Vietnam, Laos and Thailand: January 19-Feb 2, 2011 (and a bit of a flood update)
Well, hello there! We’re back from our Asian odyssey, and may I just say… “Wow”. If I could come up with one word to describe the various Asian cultures we visited, it might be, hmmmm, chaotic. But I can’t come up with one word; there simply isn’t one word that conveys the huge DIFFERENCE between our culture and theirs. I experienced chaos, beauty, intensity, massive stress, deep spirituality…you name it. Which might explain why I called it our Asian “odyssey” instead of just a plain ol’ vacation! If you’re interested in what we saw while there, stay with me a bit, ‘cause I plan on elaborating. Here we go…!
We began in Hanoi, Vietnam. We chose Hanoi mainly because Russ had a hankering to see Ha Long Bay, which is a four hour drive from Hanoi. Sadly, Hanoi was cold (10 °), grey and quite bleak for the duration of our visit. Hanoi itself is home to 6.5 million people. Something I found interesting is that 1 out of 3 people in Vietnam own and drive a scooter (as per our city tour guide while there) i.e. Hanoi is home to 2.2 million scooters. This fact was fodder for a fun-filled afternoon drinking beer on the 5th floor of a café downtown, watching the traffic flow at the centre of town. There were no traffic lights, and the sheer volume of cars was amazing; the honking of horns is constant and starts to become background noise. Yet, not a single accident. Check out our videos: you will notice that the ‘Intersection WITH Traffic Light’ looks pretty much the same as ‘Intersection WITHOUT Traffic Light’. They aren’t much for “rules” in Hanoi, that’s evident. Crossing the road was absolutely terrifying at first. We learned from a Vietnamese guide that there are actually a few ground rules:
1) Just GO. Don’t wait for a break in traffic or for the cars to slow down and let you go…this will never happen.
2) Once you have committed to walking, do not stop and do not turn back.
3) Walk slowly; no sprinting or sudden movements; the cars will just go around you.
Following these simple rules – which, to be quite frank, felt like a death wish – we managed to cross the road successfully and unscathed. The mental scarring, I’ve been told, will fade in time <grin>.
A word on shopping in Asia: INSANITY. I am so grateful now for snooty shopgirls who completely ignore you until you demand help. In Hanoi, if you make any kind of eye-contact (i.e. skimming, glancing, eye-rolling, or simply turn your head slightly in the direction of the shop), the shopkeepers JUMP on you and do not let you go until you pry their bony little fingers off your arm and fork over all of your cash. OK, I exaggerate slightly, but I really did stop shopping after the first afternoon. I couldn’t hack it. In the street, it was worse; every second person on a scooter slowed to ask you if you wanted to buy a book or movie or CD. Cyclo drivers yelled out you to let them take you for a ride, little ladies with rice hats and baskets over their shoulders tried to get you to buy fruit, while others squatting on the street tried to sell you whatever it was they were cooking. We had a giant sign on our heads; Tourist: Please Sell Me Something Even If I Say No Repeatedly. One little lady in a rice hat tried to get me to buy pineapple; when I said no, she whipped off her hat, plonked it down on my head, put her baskets on my shoulder and then demanded Russ take a photo. She then wanted money for it. I didn’t even have time to blink. I quickly learned to avoid this happening. Yelling “Khong” (No) at everyone helped.
Ha Long Bay was an oasis; 3 days and 2 nights on the water and it was just as majestic as the pictures you see on the net. Despite the temperature and mist, the islands were still beautiful. We actually sailed Bai Tu Long Bay (as opposed to Ha Long Bay, in the other direction) aboard the Dragon Pearl III (Indochina Junks), which was the best decision we ever made, as it was definitely the “road less travelled”. Our boat had 11 cabins; only 3 were taken. We were treated like kings. The food was poetic, and it was so blissfully quiet out there. We did a little kayaking on both days, and on one day we were taken to a little fishing village, where we could see how about 150 people actually live on the water. It was amazing, and it didn’t feel touristy at all. We learned that the fishing village babies usually learn to swim before they can walk. Any child can row a boat like a pro. We watched an old woman fishing; she was rowing her boat with one hand and one foot continuously, as she jigged a fishing line with her free hand off the back. Incredible.
The highlight of the boat trip was a dinner in a cave. They actually lit up a cave with lights and candles and set up a table with linens and rose petals scattered on it. They pumped music in there somehow. And they cooked us a 5 or 6 course meal, which included carvings of dragons and boats out of melons. I was in awe. We all applauded when it was done.
Following Ha Long Bay, it was back to Hanoi for 3 more days. I could go on and on about every single encounter and adventure in each city, but I know this will bore you all to tears. My photos will show you much of it, so check those out. Let’s sum up Hanoi in a few bullet points:
* Water Puppet Show
* Ho Chi Min Complex (including Ho Chi Min himself, very dead and preserved beautifully :).
