Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Sydney Weekend


I had such a lovely weekend away with Flynn in Sydney last weekend. It was the perfect combination of time spent catching up with family and friends as well as meeting some new faces at the Voices of 2013 Blog Events. I arrived home on Monday feeling absolutely exhausted but in the very best way - full of happy memories and inspiration on both the personal and blogging front. 

My first stop was to visit my lovely Grandpa so he could meet his latest Great-Grandson. It was an emotional visit as it's been 18 months since we left Sydney and I have not been back to visit him in that time. It was hard seeing him on his own in the same house he built 60 years ago without his beloved by his side. He was in remarkable spirits and in excellent health at the ripe old age of 95. I love this photo of him with Flynn above - the eldest and youngest in our clan. 



On Saturday I attended the Voices of 2013 Blogging Masterclass while my Cousin looked after Flynn. It was an informative and inspiring 3 hours, with a panel of professional bloggers answering questions on the ins and outs of blogging. The best part of the day was meeting some of my favourite bloggers for the first time as well as getting to know some new ones. It was not scary at all and unsurprisingly, the bloggers I met were really just as they appear on their blogs, even better in real life I would say. Just a really lovely friendly bunch of women. I don't want to leave anyone out but I really loved meeting Pip, Lexi, Ruth, Maxabella, Greer, Sonia, Tricia, Rachel, Pippa, Karen, Bron, Katrina, Tahnee, Vivian, Jen, Jodi, Stacey, and Carli among many many others.

It appears I am already a social media failure though as I don't have a single decent photo of the event as I was too busy chatting. I really wish there had been more time to meet people as I realised after the event that there were people there that I would dearly have loved to have met. 

There was a cocktail party in the evening where I managed to meet a few more bloggers. It was such a fun night and again, there was just not enough time to meet everyone. Here is the one and only photo taken of the evening with me in between these lovely ladies, Katrina on the left and Tahnee on the right. If you pop over to Tahnee's Blog, she has done a wrap-up Post of the events and has taken some fabulous photos. It goes without saying, I will not be entering the competition for best Wrap-Up Post.


There were some rather nice goodie bags, one for each event but both were fairly heavy on the baby items. 


On Sunday I spent the morning clearing out the cobwebs from the night before with a walk around Sydney Harbour taking in all the glorious sights.



I walked through the Botanic Gardens and then decided to check out the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery. Flynn fell asleep at that point and I honestly can't remember the last time I could go to a gallery and just stop and look for as long as I wanted. Sheer bliss. No photos were allowed in the Archibald Exhibition but I snapped a few of my favourites in the main gallery. Do you have a favourite Artist or style? I can't find a common thread. I think I love Brett Whiteley's The Balcony 2 (1975)...


almost as much as my absolute favourite painting by Elioth Gruner's Spring Frost (1919).




Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Pianoman had everything under control and pictures of domestic bliss and serenity were sent through to my phone. They enjoyed a spot of fishing on Sunday with George catching his very first fish - an Atlantic Salmon - and an absolute beauty!





I caught up with my brother and sister-in-law on Sunday afternoon for a meal in Stanmore and then headed back to the hotel to work out just how I was going to fit the two goodie bags into my carry-on luggage. Amazingly, Jetstar didn't have a hissy-fit when I declared one goodie bag was my handbag and the contents of the other bag were stuffed into my carry-on bag. This is all I had for the entire weekend plus the stroller that fit into a tiny backpack and went on board too.


The 4.30am wake-up call on Monday morning was a bit harsh but we had picture-perfect skies and the view of the Coal Valley as we descended into Hobart was rather breathtaking. You can actually see our place in this shot, just a little way up the river where the hills start on the left-hand side.


And that was my weekend.  I feel like I'm still playing catch-up after being away on the Road Trip and then again this past weekend. My Posts have been rather sporadic lately too but I'm hoping things will get back to normal now. One can dream can't they?


35 comments :

  1. I love your posts and those pictures are wonderful but Grandpa is best

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  2. Sounds like a blissful weekend... and like you had the perfect travelling companion. How lovely to visit your dear Grandad and how exciting to mingle and mix with fellow bloggers. Hope you've had a lovely week since arriving back home xx

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    1. Always good to be home despite being straight back into the daily grind but such a fantastic weekend x

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  3. Oh wow, that post of Grandpa and Flynn, marvellous :)

    So glad you had a good weekend, you deserved it :D

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    1. Thanks Annie! Although I feel like there has been quite a bit of fun and frivolity lately....I just want to sit tight here at home for the rest of the year, I'm missing some crafty action!!!

