Traveling The World In Skirts

I love the series of skirts I have made involving travel.  Many (many) moons ago (ahem, about 10 years ago), I vividly remember seeing this woman in Chapel Street (in Melbourne) wearing this gorgeous A-Line skirt which was covered in 'Dublin Doors'.  

(Thanks to Google Images)

(I'm always on the hunt for the same fabric so if anyone knows where I can purchase some, point me in the right direction can you?)  When I wear my 'London' skirt I think of the skirt that initially inspired me. 

I love wearing my 'I Love Paris' skirt.  It reminds me of the times we have visited previously.

I am yet to wear this skirt, 'New York, New York'.  I love it too, but I haven't ventured to that city (yet) and feel a little hypicritical if I was to wear it.

I too love this following skirt, but as I haven't visited NY, I feel I can't wear it.  Silly, I know, but I might actually make myself one in this fabric because it is striking.  (And I love anything a little different.)

I do wear this one, 'Return to Sender'.  I love me a bit of blue. =)

Good For A Giggle

I think one of Monet's favourite activities is dressing up her little sister.  Lily loves it just as much.  

The other day, Lily came out dressed in Monet's old Abu Dhabi school uniform, complete with cap and not one, but two backpacks.  It is a wonder she didn't topple backwards.  Oh yes, that's right, she did (in a fit of giggles!)

Monet pulled out her old school swimmers/bathers/togs.  We laughed for ages over that as Lily's nappy was sitting out of the back cutout.  She could get away with wearing them (size 8) if she wasn't actually half that size.

Olympic swimmer in the making perhaps? 

Barron Gorge Hydro

I decided today, that after school pick up, I would take the girls up to the Barron Gorge Hydro center.  

Last Thursday evening, the area between Port Douglas and Cairns received close to 250mm.  Traveling to school on Friday, the Barron River, which we have to cross to get to school, was flowing very fast.  My aim was to see at least some of that water flowing fast.  

I was a little disappointed that the river wasn't actually flowing like we had seen before, but it is still spectacular to see.  

And to think this area is about a 15-20 minute drive from where we live.

I love the fact that the river helps makes electricity with the capacity to power thousands and thousands of homes.

Just down the river from the Gorge, is Lake Placid.  There used to be a little bar/cafe on the waters edge four years ago but now it is all boarded up and looking a little sad.  And to be honest, it is kind of a little 'spooky' down there when there is no one around.  But the girls still loved it.

And when you take a step back, it really is beautiful.

Mother's Day 2012

Hard to believe sometimes that these two little faces below belong to two little humans I helped make.  Weird.  

We had a pretty lovely day yesterday, celebrating Mother's Day.  MrL went and bought McDonald's for breakfast which I really appreciated.  (I usually cook us a breakfast every Sunday here in Australia and in Abu Dhabi I cooked breakfast every Friday.)

I did well with the Mother's Day present loot.  Perfume, a cook book and Monet chose well at the school Mother's Day stall.   She even gave me a present they had put together in her classroom.  "It's meant to be a joke Mum", Monet kept saying as I tried my hardest to compose myself and not cry.  lol.  (I spoke to a couple of other mothers at school today and they all said the same!)

Lunch time saw the four of go to one of my favourite spots in Cairns, to Mondo's.  There is something about this place I just enjoy.  I think the rest of Cairns thought the same with the number of people there!

Monet got a couple of comments from a couple of 20-something girls, who had taken their mother out for lunch.  I saw them looking at the four of us as we sat at the table next to them.  When they got up to leave about twenty minutes later, they came over to Monet and said that they seriously "loved" Monet's look, especially the frames.  "Keep wearing them, they are very, very cool and stylish..."  Such a giggle!  And then the mum piped in and said "Cool!" and gave Monet the big thumbs up.  Funny.

We wandered back to the car and enjoyed the stroll along the boardwalk and down towards the Lagoon.  The girls walked hand in hand and chatted away about such silly things, it made me smile.

A really nice Mother's Day.  2013 has big shoes to fill.

Lily Car

We have this running joke in our family about Lily having a certain type of car.  I'm not sure how it started but I have a feeling it was when we were in London in July 2010, where we bought from Hamley's Toy Store a 'My Little Pony' tiny toy car for Monet, that Lily became attached to.  We always said we could imagine Lily driving that actual car.  Anyway...