I personally found this a little strange – according to our guide, he was loved and respected by the people. His last wish was to be cremated. Don’t you think if you loved someone, you would honour their last wishes? Instead, they pickled him and laid him out on display for the world to buy tickets to see. Yeesh.
* Cultural Art Centre
* Army Museum
* Hanoi “Hilton” Hotel (where American POW’s were kept)
* Temple of Literature
Now we are off to Luang Prabang, Laos. This lovely little gem was suggested to me by a friend (thanks Ronaye!), and it really was a great place to visit. We really slowed things down there. Our first morning, we were up at 5:30AM to pedal bike into town to participate in something called Morning Alms, where the villagers come to give the monks (approx. 400 of ‘em) rice. They believe that providing the monks with food in this life will ensure they themselves are fed and taken care of in the next life. We then did a cooking class for the rest of the day (offered through Tamarind Restaurant). As part of our cooking class, we were taken to the market first. A butcher at the market means you’ve got a table, a big knife and a whole wack of meat. No gloves, no hygiene, lots ‘o flies. Gag. It gives a whole new level of appreciation to our butcher shops. We learned how to make about 5 Laotian dishes that day. We also learned that MSG is an actual ingredient – like salt – and it was provided to us at each station. This blew my mind. We didn’t have to use it, but he did explain that anywhere we ate in town, they would be using MSG for certain!
We then made it to the top of Mount Phousi for a beautiful sunset. The next day, we pedalled blissfully around town on our push-bikes, exploring the various wats (temples) and stopping for BeerLao and fresh, deep fried peanuts (YUM) whenever we had an urge. We took an hour boat ride down the Mekong River, which was lovely; many children playing along the river stopped to wave frantically at us. We got foot massages – 1 hour for $5 – did a little shopping at the night market, and generally relaxed.
Next stop, Chiang Mai, Thailand; the end of relaxation. The first evening we did two wats, and were accosted by three different men who had a full “story”, but in the end, all tried to get us to go to the same shop. We took our first tuk-tuk; not as cool as you think. The exhaust is heavy and you can’t really see out if it.
The next morning, we were off to the Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary run by Thai lady nicknamed Lek (which means small, which she is). She is also known as The Elephant Whisperer; melodramatic, but evidently true. We watched her with the elephants; they treated her like she was one of them. The Park essentially houses and feeds 35 ‘displaced’, unemployed or previously abused elephants. One of them had stepped on a land mine and lost her foot; another had been blinded by her master, who poked both her eyes out in an effort to get her to work harder. Each of the elephants had a sad story. Lek rescues the elephants by buying them from the owner. She can only afford to do so by getting donations and opening up the sanctuary to have people see the elephants in a more natural habitat, and interact with them.
Each elephant had a mahout, which was essentially a handler that stayed with them every minute we were there, fed them, bathed them, etc. Our day consisted of feeding them and bathing them, twice. We loved it. We got a few elephant “kisses” as well and generally, we got up close and personal. We also learned that elephants you see touring people around have usually gone through something called a “crush”. Check this link out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_crushing. Essentially, it’s terribly cruel, and I beg all of you that if you ever go to Thailand or other similar countries, don’t do the tours or shows that involve elephants. Instead, go and see them in the various sanctuaries. There are a few.
We met a really nice German couple (Alex and Christian) that day, and we all went out for an incredibly expensive dinner that included some beautiful traditional Thai dancing for an hour.
The next day, we took another cooking class through the Thai Kitchen Cookery Centre. We loved it! We learned about 7 different dishes, and I’ve even begun to add chillies to my salads and other things. Who woulda thunk? :) And no, I did NOT learn to like coriander – that’s still a big BARF in my books. I did not have to include, as each person makes their own dish – phew!
That night, we happened upon a bar with Thai guitarists that played bluegrass, blues and jazz. Too many beers later we finished the night watching Muay Thai Boxing. Painful to watch, but good fun.
