Tuesday Thoughts 💭 – Birthday

Today I think of my partner and how it is his birthday today! Unfortunately we are both working today so we will celebrate modestly this evening. On the other hand, we were able to celebrate during the weekend just past and had a really lovely weekend together in Sydney.

I planned a secret outing on Sunday in the CBD. I wanted us to participate in an event or excursion and it just so happened that there was an Oyster masterclass happening, courtesy of Sydney Oyster Farm Tours. This was part of a larger event that was happening all weekend in the Sydney CBD to celebrate food, drink and live entertainment.

We were able to shuck our own oysters (the process of opening the oysters) and thankfully none of us managed to injure ourselves. There was a girl in front of us who nearly chopped her finger off! We learned some history and gained knowledge regarding oyster farming and we were able to eat them afterwards. We had a collection of Sydney Rock Oysters and Pacific Oysters and I’m sure we managed to eat nearly a dozen each! This was a great experience and one that we had never done before.

Oyster shucking – The Pacifics were already opened in the tray and the Rock Oysters were in the bags waiting to be opened.

We then checked into our hotel for the night. I thought it would be cool to stay in a really nice hotel with stunning Sydney views, just for one night. You have the novelty of being away from home but with the luxury of not having to travel too far. Being a tourist for the day and night was fun. We stayed in the Shangri-La and really, thoroughly enjoyed it. I would say the only negative point was that it was a long weekend, therefore, it was pretty busy and had lots of kids. It was impossible to get a window view at the bar for drinks and also for breakfast the next morning. Out of season would be better. However, the bottle of bubbles in the room for my partner’s birthday was a really lovely touch and the staff were so, so friendly. The views of Circular Quay were stunning and I’m sure if you have a Harbour Bridge view, that would also be pretty epic.

We had dinner at The Spice Room at Circular Quay. Delicious Indian food in a really quaint and authentic setting. I had been here before and loved it. Thankfully, my partner loved it too 😊. When you see many Indian and Nepalese families eating there, that’s a sure sign the food will be tasty and authentic 🇮🇳.

On the following day, it was ANZAC Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), remembering the soldiers lost at war. We had a dip in the pool and checked out. We had breakfast at The Rocks which was beautiful and watched the parades honouring the service men who fought in the World Wars. I always find this day really moving and I love how people of all ages come out to remember those who lost their lives fighting for their country.

We headed home for a quick change and then out for lunch with friends at The Chiswick in Woollahra. Absolutely stunning venue and food. If you ever have the chance to visit here, do not hesitate. It’s definitely up there.

Apple crumble and ice cream or ANZAC biscuit and ice cream 😋

That was our weekend in a snapshot. I really feel like birthdays deserve to be celebrated as we only have one a year and life is so short.

How was your weekend? I apologise as it’s Tuesday but we were off work yesterday 😛.

Cheers,

Wayne ✌🏽

April 26, 2022 11

Flower of the Day (FOTD) – Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Happy Friday everyone. This is the day of the week that I post some flowers that I have seen recently or I have managed to haul from the archives, as part of Cee’s Photo Challenges (you can find here).

Today’s flowers were taken at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and are known as Wax Begonia. They are native to South America and are often used as ground cover.

I really need to return to the Botanic Gardens soon as they have such an array of flower and plant species and it’s a really beautiful spot to take a relaxing stroll through.

Such a stunning backdrop with the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge seen in the distance.

Have you ever seen these flowers? Have you ever visited the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney?

Please do let me know and thanks for checking out my FOTD.

Wayne ✌🏽

April 22, 2022 4

Doors of WordPress V6

As it’s Thursday Doors today, courtesy of No Facilities, here are my latest offerings of doors from my neighbourhood. Thursday is fast becoming my favourite day for blogging as I love showcasing the local doors. My only concern is, what happens when you run out of doors?

Please see my selection below and their locations in Sydney👇🏼

What is your favourite this week? I love the artwork for the last one. This is a very popular coffee shop on Bondi Road called Up South Bondi. However, if I’m thinking solely of the door/doorway, the first one would be my favourite.

