friendship.

Another memorable day has sadly come to the end, but Amelia will definitely remember it for all the right reasons, as will we.

Tomorrow is yet another party day, it being NYE, so fireworks to look forward to both in Manly and on to Cremona where we will watch the main ones as we look down on the city and the wonderful harbour.