Thus ends Chiang Mai, and we are now off to Koh Samui…an island paradise where we planned to lay on the beach, read our books, suntan and do absolutely nothing. Except…it rained. The whole time we are there. Rats! But Silavadee Resort, where we stayed, was an amazing place to be, despite the rain. The luxury resort is built into the rocks, and has an infinity pool and a private beach, not that we got to sit there, but we did see it. Heh heh. We made the most of our 3 days as “shut-ins”. We did have a jacuzzi on our balcony, so it wasn’t too torturous <grin>
We ended our trip in Bangkok. I would love to tell you that we did the markets, as everyone tells you to do….but we didn’t. Russ could not stand the idea of any more markets, and I didn’t care enough to push. So we found some other great stuff to do:
* The Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha on a rip-off tour that aims to make you shop (we learned this a little too late)
* The biggest shopping mall I’ve ever seen (it beat Edmonton)
* Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre
* The Baiyoke Hotel, the tallest building in Bangkok, with a revolving deck on the 83rd floor – incredible views, but an overcast day
* Two foot and head & shoulder massages + a pedicure :) for about $5each
So, that’s our trip to Asia. I truly tried to keep this blog short, although it feels long anyway. Sorry about that! If you’ve read this far, I guess you were interested. No worries if you didn’t <grin>
Russ and I are happy to be home in Brisbane. Things have improved since the major flood event, although the flood has wiped out the ferry services (which, unfortunately, is our only method of public transportation where we live) and killed a lot of the downtown business (also where we live). Many parts of the boardwalks have been lost to flood damage, and this means most of our walking and biking routes have detours or dead ends. BUT, having said all that, we haven’t been affected directly, and are very grateful for this. I’ve included some of the flood pictures; I know you’ve seen most of this on TV, but this stuff is right around the corner from us or taken from our balcony. In fact, many of the pictures of flooded streets are where we lived just 6 short months ago; if we hadn’t moved, we would have been underwater!
I gotta run; this has taken me hours! Oodles of love and sunshine to all of you,
Terri-Lee xoxoxo
We began in Hanoi, Vietnam. We chose Hanoi mainly because Russ had a hankering to see Ha Long Bay, which is a four hour drive from Hanoi. Sadly, Hanoi was cold (10 °), grey and quite bleak for the duration of our visit. Hanoi itself is home to 6.5 million people. Something I found interesting is that 1 out of 3 people in Vietnam own and drive a scooter (as per our city tour guide while there) i.e. Hanoi is home to 2.2 million scooters. This fact was fodder for a fun-filled afternoon drinking beer on the 5th floor of a café downtown, watching the traffic flow at the centre of town. There were no traffic lights, and the sheer volume of cars was amazing; the honking of horns is constant and starts to become background noise. Yet, not a single accident. Check out our videos: you will notice that the ‘Intersection WITH Traffic Light’ looks pretty much the same as ‘Intersection WITHOUT Traffic Light’. They aren’t much for “rules” in Hanoi, that’s evident. Crossing the road was absolutely terrifying at first. We learned from a Vietnamese guide that there are actually a few ground rules:
1) Just GO. Don’t wait for a break in traffic or for the cars to slow down and let you go…this will never happen.
2) Once you have committed to walking, do not stop and do not turn back.
3) Walk slowly; no sprinting or sudden movements; the cars will just go around you.
Following these simple rules – which, to be quite frank, felt like a death wish – we managed to cross the road successfully and unscathed. The mental scarring, I’ve been told, will fade in time <grin>.
A word on shopping in Asia: INSANITY. I am so grateful now for snooty shopgirls who completely ignore you until you demand help. In Hanoi, if you make any kind of eye-contact (i.e. skimming, glancing, eye-rolling, or simply turn your head slightly in the direction of the shop), the shopkeepers JUMP on you and do not let you go until you pry their bony little fingers off your arm and fork over all of your cash. OK, I exaggerate slightly, but I really did stop shopping after the first afternoon. I couldn’t hack it. In the street, it was worse; every second person on a scooter slowed to ask you if you wanted to buy a book or movie or CD. Cyclo drivers yelled out you to let them take you for a ride, little ladies with rice hats and baskets over their shoulders tried to get you to buy fruit, while others squatting on the street tried to sell you whatever it was they were cooking. We had a giant sign on our heads; Tourist: Please Sell Me Something Even If I Say No Repeatedly. One little lady in a rice hat tried to get me to buy pineapple; when I said no, she whipped off her hat, plonked it down on my head, put her baskets on my shoulder and then demanded Russ take a photo. She then wanted money for it. I didn’t even have time to blink. I quickly learned to avoid this happening. Yelling “Khong” (No) at everyone helped.
Ha Long Bay was an oasis; 3 days and 2 nights on the water and it was just as majestic as the pictures you see on the net. Despite the temperature and mist, the islands were still beautiful. We actually sailed Bai Tu Long Bay (as opposed to Ha Long Bay, in the other direction) aboard the Dragon Pearl III (Indochina Junks), which was the best decision we ever made, as it was definitely the “road less travelled”. Our boat had 11 cabins; only 3 were taken. We were treated like kings. The food was poetic, and it was so blissfully quiet out there. We did a little kayaking on both days, and on one day we were taken to a little fishing village, where we could see how about 150 people actually live on the water. It was amazing, and it didn’t feel touristy at all. We learned that the fishing village babies usually learn to swim before they can walk. Any child can row a boat like a pro. We watched an old woman fishing; she was rowing her boat with one hand and one foot continuously, as she jigged a fishing line with her free hand off the back. Incredible.
