Winter Holidays Part 2

The second week of our winter holidays saw the arrival of our good friends Steve and Michelle, and their two kids Gemma and Archer. It was so wonderful for all of us to have our friends staying with us. The kids wasted no time catching up, and before long it was like they'd never been apart. These friendships had already survived a break of nearly two years when we were living in Canada, so I wasn't surprised that it felt like we'd never left.

The first few days were overcast, but that didn't stop the kids from playing in the pool. What's the difference if it's raining, I suppose, you're already wet!

Michelle and I slipped out early on their first morning to go for a walk at the beach. Main Beach to Surfers is our go-to for a quick beach walk as it's the closest to our house. Having Michelle around for a week was so good for me. I don't have any close girlfriends (yet!) here in Gold Coast so it was so good to have someone around that I could talk to easily, about anything.

After that walk we joined everyone else for Ollie’s soccer match, and then Michelle and I took the girls to the market at HOTA. Usually no one in my family likes a market except for me so it was nice to have someone else want to go, and a friend to help drag Ella along!

The market was packed! There was live music playing near the little lake, and the whole place had a great atmosphere. It was mostly food stalls, so we picked up some snacks and parked ourselves near the band. The girls wanted donuts, while Michelle and I chose something savoury - a delicious fried bread topped with avocado, tomatoes, cheese, and onions. I’ll definitely be back to try more of the food and also to do my fruit and veg shop for the week. (Life goals = do more grocery shopping at farmer's markets.)

The next day was rainy, so we decided to take the kids to the cinema to see "How to Train Your Dragon". We made it a bit more special by going Gold Class. The kids were thrilled with their reclining leather seats while Michelle and I sipped prosecco throughout the film. I’d never seen any of the originals, so the story was new to me. Ella loved it, as did the others, but Ollie found it boring and I had to deal with him crawling over to my seat every so often. Maybe he would have enjoyed the animated version more.

Our last full day with our visitors was Ella's birthday - 10 years old! It's hard to believe that I have been a mother for a whole decade now. 

We started the day with a pancake breakfast for the kids, complete with Nutella. We never buy Nutella but I picked some up to have over the holidays with our visitors, and oh my god I forgot how good it is!

We spent most of the afternoon in the spa and the pool, enjoying the lovely weather. Winter in Queensland sure is different to winter in Melbourne!

We had cake mid-afternoon, rainbow cake with sprinkles at Ella’s request.

That night we went out to Teppanyaki for dinner. We’d never done this with the kids before, but they absolutely loved it. Our chef was very entertaining. Ollie was a bit unsure at first - he ran across the restaurant and nearly out the door when a huge fireball flared up - but by the end we were all laughing and having a great time.

The next day our friends moved on to an apartment in Burleigh for the second half of their holiday, but we managed to catch up with them a few more times.

We met for dinner at North Burleigh Surf Club, which we’d hadn't been to before. We happened to be there for Steak night. It happened to be steak night - $18.50 for a steak dinner - and the place was packed! Luckily arrived early and managed to get a table by the window overlooking the beach. The kids happily played in the sand while we waited for our meals, and then happily hungry once the food arrived. I'm sure I've mentioned this on the blog before, but the surf clubs in the Gold Coast are fantastic. They always have a gorgeous view of the beach, are unpretentious, kid-friendly and the food - while not fancy - is usually pretty good.

On their last full day here, Michelle and I met for an early morning walk along the beach at Burleigh followed by brunch. We both agreed this is the ideal way to start a holiday morning. It was great to have a bit of one-on-one time again before they left.

That evening we met up for one last dinner at Precinct Brewery, which ended up being a perfect final night. They had cheap wings, something I’ve never seen in Australia! I had low expectations (wings are kind of a Canadian specialty), but they were genuinely good. There were also two electronic dart boards, which turned out to be surprisingly fun and kept the kids (and the dads) entertained for ages. I think Archer and Ollie could’ve played all night. At one point we stopped paying for the games and they just kept score themselves.

All in all, it was a pretty perfect end to their visit. We were sad to say goodbye, but it was so good to see them, and I’m sure we’ll keep seeing each other every now and then, either back here or when we visit Melbourne.