June 23rd

Up and out of the Wollongbar Motel to walk into town to eat breakfast. We stop at a place called The Bayleaf. Very busy and good food...we all just needed our long blacks, cappuccinos and flat whites! Now we are awake...

The plan for today is to walk back to the motel, but pop into shops along the way, then drive to Bangalow. It's Sunday so few shops are open, however the one Colette and I popped into had some really great clothes. Tee shirts for a mere $99, which is not far off from the norm here. Cute dresses, skirts, pants and jackets...if only we had the time to try on and if only our menfolk made more money! Lol

Packed up and on the road. Bangalow is a cute little town and the market was on. This market is more arts and crafts, than food. Many interesting characters around. Stood and watched an extremely talented busker who had at least 3 instruments playing at a time. He did stop playing one in order to pick up his juggling....I don't know how he did it, but it was fun to watch and the kids loved to dance around him.

After the market we walked the Main Street and stopped for a citron tart and coffee at Choux Choux Cafe. Colette and I also went into a French inspired store, but the prices were just too much..

Back in the car for a drive to Nimbin. This little town is a true hippie hang out, so you know how we stuck out like a sore thumb!! Everything about us was wrong! Lol. We walked the Main Street and because it was getting late, had a bowl of pea and ham soup at the Rainbow Cafe before we left. I'll be honest and tell you that I was approached three times about buying some good "bush" pot....what an experience!!


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June 22nd

Bill, Colette, Dave and I decided to get out of town and take a small weekend trip to Byron Bay, which is about 2 hours from Brisbane. After a big brekkie here at our apartment we were ready for the trip.

The weather was gorgeous and sunny and mild unlike the previous week, so we were all in a happy mood.

We arrived in Byron Bay and took a quick look around the main street and decided we needed a Bay Kebab. Basically meat and veg wrapped up in a pita with some sauce. We then started down the beach towards the hill that would take us to the lighthouse. Not many people on the beach, however quite a few surfers.

Although I walk everywhere, this hill was killing me! Not only that, but I had an epic headache which didn't get better with the exercise. Ugh. On the trail is the eastern most point of Australia and a Kodak moment. The waves were incredible crashing into the rocks. Then on up to the lighthouse....

I was thinking that I would pop into the museum to see if they had any charms for my bracelet and Colette went with me. True to form for here, the museum sign meant just that....museum. No retail goods available, just a small room with artifacts and a place to sign up for a tour. Lol. I should know this by now, but I always try!

We tried to talk Bill into running down to the town for the car and coming back to pick us up, but he wasn't going for it. So we walked back into town and started searching for a motel. We found a clean one for $300....this is CHEAP! It was called the Wollangbar Motel. Colette, who is a nurse, fixed me up a headache "potion" which is actually two meds that are equal to excedrin. By dinner my head was better and we walked to the town to The Eatery. Ok food, nothing great....but the Baskin Robbins we hit back to the motel was good!

Watched TV for a while then went to bed.


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June 20

Today I met Heidi and Suzanne at South Bank and we went to the quilt exhibition at Queensland Art Gallery. These British quilts were made in between 1700-1945....by talented women and men! Oh my, the intricate patterns, the fine stitching, the appliqué, and the fabrics! A couple of them were made by convict women on the boat over, one was made with fabrics during WWII which had material from the black out curtains plus other material given at that time, one was made out of what looked like boiled wool by an army man. Most had fabric from clothes or other recycled items. The exhibit was small, but it took a couple of hours to really see all the quilts.

I'm so glad I went!


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June 6th

Bonjour!
French tonight and we decided to go get dinner down at the end of Oxford Street beforehand. We're walking and talking and about a little more than a mile down the road I realize I have forgotten to wear my glasses. Now mind you, I can't really see without them AND I absolutely can't read my French without them. So we stop and discuss and I decide I'd rather be blind than hungry, so on we walk. Although Sushi Mura is busy, we get our meal pretty quickly and decide we have enough time to walk the 2+ miles back to the apartment before French starts. So back we go. Dave changes his shoes and gets a jacket, I go to the bathroom and check that I have all my French materials and just to make it interesting, we also decide to return a plate to a neighbor. So walking again and I get just a tad further than the last time and I look at Dave and a bloody hell shoots out of my mouth because I have forgotten my glasses again!!! At this point I'm laughing so hard I'm needing to sit down and Dave just looks at me....no time to go back a third time and no guarantee I will remember them if I do, so on to French. Lucky for me we meet in a bookstore that carries reading glasses. So at the beginning of French after asking Mandy the owner if I can borrow a pair, I'm asking Katrina and Fern how I look as I try on different colors and types. As if it matters....and then I have the distraction of the tag hanging down on the side all night. Not my best lesson ever to say the least!

Au revoir!


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May 27th

Our last day in Sydney....
We walked down to the harbour and Luna Park to have brekkie.  Luna Park is an amusement park, however because apartments were built near it, they had to take down the roller coaster and a few other things because of noise.   It's still pretty neat though.