The highlight of the boat trip was a dinner in a cave. They actually lit up a cave with lights and candles and set up a table with linens and rose petals scattered on it. They pumped music in there somehow. And they cooked us a 5 or 6 course meal, which included carvings of dragons and boats out of melons. I was in awe. We all applauded when it was done.
Following Ha Long Bay, it was back to Hanoi for 3 more days. I could go on and on about every single encounter and adventure in each city, but I know this will bore you all to tears. My photos will show you much of it, so check those out. Let’s sum up Hanoi in a few bullet points:
* Water Puppet Show
* Ho Chi Min Complex (including Ho Chi Min himself, very dead and preserved beautifully :).
I personally found this a little strange – according to our guide, he was loved and respected by the people. His last wish was to be cremated. Don’t you think if you loved someone, you would honour their last wishes? Instead, they pickled him and laid him out on display for the world to buy tickets to see. Yeesh.
* Cultural Art Centre
* Army Museum
* Hanoi “Hilton” Hotel (where American POW’s were kept)
* Temple of Literature
Now we are off to Luang Prabang, Laos. This lovely little gem was suggested to me by a friend (thanks Ronaye!), and it really was a great place to visit. We really slowed things down there. Our first morning, we were up at 5:30AM to pedal bike into town to participate in something called Morning Alms, where the villagers come to give the monks (approx. 400 of ‘em) rice. They believe that providing the monks with food in this life will ensure they themselves are fed and taken care of in the next life. We then did a cooking class for the rest of the day (offered through Tamarind Restaurant). As part of our cooking class, we were taken to the market first. A butcher at the market means you’ve got a table, a big knife and a whole wack of meat. No gloves, no hygiene, lots ‘o flies. Gag. It gives a whole new level of appreciation to our butcher shops. We learned how to make about 5 Laotian dishes that day. We also learned that MSG is an actual ingredient – like salt – and it was provided to us at each station. This blew my mind. We didn’t have to use it, but he did explain that anywhere we ate in town, they would be using MSG for certain!
We then made it to the top of Mount Phousi for a beautiful sunset. The next day, we pedalled blissfully around town on our push-bikes, exploring the various wats (temples) and stopping for BeerLao and fresh, deep fried peanuts (YUM) whenever we had an urge. We took an hour boat ride down the Mekong River, which was lovely; many children playing along the river stopped to wave frantically at us. We got foot massages – 1 hour for $5 – did a little shopping at the night market, and generally relaxed.
Next stop, Chiang Mai, Thailand; the end of relaxation. The first evening we did two wats, and were accosted by three different men who had a full “story”, but in the end, all tried to get us to go to the same shop. We took our first tuk-tuk; not as cool as you think. The exhaust is heavy and you can’t really see out if it.
The next morning, we were off to the Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary run by Thai lady nicknamed Lek (which means small, which she is). She is also known as The Elephant Whisperer; melodramatic, but evidently true. We watched her with the elephants; they treated her like she was one of them. The Park essentially houses and feeds 35 ‘displaced’, unemployed or previously abused elephants. One of them had stepped on a land mine and lost her foot; another had been blinded by her master, who poked both her eyes out in an effort to get her to work harder. Each of the elephants had a sad story. Lek rescues the elephants by buying them from the owner. She can only afford to do so by getting donations and opening up the sanctuary to have people see the elephants in a more natural habitat, and interact with them.
Each elephant had a mahout, which was essentially a handler that stayed with them every minute we were there, fed them, bathed them, etc. Our day consisted of feeding them and bathing them, twice. We loved it. We got a few elephant “kisses” as well and generally, we got up close and personal. We also learned that elephants you see touring people around have usually gone through something called a “crush”. Check this link out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_crushing. Essentially, it’s terribly cruel, and I beg all of you that if you ever go to Thailand or other similar countries, don’t do the tours or shows that involve elephants. Instead, go and see them in the various sanctuaries. There are a few.
We met a really nice German couple (Alex and Christian) that day, and we all went out for an incredibly expensive dinner that included some beautiful traditional Thai dancing for an hour.
The next day, we took another cooking class through the Thai Kitchen Cookery Centre. We loved it! We learned about 7 different dishes, and I’ve even begun to add chillies to my salads and other things. Who woulda thunk? :) And no, I did NOT learn to like coriander – that’s still a big BARF in my books. I did not have to include, as each person makes their own dish – phew!
That night, we happened upon a bar with Thai guitarists that played bluegrass, blues and jazz. Too many beers later we finished the night watching Muay Thai Boxing. Painful to watch, but good fun.