Thanks for checking out my doors.

Wayne ✌🏽

April 21, 2022 18

Brighton Bathing Boxes

I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend. I was fortunate enough to fly to Melbourne to visit my good friends. Whilst there I was able to tick off one of my bucket list items and that was to visit the Brighton Bathing Boxes, just 17km outside Melbourne’s CBD. We were able to drive there but you could walk or cycle also if you had the time. This was the perfect timing for us and the weather was beautiful, a welcome change from Sydney’s crazy weather.

The bathing boxes are pretty famous and have been around for over a hundred years. They are a very European idea and still exist in parts of Europe today. I had seen them on Instagram and thought they looked really epic. They are colourful boxes that people use for storage, just on the beach. There are 82 in total and stretch along the Dendy Street Beach. Useful for storing important items, especially for the beach (I assume) but interesting to note the boxes can not have electricity or a water supply. Perhaps to stop people from living in the boxes.

Please feel free to check out my pictures of the bathing boxes below. They are sure to brighten up your Tuesday 😆 and if you want any additional information, you can read more here.

Thanks for taking a look,

Wayne ✌🏽

April 19, 2022 26

Flower of the Day (FOTD) – Star Jasmine

Not your typical Easter flower but it’s a great backdrop for celebrations. I hope you all have a lovely Easter break. I am really looking forward to a glass of bubbles or two.

Take care and stay safe everyone!

Much love,

Wayne 🐣

April 14, 2022 10

Doors of WordPress V5

As it’s Thursday Doors today, courtesy of No Facilities, here are my latest offerings. I love walking around Sydney and finding new doors. I feel blessed to live somewhere with such an array of fine looking doors 😛. Have a look below and let me know which ones are your fave? 👇🏼

As you can see, many of my Sydney doors are from Woollahra. I love this suburb in the eastern suburbs and it’s right on my doorstep. It’s very quaint with lots of character and charm.

That’s me just finished work for the week. I am sitting on the train home, tired but delighted to be off for a few days. I hope you all have a lovely long weekend and if you celebrate Easter, enjoy the celebrations, enjoy your time with those nearest and dearest and treat yourself to some chocolates.

Take care everyone and thanks for checking out my selection of doors.

Wayne 🐣

April 14, 2022 24

Solo Sunday in Sydney 🙋🏼‍♂️

Today I am flying solo. I am off from work and the sun is finally shining in Sydney. It feels strange but exciting to see blue skies after having so much rain. I am dying to get out and about so I take myself off for a really long walk, wanting to soak up as much vitamin D as possible and to increase my step count for the week. I can’t do the Bondi to Coogee walk as it will be packed on a Sunday. So I decide to walk to Watson’s Bay via the residential streets, hoping to encounter as few people as possible. I pass Macquarie Lighthouse and from there I walk to Camp Cove, just past Watson’s Bay. It’s a little beach that is not as well know, unless you live here in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. I take the South Head heritage trail to Hornby Lighthouse and return to Watson’s Bay. Here I take the coastal walk from the Gap Lookout and return home via Rose Bay.

As well as being a beautiful walk and a good distance for gaining the steps, it also gives me the opportunity to take many photos, most of which I can add to my future posts for my Doors of WordPress and my Friday Flowers ☺️.

I hope you enjoy some of the scenic shots from today. This is my happy place. Walking in beautiful weather, with stunning scenery and the chance to see what I can photograph.

Camp Cove – a small beach with lots of charm and city views

Camp Cove kiosk – I love the quaintness of this kiosk and it was the perfect spot to stop for lunch

Views for days when you take the South Head heritage trail to the lighthouse

Walking from the Gap Lookout towards Bondi.

When I passed Macquarie Lighthouse again, I took the residential streets to Rose Bay and then home.

All in all, my walk was about 3.5 hours with a lunch stop. My feet are walked off me but I feel great for having done it and I can now put the feet up at home.

