Around the world in 30 days

Australia day fourteen – Noosa

2010-02-08T16:21:00.000-08:00

Off to Noosa after a healthy breakfast with a coffee stop in Noosa junction. After a short search, we found the ferry stop and bought a ticket just as the ferry was about to leave. The ferry took us along the river with a couple of stops to Noosa Heads. We walked along the Hastings to the beach and had a look around, watching the surfers. Our search for a place to eat is decided by a sign saying “Bucket of prawns and nice cold beer” in front of the Noosa Surf Club. The terrace is over locking the beach from Noosa Head to Fraser island (we think!). Another little walk around and then we are back on the ferry up the river. Our planned journey higher up the river to the two lakes through which the river flows turns out to be an anti-climax after what we have seen so far. The weather turned grey again and both lakes looked grey and bland. On our way back, we found the biggest Coles so far and did more shopping. Before we settled in our studio, we checked the local hotel in Peregian Beach, which turned out to be a bookie with a bar and most locals smoking outside.

The day ended with more home cooking and telly as we had an early start ahead of us – five past six was our collection time for Fraser island.

Australia day thirteen – Sails lifestyle resort

2010-02-08T16:20:00.001-08:00

The weather is still dominated by the ex-cyclone and after checking out of the hotel, breakfast and some food shopping, we set off to our next destination – Peregian Beach. Turns out our next stay was just half an hour north up the coast, so we headed further north to Noosa Head; where the scenery changes dramatically. The beach looks much calmer, no high rise buildings and surfers everywhere. The place has a more tropical feel to it. Next is Noosaville, which stretches along the river inland, with lots of little piers and marinas.

Early afternoon, we head back to Peregian Beach – “Sails lifestyle resort”, which we found eventually tucked away in a suburb. Once we settled in our apartment and had some instructions from our New Zealand resort manager what to do in the area, we set off for a walk along the windy beach. The beach was covered in little Bluebottle jellyfish and the gust from the choppy swell blew in our faces. When we arrived at the life station, we saw the flags showing that the beach was closed and we walked to the centre of Peregian in search for a cold beer – the gusty wind was salty. “No shirt, no shoes, no serve”, we didn’t want to risk the disappointment and walked back along the beach to our apartment where a couple of bottle of Toohey were waiting.

We booked our trip to Fraser island and got some tips from the reception what to do tomorrow.

After that, the rest of the evening was home cooking and watching telly (Grey’s anatomy and Desperate house wives).

Australia day twelve – Ex-cyclone Olga

2010-02-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

We woke up seeing the rain swirling around our hotel. But as quick as the rain appears, the rain stops. With our panoramic view, we can see the rain come and go. The highest tide of the year (for all of 2010) and ex-cyclone Olga are battering the coastline.

Just to be on the safe side, we choose the cafe just outside the hotel for breakfast. As we walk along the beach, we watch the surf boat races in the rough sea and are reminded of Rob’s comment about female rowers in Australia all pumped up and ready for battle.

We met Karen and Louis at the “Loo with a view”, and go to the cafe across the road for a drink (frappe, cappuccino and tea). Louise decided to show Karen and Louis our suite at the Mantra, just as our swipe card fails. After the reception reset the swipe card, we arrive in our room just in time to admire the next shower passing our panoramic view.

Later in the afternoon we drove up north along the coast to get a better idea of the area and the distances. The beaches are mainly long straight stretches, with every resort having their own surf club and life guards.

In the evening, we agreed to meet with Karen and Louis for a Thai meal just down the beach front in Mooloolaba. Just when we arrive, Karen informs us that the place is byo and a bottle shop is just up the road. So we turn around to get a bottle of wine only to find out that we had to get back to the Mantra for the nearest bottle shop.

The Thai place was a colourful painted hut just of the beach. While all restaurant were quit, the hut was packed and we had a delicious meal.

Australia day eleven – Louis

2010-02-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

Sam was waking us up indicating it was time for a walk, so we took him up and down the street before we had our showers and a cup of tea. Lilly sent an e-mail and had a skype chat with Louise; didn’t hear anything from the car rental company. Karen arrived mid morning, while we were looking for accommodation in Mooloolaba, Ellie texted some suggestions. We booked the Mantra in Mooloolaba for two nights in the end. Louis invited us for breakfast, so we drove over to his house taking Sam but leaving the teenagers behind and getting provision from Woolworth on our way. Louis greeted Louise in his undies finishing washing the floor of his bachelor pad, but changed quickly into his customary denim shorts. While we unpacked the food, discussing what to have for breakfast, Karen started cooking the breakfast by buttering slices of white bread. Louis carried on cleaning the house and garden while Sam played with Daisy and Jess. Just when we sat down to eat our breakfast, it started raining.