Thus ends Chiang Mai, and we are now off to Koh Samui…an island paradise where we planned to lay on the beach, read our books, suntan and do absolutely nothing. Except…it rained. The whole time we are there. Rats! But Silavadee Resort, where we stayed, was an amazing place to be, despite the rain. The luxury resort is built into the rocks, and has an infinity pool and a private beach, not that we got to sit there, but we did see it. Heh heh. We made the most of our 3 days as “shut-ins”. We did have a jacuzzi on our balcony, so it wasn’t too torturous <grin>
We ended our trip in Bangkok. I would love to tell you that we did the markets, as everyone tells you to do….but we didn’t. Russ could not stand the idea of any more markets, and I didn’t care enough to push. So we found some other great stuff to do:
* The Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha on a rip-off tour that aims to make you shop (we learned this a little too late)
* The biggest shopping mall I’ve ever seen (it beat Edmonton)
* Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre
* The Baiyoke Hotel, the tallest building in Bangkok, with a revolving deck on the 83rd floor – incredible views, but an overcast day
* Two foot and head & shoulder massages + a pedicure :) for about $5each
So, that’s our trip to Asia. I truly tried to keep this blog short, although it feels long anyway. Sorry about that! If you’ve read this far, I guess you were interested. No worries if you didn’t <grin>
Russ and I are happy to be home in Brisbane. Things have improved since the major flood event, although the flood has wiped out the ferry services (which, unfortunately, is our only method of public transportation where we live) and killed a lot of the downtown business (also where we live). Many parts of the boardwalks have been lost to flood damage, and this means most of our walking and biking routes have detours or dead ends. BUT, having said all that, we haven’t been affected directly, and are very grateful for this. I’ve included some of the flood pictures; I know you’ve seen most of this on TV, but this stuff is right around the corner from us or taken from our balcony. In fact, many of the pictures of flooded streets are where we lived just 6 short months ago; if we hadn’t moved, we would have been underwater!
I gotta run; this has taken me hours! Oodles of love and sunshine to all of you,
Terri-Lee xoxoxo
Doin' OK in Brisbane: Please Don't Worry!
Hey there folks; I'm getting quite a few emails asking us if we are OK, as the news of the flooding in Queensland is reaching you across the world. So, I thought it best to post for everyone to see thatRuss and I are not in any danger and are doing great. Please don't worry.
Very sadly, many others in QLD are not so lucky and things will likely get worse here in Brisbane itself over the next two days. They expect Thursday to be the worst of it, as they are predicting more rain and high tides. So I'll try and keep you posted over the next couple of days if anything happens.
Our plan is to head to Asia come Saturday - as long as the airport stays afloat, that is - so we may be fortunate enough to miss most of the flooding as it unfolds. However, at this point, we ain't countin' our chickens, as the saying goes. I'll try and update again before we go.
Take care,
TL xo
PS - If any of you feel like doing something nice, Queenslanders are in desperate need of donations. Many people are homeless. http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html
Very sadly, many others in QLD are not so lucky and things will likely get worse here in Brisbane itself over the next two days. They expect Thursday to be the worst of it, as they are predicting more rain and high tides. So I'll try and keep you posted over the next couple of days if anything happens.
Our plan is to head to Asia come Saturday - as long as the airport stays afloat, that is - so we may be fortunate enough to miss most of the flooding as it unfolds. However, at this point, we ain't countin' our chickens, as the saying goes. I'll try and update again before we go.
Take care,
TL xo
PS - If any of you feel like doing something nice, Queenslanders are in desperate need of donations. Many people are homeless. http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html
Update # 11: November 15, 2010 (Houseboat Trip + General Shenanigans)
All aboard!....The Ocean Spirit a.k.a. Houseboat Extraordinaire set sail last Friday, Nov 5 with Russ and me, and six of our friends; Matt, Ainsley, Marc, Jody, Dave and Julie. We hopped on our sturdy pleasure craft at the Goldcoast Marina in Coomera, and Captain Matt took us up the river about 1.5 hours from the marina. We dropped anchor….and stayed right there for three nights! We were having such a good time, there didn’t seem any point to motoring any further <grin>
For two days and three nights we: drank, ate, watched movies, floated in tubes, swam, fished, slept (very little) and even squeezed in some yoga with yogi Jody. We generally had a fan-frickin-tastic time. Wish you could have all been there :) Of course, pictures are attached to share our good times with you.
I have also finally got around to posting a few pics of our new digs. Russ and I moved (again!) back in September, and boy-oh-boy, have we found THE PLACE this time! All the moves have been worth it to have finally found this place. We have a view of the city that just stops the ol’ heart, I swear. It’s particularly beautiful – to me – at night. It’s like looking at a Christmas scene with twinkly lights every night. Love it. On most days, we open up the glass doors to our living room, which pretty much removes the entire wall and opens our room right up to the river. It’s unbelievable. And the piece de resistance….it’s a three-bedder. Who’s comin’ to visit? :) Ya better come soon, as Matty has started to call it “his room” <grin> He stays over quite a bit; usually because we get him too drunk to drive home whenever he comes to visit…which is often.
