2013- the wrap up…

So, that was 2013.

Here’s how it panned out…

Top 5 wow days

In date order…

• Lunch at Fort Denison

• Wine tasting in Queenstown
• A run to Paradise…yep, Queenstown again

• Dancing to Asian pop music and getting soaked at Songkran in Bangkok

• Floating in clear, warm, turquoise water at Phang Nga

Notable mentions:

(in no particular order)

• Lunch with the girls at Burnt Orange, Mosman
• A pre Christmas beery afternoon at the Mean Fiddler
• Lounging on Patong Beach
• Melbourne with the girls in June
• Getting soaked on the Watsons Bay ferry with the kids in October
• Helping my girl get formal ready in November
• Walking from Brighton to St Kilda in December

Favourite 5 photos

This one at Glenorchy, outside Queenstown

This one in Bangkok

This one at the railway station in Taipei

This one at Eucumbene

This one in Melbourne

Top 5 restaurant meals

• Rata, in Queenstown- I don’t care if I never eat dessert again after Josh Emmett’s deconstructed cherry ripe
• Botswana Butchery in Queenstown- right down to the cleaver door handles
• Pre Christmas treat at Est in Sydney- fine dining at its best
• Dumplings at Mr Wong in Sydney

• Spicy yumminess at Savoeys in Patong

Notable mentions go to:

• Ottomans in Canberra
• 42 Bannerman in Glenhaven
• Jamies Italian in Sydney
• The Malaya in Sydney
• Spice Temple in Melbourne
• the roti canai and nasi campur at Chinta Ria in Sydney

Then there are all the dumplings (Taste of Shanghai in Eastwood, too many to mention in Melbourne) and the street food in Thailand and Taiwan,

and the favourite breakfast places of 2013:

• Youeni Foodstore in Castle Hill

• Silo by Joost in Melbourne

• Hardware Societe in Melbourne (re-opening in the New Year)
• Silo in Kingston, Canberra
• Vudu in Queenstown

No wonder the dial on the scales went up rather than down in 2013!

Favourite Movie of 2013

The Great Gatsby. No contest.

Favourite Book of 2013

Too many to mention, but I discovered the Rowland Sinclair series by Sulari Gentill,  the Jayne Keeney series by Angela Savage and the Jack Irish series by Peter Temple. Other than those, notable mentions to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Into My Arms by Kylie Ladd, The Theory of Opposites by Allison Winn Scotch, and the latest Rebus.

What else?

2013 was the year a lot of hottest ever records were broken here in Sydney,

the year winter forgot, the year my lime tree went a little mad,

and the year I re-discovered my garden.

On a sadder note, it was also the year I said goodbye forever to people that were too young to be saying their forever goodbyes.

For a full performance review of a business kind, you’ll need to visit the astro page- the link to that post is here.

To everyone I had coffee with, a meal with, a drink with, a phone chat with, a virtual chat with… thank you.

To everyone who reads my rambling posts here and on the astro blog… thank you.

Wishing you a 2014 filled with health, happiness, and all things wonderful.