Another rain affected day.

Amelia & her friends had planned a trip to the local water park, however the Sydney weather had other plans with yet another storm with thunder and lightning stopping the fun for the kids.

After the rain came we headed to the Wharf for coffee, cake and ice cream.

Once the sun returned the kids hit the water slides.

Early evening meant dinner at Manly yacht club with Tracy, Jamie, Caroline & family for Andy’s early birthday celebration.

Wow – check out the view looking out across the Manly wharf and harbour.

We had another fab evening, enjoying great food with friends. Feeling very lucky.

Boxing Day in Manly was all about hitting the beach and then repeating in the sales. Amelia bought a couple of bikinis and jean shorts to embrace the Manly street look.

After lazing in the sunshine for a few hours, another storm arrived so we retired for coffee and a cake back at Caroline’s before the sun broke through and we decided to take a trip up to our favourite North Shore pub, The Newport Arms.

Late afternoon at the Newport Arms is a wonderful place to grab a beer & a bite to eat and then watch the boats go past on the river below.

Got to be one of the best pub views going!

After dinner and a few drinks we went over to play some table tennis and check out the tunes being played in the rest of the pub.

We had a fun evening, which was finished off by being chauffeur driven home by Eva who is getting her driving hours in before she puts in for her test.

It’s Christmas.

Present giving was the order of the day and Amelia was a keen benefactor with gifts including makeup, clothes and an iPad.

First stop was Manly beach for a Xmas day swim before lunch.

Xmas lunch had a glitzy theme so Michelle was dressed to impress. She looked fab.

Jamie and Tracy hosted lunch at their place in Freshwater, which by day is the surf club and sits right on the beach.

We had a great Xmas day and thanks goes to Jamie & Tracy for hosting as well as Caroline and Gary for getting us on the guest list.

We met some lovely people, ate wonderful food and played some v funny games.

Happy memories made!

It’s Xmas Eve.

We were up early for a doctor’s appointment following Amelia’s diving collision with a hidden rock a few days ago and her bruise becoming infected. Thankfully she’s been able to get a prescription so should be good as new in a few days.

Whilst the girls saw the doc and did some last minute Xmas food shopping, Andy was out running to Curl Curl beach and back to watch the various Xmas clubs on Manly beach.

After heavy rain and an electric storm mid-morning, we went into Manly to attend the Xmas nativity at St Matthews church. This obviously meant the sight of the ‘three wise man’ on their camels.

After a packed house at the church service, we went across the road to the Ivanhoe pub for food and drinks. It was a great opportunity for the various kids to meet up again with Amelia after 4yrs apart.

On the way home we popped back to the church to see a packed 9pm service. So good to see many people in attendance.

We returned to Caroline’s house for a Xmas movie, whilst Charlie plotted his ‘Home Alone version’ of how he can trap Father Christmas when he delivers his presents!!

A day in the city.

Getting the Manly ferry to Circular Quay never disappoints. The views are incredible and jaw dropping. Looking back to Manly, The Heads, Balmoral beach are just for starters, thats before you reach the main harbour and see the skyline with the bridge and opera house. It’s truly magical.

First stop on our tour of the CBD was the Museum of Contemporary Art. Amelia is doing a degree with an art bias so was keen to take a look.

Next was a wander around the street markets in the Rocks. A real step back in time.

As is customary we headed for photos in Martin Place next to the Xmas tree in the square.

After that it was retail therapy time and those last minute Xmas gifts.

Xmas isn’t Xmas in Sydney without taking a look at the department store window of David Jones to see this year’s theme.

We then ventured over to Oxford Street and up to Darlinghurst. The sun was out so we stopped for lunch at a book themed cafe.

We then headed to the Saturday Paddington market. Stopping off at the eclectic & beautiful William Street full of interesting boutiques.

After a few hours of walking it was time for some refreshment.

We then headed back to the centre for a final shop before meeting up with Caroline & co to see the various Xmas lights at Woolies and more impressively the light show on the front of Sr Mary’s cathedral. The lights attract huge crowds and look amazing.

The final stop before heading back on the ferry to Manly was an ice cream from our friends at McDonald’s. A big favourite with Charlie and his friend Darcy, as well as the bigger kids Amelia and Andy!

The morning started early today, with Andy attending the Manly Bootcamp Xmas extravaganza at 6am on the beach. Stretching exercises, beach running, volleyball and swimming kept everyone amused and slightly fitter.

After a hour or so of exercises, we met up with Caroline and an old friend Danielle and her two children Austin and Audrey and walked from Manly to Curl Curl beach.

After an eventful walk between Manly and Freshwater beaches, when Andy took his life in his own hands with the tunnel ‘short-cut’ route followed by the cliff/rock climb, thankfully he made it back unscathed. We ‘celebrated’ with drinks at Harbord Diggers bar with its amazing views of the Tasman Sea.