Not much else goin’ on around here. I’m enjoying my new job; I’m hard at work learning a new program and building help files. Russ and I are actually enjoying working together (or so he tells me to my face, hee hee).
Russ has thrown his hat – or should I say face? – into the ring for Movember (i.e. Moustache+November, for those of you who have never heard of it). It’s actually become a global event that is gaining a lot ground. Russ has even heard from a few of YOU back in Canada who are doing the same thing; namely, growing a bad-a$$ moustache to raise money in the name of prostate cancer and men’s depression. So, for those of you that might want to give to a worthy cause, visit http://au.movember.com/mospace/1001216/. To those of you who have already donated – THANK YOU. I also feel that I am participating in this event; first, I have to look at him at every day <grin> and second, it really rubs the ol’ face raw when he kisses me. OUCH! I swear sometimes this is harder on the ladies than the men!
So, all in all, life is good. We are missing all of you. Come and visit. It’s starting to get hoooooooot!
Much love,
TL xo
For two days and three nights we: drank, ate, watched movies, floated in tubes, swam, fished, slept (very little) and even squeezed in some yoga with yogi Jody. We generally had a fan-frickin-tastic time. Wish you could have all been there :) Of course, pictures are attached to share our good times with you.
I have also finally got around to posting a few pics of our new digs. Russ and I moved (again!) back in September, and boy-oh-boy, have we found THE PLACE this time! All the moves have been worth it to have finally found this place. We have a view of the city that just stops the ol’ heart, I swear. It’s particularly beautiful – to me – at night. It’s like looking at a Christmas scene with twinkly lights every night. Love it. On most days, we open up the glass doors to our living room, which pretty much removes the entire wall and opens our room right up to the river. It’s unbelievable. And the piece de resistance….it’s a three-bedder. Who’s comin’ to visit? :) Ya better come soon, as Matty has started to call it “his room” <grin> He stays over quite a bit; usually because we get him too drunk to drive home whenever he comes to visit…which is often.
Not much else goin’ on around here. I’m enjoying my new job; I’m hard at work learning a new program and building help files. Russ and I are actually enjoying working together (or so he tells me to my face, hee hee).
Russ has thrown his hat – or should I say face? – into the ring for Movember (i.e. Moustache+November, for those of you who have never heard of it). It’s actually become a global event that is gaining a lot ground. Russ has even heard from a few of YOU back in Canada who are doing the same thing; namely, growing a bad-a$$ moustache to raise money in the name of prostate cancer and men’s depression. So, for those of you that might want to give to a worthy cause, visit http://au.movember.com/mospace/1001216/. To those of you who have already donated – THANK YOU. I also feel that I am participating in this event; first, I have to look at him at every day <grin> and second, it really rubs the ol’ face raw when he kisses me. OUCH! I swear sometimes this is harder on the ladies than the men!
So, all in all, life is good. We are missing all of you. Come and visit. It’s starting to get hoooooooot!
Much love,
TL xo
UPDATE #10: WED, OCTOBER 6 - TL TURNED 40 (ON SEPT 15, 2010)!
Well, folks, I don’t have much to say for this update, but I think the pictures on the "TL Turns 40 Photos" tab will speak for themselves. And, yes, you heard right…..I turned 40!! Waaaaaahooooo!
In honour of the momentous year I was born – 1970 – we decided to hold a 70’s themed party at the Hotel Urban Brisbane in The Loft. And what a party it was!! Our friends were all good sports, and their costumes speak for themselves.
‘Hangover’ was the word of the day for Sunday….but we all suffered together, as I don’t think there was one person out there who managed to escape this fate :). Heh heh!! That’s cuz we did it up right!
To all of you who came and helped make this party ‘Disco-tastic’ – A HUGE ‘THANK YOU’! Our time in Oz simply wouldn’t be the same without having met all these wonderful people.
Oh, and as an aside...Russ - my amazing man - paced me for my first (and quite possibly last) 10km race about 2 weeks prior to my birthday. I had a goal - to run a 10km race before I turned 40. Without Russ, I don't think I could have done it. And not only that -I did it in under an hour (59:59 to be exact!!). I have included one photo at the bottom of 'TL turns 40' tab. We had just finished the race :). Thanks, Russ-Bo-Tuss! You rock.
