We’ll discuss that later

Today was a bit full. Generally, Mirinda doesn’t really like doing more than one thing a day when we’re on holiday but, every now and then, she’ll decide to forget that and book two things on the same day. That’s what she did today. First up, we had lunch at Lisa’s place in Mosman and Bob came with us.

This time, our salad was joyfully bereft of lentils, replaced instead with avocado and tomatoes. Combined with a delicious quiche, it was a delightful lunch, which we ate outside on the deck even though the wind was powerful enough to strewn Bob’s salad across the back garden. Mind you, the wind aside, it was rather handy that we ate outside given the aerial display put on by The Roulettes especially for our visit.

We were also right royally entertained by Rascal…again.

Cheeky Rascal!

After a lovely lunch, which was accompanied by a cheeky little cab sav from McLaren Vale, we decided to go for a pleasant little, leisurely, almost flat walk. Actually, it wasn’t very flat at all. The beginning of the walk was almost straight down and Mirinda kept asking how we were to get back up. Naturally, Lisa assured her that the way back was nearly completely flat.

We walked down to Clifton Gardens which used to be a naval base but is now a lovely spot, complete with inner harbour beach.

Clifton Gardens beach

From the beach, we walked along the foreshore path. I never realised this was there. It’s an amazing path that winds around the cliff edge, through the bush and around the bays and inlets of the inner harbour. We only had time to walk a tiny bit of it, sadly. I wish I’d known about it when I lived on the North Shore.

We managed to get all the way to Taylor’s Bay when Lisa had to rush off (she had to collect Sam from school). Mirinda, of course, refused to climb more than four steps so Lisa said she’d come back for us. Bob tried to match pace with Lisa. He was left behind but still managed to walk all the way back up to the house.

We did have a lovely visit and managed to avoid the rain which poured down as we drove back to Dural. I returned to scanning and uploading while Mirinda had a bit of a rest. We then set off for Summer Hill and a date at a pizza place.

We were off to have dinner with Sharon, Jud and their three kids (Joel, Naomi and Luka) at Mancini’s. Of course, we relied on the satnav (hereinafter called Delores) who was adamant we had to take the most traffic riven roads in Sydney. As we sat in increasingly heavy traffic, I told Mirinda that I just knew Jud was going to say “Why on earth would you go down Parramatta Road on a Friday evening?” To which I would respond with “Because we don’t live here anymore and have to use a satnav.”

This was pretty much what he did say and what I responded with. Interestingly, although we were 15 minutes late, Sharon pulled up behind us just as we arrived. So, rather glad we didn’t arrive on time or we’d have been sitting there, waiting for 15 minutes, drinking Peroni and…actually, that wouldn’t have been that bad.

Anyway, we had a lovely dinner with only a minor quibble when it came to the kids’ food. Jud, it appears, knows best when it comes to other people’s dietary requirements. They wanted pizza and pasta but he reckoned they just wanted pizza. Eventually they had pizza and pasta. Sharon told Jud they’d discuss it later. This became the catchphrase of the night.

Before the pizza turned up

It was a very funny night, teasing Jud, reminding him of how much he hated being around us when we lived here. He is very easy to tease. Mirinda also had an excellent conversation with Naomi about her reading materials and how she had so many books to read but so little time in which to do it. Good to hear, if you ask me.

I was really impressed with their kids. Lovely. Nothing like their father.

Just kidding Jud!!!!!

After pizza, we went back to their house which is just about to be renovated (the builders start next Wednesday) in order to check it out. Actually, this is Mirinda’s territory. I don’t really care that much and would rather sit and talk. Which is exactly what I did while Mirinda and Sharon poured over the plans and other relevant documentation.

But, all good things MUST come to an end so we hopped into George and instructed Delores to ensure that we went back to Dural via Parramatta Road, in as much traffic as she could find on a Friday night. She didn’t disappoint us.