I hope you all are able to have a lovely Sunday wherever you are. Take care and keep safe,

Wayne ✌🏽

April 10, 2022 22

Friday Flowers

My Friday Flowers are back again this week! Sometimes I will post a flower of the day on a Friday but if I have a few to share, I will call the post Friday Flowers 🤗. I think it’s a nice way to end the working week, splash a bit of colour through WordPress and it’s a good opportunity to appreciate the little things in life that we can often take for granted. We are still having A LOT of rain here in Sydney and through NSW. I can’t even complain about it as some people have it much, much worse then me. There are severe floods here, people losing their homes, their livelihoods and sometimes even their lives. Plus we still have the war in Ukraine that is in my thoughts every single day. When will it all end? 🙏🏼 .

Please feel free to check out my Friday Flowers below and hopefully they can make you smile and add a little colour to your day ☺️. I will tell you their name and where I have seen them 👇🏼

Scarlet Star – Bellagio Resort, Las Vegas

Angel’s Trumpet – Wendy’s Secret Garden, Sydney

I have to say, I am in no way a botanist but I have an amazing app on my phone that can tell me about a flower species by simply uploading a photo. I cannot believe how amazing it is that we can learn so much from a photo. The app is called Picture This if you want to have a look for yourself.

It also gives you the botanical names, where they originated and other common names.

It can also identify weeds, birds, insects etc. – simply amazing 🤩

Ps. This is not an advert for this app. I just want to share as I think it’s fantastic if you want to know more about the flowers you are photographing. You can check them out here at https://www.picturethisai.com/

I hope you enjoyed my Friday Flowers post. Have a great weekend everyone and if you’re in Sydney, good luck staying dry 😬.

Wayne ✌🏽

April 8, 2022 15

Doors of WordPress V4

My fourth instalment is here, featuring doors found in and around Sydney. These posts are creating a door monster within me! Now every time I see a door that I like, I have to photograph it. I just hope the person behind the door doesn’t mind. If ever questioned, I will explain my love for doors and inform them that they are part of my blog post. That is quite the achievement to be featured 🤣 (jokes). I hope you enjoy my selection of doors this week 👇🏼

Thanks for taking a look!

Enjoy your Thursday everyone,

Wayne ✌🏽

April 6, 2022 6

Sunday Sunsets – South Pacific

Happy Sunday everyone. If you’re in Australia, I hope you’re all feeling fresh as our clocks went back last night and we had that extra hour sleep ☺️.

The sunsets I want to show you this week are from the Coral Sea when we travelled on a South Pacific cruise. This was a Christmas cruise and our very first time holidaying on one. It was magnificent and the sunsets we seen were unreal. We also really appreciated the clean open air as Australia was in the middle of a really horrific bush fire season and the air was so smokey that it was difficult to breathe for a few days and nights. This was December 2019. It was bad enough we were experiencing the fires but little did we know that the coronavirus pandemic was just around the corner.

Have you seen many sunsets from the middle of the ocean? It really is something spectacular and this holiday will be forever etched in my memory.

Take care everyone and enjoy your Sunday.

Wayne ✌🏽

April 3, 2022 6

WordPress Monthly Word Prompt – BRIDGE

I do love a good word prompt! I was scrolling through my junk emails and spotted this one from WordPress (swiftly moved to my inbox). I like the idea of having a monthly word prompt and luckily for me, I discovered this on the last day of March 😅.

Coincidentally, I also have a love for bridges. I’m not sure what it is that I love about bridges. It doesn’t even have to be a big or majestic bridge. I like any sort. I love the design of them, I love how many of them travel over water. I love the excitement of seeing what is at the other side of a bridge. Does anyone else have the same sentiment regarding bridges?

Most of you will know what my passions are from my previous blog posts, for example, photographing anything quaint, scenic, architectural etc. and a good bridge definitely falls into these categories. I have so, so many pictures of bridges but I don’t want to bore you all with them today. It is more than enough that I share my doors, flowers and sunset pictures 😆.

