My Weekend
Ahhh, tomama your sarcasm knows no end!
But seriously, yes I’ve been a little slow off the mark getting back to blogging after my long weekend away. (Note to aforementioned smart ass – read LONG weekend, which might explain the delay….). My only defence is that I was at a health retreat that so relaxed me, I could barely garner enough energy to go to work yesterday, never mind blog.
Health retreat? I hear you ask. Yup. Me. Who’da thought? But it wasn’t an extreme health retreat, and in fact, was more like a low-key spa resort. What’s the difference? Well, first off, they served meat (though not really enough for this carnivore’s liking) and they didn’t flinch at all at the idea of us having wine (though the six pack of wine my friend and I brought did cause some curious looks…)
I have to tell you: it was fabulous!! Now I’m not one for over-the-top enthusiasm or raving about a place, but I’m going to make an exception this time. Dargan Springs resort is everything we hoped it would be: quiet, comfortable luxury, relaxing, pampering and beautiful. And to top it off, it was in the Blue Mountains, so we were surrounded by gorgeous scenery and amazing hiking trails. The only unfortunate thing was that there wasn’t enough time to do them all.
So what brought me there? Well, it was Christine’s idea. (Have to give credit where credit is due – because if I don’t, I’ll never hear the end of it!) See, one of the pluses of being an expat is that you tend to make friends with other expats (like attracts like in the sense that your foreignness is a common thread), but the pitfall being that expats tend to up and leave on you; kind of like Christine.
Now normally, I don’t identify people/friend’s by name, but my writing on the weekend seemed to inspire questions from Christine – questions like: “What are you writing about?” “Are you writing about me?” When I said no, I got the “Why not? Aren’t I interesting enough?” And I didn’t just get that once – I got it not only every time I started to write, but basically every time I looked at a pen. Yes, she was just trying to torment me as only good friends do, but good friends – especially this one – know there are consequences to every action. So… now I’m writing about her and I bet she’s now hoping that the answer to the last question is yes…. (not feeling so smug now are we Christine??????)
Okay, I’ve digressed. To make a long story short - Christine’s moving to New Zealand with her boyfriend in two weeks (damn Kiwi boyfriends!) and seeing as Christine and I have known each other basically since we first arrived – we were flatmates in Perth, flatmates in Sydney – and have done the occasional roadtrip and more frequent scenic walk/hike together – we thought it’d be great to spend one last weekend hanging out. Originally the plan was a spa retreat – but not only was that far too expensive, it was just too girly for the two of us, so we ended up at Dargan Springs, a place where there was a little pampering involved but also enabled us to do some serious exercise and explore a little bit more of Australia one last time.
One of the great things about Christine is that she has such enthusiasm (albeit masked by sarcasm) and energy. You know when people are described as passionate? Well, that’s Christine, but in a non-annoying way. Truly. When she gets an idea, she doesn’t just run with it, she’s like a pit bull and grabs it with both hands and all teeth and sprints with it. Sometimes it’s tiring to watch, but the great part is you only have to throw out an idea and if Christine likes it, she’ll research, plan and organise a whole event - kind of like this past weekend. (Good thing she’s moving because I’ve probably burnt that bridge now that I’ve confessed to strategically using her enthusiasm….) Only, sometimes her enthusiasm can be over-enthusiastic. This weekend is a prime example.
Christine organised everything, found a full day hike for us to do, booked us for our spa treatments, and talked to the owner at the resort. The thing is, she did it unchecked, so it wasn’t until Friday that I found out she had said we’d arrive at the resort at 8 am on the Saturday. Arrive in the Blue Mountains at 8 am - which meant we would have to leave Sydney by 6 am at the earliest. 6 am people – a time of day which is not my best unless I’m still up from the night before and have drunk a case of Red Bull.
Needless to say, that got changed.
Instead we arranged to arrive at some point after lunch; a point in time that would not only allow me to go to Pilates in the morning in Sydney, but also allow us to do a short walk before dinner in the Blue Mountains. Great plan – but it didn’t build in cushion for how slow I can move when I’ve gone into holiday mode…. But not to worry, despite the late start, the hour long lunch break in Wentworth Falls, the hour long stop at the liquor store in Katoomba (a stop which both Christine and I agreed was a necessity) we still arrived in time to do a short walk before dinner. A short walk and – as out host kindly suggested – a soak in the outdoor spa before dinner.
Now you have to picture this – we finally rock up to the resort in a flurry of gravel, slammed on brakes and bad parking. Laughing we emerge from my car and realise the host of Dargan Springs is waiting for us – and by the look on his face – wondering what the in hell has just arrived. Since we didn’t arrive until almost 5 pm, he assumed (wrongly) that we had going hiking on our way to the resort, instead of dropping our bags off first. I didn’t really understand why he seemed so confused, until I realised he’d been talking to Christine and she’s given the impression that we were hard core hikers. My hysterical laughing and the undisguised presence of a six-bottle-pack of wine for two nights corrected that mistaken impression. Christine was a little worried that he’d be upset, but I think he was more amused by the whole thing.
-and even more amused when the ‘hard-core’ hikers bypassed the evening hike and headed straight for the spa with a couple bottles of wine.
What a way to start a weekend!
So the rest of the weekend was all about much-needed rest, good food, great hikes and wonderful massages. Once I get my pictures developed I’ll share some of the scenery from our hikes and from the resort. We even got pictures of wallabies with their joeys in their pouches! I’ll post them – but it may take me a week or so – did you hear that tomama? – a week or so. But I promise not to forget.
