Next Stop - Alice Springs

We're off to Alice Springs tomorrow - so not sure when we'll next get an opportunity to update the blog.

Posted: 05/08/06 7.21 pm

Blue Mountain Day

Today (Saturday, 5 August) we had an early start. Anna and Greg - *waves* to Anna and Greg - were taking us on our personalised tour of the Blue Mountains.

It was a great day but marred somewhat by the mists that shrouded the highest peaks - including the Three Sisters at Katoomba. However, we got some good photos at Govetts Leap and we're hopeful that the Three Sisters will show up on through the mists on the photos my human took.

We stopped for morning coffee in Windsor and visited the annual fete at St Monica's in Richmond. Lunch was taken at The Paragon - a Katoomba institution - which boasts some fine Art Deco interiors. Afternoon tea was taken in Wentworth Falls at the Blue Mists cafe which is run by a Scouser!

It was very cold in the mountains compared to the temperatures Sydney enjoyed today.

A big THANK YOU to Anna and Greg.

Posted 05/08/06 7.15 pm

It must be a Friday thing ....

Like last Friday, my human woke up to the sound of rainfull. It was a pretty miserable day, However, undeterred the human kept to her plan to take the ferry to Manly Island.

The rain eased off a little while we were there and we took a stroll around Manly Beach. Manly obviously has aspirations to be Brighton but unfortunately still has some of the worst elements of Blackpool. However, they do share one of the Blackpool's more favourable traits - Manly is the place to eat fish 'n' chips.

We found a very nice restaurant for our fish 'n' chips lunch and due to the wet and windy weather my human pushed the boat out, so to speak, had had a sticky date pudding.

We then made our way back for the return trip. The return crossing was a little more choppy and the rain relentless.

The idea was to spend some time at the Museum of Contemporary Art but although we made a brief stop there, we were soon heading back to our hotel - if only to avoid people thanking us for bringing the rainy weather and having to explain that London is in the middle of a heatwave.

We're hoping that the Friday rain pattern is not repeated next week.

Posted: 05/08/06 7.05 on

Sydney 03/08/06

A vey hectic touristy day today.

First we completed the Sydney Explorer tour we started late yesterday afternoon. This finished about 12.15 pm.

We then took the train to Milson's Point. This is the north side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We then walked over the bridge - I can't say it was a particularly pleasant walk as the bridge carries so much traffic - there is a train line as well as car traffic. However, you do get get some great views.

Oh, and I must forget to tell you, it's the first time I've ever travelled on a 3 decker train!

When we got to the south side of the Bridge, we visited the Bridge museum which is housed in one of the Pylons. There is a little souvenior shop about 2/3 of the way up and a little observation terrace at the top (200 stairs though!). It cost AUS$9 and better value for money then doing one of those bridge climbs.

That done we returned to terra firma and had a little refreshment before taking the Bondi Explorer. We weren't doing the whole tour but had to get to Bondi Beach where Anna would be meeting us to take to dinner at Sean's Panaroma. The bit we did of the tour was very scenic.

And the dinner at Sean's was fabulous - it was a shame my human couldn't find a bit of space for a dessert but perhaps next time. Thanks Anna!

So, we're pretty much up-to-date now.

Posted 03/08/06 10.55 pm

Sydney

So on to our next stop - Sydney. We finally arrived at our hotel around 10.15 pm - the journey from the aiport in the airport hotel shuttle bus almost taking as long as the flight itself.

Our first full day in Sydney, 2 August, was pretty hectic from the word go.

We started off by going to the local station, Museum, and getting a 3 day Sydney Pass. This entitles you to travel on the buses and trains, Sydney & Bondi Explorer bus tours, and can be used on the Sydney Ferries.

We then made our way down to Circular Quay to take the afternoon two and a half hour Habour Cruise which makes its way down the main harbour just inside Sydney Heads and then explores the waterways of Middle harbour. The cruise takes in the well known sights of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, as well as Elizabeth Bay, Double Bay, Rose Bay and Watsons Bay before going through to Middle Harbour via the Spit Bridge - which has to be opened specially to let the ferry through.

After the boat tour, we hoped on the Sydney Explorer as it stopped near our hotel. However, we make a stop at 'Mrs Macquarue's Chair' for a couple of photos, before resuming our journey.

Once back at the hotel we spruced ourselves up for our evening out. Our friend in Sydney, Anna, *waves* to Anna and her husband Greg - had managed to get tickets for the opening night of the Pirates of Penzance at SOH! It was a very glittering occasion and we felt a little underdressed, having left our finery at home.

