‘Tis the season…

…of purple trees (aka Jacaranda blooming season)!

I love how you never know they are there, until suddenly in early November, they all bloom at the same time. They dot nearly every street in my suburb, and under each one there’s a thick purple carpet. They look spectacular! BUT. They are notoriously hard to capture in a photo – they are usually obscured or tucked in tightly between other trees, or not very lush.

I noticed this one on my way to daycare dropoff, and I simply had to stop and take a picture. With an overcast sky and dead, orange grass underneath it looked absolutely glorious!

Out and about

Aaaaaand we are out of lockdown here in Sydney (for over a week now!). First order of business was going to the beach, and so we did! Twice. On the same weekend! (yes, I’m very excited).

The weather was very windy, but sunny with blue skies and no clouds. The waves were spectacular as ever. We picked a quiet beach, because we’d still prefer to social distance, and we weren’t disappointed – not many people decided to brave the strong winds.

For us it was totally worth it – the kids were squealing with joy and totally in their element! And for once they were entertaining themselves 😉

What whale watching is really like

Last year, I decided to take my Mum on a whale watching trip for her birthday (experiences over material gifts, and all that😉 ). Neither of us is passionate about sailing and being out on the water in general, but we had a fantastic time nonetheless. Here’s what I learned from this adventure 🙂

1. There are different kinds of whale watching trips – pay attention to the type and size of the boat. We went on an inflatable speed boat, seating around 20 people. This is pretty small for a tourist boat, and it makes for quite an intimate experience.
2. The trip out to the ocean and back takes a little bit and can get boring. This is where being on a speed boat really paid off because it’s one of the fastest ways to get out to sea. It’s also the most fun!
3. Whale watching involves a lot of sitting on a boat in the middle of the ocean (for me, this is far enough so that you can’t see the shore). The smaller the boat, the more sensitive it is to ocean swell, even mild one. Be prepared for seasickness. 🙂
4. I wouldn’t count on taking amazing pictures. 🙂 The photos in advertising materials are always the best of the best shots taken over the years, so adjust your expectations. While you’ll most likely spot whales on your trip, it will not be a full breach, but something a bit less spectacular. But make no mistake – seeing even a small part of these majestic animals up close is breathtaking. You don’t want to miss it because you were tinkering with your camera.

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These images were captured by our captain. You don’t want to see my feeble attempts 😉

Before & After

Last day of summer

And just like that Autumn has arrived. Back in Poland, I usually freaked out at that point, my mind already racing to dark, cold, short winter days. And even though that’s not the case in Australia, the reflex remains.

Around the hood

Spring is here! This is Australia, so it was never too far away, but for the last month or so the flowers started budding like crazy. Lots of magnolias, but also wild freesias, and tons more that I can’t even name. And the animals! I didn’t manage to capture any on camera, but I saw so many birds – cockatoos (obvs!), kookaburras (❤️), lorikeets, bush turkeys, plus rabbits and even a fox! 🦊 And that’s before I go for a walk to our little pocket of bushland (that’s what we call a native Australian forest). It’s totally green and lush and feels like you’re a million miles away, even though it’s 5 minutes (not a typo) from my house.

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Diagon Alley

A year and a half ago I visited the Harry Potter World at Universal Studios Florida. At that point I had only vague recollection of Harry Potter from the movies, as I was never an avid fan. Nonetheless I was blown away by how immersive it was, the attention to every last detail, the sounds, the sights, the smells(!), the scale of it.

Well, I just finished reading “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, and all the memories of that trip came rushing back. Only now do I fully appreciate how great a job they’ve done at Universal Studios. The whole experience feels like walking through the pages of the book alongside Harry and Hagrid on their first trip to Diagon Alley. It truly is a magical place ❤️

Sunday walk

We had a beautiful Sunday, the weather begging to go outside. So we did, but instead of our usual playground or beach, we tried to pick an out-of-the-way spot. We ended up going to one of Sydney’s historic sites with old gun placements, which happens to have beautiful ocean views as well. Some people were walking and running nearby, but everyone was keeping their distance. In the end I’m glad we went, because late on Sunday a new round of social distancing measures went into place, and it looks like this will be our last such outing for the foreseeable future.

Mmm… donuts 🍩

Looking for great donuts in Sydney? Try Short Stop in Barangaroo – the Matcha one is my fave of the bunch 😋

After the rain