No news about the car hire, it’s Saturday noon and all places are starting to shut down. Karen is ringing around and manages to get a car from Mooracheybar airport (Sunshine Coast Airport). Just when we leave the house to get the car, we meet Leigh-Anne, Travis and baby Keira as they arrive. Back from the airport, we pick up Leigh-Anne and it’s off to Karen’s house to collect Becky. We leave Karen’s house with Becky and Leigh-Anne to do some birthday shopping on the outskirts of Mooloolaba and get drinks for our meal. Louis is going to cook the best steaks in the world and salad for us. After two steaks (Louis cook an extra one for me because I looked hungry) and a couple of beers, we check in to our room in the Mantra Hotel in Mooloolaba. The room turns out to be a one bedroom suite with a balcony facing the beach and Jacuzzi – Louise is in heaven!

We spent the evening sitting on the balcony watching the full moon over the Pacific.

Australia day ten – Buderin

2010-02-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

We woke up in Karen’s showroom overlooking the street, listening to the inhabitants of the house getting ready for the day and leaving the house. Made a cup of tea with frozen milk (thought it was off first!) and the remains of sugar from the cupboard while Tom was still sleeping on the sofa bed – open planning; and Louise looking for accommodation on the sunshine coast. We decided to rent a car on-line to be more independent.

After Karen arrived back from her school run and dog walk, we set off for a tour of the area and a coffee. Our tour took us along winded roads up and down hills to Montville. The coffee shop (www.mayfieldonmontville.com.au) had the most amazing hilltop view of the area all the way to the coast. And Montville had an endless number of little shops for Karen and Louise to explore.We bought a new memeber of the family Gertie a chicken to indulge Karen’s chook obsession!

Luckily even Karen and Louise needed a drink after all that shopping and we had a beer (shandy for the girls) in a pub (not hotel!) just as the dark storm clouds drew closer.

On our way back, we stopped at Bunning’s warehouse to get the parts to fix the toilet and a couple of mugs to remember Peter (nowadays Bunning’s power tool specialist – I think). We arrived at Karen’s just as the sky darkened and the flood gates opened. I fixed the loo while Karen was rushing through the house, closing windows, mopping up water and trying to stop Becky from running out into the thunderstorm. Nat was on the internet and Tom racing on his xbox.

After the storm calmed down, Tom spotted three kangaroos coming up the road (How did he do it while playing on his xbox?) and running past our bedroom window (Great close view). We had a drink and snack on the veranda as the rain stopped and it got light again.

In the evening we met Louie for a meal at Augello’s (www.augellos.com.au) the beach front in Mooloolaba and drinks at the surf club (www.thesurfclub.com.au) afterwards.

When we got back, Tom was still paying on the xbox.

Australia day nine – Travel to the sunshine coast

2010-01-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

Tension is in the room when we pack our suitcases knowing how close we are to our luggage allowance and fully aware that we went shopping yesterday. We check out of the hotel and meet Ali for brunch in Paddington. Great breakfast with huge glasses of fresh fruit juice (five a day never felt that easy!). Ali eventually found the way to the airport an dropped us at our terminal. Turned out our flight with Jetstar was cancelled and we had to get to a different terminal for our replacement Quantas flight. I messed up the electronic check-in; could have had an earlier flight and separated Louise and me. We just made the baggage allowance by carrying Louise’s laptop as hand luggage and got different seats to sit together.

Now we are sitting in the department lounge watching the planes come and go, updating the blog, reading and enjoying a drink!

The flight was delayed and we arrived in Brisbane at four o’clock local time. Karen drove us to Buderim in her converted Fiesta (she uses it to transport horse manure and hay), with a quick stop at the bottle shop to stock up supplies. At the house we were greeted by Sam, the latest addition to the Belte household; a sweet dog which was “rescued” by Becky. The arrangements are that we sleep in Karen’s room, Karen is sleeping in Becky’s room on the floor and Tom is sleeping in the lounge and we all share one bathroom – Louise is searching the internet for alternative accommodation!