However, the production itself was very jolly and performed with much enthusiasm. Anthony Warlow's 'Pirate King' performance probably owed a little to Alan Rickman's Sherrif of Nottingham and Johnny Depp's Pirate! And what a voice Emma Matthew's has (Mabel)!

It was then back to the hotel for a well earned night's sleep.

Posted: 03/08/06 10.45 pm

Farewell Melbourne, Hello Sydney

Another day, another flight, another city.

So we said farewell to our Melbourne hosts, the Yolland family - *waves* to Yolly, Jeni, Caitlin and Betty - who had been marvellous hosts. Special mention to Caitlin who kindly gave up her bedroom for my human.

We'll try and come for a longer visit next time. Enjoy the bread sauce mix Yolly!

Posted: 03/08/06 10.30 pm

Tuesday, 01/08/06

A rather more touristy day today.

We were dropped off, as it were, at Rialto Towers, home of the Melbourne Observation Deck on the 55th floor.

Fortunately the weather was a little better today - no rain for a start, so it was possible to get a good view of Melbourne from the observation deck.

After this we took the excellent and free City Circle Tram - it does what it says on the tin - and made our way to the Queen Victoria Market - Melbourne's oldest and largest market with some 1,000 traders.

I had a bit of a scare when my human spotted pink hat with "Australia" on the front and I thought for one moment I was going to be put on the scrap heap, but I'm pleased to report that common sense prevailed in the end.

We were particularly impressed with the 'Deli' section of the market. The market closes around 2 pm however, so it was soon time to make our way, naturally via the City Circle Tram, to our next, and final destination for the day, the Melbourne Museum.

We had two hours to spend at the museum before making our way to the airport, so we spent an hour in the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre. This was a very interesting and moving exhibition. We then spent the second hour in the Australia .

This included a section on the famous 'Aussie' race horse Phar Lap (who was actually from New Zealand) and, something that would be of special interest to my human's friend Helen - *waves* to Helen - the kitchen from 26 Ramsey Street. Yes, I was rather surprised to see a section of the museum dedicated to 'Neighbours'. Apparently the museum are able to have this particular kitchen was it was 'destroyed' in a fire in a 1999 storyline.

I'm sure it won't be long before we see part of the set of 'Eastenders' or 'Corrie' in the V&A :-).

Posted: 03/08/06 10.25 pm

PS - tl, I think it must be some while since you were last in Melbourne - it is certainly not a dump.

Melbourne, Monday, 31/07/06

The weather was rather inclement - in fact it was raining. However, undeterred, the human and our Melbourne hosts ventured forth for an afternoon of culture.

We visited the National Gallery of Victoria and saw the Picasso: Love and War 1935 - 1945 exhibition, which covered the period that Picasso meet Dora Maar and the work they produced during this pre and war period, including, of course, Picasso's great anti-war work Guernica.

In the evening, my human treated our hosts, Steve, Jeni, their daughter Caitlin and Steve's mum Betty to a meal. The original plan was to have Spanish tapas at the Robbie Burns Hotel (where else?) but transport logistics meant we ended up eating Italian at Pacino's.

It was rather disconcerting to have a meal in a restaurant covered in Al Pacino movie posters but fortunately the food was excellent.

Posted: 03/08/06 10.05 pm

Despatches

Mention in despatches must be made of Leanne - *waves* to Leanne - who has turned up trumps on the Fraser Island photos.

Me and my human are most grateful.

Posted 31/07/06 at 12.51 pm

Crisis? What Crisis?

The hot topic at dinner parties up and down Australia at the moment is the banana crisis. So big is this crisis it has put up the rate of inflation. Apparently bananas cost something like AUS $15/16 a kilo at the moment.

It's all do with the cyclone that the Northern Territories experienced earlier this year and because of the strict import regulations Australia has they haven't been able to import any from elsewhere.

Normal service is expected to resume in mid-September.


Posted: 31/07/06 12.45 pm

Melbourne Bound

Another early start for my human - even on a Sunday breakfast is served between 7.30 am - 8.30 am.

We then checked out and waited for our transport to the Nerang train station. Usually the lodge runs a bus but on Sunday's you get a limo! Unfortunately the bar wasn't stocked.

We were booked on a 5 pm flight to Melbourne but as we arrived way too early at the airport (there was only a 10 am pickup at the lodge) we were able to get a flight an hour earlier, arriving about 6.15 pm.

We were met by Yolly, an old friend from the UK who had settled in Melbourne, his wife Jeni and daughter Caitlin.

Yolly gave us a tour of Melbourne at night before going to a very good Vietnamese restaurant for a meal before returning to their home.

