Patrick Turns 15!

 Patrick wanted a quiet dinner with his immediate family for his birthday so we went to Via Napoli Pizzeria in Lane Cove. The Calamari and Pizzas were devoured and Kevin said it was the best pizza he had ever tasted!

Can you believe our table number? The number of Patrick's birthday. It's going to be a lucky year my boy!

The kids loved their little soda bottles.

Happy Birthday Patrick!

Shopping In Melbourne

Firstly, we wanted to try the boutique shopping in Degraves Street before heading to the mainstream shops. A gratifying adventure, we found lots of lovely little things as well as enjoying the colourful surroundings.

  

Caitie's big score - sparkly boots!

Lygon Street

A hard day of culture and shopping requires refueling on fresh pasta, pizza and a Carafe of Chianti at an authentic Italian restaurant followed by a gelato.

Also compulsory is a visit to The Original Lolly Store. Here Caitie found her Grape Fanta and Hersheys bars as well as loads of other delectable treats.

A few stores were still open so we managed a little more shopping before heading back to our rooms, snuggling into our comfies and sipping a little more champagne before bed.

St Kilda
Another cool Melbourne spot, we found markets by the beach, a street full of cakes and pastries, siphoned coffee and the best Chai Latte ever! The girls found the 100 year old Luna Park, where they bravely rode the rickety old roller coaster.

Chai to die for!

And that was our lovely girl weekend in Melbourne!

You can read the previous part of our visit right here.

Our Victorian Adventure

Visit with my Nana
Despite her recent pacemaker implant and colon cancer diagnosis, my Nana has more energy and drive than a solar flare. She did seem to fade a little in the afternoon more than on previous occasions but then she is 81!

Nana is a master gardener so I was sure to pick up some tips. We dug up Daisy's, painted pots, planted vegetables and Caitie helped by painting the Flamingo (as well as Nana's shoes which she was not pleased about!).

Season Heritage Melbourne

After lots of cleaning and gardening we decided to treat ourselves with a stop in town for a few days of culture and shopping.


We stayed on St Kilda Road in the lovely Seasons Heritage which turned out to be an ideal location, central to everything. The modern facilities and two free bottles of Sparkling wine were pretty nice too!

Vintage at The MCEC
Furs, top hats and champagne. That's my kind of shopping! 

Bonaparte Conquers Melbourne
What a fabulous exhibit. Normally only seen in London, New York or Paris we were so lucky to catch this on its second last day at The National Gallery of Victoria.

Exhausted by the conquers of Monsieur Bonaparte, the tinkerings of his Josephine and the adventures of comte de Lapérouse we decided we needed a break. We partook in a scrumptious morning tea in the Gallery's Tea Room.

Here we noted the large number of over 50's drinking wine and champagne and it wasn't even lunchtime!

We had a quick look at The Beilby glass before heading off for some Melbourne shopping.

Find out about our shopping adventure and visit to St Kilda here...

Magnetic Island - Horse Riding On The Beach

Our fourth day on Magnetic Island brought the much anticipated horse riding adventure.

We walked up to the ranch about 1km from our beach house where the kids and Jeni and Gerry were fitted out with helmets and horses relevant to their experience. I decided to keep my feet on the ground and photograph the event.

Caitie got Cougar, a well ridden Palomino who likes his own space sometimes snapping when another horse invade it. 

After a long ride through the bush, the group rode along the beach and through the lagoon.

James, Caitie and Gerry

Patrick's turn

Patrick looks very comfortable!

Patrick looked so comfortable on Cookie you would think he had been riding him for years. Apparently he didn't much like following the other horses on the trail, wandering off from time to time to eat grass and other tasty treats!

Jeni, Caitie and Gerry heading bareback to the beach

Caitie looks like a true horse girl...

The kids were SO enthralled with their adventure that they wanted to do it again the next day!