Sunday: Pool Party and The World's Best Nap

Continuing on with our fantabulous weekend ... Sunday we hosted our first pool party of the season on our roof. And when I say "party," what I really mean is "very small and quiet gathering of friends" because parties (and also nude sunbathing, according to the posted signs) are strictly prohibited at the rooftop pool. So, property management company, take note that there was no party.

I woke up with ringing ears and a headache because I am a granny who cannot go to a rock concert without inflicting damage upon myself. But, nothing a cup of coffee and couple of Advil couldn't take care of. We wandered up the street to get snacks and some ice, and found the icecapades to be the most shocking part of the day. I suggested that we'd do well to buy ice at the neighborhood convenience shop on our block, so that we wouldn't have to carry it so far - only to find out that they were charging $6.80 for a bag. That seemed rather unacceptable, so we went to Woolies, but their ice, normally $3.50, was sold out. So, Partner-in-Crime went down the street to another grocery where he secured a bag for $4.50. It is, at this point, that I just want to take a quick sideline to point out to Australian sellers that a bag of ice is really just a bag of very cold water. Not Cristal. Or gold.

Thanks for coming along. Let's move forward.

We've considered ourselves so fortunate to have made friends with two of the most fun American couples (with a little Canadian thrown in for good measure) - fellow blogger and fellow blogger and respective husbands. Whenever you meet couples, there is always the risk of, say, you love the wife, but the husband is a stick in the mud. Or, the husband is rad, but the wife is a cranky-face. So, to find two sets of couples, and we all get along - our friend cup runneth over.

We set up a little picnic on the roof, and the wombat came along for good measure.





Most of us found our way into the pool at least once during the day, but honestly, we may have jumped the gun on appropriate swimming weather. The sun was warm, but there was a steady breeze that made the air feel sort of cool. Still, adapting to the Australian way of swimming in sub-arctic conditions, we did get our swim time in.



It was also beautiful laying-out-in-the-sun weather, which we wives did with expert lethargy, while the gents talked vividly about ... I don't know ... spreadsheets or something. I made the amateur mistake of forgetting to sunscreen my back for half the day, so I'm suffering the after-effects of painful pinkness, and hoping it doesn't start itching ... a very beginner error. You can never mess around with the sun in Australia. It's like the angry evil soap opera twin of the North American sun.

Everyone seemed to have had a really good time, so when it warms up a little more, I'm sure we'll host more of these "small, quiet gatherings" on the rooftop.



After the party conference broke up, we had just a bit of dusky daylight left. P-i-C and I talked with little conviction about taking a walk, but I was lazy from all the sun we'd taken in, and there was the freshest breeze wafting in from the bay into our open living room window,...


View from the window. Feel that breeze.

...so I unfolded the futon and took the most beautiful nap. The breeze was cool, but not cold, amazingly there were no noisy neighbors talking loudly or blaring Joan Jett, and even the birds were sweet and not shrill. It felt like napping in a hammock on the beach. If there were a rating system for naps, this nap would even have gotten a "10" from the Spanish judge. It was an impeccable conclusion to a magnificent couple of days in Sydney.