A bit of sun on Sunday

First, I'd like to thank everyone that sent me a birthday card. Yes I opened them early, but I couldn't wait! They were really really wonderful and I got hit with a little twang of missing everyone in Canada when I read them. Thank you so much!


Sunday was very much a cleaning up the apartment, making chili day. It was wonderfully sunny, though still a touch on the chilly side. In the afternoon Tom suggested we go out for a walk, maybe a coffee. We ended up walking to a shopping mall (it sounds lame I know, but wait!). The mall is right on the water front and is open to the outside. So the whole place is fresh and on foggy days it does feel a bit misty inside. Tom and I got our coffees and sat outside watching some sailing races. I'd like to mention that the mall had a real cafe in it with a real espresso machine and the barista made some very delicious lattes for us. Just in case anyone who drinks coffee is wondering.  We also realized we were within swimming distance of Cockatoo Island.
I made another bird discovery, Tom called them pink cockatoos, but they look a bit like parrots. I'll have to do some research.

These are flowers that I spotted a while ago in Balmain, I took a picture of some in the Botanical Gardens and realized afterwords that you don't get a true sense of their scale unless someone is next to them. They are really really tall.

In true Aussie style, the mall only has a few actual doors, most entrances are gates that are locked at night. The big opening on the top floor is never closed and has offered some pretty spectacular views of the harbour. Every time I've been there, there has always been a group of people just standing at that window taking in the scenery.  It makes for a very different shopping environment.