The Apartment

Just indulge me here for a minute. Let me believe that we're wealthy and swanky and own a weekend house in Picton. Scratch that - it's not a house - it's an apartment. And we just spent the weekend in it. We don't own it, but if I shut my eyes for the entire time I'm there I can imagine that it's ours and that we do own it.
But if I did that, I'd miss the views! And the views were lovely.
Straight out over the foreshore of Picton to the sparkling, glittering blue sea and Mabel Island nestled as she always is - at the mouth of the harbour.

Picton is the place where we plan to retire. One day. We love it and we miss it when we're away from it.
My family history is steeped in it, and there's just something about the place that keeps calling us back. Usually we stay with family or friends, or hire a little bach in the Sounds. This weekend we treated ourselves to something different. An apartment. On the main street of Picton. On the second floor.

It was such a beautiful place to stay, and with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, we felt very spacious, even with four children. The decor was very simple - black and white, but so tastefully done with modern furniture and no clutter that it felt very luxurious.

Our master bedroom shared the balcony with the living room and looked out over the harbour and the lights of Picton and the little boats sleeping on their moorings. We could watch the ferries coming and going.

Meredith and Alice shared a room with another luxurious queen-sized bed and just enough room for a porta-cot, and the boys had the twin room with the lovely red pillows.

When we weren't out walking through the park or up and down the jetties or visiting family and friends, we revelled in our luxury - takeaway food, store-bought coffee from the cafe downstairs and card games and Guess Who, or just sitting and admiring the view or people-watching. When my auntie visitied, my 10 year old son just loved going down in the elevator to the lobby door and pressing the green button to the side of the door to let her in.

The apartment was surprisingly child-friendly. Apart from a few little things, like the coasters, the remotes and the cords for the blinds, we didn't have to put anything up out of reach of Alice's little 18 month old fingers.

We had such a nice time. It was great just to get away from the usual routines and the usual sights out of the window and relax for a couple of days somewhere different.

We're already thinking about our next trip here - saving up to go again in the early summer for a bit longer.