Wow such a long time since we updated this blog. We have said our farewells to Adrian and Eleni after a wonderful 2 weeks with them having reconnected with Garys cousin Dave and his wife Ginny and also Elenis parents Diane and Jason. Unfortunately we were unable to contact Joan and Ray but maybe on the way back.
Explored the cafe and restaurant scene in St Kilda and Melbourne, making the most of breakfasts and Tapas in the sun and authentic Thai food at "The Lost Angel", a restaurant we stumbled across during our walk into Melbourne city. Finally visited Victoria Market, on a day that it was open this time, and finished the day with absolutely yummy deserts which created the now famous photo of me licking the plate. (Totally staged - when would I ever do anything like that?)
Time to repack, say bye to Indie and Uma, Adrian and Eleni and head to the airport. Thankyou both for your hospitality, your wonderful meals, glorious weather and of course your bed. We miss you heaps x
So on to Brisbane with Qantas!?! An apple, a meusli bar and a small bottle of water later we land in high winds and torrential rain to an oh so happy faced Carrie who has been looking forward to seeing her Dad for weeks.
So far the weather has not been all that flash but yesterday was Stefans birthday so we headed to Australia Zoo for the day. Having visited this place at least 20 years ago it is still as awesome. It is now a "money making business" however, very pristine, tarmaced and totally opposite to what I recall when we met with Terri and had photos taken and Steve was out digging the crocodile pits. It was very au naturelle then by comparison. However it was still amazing with Tigers, elephants, giraffe etc. and everything Australian but I wonder whether this was really what Steve had in mind when he started this amazing place? It was a super day and we all returned home super tired with the thought of fish and chips on our minds. NOW THEY ARE SOMETHING ELSE! The Aussies sure know how to do that well and yes they are still inexpensive and plentiful.
Having found wine in Melbourne at Dan Murphy's for $3.90 a bottle - yes that is no mistake - and very drinkable wine too, we have stocked up for the rugby tonight. Having had a lazy day today that will be the perfect round off - family, friends, BBQ, Rugby, beer and wine!
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Latest Update:
Still in Melbourne doing lots of walking and seeing the sights. Went to the Dandenong Hills for lunch on Sunday. It is still as nice as I remember it from my last visit with Pete and Christine Moriarty. Sassafras is a cute little place with antique shops and nice restaurants. We then toured the district and found a hilltop restaurant/function center which had lots of walks in public gardens, a maze, an English garden and a secret garden. Cathie and I exchanged rings at Christmas as a sign of our commitment to each other, and wanted to do it again with family in Australia present, so that's what we did in the secret garden. It was a nice spot and a nice moment for us to reaffirm our relationship to each other. No, not an engagement .... just a .... well, you know. :)
That evening Cathie, Adrian, Eleni and some friends went to see 'The Life of Pi' at the movies. I couldn't go as it was in 3D and I am no good with that stuff, being monocular and all. I think it is discrimination against one-eyed people! Anyhow I had a pleasant few hours walking around the St Kilda Festival. It is an annual event attended by between 200 and 400 thousand people. The reserve over the road was packed right up to the main shopping streets of St Kilda about 1.5km away. Lots of bands playing on different stages on the beachfront promenade with mosh-pits full of gyrating bodies. It was interesting to watch the different dance styles of an eclectic mix of random people. Lots of gays, lesbians, well dressed, under-dressed, bogans, geeks, street kids and lots in some sort of fancy dress with no common theme.
The sideshows, massive thrill-rides and stalls selling everything from t-shirts to massages kept me entertained while I people-watched until the sun went down.
The time went really quickly and I got home just before the rest. I encouraged Cathie to join me and we went back to the festival until it closed. It was so well run and organized with lots of security and as we walked home all of the trucks arrived in convoy to remove the stalls and equipment once they were disassembled. We hung around the food stalls just in case they had food left that they wanted to give away. No luck, but not for lack of trying. (on Cathies part ) We did score a huge grilled corn cob earlier in the evening which we shared as we walked along. Two young lads had bought more than they could handle so offered us one.
