It was hot in the city this week, so we stuffed all sorts of oddly shaped things and children into the car and drove south to Bundeena, a tiny beachside village an hour south of the city on the edge of the Royal National Park. Our friends Nick and Meg and their children Molly and Lucy live there, and it's quite the utopian community where all the kids know each other, there's a local jazz band and even a Bundeena version of Idol. Our friends love it there and it's not hard to see why. There are four lovely beaches, views across Pork Hacking back to the city, the Pacific on the doorstep as well as amazing views from the clifftops of the national park. We arrived on Friday afternoon in time for an early evening swim and a few wines on the beach before heading back to the house for dinner on their deck overlooking the water. Flo slept in with us, but Scarlett was thrilled to be invited to sleep in with Molly and Lucy, which of course meant a very late night for her. I slept so badly not being used to having a baby in the room and having to listen to her nocturnal grunts and early morning tiger impersonations. On Saturday morning after another swim
we put Flo down for her sleep and the older girls played in one of the bedrooms, leaving us grown ups to spread out on couches and sun loungers and read the papers. On observing this now alien experience I commented that this must be what it's like for people who don't have children. Blissful. Scarlett loved playing with the older girls and the Galvins' chickens which were kind enough to lay some fresh eggs for breakfast.
Back in a roasting hot Sydney on Sunday, Rob chopped up a mountain of fresh fruit and we went to the harbourside Rushcutters Bay Park to meet friends for a picnic. It's a great park filled with large shady oak trees, next to the Cruising Yacht Club so there are some pretty nice boats to perve at. Our friends Anthea, Kendall, Cerentha and Brian plus their kids Jack and Lucinda arrived with huge baskets of fresh bread, dips, cheese, olives, pasta salads and dessert that rather put our fresh fruit contribution to shame.
The kids played football and had tickle fights and we ate and chatted and enjoyed the breeze off the water. It was all perfect. After lunch we piled everything back into the car again and drove on to Bondi to see Julia, Richard, Ella and Tess. By now the sunny skies had turned grey and a great storm was rolling towards the coast, but the heat remained and the humidity was unbearable. We strapped kids into prams and legged it down to the beach
quicksticks for a swim. While Scarlett and Ella played in the sand Julia and I left the boys in charge and jumped into the surf to catch a few waves. When it was Rob's turn to swim, amazingly he bumped into our dr friend Alec who we haven't seen since the day Flo was born when he was on duty at the hospital. Once the rain started, we ran for the cover of a fantastic fish and chip cafe overlooking the beach for an early dinner. Heavenly.
It was hot in the city this week, so we stuffed all sorts of oddly shaped things and children into the car and drove south to Bundeena, a tiny beachside village an hour south of the city on the edge of the Royal National Park. Our friends Nick and Meg and their children Molly and Lucy live there, and it's quite the utopian community where all the kids know each other, there's a local jazz band and even a Bundeena version of Idol. Our friends love it there and it's not hard to see why. There are four lovely beaches, views across Pork Hacking back to the city, the Pacific on the doorstep as well as amazing views from the clifftops of the national park. We arrived on Friday afternoon in time for an early evening swim and a few wines on the beach before heading back to the house for dinner on their deck overlooking the water. Flo slept in with us, but Scarlett was thrilled to be invited to sleep in with Molly and Lucy, which of course meant a very late night for her. I slept so badly not being used to having a baby in the room and having to listen to her nocturnal grunts and early morning tiger impersonations. On Saturday morning after another swim 
quicksticks for a swim. While Scarlett and Ella played in the sand Julia and I left the boys in charge and jumped into the surf to catch a few waves. When it was Rob's turn to swim, amazingly he bumped into our dr friend Alec who we haven't seen since the day Flo was born when he was on duty at the hospital. Once the rain started, we ran for the cover of a fantastic fish and chip cafe overlooking the beach for an early dinner. Heavenly.
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