Daisy chains and wild horse rides

I think I am living all my childhood fairytales and fantasies at the moment. If I let myself humour that belief, it makes for a delicious way of looking at the world.

A few weeks ago, my best friend Melli and I went away for the weekend to the Central Coast Hinterland. The darling girl knew the degree to which I was moved by my horse-riding experience in Egypt. I wrote about it rather enthusiastically at the time: and here is a photo from that wild crazy ride in the desert.
So for my birthday, she gave me a voucher to go horse-riding at Glenworth Valley, and we decided to make a whole weekend of it. I found us a stunning house on a hill in the midst of stunning countryside.
The house had a long gravelled drive, with overarching trees, making us feel like young heroines at the start of some romantic saga.

The house was so beautifully furnished, with sweeping views over the valley below, and the ocean at the horizon.

The garden around the house had a lilypad-filled pond, glorious broad murmuring trees, and a surprising collection of odd mushrooms! We felt like Alice in Wonderland exploring the grounds, discovering mushrooms, creeping into hidden clearings amidst trees, finding old discarded machinery and making up explanations for what it might once have been... very typically Melli and me adventures... my favourite moment though was the stunning sunny morning when we lazed on the lawn beside the daisy bush, and made daisy chains to crown ourselves with. Delicious girlie fantasy filled fun! The horse-riding was glorious too! I was blessed with a great horse, and he and I galloped wildly along the path, I adore riding so much! Its surprising, I'm normally quite fearful of dangerous sports, but there is something so poetic and natural about riding a horse... I was a sparkling bundle of joy when I finished the ride, but poor Melli had been stuck on a slow horse, so she was understandably petulant.

And I have some glorious fantasy-filled adventures on the horizon! In a month I will be on my long-awaited 'return to Europe' adventure... I go first to Munich where I will go and see Neuschwanstein Castle (that Disney based the Sleeping Beauty's castle on), and I'll get to wander around scenery fairytales were based on: soaring mountain tops, delightful gorges, pristine lakes, seductive forests...

Then onto Bucharest, where besides discussing web 2.0 strategies with my team of awesome developers, I'll explore Transylvania and transport myself into fantasies of vampires and blood-thirsty counts and eternal life and damnation.... aaah... (luckily, I am the first to giggle at my ridiculousness!).

Then to Vienna, which will fulfil musical and architectural fantasies.

Then onto London where I get to reunite with my friends and life of many years.

Then onto Madrid to see my cousins and aunt and uncle and eat too much jamon serrano and manchego and pippis.... yum.

Then onto Ibiza with my friend Sunita for a few days of revellry and mayhem. This is fulfilling one of Sunita's fantasies, as she always felt in her bones that she would visit Ibiza when she turned 30. And I get to return to what is one of my favourite places in the world, full of energy and light and dancing and sunsets...

Finally onto Vancouver where I get to be bridesmaid to Tanya and Mark's wedding. This caps the fantasy theme perfectly, for what could be more dream-come-true-like, than a union of a fated love. I'm so thrilled to be there!

Anyway... isn't it marvellous when so many visions, hopes, and dreams you - and people you care about - have harboured, come true!