Next morning, after lots of noise during the night (as it was literally just over the road), there was no evidence of there being thousands of people wandering round the night before. The roads were opened up and there was no rubbish. The beach was full of kite-surfers and youngsters with their personal trainers going through their routines. This is such a nice place to have an apartment. Close to St Kilda shopping, and 90mins walk to Melbourne town center ....... well it took us 2.5hours 'cause I wrongly thought Victoria Market was at the other end of Victoria Street and GPSed us the long way round. Finally got there after a beautiful, authentic, cheap Thai lunch only to find the market was closed on Mondays! Nice lunch though. Not sure how hot it was, but we walked all the way home again by a more direct route and hardly had the energy to climb the stairs to the apartment. Feet hurt, legs sore, and my back went into spasm but it was a great day. Oh yes, we also called by the Thai Embassy on the way and picked up our passports with the new visas..... 2 entries both for 60 days stay. Not sure why we need that long but we needed the two entries so we can go to Burma or Laos and get back in to Thailand. It also means we can now go overland into the country instead of flying as usually you only get 15 days by going in at the land border. Job done!
Not sticking to our budget very well. Spending more than we should at this stage of the game but I am sure we will save when we get to Malaysia and Thailand.
Fly to Brisbane next Tuesday, but it has been great spending time with Cathies son Adrian and his partner Eleni.
Still in Melbourne doing lots of walking and seeing the sights. Went to the Dandenong Hills for lunch on Sunday. It is still as nice as I remember it from my last visit with Pete and Christine Moriarty. Sassafras is a cute little place with antique shops and nice restaurants. We then toured the district and found a hilltop restaurant/function center which had lots of walks in public gardens, a maze, an English garden and a secret garden. Cathie and I exchanged rings at Christmas as a sign of our commitment to each other, and wanted to do it again with family in Australia present, so that's what we did in the secret garden. It was a nice spot and a nice moment for us to reaffirm our relationship to each other. No, not an engagement .... just a .... well, you know. :)
That evening Cathie, Adrian, Eleni and some friends went to see 'The Life of Pi' at the movies. I couldn't go as it was in 3D and I am no good with that stuff, being monocular and all. I think it is discrimination against one-eyed people! Anyhow I had a pleasant few hours walking around the St Kilda Festival. It is an annual event attended by between 200 and 400 thousand people. The reserve over the road was packed right up to the main shopping streets of St Kilda about 1.5km away. Lots of bands playing on different stages on the beachfront promenade with mosh-pits full of gyrating bodies. It was interesting to watch the different dance styles of an eclectic mix of random people. Lots of gays, lesbians, well dressed, under-dressed, bogans, geeks, street kids and lots in some sort of fancy dress with no common theme.
The sideshows, massive thrill-rides and stalls selling everything from t-shirts to massages kept me entertained while I people-watched until the sun went down.
The time went really quickly and I got home just before the rest. I encouraged Cathie to join me and we went back to the festival until it closed. It was so well run and organized with lots of security and as we walked home all of the trucks arrived in convoy to remove the stalls and equipment once they were disassembled. We hung around the food stalls just in case they had food left that they wanted to give away. No luck, but not for lack of trying. (on Cathies part ) We did score a huge grilled corn cob earlier in the evening which we shared as we walked along. Two young lads had bought more than they could handle so offered us one.
Next morning, after lots of noise during the night (as it was literally just over the road), there was no evidence of there being thousands of people wandering round the night before. The roads were opened up and there was no rubbish. The beach was full of kite-surfers and youngsters with their personal trainers going through their routines. This is such a nice place to have an apartment. Close to St Kilda shopping, and 90mins walk to Melbourne town center ....... well it took us 2.5hours 'cause I wrongly thought Victoria Market was at the other end of Victoria Street and GPSed us the long way round. Finally got there after a beautiful, authentic, cheap Thai lunch only to find the market was closed on Mondays! Nice lunch though. Not sure how hot it was, but we walked all the way home again by a more direct route and hardly had the energy to climb the stairs to the apartment. Feet hurt, legs sore, and my back went into spasm but it was a great day. Oh yes, we also called by the Thai Embassy on the way and picked up our passports with the new visas..... 2 entries both for 60 days stay. Not sure why we need that long but we needed the two entries so we can go to Burma or Laos and get back in to Thailand. It also means we can now go overland into the country instead of flying as usually you only get 15 days by going in at the land border. Job done!
