Mark's Blog: Sally's Birthday

The absence of posts this week is partly due to the fact that our camera is broken. Somebody (who isn't me) rested it on a table whilst it was switched on; in turning itself off automatically, it retracted the zoom - along with some sand - and hasn't worked since. Also, DCI and Sally have been in Noosa this week, where they met Wayne and Denise and enjoyed some relaxation time by the water; meanwhile, I caught up on some uni work.

Yesterday I picked them up from the airport and we had an excellent lunch at Doyle's in Sydney Fishmarket, before going for a walk around Balmain and Birchgrove to oggle at the fantastic waterside houses, taking in Mort Bay, Ballast Point Park and Birchgrove Oval - my old "hood" when I used to live in those parts. They caught up with an old friend of Sally's last night leaving Gill and I to have some valuable essay writing time (we didn't get to bed till nearly 1am); not the best way to spend a Friday night, but it needed to get done.

Saturday was Sally's birthday, so we treated her to an excellent breakfast at the Public Dining Rooms on Balmoral beach. We drove up to Middle Head in Mosman to the Gunners' Barracks and the old Victorian era fortifications and great harbour views, before heading to Stanmore for a visit to Newington (I'm still not convinced that I didn't set off any of the alarms) for a tour of the school (/building site... which it currently is!). We then headed to Hunters Hill and the Woolwich Pier Hotel for a drink with a harbour view.

In the evening we went for dinner at Le Tran, our favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Rozelle, via the 3 Weeds Pub and the Welcome, before a more 'earthy' experience at the Red Lion Pub at the end of the night.