Another birthday week

Garry’s birthday week drew to a successful close for another year on Sunday. A group of us came together for lunch at Three Blue Ducks in Rosebery. Garry and I were last here for EO Sydney’s White Christmas Party in 2023. We have a wonderful afternoon filled with great food, wine and laughter. We even roped in our waitress for a group photo at the end. That’s Sophie next to Ian on the back right.

After lunch, we retired to Archie Rose, a gin distillery across the quadrangle from the restaurant. More cocktails ensued before everyone came back to our place for cheese and wine on the balcony. I went to bed around 11:00pm. Garry was up until after 4:00am with Nat, a friend who lives in the building next door.

We kicked off the celebrations a week earlier, also on Sunday, with lunch at Biviano's, an upmarket Italian restaurant in Dural. We last dined here a couple of years ago with Rhonda and Murray. It’s the first time we’ve been back since Rhonda died. Nicole, Jason and Mitch joined us for a relaxing family afternoon.

I then surprised Garry on his official birthday last Wednesday with dinner at Mjølner, a Viking-themed restaurant in Redfern. Its meat-centric menu was a hit with the birthday boy. The restaurant was impressive. It’s located in a vaulted brick cellar on Cleveland Street and reminded us of the medieval lunch we enjoyed years ago in Tallinn, Estonia. We even drank mead from authentic drinking horns.

Once dinner was done, we walked a block to enjoy front row seats at the Wizard’s Hideout. An intimate magic show held in a converted warehouse. For 90 minutes, we were dazzled by some impressive sleight of hand. Garry certainly keeps his coins in some odd places. Afterwards, we walked home. Enjoying two unique and memorable experiences within walking distance of home was rather special. We’ve never done that before.