Our Favourite Place For a Short Break

Even though we are fortunate enough to call a part of Australia that truly is paradise, we do like to get away to another part of paradise, a couple of hours south of our home. 

Back in late September, my friend Sam contacted me during the school holidays, inviting the girls and I down to join her and her two children to their holiday house at Mission Beach.  With MrL being away at the time (& Sam's was too at the time), I immediately agreed.  Any excuse. 

Sam's house had been brought down from Cairns and they've slowly been renovating the old Queenslander.  It makes a perfect beach shack.  Located a street back from North Mission Beach, we spent most of our time there, at the beach...

To say the girls had a great time is a bit of an understatement.  As the water was warming up (along with the weather), September really is a great time to visit Mission Beach.  As the stingers hadn't arrived yet (they invade North Queensland waters from November onwards) and this beach is sandy, inviting and the water is rather shallow and deepens the more you walk out, it makes an ideal holiday or relaxation destination.

Sam's holiday house helps too.  It is sooo relaxing, with three bedrooms, bathroom, open plan kitchen - dining and sitting area and NO television.  The house from the outside is nothing to talk about but the plans they have for the future sound fab.  (Open bi-fold doors onto a big balcony from the dining/kitchen.)

I'm looking forward to getting away down there again soon….once those stingers have exited so I can get back in the water along with these two….

…and MrL.  It's not really a holiday or a getaway without my best friend.

A Glimpse of Ellen

I don't know how it happened, but our Melbourne itinerary somehow collided with Ellen DeGeneres when she was in Australia.  The girls and I had a whole day to spare in the city and it just happened to be the day Ellen was making an appearance for her show!  

We had planned a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria but alas, the gallery is closed on a Tuesday (I swear it used to always be closed on a Monday!) so we thought we might head on down to Birrarung Marr, behind Federation Square, to see (if we could) perhaps catch a glimpse, or at least hear the Talk Show Legend.  But when we approached the corner of Federation Square and the Yarra River our hearts slumped.  

The que was unbelievable....  I sent this pic to MrL who was on the other side of Australia, probably with the caption "look at this line!!!"

Thousands of people.

I suggested to the girls we take a seat outside near an outside stage and screen as it was pretty obvious that there was no way we would make it inside the the formal stage where things were going to happen.

The crowd kept building up with a lot of people having the same idea and the formal line being told that the stage area was now closed.

It wasn't too long before the Queen arrived.  There was a big buzz in the air.  And she acknowledged the people who couldn't/didn't get into the main arena.

Can you see her there waving?  And that's her mum across from her and wife Portia climbing the stairs ahead in a pretty red dress.  (She too did turn around and wave - she is a Melbourne girl after all!)

Monet and I were particularly thrilled.  Lily?  Nah.  She had no idea.

After watching a bit of the recording on the big screen ahead of us I was faced with two hungry and restless daughters.

But I soon put a stop to that.

My Ploughman's lunch went down a certain treat and the girls enjoyed their meals too.

A fantastic day.

A Must

A few weeks back MrL took a well deserved break from work and headed down to our home state of Victoria for 4 nights.  It had been close to three years since he had been to see family and friends and so it was a must.  

Monet was on her last few days of school holidays so we went to the cinema to see 'Tinkerbell' which Lily just adored, ate McDonald's, had a picnic party on a rug in the lounge room, had toasted sandwiches for dinner and went shopping along other things.  One thing we did too was drive up to Port Douglas for lunch.  

Both girls insisted on an ice cream from a certain ice cream parlour we hadn't had one from ever.  They certainly won't be our last ice creams from there either - ohh they were delicious and thoroughly enjoyed to say the least.   Can't you tell?

After a walk up and down the main drag and browsing in a few stores, we settled on the Central Pub for lunch.  It ended up being a wise choice as it was enjoyed by the three of us.  I indulged in a serving of Barramundi Spring Rolls with a mandatory schooner of XXXX Gold.

Monet surprised me with her choice for lunch; steamed veggies served with a dollop of mash.  It made a nice change from chicken nuggets and chips which was Miss Lily's typical choice.