While Karen is walking her dog, we have a bite to eat on the sea front in Mooloolaba. On the way back, we stopped at Louis place to say hello and have a quick drink. Back at Karen’s we notice that there a now curtains in her bedroom, which is looking straight out to the street – more internet searches tomorrow!

Australia day eight – The last day in Sydney

2010-01-28T14:58:00.000-08:00

We started early to meet Karen and Hannah in Manly and had just time to congratulate Hannah on her birthday and give Hannah her present before Hannah, Aaron and Harry set off on their seven plus hour journey home.
We went into Manly for a coffee (Latte and cappuccino to be precise), leaving the teenagers behind – did Becky notice us while watching telly?
Leaving Karen at the apartment, we met Ali and Peter and set of to the closest shopping mall. I got too t-shirts for 20 asd (Bargain!) and Louise got her fix of retail therapy by buying a new outfit for the summer (or the sunshine coast; whichever way you look at it). On our way back to Growther avenue it started to rain and we enjoyed a rest in the cool rooms.
After a couple of beers we set off to Balmoral beach to meet Allister and Bonnie, and Rob (after his training). Thanks to the grey weather, we were able to sit outside the fish and chip shop with our byo drinks and order our food without queuing. Rob arrived just when the shop was closing and Ali managed to secure the last portion of fish and chips for him. We sat at the table outside the fish and chips shop, watching the bats arriving from the Botanical Gardens until late. We said our good bye’s to Allister and Rob with lots of “See you in the summer”. Ali and Peter drove us back to our hotel for our last night in Sydney.

Australia day seven – Australia day

2010-01-26T15:07:00.001-08:00

It’s hot again and instead of staying in Sydney to watch the celebrations, we accept Ali and Peter’s invitation to go to Freshwater beach. On our way to Circular Quay we got the first impressions of Australia day; families in Australia shorts, with Australia t-shirts and bandanas and little transferable Australian flag tattoos with a stubby of beer in one hand (“Australasia gear” as pat called it). For breakfast we went to Erin’s again and then we took the train from Town Hall to Wynyard to see a bit of the celebrations. Somehow I got the way wrong and we ended up at the bottom of the Rocks, with the large empty piers in front of us, mind you we got a good view of the tall ships approaching the Harbour Bridge from Darling Harbour. As we tried to get back to Circular Quay, we realise that our way was blocked by the express way and we had to make a d-tour to get to the ferry. Hot and bothered we arrive at the packed ferry quay, all ferries a delayed as part of the Australia day celebrations in the harbour. Once the last tall ship has passed, the ferries started to run again and we got on our ferry where we met Pat (old friend of Ali’s) and her partner which was reassuring as we knew we got the right ferry in all that chaos. Ali collected us from Greenwich point and we set straight off to Curl Curl beach (not Freshwater as mentioned before). The beach was extremely busy, but the water was cool and refreshing. For Australia day, the ladies drank sparkling wine on the beach while the men had beer. We stayed until late afternoon and had showers at Crowther avenue before we went to the Oaks for a cook-yourself meal.

We had a final glass of wine at Greenwich Point before we took the delayed 10.52 ferry back into town.

Australia day six – Karen’s arrival

2010-01-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

The day started with breakfast at Erin’s cafe on Pitt street and a walk through town down to Circular Quay from which we took the ferry to Manly. The temperatures are still in the 20’s (°C) with a slight breeze. Karen, Hannah, Becky (Rebekah) and Nat (Nathaniel) greeted us at the ferry point and we went straight to the apartment to meet Aaron and Harry. Harry is seven weeks old is sleeping with a big smile in his pushchair when we arrive. All female visitors take turns to have a look at him and pick him up once he’s awake. After that it’s time for lunch and we make our way to the sea front in search for a restaurant with enough seats for us. During lunch we decide to take the ferry back to Sydney to show the Aussies the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Unbeknown to us, Becky was going to meet Jack a friend from Brisbane who now lives in Sydney and she did that by simply disappearing on the main road in Manly. From this moment onwards, we spent a lot of time waiting for the teenagers. At Circular Quay we watched a mono cyclist performing with his 12 foot cycle and then walked up to the Opera House. With the constant teenager delays time moving fast and we are just about catching the ferry to Greenwich with Karen, Becky and Nat; while Hannah, Aaron and Harry are heading back to Manly. Ali is collecting us from Greenwich Point and we all manage to get in the car. We have a relaxed Barbecue in the garden with Bella entertaining everyone. Our journey back takes us under the Harbour Bridge by night and we leave Karen at Circular Quay. By this time Nat has decided to live in Sydney!

