Newport and Palm Beach

Last Saturday, full day here,   saw us having a coffee with Nadine in Balgowlah (our opera companion) before she went off looking for an outfit for a fancy dress do on Saturday evening. Your Facebook pic Nadine looked great, Ken is out there somewhere looking for you! I also revisited the only "home" shop,  Akita  I  have been in Oz and drouled appropriately once more.....won't fit on the plane.

After doing a bit of preliminery packing I also did a lot of throwing out....remember the packing stuff picture? I did bring too much although I have not bought very much here to take home...only one pair of shoes!

Blair hired a car for a few hours and we headed northwards to Newport in the late afternoon passing  places with interesting names such as Dee Why and Warriewood. It was raining, hard at times,  but it didn't matter.

Our destination was The Newport Arms Hotel. Nestled on the shores of Pittwater on Sydney's Northern Beaches, The Arms is a great Sydney location to meet with friends and family whilst overlooking the scenic splendour of Bayview, Church Point, Ku-ring-gai National Park and  Scotland Island. Please note you can see Scotland from here!

It had been our intention to sit outside but  it was teaming down?  There are lots of different types of restaurant available and Blair had opted for the upmarket one with a fabulous menu. The restaurant was closed due to its being used for a wedding. We opted for another where the menus sounded good.

It was pretty busy and I reckon every family in the surrounding area within a radius of 50 miles were there and all the kids were having a riotous time splashing and jumping in the deep rainpuddles! I know it was not what Blair had planned but we burst out laughing  and just enjoyed ourselves.  The rain did ease off for a little while and it is a great venue, one I will return to. With just 40 minutes or so to sunset we drove on to Palm Beach (James and Felicity's wedding venue) and it was indeed stunning. We just enjoyed the view and watching/ imagining where the sun was setting and see the moon rise.  It was one of those "Golden Moments", one I'll always remember. I had a lovely day. Thanks Blair