No visit (ever) is complete to Port Douglas without visiting The Point.  We always end up there, with good reason - it is picturesque, even if it had been raining on and off.

And there is a playground.  In the girl's book, it is therefore a must to visit.

A Two Night Getaway

A few weeks back it was a 'Cairns' long weekend.  Instead of us going stir crazy in our apartment MrL suggested we go and stay up at Port Douglas (a 45 minute drive north from our place) for a couple of nights.  We found some cheap accommodation (cheap by Port Douglas standards) in a fabulous spot, opposite 4 Mile Beach and just off the main shopping strip.  

We got up to Port a bit too early so I suggested to go up to the 'Lookout'.  The view up there is stunning.  Below is a photo of the 4 Mile Beach....

After lunch and finally being able to check into our apartment, the girls could not wait to get themselves down to the beach.  They had a fun time running about, paddling and playing in the sand.  It was a bit too windy though and the wind did get the better of us so we left after an hour or so...

Saturday morning we took a walk around the main part of Port Douglas.  It is a very photogenic place to visit, if you enjoy taking photos...

This boat is off to the Great Barrier Reef

I think I have mentioned time and time again on this blog, how I love a Marina.  This one is no exception.  

In the afternoon we ventured to the beach again.  It was windy again.

In typical Melody and MrL style, Sunday morning saw us all set and packed to leave early.

It is always pleasant to visit Port Douglas and we are fortunate that it is a short (very scenic) drive from our place.  It was nice to go and stay somewhere else for a couple of nights and the girls had a blast.

Tropical Gardens

On the spur of the moment, whilst driving past the Flecker Botanical Gardens, I pulled into a car park so we could go for a wander around the tropical gardens.  It is truly gorgeous in there with so many tropical plants.  It is soooo green and lush and magical with little paths leading here and there and trying to spot (and unsuccessfully trying to photograph) Ulysses butterflies.  

Since we left Cairns in 2008, there has been built a new fan dangled visitor centre and cafe, located just outside the Gardens themselves.  I remember reading that a lot of people were disappointed with the final building which is totally mirrored on the sides, due to the number of 'kamikaze' birds.  I can see now what they mean, but I like the way it reflects all the colours around it.  

And they make a mean milkshake in the cafe.

If you ever find yourself in Cairns I do highly recommend a visit to the Gardens, especially if you are not from the tropics.

The girls entertained themselves for a good twenty minutes on the storm water drain cover.

There are so many species of plants and trees located in the garden of all shapes and sizes.

Lily was thrilled when she collected a handful of seed pods.

Monet got a bit paranoid when I kept pointing out these wonderful Golden Orb spider webs dotted through out the gardens so when a leaf fell on her head she would've sworn it was a spider.  (Poor girl!)

I love the flower below.  It had 'colour blocking' all sorted before it became a fashion trend.  How lovely is the pink and orange together in the same flower?

Only a handful of days left in the school holidays up here in Queensland.  Not sure what we will get up to tomorrow but I know that Lily and I will return to these Gardens again down the track...

The Best 99 Dirham I Have Spent In The School Holidays

A few weeks back we spied these new play tents in IKEA, but being the mummy I am, I refused to buy the girls the tent without reason. So over the course of the week they 'earned' the tent and we went and bought it.  It is probably the best spent 99 dirham I have spent lately.  (99aed equals approximately $25aud).

Without much help from me, Monet erected the tent by herself.  She did a pretty corker job.

It sits in the corner of our 'play area' downstairs and the girls spend quite a bit of time playing in there, occupying themselves with lots of giggles, playing and reading.  They've even 'pretended' to have nap time in there last week.

If only they would.

Good times. =)

Printing Out Fun

MrL and I have discovered a way to keep the girls quiet over the past few days.  Here's what to do; (As I suggest you do this too.)

What you need is one computer, connected to the internet.  You also need one printer.  Go to one of the (hundreds) of children's websites.  The majority of them have pages to print out for the kidlets to colour in.  Young children can find printers fascinating.  See the example below.

And then enjoy your ten minutes of peace and quiet whilst the youngsters colour in the printed pages.

Anyone else have any tips on keeping children aged 1 and 6 nice and quiet for 10 minutes?