45th Wedding Anniversary

 On the 25th March 1978 I said "I Do" to the man that I have loved for forty-five years. I was just twenty years old and Philip twenty-two when we were joined in holy matrimony.  It seems so young now but we were absolutely ready for married life.  We grew together and with the addition of our boys, Kurt in 1979 and Marc in 1982 our family was complete.

Living on a cattle station in the Gulf for almost all our married life enabled us to give our boys the best possible upbringing.  The boys had a lot of freedom to make mistakes and learn from them - some very painful mistakes! We were never "hover" parents.

So what advice would I give to the twenty year old me now. I would tell her that her babies will be perfect but not to put too much pressure on herself to be the perfect mother.  I would also tell her to laugh a lot more because there will certainly be plenty in her world to make her smile. I would tell her that she is going to experience the highest highs and lowest lows but will always be loved. And lastly I would tell her to breathe in this moment, reflect on the last moment, and await the next moment.

And what advice would I give to couples.  It's simple really.  Never stop talking to each other and never forget to love each other.

We celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary at Nautilus Restaurant in Port Douglas.  We have been coming to this restaurant almost all our married life and it is still our all time favourite restaurant.  Now, they specialise in a five course degustation menu.  Our five courses were:

Mojito and Green Ant cured Kingfish with cucumber pearls

Duck Three Ways - Consommé, Spring Rolls, Wontons

Grilled Moreton Bay Bug

Whole Crispy Skinned Coral Trout 

Belgian Chocolate Slice

Cheese Platter

Every single course was absolutely to die for.  

The restaurant itself is open air and it is always hard to believe that it is situated right in the centre of Port Douglas.  The ambience of this restaurant is beyond compare with its beautiful high back chairs that give diners privacy while they eat.  The staff are attentive and cheerful that is always welcome.  We arrive around 30 minutes before our booking so that we can have pre-dinner aperitif's in the dedicated lounge area.  It really was a wonderful night and the perfect way to celebrate our wedding anniversary.