Back to Blighty!

Well, we're back.  And it's cold!!!  And dark!!!!!  And Christmas is in four weeks time.  Yikes!  Somehow I thought we'd be coming back to early summer here.  But evidently I was wrong!

Jet lag abounds, but we're being stoically English and soldiering on regardless, though I haven't got the composure to post anything sensible today.  You might have to wait a few days for any sense to come out of here!

Radio silence

Well, would you believe it, this has been our last day. (Picture my sad face.)

Our cases are packed and weighed (just scraped under weight). We've checked in online. Uncle Wilf is playing pool. And we're dragging out the inevitable for as long as we can.

No more posts 'til we're back in Blighty. See you in GMT!

Didn't we have a lovely time...

...the day we went to Manly!

This was possibly my favourite day in Sydney. We caught the ferry on a beautiful blue skied day and enjoyed all the views. Disembarking half an hour later we mooched around the streets and shops, which cater for all tastes and pockets.


Then we bought fish and chips and ate them out of the paper by the beach before mooching back to the ferry and coming home slightly sunburned and tired out by all the sea air.

Footsore

We have walked miles and miles round Sydney! On one day we walked eleven miles - over 26,ooo steps. I was pooped.

Sydney was all hustle and bustle, lots of people and traffic rushing everywhere - standstill too long and you get knocked over in the rushing. But still there were beautiful things to see, from the old to the new. The skyline is high.

So high that when the clouds were low and stormy we lost the tops of some of the buildings.

This was taken in Darling Harbour which now is full of cafes and restaurants - something there for every taste.

But the old was still there too - this was the Queen Victoria Building, built in the 1880s and restored in the 1980s. Today it houses smart shops and cafes and attracts a well heeled clientele - we possibly lowered the tone somewhat!

The Rocks was the first part of the harbour to be settled, and had a reputation for being the roughest and unsafest part for many years. It's completely changed now, and houses some very smart and expensive restaurants in some of the old warehouses on the right of this picture.

These days people emigrating to Sydney are likely to come by air rather than by ship. But the old overseas passenger terminal is still in use, for the many cruise liners that begin and end their journey in Sydney. The one you can see on the left of the picture was the second of three that we saw in as many days.

And for those of you concerned that I've not shown you any food for a few posts - here's a sample of one of the meals we had in Sydney - John Dory for Uncle W and lobster for me. (I spared you the raw fish starter!)

Picture Postcard Setting

Honestly, the pictures don't lie - Sydney Harbour really does look like that. Stand on Circular Quay and the bridge is to your left and the Opera House to your right.

Close up the bridge has a tendency to look like the Tyne bridge, think you need to be further away to really appreciate it. Get out on the water and it's even better!

Wrong on all counts!

Australia is the place to get good coffee. We've had cup after cup of steaming strong black coffee no matter where we've been.

There are lots of individual coffee shops around and so no need to go into one of the coffee chains that you find everywhere these days.

But, knowing the red cups were out, and Christmas blend was in, we thought it would be somewhat surreal to enjoy a cup in the hot sunshine, in front of Melbourne's Christmas tree.

Reader, we only drank a third of it. I assume they were having an off day.

Mabel and Wilf go mad in Melbourne

Everything we'd read said that Melbourne is the most European of the big cities over here, and they were right. There were lots of wide roads lined with trees, old characterful buildings and lots of Italian restaurants, as well as a skyline full of skyscrapers. I loved it!

We said goodbye to Mr & Mrs Oldest Cousin - they'd been fantastic hosts, and left us with a wealth of recommendations of things to see in the city. Then we started walking. We looked at the national gallery, complete with water wall and stained glass ceiling.

Then we spent hours walking around the streets, looking at shops, going down little arcades and lanes until we were so worn out that we collapsed in a heap for the evening!

The following day in the bright spring sunshine (but it was chilly in the shade) we set out for the Shrine of Remembrance - an imposing structure in the King's Domain. It managed to be both moving and informative - particularly as the emphasis was on Australian troops (as you'd expect) and so showed different battles and conflicts to those we're familiar with.