The evening was spent at Caroline and Garys who had an early Xmas get together, which meant dressing up and party games.

Caroline went low key and was dressed as a Xmas tree, as was Tracy.

We then went for a fire side Xmas picture….

After the trees came a costume change and the introduction of the Xmas helpers..

Next came Xmas games and the charades. As would be expected this ended up being boys v girls and much healthy competition with the girls deserving winning in the end.

Another fun night full of laughter, with some great food, drink and Xmas music particular the crowds favourite Wham and Last Christmas!

Woke to another day of rain, but this didn’t put us off as we had plans in Sydney.

After early FaceTime calls with our families back in the Uk, we braved the elements and headed for the Manly ferry to Circular Quay.

Our first stop on arrival in this magnificent city was the cultural restaurant chain of McDonald’s for brunch!

We then left the others to go off to the botanical gardens for an aboriginal tour guide to the plants and habitation.

On the way we passed through Martins Place and the old city hospital before we entered the gardens.

The fauna and vegetation in the botanical gardens is other worldly and is a real juxtaposition to the rest of the ever changing and modern part of the city.

After finishing the tour, we had a quick walk around the gardens before heading back to meet with Caroline and the rest of the gang.

As a shop lover, we had a general look around Westfield scheme and marvelled at the extent of the high end brands and stores, including Sorry thanks I love you.

We then moved on to QVB and the amazing internal Xmas tree.

After working up a hunger, it was soon coffee and cake time.

After a bit more retail therapy, we returned back to Manly on the ferry with Charlie and Andy working up their footie skills with the purchase of a new football.

We decided on a more relaxing finish to the day, and picked up a healthy dinner option from Cole’s before returning to Caroline’s to watch the classic movie Mr & Mrs Smith aided by a couple of cool Pale Ales from our friends at Brewdog.

We are having an early night, with a 5.30am start tomorrow with the Xmas Boot Camp down at Manly beach from 6am.

It’s raining.

After a windy day yesterday, the sun has gone and it’s like an English summer!

Irrespective, we ventured out for a coffee at the Swedish cafe, Fika and to immerse ourselves in all things Nordic.

Given the change in weather, we took an executive decision to go ‘directly’ to The Pantry on Manly beach for vino and tapas. Despite the rain, the view of the beach looked amazing, with a bevy of surfers making the most of the deserted beach.

This evening the girls headed off to the cinema to watch the new movie Wonka, which by a twist of fate was filmed in part in our home city of Oxford.

Later on we all headed over to Caroline & Gary’s place where Amelia & Eva made Xmas cupcakes, in readiness for their Xmas party this coming Friday night.

Tuesday 19th December

With plans to go around Sydney later in the week, we continued to rediscover Manly with a walk to a few of the lesser known beaches, starting with Little Manly. It a lesser known and frequented beach, but we like it as its in a quaint old part of Manly with a pretty cafe overlooking the small bay.

After taking a detour via Manly Skiff Sailing Club, to see if we can book a table for later in the week, we headed to East Manly Cove beach and grabbed a coffee at Barrel One, where they do the most fantastic ‘chocolatey’ macchiatos.

Next up was Manly beach to look at ‘temperature guys drawing’ which today at 23.6 degrees were based around the Grinch.

After a little snorkelling and relaxing on the beach, we headed back on the Corso to check out the latest offering from the infamous budgey smugglers store – loving their Xmas theme!

Every so often you’re reminded that Manly is tropical and attracts some interesting wildlife.

Tonight we were invited to our Manly friends early Xmas party. This year it was held at a local restaurant where we met up with old friends and some new. It was themed around glitz, so Michelle was dressed to impress and looked amazing.

We had a fun evening eating traditional Xmas Fayre – roast turkey with all the trimmings (apart from potatoes for some reason!)

Caroline and Tracy dressed the table and we finished the evening with secret santa present giving.

We did especially well with gifts including binoculars, a coffee mug and Deacon Blue Coasters!!

Monday 18th December

We are now getting into the stride of life in Manly and started the day with a leisurely walk via the Boatyard (and the obligatory coffee stop) and headed into the town to buy Secret Santa presents for a party later this week.

As per the party invite all presents were purchased from charity shops, which meant we got to check lots of great stores. After then stocking up, we headed out to a Westfield Mall nearby with Caroline & the kids to buy Amelia a few things for Xmas day.

Whilst the girls shopped Charlie and Andy went to explore the fish market.

After a few hours of retail therapy, we went down to Freshwater Beach, which sits north of the famous Manly beach. Friends Jamie & Tracy run the Surf Club there and have the true Aussie dream of a house right on the beach! In return for keeping the place clean and tidy every day, they get to surf and enjoy the beautiful scenery!

We enjoyed a few hours relaxing on the beach, swimming, body surfing and chatting before going back and changing for a night out at the Manly Pavilion.

We had a fab evening enjoying the great views from the outdoor bar with vistas out to Manly Wharf and the wider bay.