We had scheduled a 3 hour walking tour of Sydney to be started at city hall.  We jumped on a train and headed out.  Our tour guide had started this company with his wife and it's every day of the week and free!  He was so knowledgeable and nice and a few times funny.  He took us everywhere and I was so glad Dave had found this for us to do.  We were given a short break in the middle of the tour and my hair was driving me crazy!  Of course I couldn't find a barrette to put it up, but I did find a big paper clip in my purse.  So with a little bending and twisting....voila!  A barrette!  You always have to be thinking.....someone suggested that I chew a piece of gum until soft, take it and make a flower shape and put that on my paper clip barrette.  Now that's going a little too far!  Before you think I'm crazy, then you should have seen an odd little man that was with our group.  He had a fascination for the corner of buildings.  If he saw a crack in the stone he would run his finger down it.  He also tried out the handlebars of a parked motorcycle and pulled on the wires and tubes.  Other than that he seemed normal....lol.

We ended near The Rocks and had lunch on the roof of the Gilmore hotel before packing up and flying back to Brizzie that night.

May 26th

More to explore in Sydney so we are up and out of the hotel to find a hearty "brekkie".  We end up down a few streets at Icoco.  Very nice breakfast before a full day.  Dave and I decide to go to Darling Harbour to the aquarium, while Bill and Colette go to the Maritime Museum.  Jeff and Julie are off to the Bondi beach.  Dave and I are in this smallish aquarium for hours!  It's crazy how the time flew by.  Afterwards we had plans to meet at the Ihelm bar for a beer before we decided what to do next.  We ended up not having time for anything else before we had to catch the taxi back to the hotel for dinner.  

We ate at a restaurant called Olivo on Blue.  We ate outside under the heater and this place had amazing food.  We were all stuffed when we left.  Caught a taxi to the Opera House for a concert of the Blade Runner music.  It was what was available and I really wanted to go and see how fantastic the music would sound.  It was incredible!  The music wasn't my first choice, however what an experience!  Loved every minute of it....

Then a taxi back to the hotel.

May 25th

Vivid Sydney starts this weekend and so it gave us a perfect reason to go.  It's a festival of light, music and ideas.

We flew in on Saturday morning at 9:30am with Bill and Colette.  There is also Cerner training going on and so  we were also meeting Jeff and Julie.  We stayed at the Harbourview Hotel in North Sydney and paid extra to get a 12th floor room so we would not be rattled to death by the commuter train that goes under the hotel.  We had a great view of he harbour.

We dropped our bags at the hotel and walked across the Harbour Bridge to the oldest part of town called The Rocks.  The market was going on and we found a sandwich

wrap for lunch.  There was so much to look at!!  We went into the Rocks Discovery Museum and looked at all the artifacts and read all the information.  Back out to the market and on to the Circular Quay.  Stopped into the Museum of Contemporary Art to look and we have decided we just don't get it.  Twine hanging from the ceiling wrapped about 5 times around a wadded up plastic bag....please explain how this is art!?!  Lol

Back out to the Quay to people watch and take a few pictures of the Opera House before a walk to the Kirribilli Hotel, which was established in 1937, for a quick drink.

Bill had a groupon coupon for a dinner cruise that night.  What he failed to read was the fine print that said this terrific 3 hour cruise was a stand up dinner cruise around the harbour to watch the lights.  All 6 of us lined up with 700 (this is not a typo!) of our closest Asian friends and boarded the boat.  The first 100 or less people took the only seats available on the perimeter of the boat, the rest of us stood.  We immediately went to the buffet line and had our pick of pasta with tomato sauce, pasta with cream sauce, salad, bread, and chicken thighs.  Then we found a very tiny tall bar table and tried to get the six of us around it.  Sigh.....anyway, the lights being flashed on all the buildings, the cruise ship and the Opera House made it all worth it.  Amazing!!

Afterwards we walked to the Russell Wine bar and had coffee and a huge chocolate brownie before making our way over the Harbour Bridge and back to the hotel.

Walking 22,000 steps equalling around 11 miles......and they seem to be all uphill!  :)

Driving lesson

I decided that I should probably start driving for real. I can't believe it's been 8 months and I've only been behind the wheel once! I called up Metro Driving School and made an appointment for May 23rd.

Steven showed up at my apartment with a small car that rattled somewhat and had blinkers that had been karate chopped so much by a previous client that they needed not only to be turned on, but off as well.

We sat in the car for a good 10-15 minutes going over the driving rules in a big binder. When he felt as if I knew the Australian terms and rules, off we went.

After not driving for so long, and only being a passenger, it's amazing how you get out of the driving habit. Looking around, making sure you're following all the rules you grew up with, but also new and somewhat more complicated rules. Who would have known that you put on blinkers getting into a traffic circle and then again when you leave one...except when you're going around but straight across. If this makes no sense, I'll have to draw it out!! Lol.

After the hours driving lesson we were driving into downtown Bulimba and a very nice, very brand spankin' new and very expensive Porsche pulled out in front of me. Steven very calmly said....please don't hit THAT car! I think the little clunker I was driving wasn't worthy of hitting such a car!

I was told that I did a perfect job (seriously I hope so!) and to continue on. Now the big decision is whether we should buy our own little clunker......


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