Australia day four – The party

2010-01-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

We got up as usual only to find out that it was overcast and grey, not too hot then we thought. The moment we left our air conditioned hotel a humid wall of heat hit us, we went straight down to Darling harbour in search for a breeze. No chance, what would be a breeze turned out to be hot air coming out of a blow dryer.

Coffee in the cafe and a short walk around Cockle Bay Wharf turned out to be an extreme challenge to the body. We made it on to the ferry to Circular Quay, but even the ferry offered only light relief from the heat. From Circular Quay we headed straight to the first air conditioned shopping mall and then from mall to mall back to the hotel.

We just had time for a shower, and then we had to head back to circular quay to catch the ferry to Greenwich. We headed down to the hot dungeons of the underground train system to catch our train, only to find out that we had to take a detour back to central station to bet to the ferry. Despite all that we arrived at the ferry point on time; or that’s what we thought as we made our travel arrangements based on weekdays on a Saturday and we just saw our ferry leaving. The harbour looks like a boiling pot of water. No problem, we just take the train to Sydney north. Back to the station; another detour or full circle of Sydney city line how ever you look at it. We finally get on the train to Hornby and can see the dark sky and the wind building up.

Peter is picking us up from St Leonard’s. After dropping Louise at Crowther avenue, it’s off to the bottle shop. Half way across new south Wales to the bottle shop, we filled the car up with beer and ice; and returned to the venue of Ali’s birthday just before the rain started. Dodging in and out of the house, we mixed the ice with beer and wine bottles while Louise was preparing the Pimm’s. Thanks to the rain the temperatures dropped to bearable levels.

I was on duty to make sure Bella wouldn’t great everyone with too much enthusiasm when the first guests arrived. The evening stretched until late into the night meeting and chatting to Ali and Peter’s friends, every conversation starting with “How long are you staying?, Where are you off to next?, We heard about the weather in England, ..., etc.”. And everyone agreed that this was the hottest day in Sydney so far!

We had to help the taxi driver to get out of Greenwich and arrived back in the hotel just after one in the morning.

Australia day five

2010-01-26T15:02:00.000-08:00

We had a slow start into the day. The temperatures have dropped into the 20s (°C). Just the right temperatures to explore the city and look for a present for Hannah. First we had a full English breakfast at Mona’s cafe in Pitt Street and then checked a couple off shopping mall for the present without success. We walked through Hyde Park to the Botanic Gardens and Mrs Macquarry’s Seat. The gardens are an amazing oasis within the city with a huge population of giant bats (flying foxes as Peter said), cockatoos and all other unusual birds. In the gift shop we found a nice bracelet for Hannah. From the Botanic Gardens, we made our way back to Circular Quay past the Opera House, where we took the ferry to Darling Harbour. After a couple of beers, we rushed back to the hotel, via the monorail, to change our clothe for the evening and to meet Peter who was collecting us for the evening.

From the car park near the Botanic Garden, we where chauffeur driven (in a promotional Prius) to the entrance of the open air cinema in the Botanic Gardens, where we met Ali. While waiting for the gates to open, we shared a bottle of Cockatoo Ridge (one of Ali’s birthday presents) and left over crisps from the party. Once we got inside the venue and secured our seats, we had a meal and a couple of bottle of wine while it got dark. The cinema screen was a the edge off the little bay in the water with the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney skyline just behind it. We watched “Nowhere man”, distracted by the view and bats flying past.

Australia day three

2010-01-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

Sunburns, disaster has struck; Louise’s chest is bright red the day before Ali’s 60th birthday party. An outfit crises is imminent! And a day on the beach was planned. So our first stop is the convenience store on the corner to get up to date sun protection and then we are off to the Rocks to have breakfast (raspberry tartlet) at the Renaissance cafe. Then it’s back to the ferry port at circular quay to get the ferry to Manly. The journey takes us all the way up Sydney harbour to the Pacific coast. Manly is a busy beach resort and the big ferries come and go every 20 minutes. We make our way to Shelly beach, which turns out to be the furthest point. Desperate for a drink we head straight for the beach bar which turns out to be an expensive restaurant, so off to the next (or other) one, where you have to have a meal with your drinks. So we share a pizza and enjoy our cold beers.