Posted: 31/07/06 12.20 pm

The Wedding of Allison and Mark

I'm pleased to report that the sun shone on Allison and Mark's wedding day. Unfortunately it was a bit too windy to hold the ceremony outdoors.

It was a lovely service, with readings by Allison's sister, Helen, and Mark's aunt, also called Alison (as is one of Mark's sisters!) and some lovely singing by Allison's friends Tim and Fran.

As Mark's family is Scottish he wore a kilt, as did one of his best men, Paul, and very fine they looked as well.

Allison's dress was lovely and she looked radiant. Hopefully my human will work out how to load photos so you can see it in more detail.

After the wedding, pre-lunch drinks and nibbles and photos, we sat down to a buffet dinner and then the speeches. Allison's father is a professor and we were treated to a powerpoint presentation on the life of Allison and Mark (there was some concerns that we were going to be set a paper afterwards, but fortunately these proved to be unfounded).

Once these formalities were completed we came to the cutting of the cake and my human saved a bit to put under her pillow. Apparently if you do this you're meant to dream of the person you'll marry.

We then had a little gap before bush band dance in the evening. After the Flying Fox activity and the '20 minute walk' to the spot where it took place (yeah, 20 minutes as the crow flies more like), my human was in need for a bit of a rest.

Suitably refreshed, we went along to the bush band dance before retiring to bed.

Posted: 31/07/06 12.35 pm

She flys through the air with the greatest of ease...

Well, I don't know what got into my human. Suddenly Ms Non-Sporty becomes Ms Sporty and she thought she ought to try and take advantage of some of the activities on offer.

Amongst the activities on offer at the mountain lodge was something called 'The Flying Fox'. Basically you are strapped in a harness and hooked on to a 165m long wire about 50ft above the ground and fly through the trees.

I could see that my human began to have second thoughts when she was on the platform, while I was thinking, 'does the travel insurance cover this?'

Anyway, to her credit she did it, although I'm sorry to report that she was a bit of a big girl's blouse when it came to getting off. She couldn't release the rope lock to slide down ......... but I won't embarrass her any further by going into the details (however, she did end up competely upside down at one point).

Suffice to say, she's done it once, and doesn't intend doing it again.

Posted: 31/07/06 12:21 pm

Binna Burra

I'm pleased to report that although Binna Burra is very much a place designed for the hale and hearty who enjoy 22k walks, getting up at 6.30 am for bird watching and the like, it did have hot and cold running water etc. Although there were no other distractions such as television, radio or internet (hence the gap in postings).

My human had hoped to have a bit of lie in, but no such luck as breakfast was served between 7.30 am and 8.30 am and a bell was rung to let you know that breakfast was being served.

It certainly is a beautiful spot and the founders were very much ahead of their time in conserving the landscape for future generations.

Posted: 31/07/06 12:15 pm

Friday, 28/07/06

The day didn't go as planned. The plan was to drive to the Binna Burra mountains via the Gold Coast.

Unfortunately after the lovely day on Thursday, it was pouring with rain on Friday (not that they don't need it - like the UK, Queensland is experiencing a drought) and the visability was bad.

So after checking the train/airport connections at Nerang for my human's trip on Sunday, we made our way direct to the mountain lodge. You can read more about Binna Burra here:

www.binnaburralodge.com.au

Posted: 31/07/06 12.10 pm

Brisbane - 27/07/06

Thursday was the day for sightseeing in Brisbane. Fred returned to act as our guide. We set off from the hotel and walked to the South Bank. After a cup of coffee we took the one and half-hour boat tour along the river (this was where the human managed to delete all the photos so far taken).

It was a lovely sunny day, around 24C, so very pleasant to be about and about.

After the boat trip, we hopped on to the City Sights tour bus - which allows you to hop on and off at various stops. We got off at City Hall stop as both Fred and the human had some shopping to do.

The shopping done, the humans hopped on to the next tour bus to come along to finish the tour. The tour route went past our hotel, which was near 'The Windmill' the first industrial building in Queensland and built by convicts in 1828.

As Fred had only just started walking following an accident a couple of months ago, the bus driver agreed we could stay on the bus until it came round The Windmill again to save having a long walk back from the centre of town to the hotel.

We returned to the hotel around 4 and the humans had some refreshment and a little rest.

Fred then drove the human round to the Bride's parents where they were having an BBQ and the inaugural use of their new wood oven. It was a good oppotunity to meet some of the fellow wedding guests.

Local time: 31/07/06 12:05 pm

Catching Up

Not been able to post for a few days so aim to catch up now.

Since the last postings, we've had a day out in Brisbane, travelled up to the Binna Burra mountains and flown to Melbourne, so as you can see things have been a bit hectic.

Local time: 31/07/06 Noon