After tramping through the Botanical Gardens we came to Wilf's treat for the day. The MCG - or for the uninitiated out there, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. As there was a match on (being watched by one man and his dingo) we could only go round the museum.

There was plenty to see - though we skipped the Aussie Rules section on the advice of one of the guides (he'd marked us out as poms straight away). Wilf was particularly interested in the cricket section which was full of memorabilia - though strangely quiet on the 2005 Ashes series! The cleverest bit was a talk being given by a hologram of Shane Warne - it really did look as if he was there. The little boys in front of us (and the old man next to me) thought it was really cool!

To make the most of our last night in Melbourne we went to a Chinese restaurant that had been recommended to us as being really authentic for food, if a little dodgy in the decor stakes. The food was excellent. But I had to use chopsticks. Can you imagine? But, I was amazed at my dexterity, the food ended up in my mouth rather than on the tablecloth or worse!

A post out of time

But, especially for Snail - I had creme brulee for sweet tonight. And it was a near perfect 10! Completely crisp caramel with no grainy bits of undissolved sugar. The slightest bit warm just under the caramel, but then cold and perfectly smooth with flecks of vanilla. Not too sweet, not too rich. And came with a tiny biscuit and a tiny little pot of berry compote.

So, yes - they do have creme brulee over here!

Trams and Tribulations

We set off from the Oldest Cousin's to drive into the centre of Melbourne, where we were due for lunch at 1pm - had a good drive around some of the suburbs - that really helps to get a feel for a place I think.

Melbourne still has trams running in the city and some of the suburbs - and they have a set of trams decked out as turn of the century dining cars, and this is where we had lunch. It was a bit like being on the Royal train - very ornate and plush with starched white table cloths and silver service. As you eat the tram trundles around various parts of the city allowing you to see some of the sights. Very cleverly you can see out, but the out can't see in!

The blurb says the trams are balanced so that not even a glass will tremble. Hmm. We were to put that to the test before lunch was out!

On the first incline a little vase of carnations went over - fortunately it didn't have any water in so all was well. Unfortunately the next thing to go over was the OC's full glass of champagne which tidal waved in between Wilf and I, causing much hilarity as we mopped up.

The food was delicious - Wilf tried kangaroo. He's not having it again, it made him bounce.

After a minor mishap with OC's knife and fork meeting his trousers we made it without further incident to the cheese board. We are still at a loss to work out what happened next - suffice to say OC's glass of red wine met with the tablecloth and his light coloured trousers. He looked as if he'd been looking for reverse swing! I manfully tried to distract everyone by pointing out the architecture on the houses, but in the end we all succumbed to the giggles.

By this time we were nearly back to the tram terminal and we made our way to the hotel for a quick rest and a calm down.

We went to watch the sunset from the top of the Rialto tower - one of the highest buildings in Melbourne with a viewing tower at about the 55th floor. I'm afraid I wasn't very brave at all and didn't go near the windows very much - fortunately Wilf is better at heights and so we have got some photos to prove we were there. The views were fantastic and the city looked like fairyland all lit up.

Rooms without a view

Afraid there'll be no pics until we get back to Perth, so you'll just have to imagine until I edit the posts then.

Mornington Crescent

Mornington Pensinula is full of small wineries, cheesemakers, chocolate makers and nice villages - today we set out to see the sights. But, of course, before we started our trip we needed something to fortify us for the journey! What could be better than a piece of sticky date cake, complete with caramel sauce, raspberry sauce, ice cream and cream?

After driving along some lovely windy roads and looking at the beautiful houses our first stop was the chocolate maker. V posh and quiet like a library but friendly too. Wilf and I had a little tasting plate and then made a few purchases from the lovely display.

Next stop was the glass blower. Amongst a beautiful shop of handmade glass objects we stood on a gallery and watched the men at work - it was fascinating.

By now it was nearly time for lunch. We stopped at the Red Hill Brewery, where Wilf, the OC and his wife did some tasting first. Then suitably replenished we set off again.

We briefly stopped at the strawberry farm (strawberries - in November?!) to pick some for tea, then it was on to the winery where more tasting went on.