We settle under a couple of shady palm trees at to top end off the beach, and make or way to the cold water across the burning sand. The water is clear, cold and refreshing. From Ali’s text messages, we learn that its extremely hot in the city, so we decide to stay in Manly until the evening until the temperatures drop. On our way back to the ferry, we stop in a bar overlooking Manly beach for a drink, which then became a relaxed evening meal. Mussels for me and prawns for Louise.

On our way back our ferry passes the gigantic passenger ship which dominated the harbour for the last couple of days on its way out of the harbour. And we see the reason for the humid heat; dark clouds over parts of Sydney with lightning, but that’s to the left as we arrive back at circular quay. We take the train back to the hotel, get provisions on our way and collapse in our room.

The air conditioning does the job, and we decide to have a picnic in our room. In the block across the street there is a huge shopping complex which we haven’t discovered before and we get all the ingredients for our picnic.

But are we ready for another busy day?

Australia day two – Ali’s birthday

2010-01-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

Had a good sleep in our hotel; all the basic are there, good bed and shower, quiet and in the centre of Sydney. Ali and Peter collected us at half past nine and the drove across the harbour bridge to Redfern. Had a delicious breakfast in a converted warehouse - pine mushrooms on toast and poached eggs with bacon hash. We had a little walk around the area and then set off to Balmoral beach for a swim.

It’s a sheltered beach with a secured pool like swimming area protected by shark nets and changing rooms all along the beach. We swam outside the area and enjoyed the fresh clear water. After a little walk and another swim we headed back to our hotel for a shower and a change of clothe. We felt hungry again and walked down to circular quay and the rocks. Had a snack at Renaissance cafe and checked the ferry connections. Took the train back to our hotel, Museum station seems to be the closet; we discovered that we had just enough time for a short shower and another change of clothe before we had to catch the ferry to meet Ali at Greenwich Point. The ferry ride took us from circular quay under the harbour bridge to Birchgrove and than across to Greenwich where Ali and Bella were waiting for us. After we took Bella for her walk in a nicely shaded park with a creek where she had a swim and a lot of other dogs to play with. Luckily running around in Sydney temperatures is like a blow dry for Bella.

We got back to Crowther avenue just as Rob arrived. Allister arrived shortly afterward and we had a glass of champagne to toast to Ali’s 60th birthday. Wet set off to ripples at chowder bay (www.ripplescafe.com.au) for Ali’s birthday meal. Our table was on the edge of the terrace overlooking crowther bay and waitress turned out to be an old friend of Allister’s who knew Ali.

We had a delicious meal!

Australia

2010-01-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

We touched down in Sydney at 8.30 in the morning, having seen the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge on approach. Ali intercepted us right at the exit and the were driven straight to Crowther avenue to meet Bella and to have a coup of tea and a shower. Had lunch in a boat house in a quiet corner of Sydney harbour - first taste of Australian beer and wine. Just after three the jet lag kicked in and we headed for our hotel. Ali dropped us straight at the entrance and we went in only to find out is was the wrong hotel. Our hotel was on the other side of Darling harbour so we took a taxi across and crashed out. Luckily Karen rang at half past six to wake us up! Went down the road to the monorail and drove into Darling harbour to have a beer and watch the world go by. We walked across to Cockle Bay Wharf and found a place to eat (Adria), which was along a busy row of restaurants overlooking Darling Harbour. The walk back to the hotel was a bit longer than expected and we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

Everything is Tuesday

2010-01-18T10:21:00.000-08:00

Everything is Tuesday song by Chairman of the board is fitting I feel as we are loosing Tuesday on our way to Australia.

Managed to do on line check in and now have to decide how to spend a very wet day. Macy's and Bloomingdales are beckoning me perhaps I can bribe Seitz by letting him go in the Apple shop !

Will be sad to leave this beautiful city would love to come back,think Howard would love it here - cable cars,trams,dry cleaners and Howardy food.

So soon its bye San Fran.

