Newcastle

 

 

The Mr has been travelling for work for 7 weeks out of the last 10.

After several failed attempts we managed to get me to join him on one of them!

So I got 2 days in Newcastle.

Now I'll admit that Newcastle has never really been on my list of places to holiday...

But it was great!

Perfect little town for a getaway.

Wonderful beach views and several things to do in walking distance as we didn't have a car.

and the silence.. ahhh the blissful silence.

 

There should be some rule that says parents without their children should be able to sleep for 12 hours straight. What's the deal being sans kids and still waking several times a night and be up at the crack of dawn due to body clock and unfamiliar hotel beds??? Life is so unfair! All I want is some sleep! The upside is that is the ONLY bad thing that happened on the weekend! I had the best time I've had in a while.

 

 

We stayed here at Noahs on the Beach - gorgeous views from each room

 Ate the best dinner I've had in ages here at Jonah's on the Beach

Yum breakfast in cute vintage cafe Frankies Place 

 

 

It was super windy down there. In the blustering wind we visited

Fort Scratchley   Nobby's Head  The Obelisk  Honeysuckle

 

 

I enjoyed full days of sight seeing, walking and more walking, big breakfast at quaint cafes, beach views, dinners out, mid day naps, laying in and reading. I commented that it was sooo nice NOT to have to be anywhere. I can keep walking, keep sightseeing, wander down gorgeous laneways full of OLD beautiful houses and have no need to stop. I recalled that I haven't had this feeling since 2005 {when we were holidaying in the USA}

This might be the first year where in we reach a yearly goal we keep making and failing at. Each year we try to have one family holiday and 2 short overnighters/getaways for The Mr and I. I don't think we've ever reached our goal! This year we will! We had our birthday getaway, now newcastle and in a few weeks we are off for a family beach house holiday. Makes me so happy. This trip reminded me how amazing it feels for a little time out.

I also came to realise that my husband likes to read plaques. He even said "Stop for a sec...I like to read plaques".... Then you find out a town like Newcastle has LOTS of plaques! Several war memorials, old forts and lookouts and plaques on the ground.. they were everywhere. So cute to find out more quirky things about your spouse. He really is the most darling thing.

small collection of the many plaques he read...

Newcastle had an offering of everything -
nature : beaches, cliffs, rocks etc
historical: old homes, army fort with guns, convict works, a town with history dating 1797
industrial: fun ship spotting, cranes all about,  mining etc
lookouts: hills with views,
Food and rest.

A place that could cater to most peoples tastes.


and looking through all my photos makes me want to go on another holiday already!


I'm so greedy!

Melbourne

I've probably had dates 2-6 by going away with the Mr for the weekend :) I might make 12!!

There has to be some perk of having your husband travel interstate weekly for work for 6 months.

Right?! Right?!

That would be a flight business class to Melbourne and back thanks to frequent flyer points

and hotel 'cause he was already there.

and major props to grandparents for babysitting {I'm forever indebted}


Most times we go out, The Mr and I are together {of course}

there have been very few times where I have travelled somewhere to meet him

{see another time here}


But I can't describe that feeling after being apart a week, then travelling hours flying then taking two buses then finding the hotel and walking into that lobby.....

and seeing him sitting there waiting for me...

I literally bounded over and threw myself in his arms

I think I may have done the chick-flick lift of the leg thing

...so if you havent done it before, I totally recommend travelling to {even if its just across town} and meeting up with your other half somewhere.

Magical.

Now on to Melbourne. I've been to Victoria before and seen several places but never to Melbourne City so it was exciting for me. So many Trees! lovely old buildings! and churches! and christmas decorations! and tiny restaurants and cafes everywhere! Melbourne felt so safe and vibrant. I felt more unsafe in the evenings when I was in Newcastle and Sydney than I ever did in Melbourne. Positive vibes the whole time and not a single dodgy vibe even once... I was impressed.

We played it pretty easy. Lots of walking, looking at buildings and churches and shop browsing and my first ever ride on a tram.

Not much else.

so onto photo overload: Buildings and more buildings, churches, gardens, food, trams

 

 

I even took money to buy myself something but alas didn't really find a single thing!?!
{whats wrong with me?}
Things are either too expensive, too big to carry back, have similar shops in Brisbane, beautiful but where would I put it?, why? {I talk myself out of purchases all.the.time}
I know I know so silly and I regretted not getting myself something on my last holiday with The Mr but hey I suppose the memories are the most important thing.
I find shopping on holiday really difficult for some reason {and I'm sans kids! what the?}


Always lovely to take a few days time out with my darling Mr.

Where to next????

Birthday Tourists

It's not so bad having The Mr's birthday the day before mine.

It often feels like my birthday goes for a week.

This year was exactly that.

Cake and his choice homecooked dinner for his
Breakfast and day out and movies for mine
Grandma babysitting over night which equalled time out for beauty treatments and temple visits
A dinner out with my parents and siblings the night after
A girls night sitting on the deck chillin the next night.

All to celebrate me!

The few times I've travelled to meet up with the Mr at work locations, I've become a sight seer.
see here Newcastle and Melbourne and America


We look at old buildings, museums, war memorials, forts, gardens, lighthouses, churches.
We read plaques.
We walk and walk and walk and look.

Due to a few reasons we were stuck close to home for our birthdays yet had some time free from kids {yay! for Grandparents!}

So I suggested we be tourists in our own city.

Sometimes we ignore places to visit, or don't look up at the beautiful buildings or take time to explore things that are right in front of us, or don't find as much beauty in the things 5 mins away from the house. Trips to the city entail dragging 4 extra little ones we only see exactly what we came for then head home. I've often just wanted to wander the streets to have a look around..

I decided to put my tourist mindset on and decided that I was going to visit the museums, the churches, the old buildings, the gardens. I was going to wander the streets of my town.

We walked and walked and held hands and pretended we were somewhere exotic :)

And for a few moments it didn't really matter that we were close to home.

We were tourists on a romantic getaway.




Even though we walked for about 6 hours there were lots we didn't see.
I think I shall have to do this again. Well it is our anniversary soon.

What we did see

:: Breakfast at Cliffs Cafe
:: City Hopper Free Ferry
:: Customs House
:: Brisbane City Gardens
:: The Cube at QUT
:: Old Government House
:: Parliament {Parliament  closed due to heightened security - Bikies? but reopening soon}
:: Commissariat Store  {Oldest Building in Brisbane - built by convicts}
we had the museum to ourselves and got a lovely complementary hour long tour from Colin.
:: GOMA
:: Museum of Brisbane
:: We tried to get up the Bell Tower at City Hall but all booked out :(
:: Lots of other old interesting buildings
:: Dinner and Movies

I commented that it's amazing how much you can see/do in a day when you don't have to stop for school drop offs, pick ups, and cook dinner. Turns out it is ALOT!

 

 

 

And Our birthday is done for another year!