Sydney Shop Girl

The Festival of the Winds, 2014. Birki Season At Last.

Seriously.  How glorious was Sunday, fellow Sydneysiders?
It was sunny but not too hot, the Goldilocks of spring days.  Which was all the direction I needed from the skies to strap Toddler SSG into the our baby black SUV to join the convoy of similarly car seated baby SUVs snaking up New South Head Road to Bondi Beach.  
It was one of the most successful drives I’ve ever completed to Bondi.  I didn’t get lost once and I even found a car park.  Albeit in the multi storey at the Adina Hotel but it was only 50 cents more per hour to park undercover than beach side.  The only drawback being that it took so long to get out of the car park, I ended up having to pay for another half hour at the exit.  It was a small price to pay for a cool, shaded spot with enough space to safely do the pram assembling and toddler shuffle that accompanies any kind of road trip of mine these days.
Gelato Cafe on Campbell Parade – believers in the free babycino.
I’d like to send a special shout out to Gelato Cafe on Campbell Parade who graciously shouted Toddler SSG a babycino with the coffee I ordered from them.  The waitress told me they don’t charge for babycinos on principle and it’s such a lovely gesture for anyone brave enough to take a toddler to the beach on a busy Sunday morning.
What I wore – Birkis!!!!  First wear of the season.  Jeans from Next Direct.

Buoyed by a good coffee, it was time to hit the beach.  In my Birkis of course.  They are my go to footwear for the beach.  So excited that it’s finally warm enough to be wearing them out and about.

Toddler SSG and I were at Bondi to meet friends for a quick stroll around the 2014 Festival of the Winds – a kite flying contest and celebration of kites that the Waverley council has hosted for over 35 years.  Spring is the perfect time for the festival.  The beachfront winds are strong enough to let the kites soar and dip but not too strong that they could get damaged.

The Bondi Pavilion was the central hub of the day’s festivities.

One section of the park was devoted to bouncy castles and kids activities.

And another seemed to be the place to go for a picnic and a good vantage point for the formal kite flying competition down on the beach.

Kites were available for purchase to fly straight away.  Tricky leg work ensured that I didn’t trip over the strings of the kite flyers in our midst.

See what I mean about it being a perfect day for kites on the beach?

With the kites fluttering above us, we went down to the beach and got a different perspective of the competition kites, looking at them from underneath against that back drop of brilliant, clear blue sky.

Kicking back on Bondi Beach always reminds me of Ken Done’s work.  
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The colours and light that radiate from his paintings are so real, I can feel the sand between my toes from just looking at his work.

I managed to trick Toddler SSG into wearing his hat for about a minute at a time as he raked that golden Bondi sand and felt it trickle through his fingers like cake crumbs.

Speaking of cake and food in general, guess who’s opening in Bondi this week?  We walked past Bill Granger’s latest restaurant on the way back to our car.  Bills was set to open today but they were doing some kind of highly technical behind closed doors photo shoot there yesterday.  Gelato Messina is just next door and I think I’ve got two more reasons to make sure we get back to the beach as often as we can this summer.

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