A couple of weeks ago I took Lily to an indoor play center where she spent ages in, what I called, a 'Lily Car'.  I MMSed Lyndon the below photo and thought it was as hilarious as what I did.  Lily in a Lily Car.  Cute little button she is. 

On the weekend, we found ourselves in a car yard where Lily immediately spotted a particular car and claimed it as her own.

Lily's future car perhaps.

Clowning Around...

...Not me.  The girls.  They love to dress up.  Monet especially loves to dress up her younger sister and we all get a good giggle!  I think Lily loves the attention and loves to role play.  

The girls had me in tears when Lily came out dressed a few weeks ago in an el'cheapo Kaftan I had bought in Abu Dhabi (for dress ups), a lei and a prayer hat.  When she came out she immediately got down on her knees and began to pray - which is actually quite strange as we are not a praying family!

On the weekend, Monet dressed up Lily in some United Arab Emirate gear.  How could I resist?  And how could Lily not pose?  (Not sure what this face is all about!)

Monet too, is not one to miss out.  She would blend in rather wonderfully in the UAE - I think this girl has seen one too many labourers in the past few years.

The Point

Since we have arrived back in Far North Queensland, I had been waiting to re-visit one of my most favourite places, in not just this area but in the world. A place known as The Point.  We went there a fortnight ago.

If you have ever been to Port Douglas, a 45 minute drive up the Captain Cook Highway from Cairns Northern Beaches, you will know what I am talking about.  There is a real vibe to the town, full of high-end to low-end hotels and resorts and amazing views of nature.

The township sits jutting out into the Coral Ocean and the Great Barrier Reef.  A lot of boats head off from the jetty here, loaded with tourists who go snorkeling for the day.

The mountains surrounding the area are national park with the World Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest not too far away.

It is a magical spot.  And very much worth a visit.

Cockatoos!

There was a bit of a racket going on outside the other evening as I sat under shade sails with the girls. Then we spied them! There was (at one point) eight yellow-crested cockatoos in some kind of tropical wattle tree next door. Noisy birds are those cockatoos, but they are spectacular to see in the wild.

There were about another dozen or so flying about but they settled in trees further on...

There was one really scraggly "I've-had-a-hard-life" elderly cockatoo.  They're pretty revolting birds when they aren't covered up with their white feathers.  That's him below, having a stretch.  (Actually thought he might cark it up in that tree, but no. *phew*)

I'd welcome them back any time if it wasn't for the noise they make.  Sheesh.  =P

Saturday

Saturday saw myself and the girls head 'up the range' to a little hamlet called 'Speewah'. Up through rainforest, a windy road and twenty-odd minutes later we were there. Monet had been invited to a birthday party at the 'Tavern'. I was a little weary about going to a birthday party at a Speewah to begin with, but to say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. Surrounded by trees, the Tavern had heaps of outside undercover seating and tables, a lush green lawn and a safe, two tiered swimming pool behind a child-proof gate.

Lily and I dropped off Monet and headed back to Kuranda, a five minute drive away.  They call Kuranda a village in the rainforest.  I call it a Hippy Town in the Rainforest.   We actually had a nice time together, looking at the little shops and market stalls.  Lily was rewarded with an ice-cream (BANANA!!) for her good behaviour.  I'm pretty sure she enjoyed every lick...

Kuranda is one of those towns that is actually very pretty and it is nice to visit.

I particularly love the big trees in the main street.  Made us realise we are a long way from Abu Dhabi.

With a bit of time still to kill before collecting Monet from the party, Lily and I drove down to the Barron Falls Lookout.  After living in the area previously, it was one place I had never been before, except by the Scenic railway back when we first moved to Cairns in 2006.

It was awesome.  I only wished we had seen the falls six weeks ago when they were in full flight!  It isn't so much of the wet season up here now...

It was very pretty, with a fabulous boardwalk through the forest treetops.  Lily and I did start the walk but as time was clicking we turned around to collect Monet.  I will make sure that we keep going along the boardwalk at a later date.

Monet had a terrific time at her party which was nice to see.  She's starting to fit in and find friends from school.

And it made me realise just how amazingly different the world is.  From rainforest, to desert and back to rainforest again.