Today is packing day and tomorrow I fly home. The whole cruise and Oz visit has breen wonderful and I would like to thank all of you who have followed my posts and commented.
See you back on Random Jottings in a while
March 2018
03/20/2018
03/18/2018
Hamilton Island
It was seven years ago when i made my first visit to Australia after my daughter Kathryn had moved here and we went on a holiday to Hamilton Island. I simply loved it then and asked if we could go back this year. Normally we plan a trip further afield but as we were not sure if Kathryn would have her Permanent Residency granted by the time I came, we had to limit our scope. So Hamilton it was and gosh it was simply wonderful to be back and see it again.
The highlight of the week was a trip we took by seaplane over the Whitsunday Islands and landing on Whitehaven beach which has been rated in the top ten beaches in the world. Pristine white sand, jade and turquoise water which feels like silk when you dive in, it is simply breathtaking.
We were in a four passenger plane and flew over the islands, jewels in the sea, white sails of yachts dotting the ocean and colours of purple and green. When we landed we felt like celebrities in our private plane. It helped that it was flown by a dashing Frenchman who was tre joli to put it mildly. He said there was a bit of wind so we might have some ‘bermps’. Sounded so like Inspector clouseau that Kathryn and I corpsed completely.
I am going to say no more but post some pictures which will say more than my words will do.
03/13/2018
Hamilton Island
Love this place. Just so laid back. No traffic. If you want to get around you hire little electric buggies, top speed 25 mph. We arrived and checked in and within five minutes of being in our room these little friends arrived. “Ah new suckers. Perhaps they will have some food”. Having lost a couple of muffins to them on my last visit I am more canny this time around.
On the beach. Baking hot and then out of nowhere comes a wind whipping up the sand and sea, and torrential rain. Ten minutes later out comes the sun and all is well. This happened several times during the day and in the end we did not bother to move. I have to say when we eventually came in and I looked in the mirror and found myself seeing a sandy, hair on end 71 year old I let out a shriek. But nobody here really cares what you look like here.
out in the evening for dinner down in the port. Stuffed to the gills decided to get free mini-bus back to hotel which runs all day and late into the evening. Went by an incredibly circuitous route and when we arrived at our hotel realised we could have walked it in five minutes.....
Kathryn went to the Spa yesterday for a massage and later on in the week I am having a pedicure and a manicure. Two more weeks and I shall be home and this sybaritic lifestyle will end. I am loving it but could not do this all the time. The ‘treat’ factor is very important to this lind of trip.
ok off to breakfast and then down to the beach again....it is a hard life.
03/11/2018
03/08/2018
Surry Hills
For the last ten days I have been staying in Surry Hills witk Kathryn. I like the area very much. It is full of little coffe shops and cafes and I have yet to find one that does not serve a great sandwich or brew a good coffee.
In the 1920s I gather it was the haunt of razor gangs that terrorised inner-city Sydney and was pretty much a slum area. But as we all know, slums get 'gentrified' and this is what has happened. Young professionals have moved into the area, there are loads of designer shops and restaurants. The Victorian terraces have great charm and are now selling faster than those in Paddington which has always been the place to live for some time. There is a curious mixture of fashion and seediness, newly renovated houses stand alongside dilapidated dwellings awaiting their turn to be bought, painted and given a new lease of life. Some of the renovated ones are stunning, small but every inch of space utilised. Now that this is a ‘cool’ ares house prices have shot up as is always the case. It is so close to the main City and last weekend the Gay Mardi Gras paraded through the streets. It is a huge occasion, great crowds and an atmosphere of fun and affection. When I first came to Sydney in my twenties being gay was still illegal and homophobia was really bad. It was not viewed as a good part of the Aussie macho image. How things have changed and for the better.
I was very glad I was with Kathryn this week as I had a recurrance of something I suffered a couple of years ago. Inflammation of the rib cartilage on my right hand side. I was in very bad pain and could barely breathe and felt as if a clamp was latched onto my rib cage. Kathryn took a day off work to look after me and I have to admit I was very glad she did. I am not used to being looked after!
three days and umpteen painkillers later it is receding, but boy do not want that again. I am at a loss as to its origin. Can follow on from a chest infection or a heavy cold, which I could understand as the previous occasion I had been suffering with precisely that. Then I read that ‘lifting heavy objects’ can also do it. Bearing in mind the weight of my suitcase it now all becomes clear....
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