However, I will share one of my favourite bridges that is right here in my current city. You can maybe guess it already. Every time I see this bridge I am in awe. It also always reminds me that I am living in Sydney, one of the best cities in the world, in my humble opinion. I think I have photographed this bridge from every angle possible. I have walked under it on numerous occasions, sailed under it, walked over it, travelled over it by car, bus, train and even had the opportunity to climb this bridge with my Dad when he came to Australia. It is of course, the Sydney Harbour Bridge 🙌🏼.

On top of the Harbour Bridge with my Dad

What is your favourite bridge that you have seen so far???

Wayne ✌🏽

March 31, 2022 6

Wordless Wednesday – 🇹🇷

March 29, 2022 6

Sunday Sunsets – Portrush

Happy Sunday everyone. I’m up early here in Sydney, bright eyed this morning but without the bushy tail 🤣. Four hours sleep is just not enough for me (I’m a 7 hour man!) and I’m away today for some wine tastings. So I thought I would create my Sunday Sunset post before I head out for the day.

These were taken in 2016 at a place called Portrush. It’s a little seaside town along the north coast of Northern Ireland. This is the small harbour known as Portrush Harbour (funnily enough). It’s a really beautiful place and it’s a town that many people from Northern Ireland visit for a mini vacation. At the harbour you can find a variety of restaurants, quaint and cosy pubs, a yacht club and you’re in very close proximity to the beaches and town.

I am extremely fortunate that my parents moved here a few years ago so it means I always get to come here. I used to frequent as a child, like most kids did then, as most people couldn’t afford foreign holidays. People would have travelled locally for the weekend or a week away. However, we always had the best times and treasure those memories into our adulthood.

Have you ever visited Northern Ireland’s stunning yet underrated coastline? I feel like it often gets forgotten about when people visit Ireland 🤷🏼‍♂️.

Be sure to let me know.

Take care everyone,

Wayne ✌🏽

March 26, 2022 10

Fridays Flowers @ The Grounds

I want to share with you today some flowers from a very popular place here in Sydney at The Grounds of Alexandria. Presently they are showcasing their Secret Garden, where lots of people come to take some pictures and pose with the flowers, mainly girls for their social accounts but it is a really impressive spectacle. I’m unsure if the flowers are real or artificial or maybe a combination of both but it really is a feast for the eyes either way. You can see more information about the event here.

Let me know what you think 🤗

A little video to capture your imagination ☺️

This was when I visited the event last year.

Wayne ✌🏽

March 25, 2022 24

Sunday Sunsets – Phuket

Happy Sunday everyone. I have been thinking about this for some time now. As well as my love for travelling, doors, flowers, architecture and anything quaint, I am also obsessed with sunrises and sunsets. Preferably sunsets as I don’t like to wake up too early to see the sun rising. I want to share with you every Sunday some of my favourite sunsets (and a few sunrises) over the years and where I have seen them. Hopefully the colours will also brighten our spirits with all the sadness in the world today.

This week I will show you a sunset I watched in Kata Noi on the island of Phuket, Thailand. I met my parents here for a few days as they were holidaying from Ireland and I flew over from Australia. It was amazing to be able to catch the sunset with my parents and spend some quality time with them on my own. A time I will forever cherish.

Thank you for taking a look.

Wayne ✌🏽

March 20, 2022 15

Wordless Wednesday – GUINNESS

March 16, 2022 6

Wordless Wednesday

March 9, 2022 3

My very 1st blog!

Hello there. What’s the craic? I have been debating for a long time whether to start blogging or not, mainly down to the time that may be required. However, I feel it is something that could be fun, therapeautic and provide a platform to interact with others from all walks of life. I’m very new to this so please bare with me.

So a little about me. I’m a man in my near mid thirties and I come from Northern Ireland. I had been living in Belfast for the last decade but my ambition was to 1 day return to the land down under. Having already spent a year in Australia on a working holiday visa, I soon acquired the desire to return in the future. 7 years later a lot has changed in my life and I have reached my goal of becoming a permanent resident. It has been a lengthy process with many highs and lows, however, it has been an incredible journey that is still continuing to this day.

Please follow me on my Australian adventure and I will aim to keep you updated and entertained.

Thanks a lot,

Wayne ✌🏽

July 7, 2017 8