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  4. Sorry, photo of Grandpa, not post ... I think the painkillers are getting to me!

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  5. Oh what a marvelous filled to the brim weekend you had! Lovely photos. The one with your grandfather and youngest is frame worthy. -definitely worth the visit there I am sure! I hope you had a fantastic time.

    And I am sure your wee clan welcomed you back with open arms.
    xo

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    1. You're right! I never get photos printed out but I'll definitely get this one done x

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  6. What a gorgeous photo of your Grandpa and Flynn ... glad you had fun at your blogger meet ... Bee xx

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  7. Lovely post. I love Grandpa, and also Flynn asleep in the gallery.

    What a busy few weeks you've been having. I do admire you jetting off with Flynn like that. I drove three hours to visit family last weekend, and spent the entire time dealing with Olly unclipping his booster seat, and discovering he could turn the radio on and off with his foot!

    Leanne xx

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    1. So much easier travelling with very little babies rather than the 1 to 4 year olds I think :-D

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  8. We both had a fabulous weekend ... Love the pic of Flynn and your Grandpa, and how exciting meeting your bloggy friends!

    Your children are absolutely adorable, you must be a very proud Mummy ...

    Love Claire xx

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    1. Thanks Claire, they're a pretty good bunch :-)I am super proud of them x

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  9. So glad you had a great time hun - and it was such a pleasure to meet you. You are every bit as gorgeous in real life as you come across on here. xxx

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    1. Likewise Sonia - So glad to have met you too, it was so great wasn't it x

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  10. So incredibly special to able to have that sweet photo of your Grandpa and Flynn.
    Glad you you had a great weekend weekend lovely.
    xx

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  11. Glad you had a great time in Sydney. I've always loved that Spring Frost painting, I think it might be my favourite painting, too. Enjoy being home again!

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  12. Those Grandpa moments are very precious aren't they. He looks quite chipper for 95!
    Flynn is just so bonny. That is such a lovely age.
    I remember taking number five to the same art gallery in Sydney a couple of years ago and trawling about, drinking in art and coffee while she slept like a baby, literally!
    I know exactly what you mean.

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    1. He was rather chipper, more so this time around than when we left him 18 months ago. He has a pantry full of Sustagen and does daily exercises x

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  13. I love the photo of Flynn & Grandpa, precious moments!

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  14. Well sounds like you had a blast! Love that first photo, brilliant! :) x

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  15. What a beautiful post Mel, I think you've done a wonderful job of wrapping up your weekend... you really did cram a lot into a few days, well done. I love all of your photos here, but have to say my absolute faves are of your Grandfather and Flynn and your Grandfather outside his home... they actually brought a tear to my eye... I get like that over grandparents and their grandchildren. Precious memories indeed. And how cute is Flynn with the wipes, gorgeous! So glad you were able to spend some time at the Art Gallery in peace, it's a fabulous place to visit and I have done it with a sleeping babe in pram on a few occasions too.
    Also, must say you look radiant in your little black number, stunning Mama. I bet the kidlets are happy to have you home xoxo

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    1. I know Jules, when he waved us off from the balcony it brought tears to my eyes too x

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  16. oh my goodness - how wonderful does your grandpa look?!!! he's amaaaazing! and I just love the shot of him waving on the porch. how fabulous to meet you last weekend, I still smile just thinking about it. just so glad I decided to go. I can only image the sheer exhaustion you must have felt after arriving home - but also relief - there's no place like home xx

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  17. What a fab post. That photo of your Grandpa and Flynn steals the show though. It's fantastic that he still lives independently at 95. The blogging even sounds like a lot of fun and you look gorgeous in the photo. Glad you had a good time! x

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  19. It was lovely meeting you too Mel, great snaps x

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  20. Oh Mel, what a fabulous time you had. Flynn is such a peach. No wonder you enjoyed his company. I'm thrilled you got to meet those lovely ladies. We have a print of that Brett Whiteley in our bedroom. Swoon! J x

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