PS. Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

Day Two!

2010-01-18T09:40:00.000-08:00

Had our breakfast at Lori's Diner (www.lorisdiner.com); three egg omelet coffee and juice. A real 50's American diner with old juke boxes and coca cola machines. Set of to take the cable car, but decided to walk down the street to see more of the area. After five minutes we came to the end of the cable car line where the carriages have to be turned around by hand on a turn table. San Francisco has an old tram system with trams from all decades. We walked along the streets to get to the harbour, using the maps on the bus stops as guides - we set off in the wrong direction!

We found the harbour and walk pass the old piers to Fisherman's Wharf from where we could see Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. So far the weather was really good - cloudy, but warm. We decided to look for a tour bus which would take us over the Golden Gate Bridge and found an old English double decker bus. David was to be our guide for the day, he gave us all the information we needed and we got the tickets. Turned out David was only doing the city tour and we had to wait for another bus in the rain. But we got our bus, another English sight seeing but with Bath and Somerset District council stickers inside. The bus took us along Lombard street to the Golden Gate Bridge, water was pouring into the bus from various places, but when we approached the bridge I was able to get upstairs to enjoy the view - it was bloody cold up there. On our journey back, Louise came upstairs as well and we enjoyed the views over the Pacific and San Francisco Bay. When we got back into town we went to an irish bar for a drink (www.leftyodouls.biz/).

Afterwards we decided to take the city tour on the bus, and as we approached the bus, David greeted us like old friends. The bus tour took us around the city and for the first time we had the feeling that we new a bit about the city.

Pretty tired, be got back in to the hotel bar, had a couple of drinks, got a tip where to eat and set off into the night.

John's Grill (www.johnsgrill.com/) just a couple of blocks any from the hotel. And what a place it was - the setting for Dashiell Hammet's Maltese Falcon!

At half past nine jet lag kicked in and we headed back to the hotel - let's see what the next day brings!

The first morning

2010-01-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

We went out and it was tipping down with rain, walked around a couple of blocks to get an idea where we were and went to the "World Famous Sears Fine Food" (www.searsfinefood.com) restaurant and had a nice relaxing meal. We sat on a table looking out onto the street, seeing the cable cars going by with people sheltering from the rain. The restaurant was old fashioned Italian, with pictures of family members and famous visitors on the wall.

After the meal, we just collapsed in the hotel and had a remarkable good sleep. Now we had our shower and are ready to have breakfast in the diner at the corner.

Jet Lag

2010-01-16T17:51:00.000-08:00

Had in beer in the bar and found out that we are now up for nearly 24 hours - apart from naps on the bus and the plane.

And we had:

The stress of getting through terminal 5 at Heathrow with it's fast track bag drop (1 hr+ in the queue),

Checking the suitcases in (both 1 kg excessive, but we managed through clever repacking and the help of the scales at the "bag drop"),

Changes to the allowed hand luggage for flights to America (more clever repacking),

Additional security checks during boarding (more unpacking and repacking),

Filling in forms for US immigration inspectors during approach, and

Getting through immigration (another hour, same queue layout as in Heathrow).

But we are here now and hopefully a shower will revitalise us and give us enough energy to find something to eat!

Day one!

2010-01-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

We are in San Francisco and can hear the cable car bells outside our hotel...

More to come, but now it's time for a beer!

Tickets

2010-01-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

Seems tickets no longer exist in travel we have E tickets - not quite as re-assuring as a piece 0f paper in your hand !

I also muddled up which Sydney hotel we were to be staying in so Hotel Ibis it is...familiar to us both.

7 days to go

It's snowing!

2010-01-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

I remember the christmas trees in Sydney 6 years ago, too hot to get into the christmas spirit - and now; how do you pack summer clothes for Australia when it's freezing outside?

The start - two weeks to go!

2010-01-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

We are finally getting nervous about our holiday and the preparations are in full flow.

Have we paid the deposit (have we paid full stop!)?

Why have the tickets not arrived yet?

What's are the temperatures in San Francisco?

What are the check-in times at Heathrow?

This list will grow ...

and that's the start of our blog (our first blog)

PS. It's 12 sleeps and 12 dog walks until we go.

Also greatly relieved - found my summer clothes and flip flops !

Just like to say I have been nervous for a long time but now its 50/50 with excitement...