Hot

I went and told grandma I was leaving on Saturday morning, it went quite well considering it was decided not to tell her the complete truth. Did some packing, then went to Bronte for a sunbake. S came over for a catch up and taught me a few Dutch words. Then A and I had cocktails and dinner at Longrain (it was meant to be a 'special' dinner at Quay but then Neil Perry from ROCKPOOL turned what was meant to be a reasonable night out into the most disappointing blowout so we kept it more low-key). What a fantastic night! Sitting in the bar area with a few wonderful cocktails is just great - it always has a relaxed, cool vibe. And dinner was lovely, even if we were bursting at the seams and had to leave half. Who would think that a hatted restaurant actually gives you too much? The flavours were so fresh and a rainbow of sour, sweet, tangy, fruity. And the service was great, they gave us the best seats at the communal table, were attentive and cute to boot. We sat and chatted for hours. What more could you want?
Sunday did some more packing, took Nut for a walk, made Bill Granger's coconut bread and took it with me to Manly. With the neighbours we headed over to Little Manly for a swim and a kick of the footy. Wow. I'd never been there before, never really liked Manly (or the northern beaches - loyalty is to the east) but this little locals-only beach was incredible, private, calm and crystal aqua sea. It really felt like being on holidays. Then back up for a BBQ for 6, champers, good company, and I crashed.
A super weekend in the heat of almost-summer, a snapshot of this amazing city.