Northern exposure

I often think I’d be quite happy to never venture south of the Sydney Harbour Bridge ever again.

I love the Northern Beaches lifestyle and had a fabulous few days there over the weekend, although I was a bit sad DD wasn’t by my side, as he was still away for work.

The festivities kicked off on Friday night when I caught the bus to Manly to have a drink with my travel agent. She met me at the bus stop and took me to the most exquisite little place called Henry G’s Wine Parlour on the Corso.

It was a gorgeous spot, which pays homage to the 1800s and the ‘Father of Manly’, Henry Gilbert Smith, who built Manly Wharf. The venue was once a butcher shop, with the meat hooks still hanging from the ceiling. It has a library vibe and is adorned with over 2000 antique books.

I loved it and enjoyed a delicious happy hour limoncello spritzy drink.

Then we wander to her apartment, which overlooks Manly Wharf, and chitter chatted on her balcony while her husband barbecued boerewors and other delicious treats for us.

I possibly had a little too much fun and was a bit dusty on Saturday morning.

But I packed my bags and headed up the coast for dinner with the youngest at our favourite local, Lucky and Peps, where we ordered our regular dishes – bruschetta followed by fettucine boscaiola with chilli. As we twirled our pasta we came up with impromptu plans for Easter and also contemplated a fishing trip to the Abrolhos Islands next year.

A vessel called the Eco Abrolhos specialises in five-day cruises to the islands, where passengers swim, snorkel, fish and relax.

The catches of the day are served up for dinner each night. It sounds dreamy. The youngest loves swimming and fishing and relaxing so she’s super keen.

It’s been added to the bucket list.

On Sunday the youngest studied for her exams while I went beach walking and lunching with friends. We walked to Bilgola and grabbed a table at beachside cafe Zubi, then walked to Avalon for some shopping and ice cream, then the youngest picked us up and we switched to my car and headed to The Joey at Palm Beach for mocktails with stunning views of Pittwater, followed by a quick stop at Woolies for cheese platter ingredients, then we settled into folding chairs on the beach at Clareville to watch the sun set.

It felt like we’d been on holiday for days.

Gotta love a micro break.

Song of the day: Fleetwood Mac “Go your own way”