Getting a little chilly

Yesterday was a day for doing two of my favourite things - revelling in autumn, my favourite season, and wining and dining with hubby. I'm only working part time at the moment - it's hard to keep your mind on the job when you're loopy on painkillers - so after work I went over to the botanic gardens to lie in the sun for a bit. The weather's had a sudden cold snap and I'm loving it. Nothing gets me more excited than the prospect of winter drawing nearer - a chance to wear all those handknits! (I think the lady above could use a couple of woollies too.)

Autumn in the city is colder than anywhere else in Sydney. It's always warm when I leave Manly in the morning, but the wind in the city really howls down the alleyways and the buildings keep all the sun out. The Gardens are always warm though. Right next to the Harbour they get the fresh sea breeze, and the shadows cast from the city buildings only reach them at the very end of the day.

This is the spot I picked yesterday for a bit of a snooze. Nicer I think and quieter than the spot where everyone else seems to want to congregate, around the ponds:

Call me a hermit (it's true, I am) but I like to hide away from the crowd and find a bit of the park that I can call my own. And sometimes there are rewards to going to the quiet places. While I was lying on the grass I heard flitting and flapping right behind my head. It would come and go every couple of minutes. I rolled over when I heard it and saw this little guy on the grass next to me swallowing back a lizard. He'd been sitting in a small tree over my head and hunting for things around me as the sun went down.

I did a bit of a wander too, in search of the Wollemi Pine, an ancient and very rare tree found only in a couple of canyons in the Blue Mountains:

After hearing so much about it I confess I was expecting something a bit more impressive. Something that looked like it could withstand dinosaurs and the ravages of time. To add insult to injury, this straggly little thing bears a sign that mentions how "inbred" it is.

To end the day perfectly, hubby and I went to a restaurant that has been around for many years but which is new to us, La Guillotine. Amazing food. If you like French and a cosy atmosphere you have to go. The perfect place to warm up after a cold day. And of course we ordered comfort food - I had the pate for entree and for mains the duck with cherry and kirsch sauce. Hubby had onion soup to start and a main meal of the chateaubriand. Everything was perfect, including the service which was spot on and well worth the money. My favourite was hubby's onion soup which I stole for myself! I would have taken a photo of its cheesy crouton-filled perfection, but before I knew it there was none left!