Love to all of you - we wish you could have been at my birthday party, too. :(
TL xoxoxo
In honour of the momentous year I was born – 1970 – we decided to hold a 70’s themed party at the Hotel Urban Brisbane in The Loft. And what a party it was!! Our friends were all good sports, and their costumes speak for themselves.
‘Hangover’ was the word of the day for Sunday….but we all suffered together, as I don’t think there was one person out there who managed to escape this fate :). Heh heh!! That’s cuz we did it up right!
To all of you who came and helped make this party ‘Disco-tastic’ – A HUGE ‘THANK YOU’! Our time in Oz simply wouldn’t be the same without having met all these wonderful people.
Oh, and as an aside...Russ - my amazing man - paced me for my first (and quite possibly last) 10km race about 2 weeks prior to my birthday. I had a goal - to run a 10km race before I turned 40. Without Russ, I don't think I could have done it. And not only that -I did it in under an hour (59:59 to be exact!!). I have included one photo at the bottom of 'TL turns 40' tab. We had just finished the race :). Thanks, Russ-Bo-Tuss! You rock.
Love to all of you - we wish you could have been at my birthday party, too. :(
TL xoxoxo
UPDATE #9: FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2010 - FINALLY....SOMETHING TO TELL YOU ABOUT!! :)
(THE VANCE'S COME TO VISIT, PERTH, MARGARET RIVER, NOOSA, NEW ZEALAND)
Wow….yes, I know, IT’S BEEN TOO LONG! Sheesh, when was the last time I blogged? Appears to be February. OK, well I’ve got a good excuse. I went and got myself a job in March. Isn’t it amazing how the last thing you want to do after spending all day working on a computer is….get on a computer? :) So I hope you’ll forgive me.
In case you are wondering, I am now working for QGC (Queensland Gas Company) as a Personal Assistant to the GM of the Programme Management Office, Upstream Projects. If any of you have noticed how eerily similar this was to my last title/job, you are not alone :) It's like I stepped through a portal to the other side of the world and got the same job!
There is actually another good reason that I haven’t blogged in a while; nothing much has been happening here. We finally settled into a routine, and started living life like regular people i.e. it hasn’t been non-stop adventure every day like it was for a bit there <grin> . Having said that, we have just taken two fantastic holidays, which I am about to share with you right now! I know, you can barely contain your excitement – here we go! (NB: photos to go with this update are on the Update#9 Photos tab, and there are also a few new videos on the Video tab as well :)
PERTH/MARGARET RIVER: On May 8th, Russ and I hopped a plane to Perth. This was particularly exciting for me, as I have never been to the west coast of Australia before (but have done the east coast from Sydney to Cairns back in 1993-94). We decided to stay in a cute, artsy little coastal suburb called Fremantle. Fremantle is known for its weekend markets, which host everything from food to arts and crafts to street performers. We hit the markets that first afternoon, and had a great time. We tried two new kinds of fruit – persimmon and something else that tasted like a sweet avocado (loved it, but of course, can’t remember the darn name). We saw an amazing street performer who juggled knives and used whips, while cracking jokes and keeping the crowd laughing. Really talented.
That night we headed to the home of my friend, Angus, who I met back in the days of Sudbury. Isn’t it amazing where you can run into old friends nowadays? It really is a small world at times. I met Angus’ lovely wife, Rochele, and son, Pietro. Rochele made us a fabulous dinner – thanks Rochele! – and Gus cooked us up some serious steaks. Pietro entertained us before going to bed.
The next day saw us heading to Lancelin, a little town about 2 hours north of Perth, where there are sand dunes for miles. We did sort of a “monster truck” sand dune ride – check out the pics, you won’t believe this truck – and it was great fun. At one point, we got out of the truck with a bunch of sand-boards, and made our way down the dunes….first sitting down, then on our tummies, and then standing up! I can proudly report that yours truly, TL Kent, was the only one to successfully remain standing on her board all the way to the bottom. No wipeouts! Unfortunately, Russell’s photo prowess isn’t as good as mine :) and so the pictures really don’t show off my amazing feat, hee hee. However, the picture of the teeny-weeny TL at the bottom of the hill with her hands in the air is my whoop of joy when I made it! Following our sand dune rides we had an amazing lunch at a typical Aussie pub, but this one was on the ocean. Just gorgeous. Photos prove it.
Back to Fremantle and out for dinner with some friends of Russ, Blake and his wife, Norelle. Then up nice and early to catch some brekky before we went to pick up the folks at the airport. That’s right, The Vance’s! Hooray, visitors!! Al and Adrian joined us on the Monday around noon. We spent the next two days sightseeing around Perth, which included taking in the wonder of Kings Park, a giant park smack in the middle of the city.
The next day, we were off to Margaret River, home of some of the finest wines of Australia. We stayed in Gnarabup, another coastal town, in a lovely, huge 3 bedroom home called The Outrigger. We weren’t quite right smack on the ocean, but we were sure close. Russ and I had some great runs along the beach while there.
