Ocean Restaurant – central coast

I live about one hours drive away from the central coast and recently had this restaurant recommended to me.

Regarded and awarded as one of the Central Coasts best and NSW finest seafood restaurants. Oceans staff commit to quality, whether its the freshness and seasonality in the food or attention to detail and personalised service.

By day you may see whales or dolphins or by night dine under a romantic moon across the star lit water. Superb dining and truly genuine warm service (easy parking) comes together to create a relaxed fine dinning experience not to be missed on the Central Coast.

The description from

The website summed it up. Every table is ocean facing, food was superb, great wine list and…we saw whales!!!! The best bit though…portion size!

…,and you can walk along the beach after to burn off some of those calories!

  

IMAX – Sydney

Winter is getting closer and the days are much cooler. If you find yourself wondering what to do…check out the imax theatre at darling harbour. There is always a blockbuster showing and also they have great educational features too….and it’s just 100 metres from the Lindt cafe where you can get the most incredible hot chocolate in Sydney (in my opinion!)

  

Hunter valley gardens…

I love hunter valley, it’s where I got married, it’s where I can relax and breathe beautiful fresh air…it’s where there is awesome wine….need I say more!

I thought I had seen it all though and never bothered to visit the gardens before. I am so glad I did – they are beautiful.  I can highly recommend them. 

Hunter valley gardens are about 1.5 hours north of Sydney and make for a stunning day out. You can pack a picnic and enjoy it on the lawn, take some bread and feed the fish….the gardens are close to Aqua golf and several wineries and there is accomodation literally 2 minutes away. 

   
     

Opera house tour…

I’ve been living in Sydney for 8 years and seen many shows at the opera house but never really walked around this.

Well….that’s now changed. For Christmas I was gifted an opera house tour from red balloon. 

Booking was really easy! The guide met me on the lower concourse, gave me a headset and off I went.

It was actually a really incredible tour….yes I am a bit of an architecture geek. Certainly one to do if you have out of town visitors. 

   
   

Candle making…

just above Dymocks on george street is a mall which houses bridal shops, a watch maker, a diamond specialist and a candle maker!

My husband bought me a candle making class….now I am addicted to glasshouse caramel scented candles but was willing to explore something new.

 
We started off making a beeswax candle and progressed to poured scented candles…whilst I don’t think I am a natural….my candles did burn well and it has taught me the different wax typed!!!! All in all…a fun way to spend an afternoon in Sydney!!!!

Seaplane -Hamilton Island

we popped across to Hamilton Island for a long weekend and had the pleasure of staying at Qualia- this was just divine.

My memories from the trip though we’re of the seaplane private picnic that Calum arranged for us. I had always wanted to go in a seaplane and just hadn’t gotten around to it just yet and so we got in our golf buggy one morning and he wouldn’t tell me where we were heading…we arrived at the airport and all became clear. Taking off in water is such a different experience! It was amazing! The picnic that was made for us was plenty and the champagne was cold…certainly no complaints from me!

Hamilton Island air 

   

 

Making shopping easy – Sydney

im not a particularly good or patient shopper and I get frustrated easily so when I saw that David Jones had a Free personal shopping experience ….I thought I would explore.

I booked in with a lovely lady called Syella and we talked about colors, budget etc. She wheeled rail after rail into the large private changing room for me and showed me how pieces went together. 

The ultimate way to shop

The David Jones Personal Shopping Service is a luxurious service available by appointment only. 
Relax in our sumptuous private suite as our expert personal shoppers create your bespoke edit, based on their knowledge of key brands and trends in fashion and home. Whether you’re seeking style advice for a complete wardrobe makeover or assistance with everyday requests, the Personal Shopping Service is the ultimate way to shop.

To view available appointment times in your nearest store, click on ‘Book Appointment’ below. 

BOOK APPOINTMENT

Available at

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  Elizabeth Street, Sydney 

  Address and Contact Details:

  86 -108 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

  Get Directions

  Phone:(02) 9266 5178

  Email: pssnsw@davidjones.com.au

  
  

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  Market Street, Sydney 

  Address and Contact Details:

  65-77 Market Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

  Get Directions

  Phone:(02) 9266 6112

  Email: pssnsw@davidjones.com.au

  
  

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  Bourke Street Mall 

  Address and Contact Details:

  310 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

  Get Directions

  Phone:(03) 9643 2001

  Email: pssvic@davidjones.com.au

  
  

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  QueensPlaza 

  Address and Contact Details:

  QueensPlaza, 210 Queen Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000

  Get Directions

  Phone:(07) 3243 9104

  Email: pssqld@davidjones.com.au

  
  

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  Adelaide Central Plaza 

  Address and Contact Details:

  100 Rundle Mall, Adelaide,
  SA 5000

  Get Directions

  Phone:(08) 8305 3100

  Email: psssa@davidjones.com.au

  
  

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  Hay Street Mall 

  Address and Contact Details:

  622 Hay Street, Perth, 
  WA 6000

  Get Directions

  Phone:(08) 9210 4004

  Email: psswa@davidjones.com.au

  
  

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  Canberra Centre 

  Address and Contact Details:

  260-262 Alinga Street, Canberra, ACT 2600

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  Phone:(02) 6222 6398

  Email: pssact@davidjones.com.au

Quad biking – Sydney

about an hour outside of Sydney there is an activity centre called glen worth valley- they offer horse riding, kayaking and quad biking.

In one of my earlier posts I alluded to some terrible horse riding schools…hand on heart, this was the worst. Horses are badly trained and staff are far too young for the responsibility placed on them.

The quad biking though is great fun. Really controlled with a safety briefing and a fun course which has been designed to really make you work hard to get around. There is also an onsite camping ground and picnic facility so you can make a day of it 

   

 

Onsen hot pools – Queenstown

If you are heading to queenstown this winter then be sure to check out onsen hot pools to relax and unwind. 

The pools are secluded and private and they arranged a twilight pool for my husband and myself filled with candles as we entered. It was beautiful and I felt so relaxed. Onsen hot pools can arrange transport from the city centre at no extra cost also 

   

 

Bungee – Queenstown

How can you go to Queenstown and not do a bungee jump?????

How????

Exactly, you can’t and so this saw my husband and I in the bungee store asking if we could do a tandem jump. They put us on the scales and as the weight difference was too large, they said no – not to be deterred, we signed up for single bungees.

The next day we contemplated breakfast….both deciding it could wait until after the jump. We arrived at the bungee centre and were promptly weighed and the number written on our hands. We made our way to the bridge and were asked, “you two going together?”.

We shook our heads vehemently and told them that we had been told that wouldn’t be safe given the weight dufference. He laughed and told us to get on over there. My husband and I sat on the floor whilst a bath towel and cord was wrapped around our feet, then we stood up an hopped to the edge of the platform and smiled to the camera.

On the count of 3 we said to each other….1,2,3…neither of us moved…we tried again and this time we flew over the edge before finally the bungee cord snapped us back up! Phew….it was over! All done…we did a bungee jump together ….wooohoooo