Not sticking to our budget very well. Spending more than we should at this stage of the game but I am sure we will save when we get to Malaysia and Thailand.
Fly to Brisbane next Tuesday, but it has been great spending time with Cathies son Adrian and his partner Eleni.
Friday, 8 February 2013
Well another two days has passed far too quickly. We are feeling very relaxed and sunkissed. It is extremely hot here but it is good for us -we are gently tanning ourselves and aclimatising for Asia.
We did our visa run to the Thai embassy and, $180A later, we were granted a 60 day visa with 2 entries just in case we decide to explore Burma and Laos. We recollect our passports on Monday - hopefully.
Whilst we were walking around the embassy area, gps activated on the phone, we discovered the botanical gardens and spent a few hours walking around. If Aussies do something right it will be in the effort they put into keeping their public gardens clean and beautiful. It was a few hours well spent.
On our way to the gardens we stopped in a small dairy and displayed beautifully was Dovedale bread???? What a surprise and well done Roland - figure it must be your Australian franchise in operation?
Today was South Melbourne Market day. As with most things here it was busy busy but really interesting and bountiful. Fresh produce, meat and fish all appear to be so much cheaper than at home. The prawns are gigantic so it is on the bbq for a few of those tonight. Yep, bbq on the rooftop tonight with a few of Adrian and Eleni's friends.
Just outside the apartment, in the park across the road, the St Kilda festival finishes tomorrow. More than 400,000 are expected on this final day so we are off to the Dandanongs to recommit ourselves with Adrian and Eleni then lunch at Sassafras to celebrate. Movies in the evening (3D Life of Pi) the end to a perfect day.
Bye for now will blog again soon. Love to all x
We did our visa run to the Thai embassy and, $180A later, we were granted a 60 day visa with 2 entries just in case we decide to explore Burma and Laos. We recollect our passports on Monday - hopefully.
Whilst we were walking around the embassy area, gps activated on the phone, we discovered the botanical gardens and spent a few hours walking around. If Aussies do something right it will be in the effort they put into keeping their public gardens clean and beautiful. It was a few hours well spent.
On our way to the gardens we stopped in a small dairy and displayed beautifully was Dovedale bread???? What a surprise and well done Roland - figure it must be your Australian franchise in operation?
Today was South Melbourne Market day. As with most things here it was busy busy but really interesting and bountiful. Fresh produce, meat and fish all appear to be so much cheaper than at home. The prawns are gigantic so it is on the bbq for a few of those tonight. Yep, bbq on the rooftop tonight with a few of Adrian and Eleni's friends.
Just outside the apartment, in the park across the road, the St Kilda festival finishes tomorrow. More than 400,000 are expected on this final day so we are off to the Dandanongs to recommit ourselves with Adrian and Eleni then lunch at Sassafras to celebrate. Movies in the evening (3D Life of Pi) the end to a perfect day.
Bye for now will blog again soon. Love to all x
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Arrived safely in Melbourne to, dare I say it, 35 degrees. It is hot! (hear there is snow on the mountains in Nelson).
Have done very little apart from some long walks along the waterfront and to the St Kilda shopping centre, lunching out, drinking wine and catching up with Adrian and Eleni. Have to say we are being thoroughly spoilt by them and it is sooooo good to catch up after what seems such a long time.
Off to Melbourne tomorrow to the Thai consulate for our visas.
Miss you Rach good to talk on skype
Have done very little apart from some long walks along the waterfront and to the St Kilda shopping centre, lunching out, drinking wine and catching up with Adrian and Eleni. Have to say we are being thoroughly spoilt by them and it is sooooo good to catch up after what seems such a long time.
Off to Melbourne tomorrow to the Thai consulate for our visas.
Miss you Rach good to talk on skype
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)