Our final stop of the day was at the cheesemaker. For $10 we had a tasting plate of a real mixture of cheeses - goat and cow, hard and soft, white and blue. Some were yummy, some were just too goaty!

The final purchases made we headed back for home along the beautiful coastline.

Sultry days and steamy nights

The day dawned cloudy and humidly hot and we set out for a walk to the village and to see some of the local beaches and sights.

We're spending three nights on the Mornington Peninsula in Mount Martha. It's about an hour away from Melbourne city centre, and along the side of the bay.





After a good day's walking about (14,500 steps!) and a lovely meal and plenty of conversation we attempted to sleep to the accompaniment of thunder, lightening and rain. Still it cleared the air!

Jet-setting

Oh, so casually we checked in at the airport for our short three hour flight to Melbourne. Had a good window and aisle twosome and settled back for the ride.



All went well..... until we came to land. A head wind coupled with bad turbulence made for the bumpiest descent I think I've ever experienced. And the pilot kept on banking round and round, not sure if he'd lost the runway or we were dodging anti-aircraft fire.

Now add to that the pressure of being busting for a wee. My public loo phobia had kicked in and I couldn't bring myself to go on board. By the time we taxied to a halt I would have used a bucket in the aisle. Abandoning Wilf to pick up the hand luggage I legged it for the exit and the nearest loo.

Equalibrium restored I went back and found Wilf, who by this time had met the Oldest Cousin, and our Melbourne adventure began.

And now for a short break

Tomorrow morning we're off to Melbourne for three nights with the Oldest Cousin and then three nights in the city. After that we're off to Sydney for five nights. So I'm not sure how regularly I'll be able to update you on our adventures. We'll try our best, even if it's just words and no piccies til we're back in Perth again.

Until then, enjoy the interlude.

Busy doing nothing

Except mooching and enjoying the sunshine.

Yesterday we mooched around the shops a bit, went in the pool and sunbathed. Today we've mooched and drunk coffee at the marina, gone in the pool and sunbathed a bit. Lovely.

And for all little dog fans - meet Rocky. We went to his house for dinner on Sunday evening - he really was a bit of a tinker.

I know an old man who swallowed a fly,

I don't know why he swallowed a fly,
Perhaps he'll die.

Today is a fly day. They're everywhere. And Uncle Wilf breathed in at the wrong moment. Excuse me while I go and sew up my split sides!

Whale Watching

Yet another early start - this time to get on a boat and head out into the ocean to go whale spotting - a popular pastime at this time of year as they're migrating.

The sea was very calm and flat - in the harbour that is! Once we got out to open sea it was a bit more bouncy. Thank heavens for Travel-eeze.

While the crew were disappointed we didn't see more whales - we were excited to see what we did - a mother and calf, and some dolphins! All in sight of land too - I thought we'd have to be out in deep ocean, but no, they come relatively close to shore.

After some lunch and time to regain our land legs we headed off to Kings Park. This is a huge park on the edge of Perth, overlooking the city and the meeting of the two rivers. As you stood looking down it was only too easy to imagine the convict ships coming upriver looking for somewhere to unload their cargo.

This is where the Western Australia War Memorial is - commemorating all those from the state who died in conflicts from the Great War onwards.

Can ya tell what it is yet?

It's a strange little critter - I'll just put in the eyes....

Desert discovery

We made an early start on a three hour drive to The Pinnacles - thousands of limestone pillars rising eerily from the sand - but completely surrounded by bush. It was like being dropped onto another planet.

I got the creepy feeling that the pillars were all shuffling round when I wasn't looking! Glad we were there in the middle of the day rather than sunset!!

Then it was on to Jurian Bay - a one shack seaside town that is just coming up for development with plots of land up for sale all over the place. Plenty of deserted beaches with beautiful white sands, lapped by turquoise sea.

And then after the long drive home, on long very straight roads (did the Romans get this far?) we were just in time to watch the sunset.

Tie me Kangaroo down Sport

I went out with an Englishman, and came back with a Drover. At least there are no corks.