Last of the birthday celebrations!
Tim and Michele were in town, so I had my whole family for my birthday, for the first time since I was a kid.
We went to lunch at one of my favourite places, Chinta Ria, for some delicious noodles and (for me!) vege dishes.
Alec sweetly organised a small gathering of friends at my favourite cafe, the Adriano Zumbo Chocolat Cafe in Balmain, to celebrate my 30th in Sydney.
The cafe closed early to accommodate us, and we had the entire (tiny!) place to ourselves for the early evening.
After the sugar high, Alec and I checked into the Observatory Hotel for the evening, and took a visit to the Sydney Observatory for their night tour. The highlight was looking through the telescope and seeing Jupiter.
We then went back to the room for a relaxing, luxurious night. Thank you Alec for making this the most special birthday ever. Love you 🙂
Turning 30 – the moment I had been dreading! It was actually lucky it occurred as it did, in Singapore and following one of my best friend’s weddings, as it put the day in perspective, as something to be enjoyed, but something small in the larger scheme of things.
My 30th began right after the wedding – midnight, which was when we arrived at a club to dance with friends after the reception.
After a late night dancing, we had a great sleep in the next morning, and a late breakfast. Perfect way to spend the last day of our trip.
Beverly, as well as organising her wedding, also managed to organise a day out for my birthday! Thanks so much Bev, I really appreciate it, and had the best birthday ever thanks to you, Lise, Chris and Alec.
After the Flyer we enjoyed an amazing foot reflexology session followed by massage (total bliss), while Lise and Chris tried the fish spa …
Next we head off on an epic adventure through the Singapore Day celebrations to find a restaurant I have been wanting to try – a vegetarian Mediterranean restaurant called Original Sin. We arrived quite late but thankfully they were still open. The food, as in the reviews I’ve read, was delicious, the wine lovely, and we had a really delightful evening.
Back at the hotel, the girls had organised another birthday cake for me! A delish chocolate concoction. Best way to end a birthday – eating cake at midnight. Thank you Bev and Lise!
The absolute highlight of both Paris and the trip was getting engaged.
Alec went to a lot of effort to create the perfect day for me, and it truly was!
First, Alec booked an amazing hotel for us to stay in for two nights, called Jays Paris. They also upgraded our room for free, which was unexpected! The hotel was made up of only six suites, all of which were individually themed, and extremely luxurious. The service is also what sets Jas apart. We found chocolates on our pillows, fresh fruit left for us in the evening, and the weather report was put under our door each morning! Our suite looked over a private garden, so we could enjoy looking at beautiful flowers every morning.
Since I had fallen sick when we drove through Giverny, we decided to take a day trip back. It was so beautiful – the most amazing day trip. The gardens are just so exquisite I can see how Monet was inspired to create his masterpieces here. Alec told me later he was planning on proposing at the gardens, but the ring was stuck in the bottom of his bag and he couldn’t get it out!
Next on my perfect day was chocolate shopping and dessert sampling at Fauchon, a Paris institution that was recommended to me by my dear friend Masa. We spend a few happy hours here buying delightful chocolate and trying more avante guard desserts, like the one below (it looks like any other tart, but believe me when I say I think I found the source of Zumbo‘s inspiration!)
We decided to go out to dinner somewhere special for our last night in Paris, and went back to the hotel to get changed. I was ready to go and waiting for the taxi in our suite when Alec came around to where I was sitting, dropped to one knee, and presented me with a Tiffany & Co box.
Even though we’d been talking about marriage for a while, nothing prepares you for the moment! I had tears in my eyes as he opened the box, took out the ring and asked me if I would marry him.
Dinner to celebrate was at L’Arpege, a three-Michelin star restaurant that focuses on vegetables. It was the perfect place to celebrate being newly engaged! The food and service was just divine, with friendly people happy to explain every detail about the food, help us chose wine, and accommodate our every eating desire. The food was just exquisite – the best meal of both our lives, with amazing wine to match, chosen by the sommelier. Four hours passed in a flash, and we have never been to a restaurant so lovely before – and doubt we might for a long time again.
And so it was back to the hotel! The most amazing day every was coming to an end, but the most exciting things are still to follow – planning our wedding with our family and friends, and beginning our life together as a married couple. I can’t wait!
A lovely date night spent in Pyrmont and Cockle Bay. We started with dinner at Bartino, the Spanish tapas place near work, then walked across to the Sydney Aquarium to see the dugongs I had bought tickets for Alec for his birthday.
Lovely, lovely evening out 🙂
A trip out to Bronte today for little Liam Duff’s first birthday party. I just love kids parties with fairy bread everywhere.
Love my girls.
For a belated birthday celebration, we had dinner at Not Bread Alone at Crows Nest. I did take pics, but the lighting was terrible and the photos were awful, so no food pics!
Happy to be out of the house after a week on the couch.
Back at Lisa and Matt’s – meet hat cat!
I think Monkeypants objects to her new nickname.
The RSPCA Million Paws Walk is one of my favourite days of the year. Last year poor Kahlua had an ear infection and couldn’t make it, so this year it was lovely to all go together again.
The girls were in fine form. The sun was out, there were thousands of gorgeous dogs everywhere – what a glorious day.
The Mother’s Day extravaganza rolled around again. We had an insane weekend – Star Trek Gold Class on Friday night with my parents, puppy play time on Saturday, driving to Newcastle for dinner with Alec’s dad on Saturday evening, followed by a full-on Sunday serving lunch to less fortunate people and then lunch for ourselves with Alec’s mum. We arrived home late Sunday evening, completely exhausted!
