Yet another view of where we live

As Ian is in the UK, and Annalie is spending this birthday solo, she decided to treat herself.

The local school had its annual fair on, and one of the things on offer was a helicopter ride around the suburb. What a good idea! She managed to convince our friends Jo and Toby to go too, which was interesting as Toby had never been in a helicopter before!

It was only a short flight, but it provided some new views of our lovely neighbourhood, and beyond, that we don't normally get the chance to see.

 

 

Our street is the one that goes up the hill on the right in the photo above.

This is a great view of the Airport and Miramar peninsula.

A great idea and a fab thing to do on a birthday :)

A beach birthday

Being November children, our birthdays have always been pretty miserable weather-wise. Usually it's raining. Or cold. Or both. Until we moved upside down.

November is now firmly in the Spring. But with us being in Nelson, the weather was better than normal for us.

We were very lucky to be meeting up with Alison, a friend of Andrea's (Annalie's sister) who moved to NZ two years before us. Annalie and Alison plotted a day out at Rabbit Island, so after a leisurely breakfast, Alison and her family picked us up and off we went.

Rabbit Island is a leisure area just outside Nelson with a fabulous beach, some free barbecues and plenty of open space to play in. We took some food and drinks and chilled out for the afternoon, soaking up the sun and enjoying the company of some new-found friends.

As you can see, Ian's birthday was a stressful affair...

Happy birthday Ian

There's no better way to start your birthday than with a good feed.

So Annalie duly took Ian off to a funky cafe in the heart of Nelson that had been recommended.

Lambrettas, as the name suggests, is themed around the Italian scooter, with a few relics and artefacts dotted around.

The breakfast is also a work of art. Although it didn't stay this way for long...