Just like my weekend, something I won’t forget.
But seriously, yes I’ve been a little slow off the mark getting back to blogging after my long weekend away. (Note to aforementioned smart ass – read LONG weekend, which might explain the delay….). My only defence is that I was at a health retreat that so relaxed me, I could barely garner enough energy to go to work yesterday, never mind blog.
Health retreat? I hear you ask. Yup. Me. Who’da thought? But it wasn’t an extreme health retreat, and in fact, was more like a low-key spa resort. What’s the difference? Well, first off, they served meat (though not really enough for this carnivore’s liking) and they didn’t flinch at all at the idea of us having wine (though the six pack of wine my friend and I brought did cause some curious looks…)
I have to tell you: it was fabulous!! Now I’m not one for over-the-top enthusiasm or raving about a place, but I’m going to make an exception this time. Dargan Springs resort is everything we hoped it would be: quiet, comfortable luxury, relaxing, pampering and beautiful. And to top it off, it was in the Blue Mountains, so we were surrounded by gorgeous scenery and amazing hiking trails. The only unfortunate thing was that there wasn’t enough time to do them all.
So what brought me there? Well, it was Christine’s idea. (Have to give credit where credit is due – because if I don’t, I’ll never hear the end of it!) See, one of the pluses of being an expat is that you tend to make friends with other expats (like attracts like in the sense that your foreignness is a common thread), but the pitfall being that expats tend to up and leave on you; kind of like Christine.
Now normally, I don’t identify people/friend’s by name, but my writing on the weekend seemed to inspire questions from Christine – questions like: “What are you writing about?” “Are you writing about me?” When I said no, I got the “Why not? Aren’t I interesting enough?” And I didn’t just get that once – I got it not only every time I started to write, but basically every time I looked at a pen. Yes, she was just trying to torment me as only good friends do, but good friends – especially this one – know there are consequences to every action. So… now I’m writing about her and I bet she’s now hoping that the answer to the last question is yes…. (not feeling so smug now are we Christine??????)
Okay, I’ve digressed. To make a long story short - Christine’s moving to New Zealand with her boyfriend in two weeks (damn Kiwi boyfriends!) and seeing as Christine and I have known each other basically since we first arrived – we were flatmates in Perth, flatmates in Sydney – and have done the occasional roadtrip and more frequent scenic walk/hike together – we thought it’d be great to spend one last weekend hanging out. Originally the plan was a spa retreat – but not only was that far too expensive, it was just too girly for the two of us, so we ended up at Dargan Springs, a place where there was a little pampering involved but also enabled us to do some serious exercise and explore a little bit more of Australia one last time.
One of the great things about Christine is that she has such enthusiasm (albeit masked by sarcasm) and energy. You know when people are described as passionate? Well, that’s Christine, but in a non-annoying way. Truly. When she gets an idea, she doesn’t just run with it, she’s like a pit bull and grabs it with both hands and all teeth and sprints with it. Sometimes it’s tiring to watch, but the great part is you only have to throw out an idea and if Christine likes it, she’ll research, plan and organise a whole event - kind of like this past weekend. (Good thing she’s moving because I’ve probably burnt that bridge now that I’ve confessed to strategically using her enthusiasm….) Only, sometimes her enthusiasm can be over-enthusiastic. This weekend is a prime example.
Christine organised everything, found a full day hike for us to do, booked us for our spa treatments, and talked to the owner at the resort. The thing is, she did it unchecked, so it wasn’t until Friday that I found out she had said we’d arrive at the resort at 8 am on the Saturday. Arrive in the Blue Mountains at 8 am - which meant we would have to leave Sydney by 6 am at the earliest. 6 am people – a time of day which is not my best unless I’m still up from the night before and have drunk a case of Red Bull.
Needless to say, that got changed.
Instead we arranged to arrive at some point after lunch; a point in time that would not only allow me to go to Pilates in the morning in Sydney, but also allow us to do a short walk before dinner in the Blue Mountains. Great plan – but it didn’t build in cushion for how slow I can move when I’ve gone into holiday mode…. But not to worry, despite the late start, the hour long lunch break in Wentworth Falls, the hour long stop at the liquor store in Katoomba (a stop which both Christine and I agreed was a necessity) we still arrived in time to do a short walk before dinner. A short walk and – as out host kindly suggested – a soak in the outdoor spa before dinner.
Now you have to picture this – we finally rock up to the resort in a flurry of gravel, slammed on brakes and bad parking. Laughing we emerge from my car and realise the host of Dargan Springs is waiting for us – and by the look on his face – wondering what the in hell has just arrived. Since we didn’t arrive until almost 5 pm, he assumed (wrongly) that we had going hiking on our way to the resort, instead of dropping our bags off first. I didn’t really understand why he seemed so confused, until I realised he’d been talking to Christine and she’s given the impression that we were hard core hikers. My hysterical laughing and the undisguised presence of a six-bottle-pack of wine for two nights corrected that mistaken impression. Christine was a little worried that he’d be upset, but I think he was more amused by the whole thing.
-and even more amused when the ‘hard-core’ hikers bypassed the evening hike and headed straight for the spa with a couple bottles of wine.
What a way to start a weekend!
So the rest of the weekend was all about much-needed rest, good food, great hikes and wonderful massages. Once I get my pictures developed I’ll share some of the scenery from our hikes and from the resort. We even got pictures of wallabies with their joeys in their pouches! I’ll post them – but it may take me a week or so – did you hear that tomama? – a week or so. But I promise not to forget.
Just like my weekend, something I won’t forget.
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10:37 AM
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