As we rode into town, we decided to make a quick stop at a winery (why not?) and so we dropped in at Vasse Felix. The next day we did a tour with Neil McLeod Tours that included a microbrewery in Cowaramup, 4 wineries (Leeuwin Estate, Cape Mantelle, Watershed, Bettanay’s), a venison shop and a chocolate factory. Not a bad day!! Sadly, it rained pretty much the whole time we were in Margaret River, given that it was winter time, and boy-oh-boy, we froze! I never thought I would need a heater in Oz, but here we were, shivering and cranking up the heat!!
We also took the time to catch up with Al and Amy while staying here, sipping the wine we stocked up on :)
So, home again, home again, jiggety-jig! Back to Brisbane, where Al and Amy stayed with our friend, Ainsley, who has a LOT more room than we do at our little abode. Our flight home was about 4 hours later than the Vance’s, so Ainsley was kind enough to pick them up at the airport. Geez, we seem to make great friends wherever we go :)
NOOSA HEADS/SUNSHINE BEACH: Up early for a nice breakfast, and then off to Sunshine Beach for a 5 DAY, SUPER-AWESOME, FAN-FRICKIN-TASTIC, LUSCIOUS LUXURIOUS stay in a 4 bedroom MANSION smack on the ocean just 5 minutes from Noosa Heads. I had surfed quite a bit online to find this little gem, and we were not disappointed. You have to see the pics to believe it. I also did a little video tour of the main level (there were 3 levels). Sigh. If only we could live there while here. The first day was a bit cloudy and rainy, but then the skies cleared and we had 3 magical days of utter sunshine bliss.
Russ made the most of his time there; he surfed every day. I wussed out, unfortunately, as the first day showed me there were some serious currents and rips and I’m a complete chicken (yes, I admit it) when it comes to the ocean. So, I was content to just paddle about in the water, run on the beach and simply let it all soak in.
Originally, we had planned to ‘do’ a whole wack of stuff – golfing, 4WD tours, markets, etc – but the scenery simply took hold, and we were all sucked in by the lure of relaxing by the ocean. It’s funny – we really did nothing while here other than drink wine, read, watch a few movies, go out for lovely dinners and walk by the ocean. Oh, and one extremely cool trip to the Steve Irwin Zoo (check out the pics). But this, bar none, was my absolute favourite part of the trip. Australia is almost overwhelming in its beauty at times…and this was one of them. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.
Back to Brisbane, and unfortunately, back to work :( Booooo! The Vance’s stayed until Wednesday, and although we worked during the days, we did manage to squeeze in 3 more nights of dinners and conversation. We then said a sad goodbye on Tuesday night, and they left on Wed.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! Yes, it’s true, the adventure continues for Russ and I, as two weeks later we boarded a plane to New Zealand.
NEW ZEALAND: The first two days were spent catching up with my friend, Dionne. Dionne and I met 17 years ago when I first travelled to Australia. She and I formed a very close friendship, as we stayed together almost 3 months in a little hostel called ‘Somewhere To Stay’. We also did a 4WD tour of Fraser Island together, and then worked in Sydney together in a chip/burger wagon for 2 weeks. Aaah, those were the days :) Anyway, we lost touch, but thanks to Facebook (never thought I’d say that), I caught up with Dionne 17 years later, and voila! She’s still out here, living in New Zealand, fer cryin’ out loud! And so we visited. We spent 2 days laughing about our backpacking antics, and getting to know each other (and our hubbies) all over again.
On Monday, we met up with another old friend of mine, this one a friend since high school – Glen Giroux. Glen has been living out in New Zealand for about 7 or 8 years now; he married a wonderful Kiwi named Anna, and has 2 adorable ‘sausages’ (children) names Coco and Daxton. Glen picked us up, and we spent the day touring various parts of the Northshore, including a thermal water spa park that his friend owns. Seriously cool. Hot pools everwhere at different temperatures, and water slides! Couldn’t take many pics as the camera was not waterproof, but there are a few J We spent the night at his mother-in-law’s (as Glen has 2 huge dogs and a cat, so can’t stay there), and then the next day Russ and I were off to adventure for 3 days on our own!
Stop #1 – Rotorua Gondola, Luge and Skyswing. The gondola? Not particularly thrilling, as the gondolas at Banff and Lake Louise make this one look like a tinkertoy. But the luges were great fun – plastic bobsleds that you ride down on concrete, winding paths that they’ve paved into the hill. Russ and I strapped on our helmets and raced down the mountain. But the REAL thrill was the Skyswing. I bought the video of our ride and posted it for you to see – take a look at our expressions when we do the drop. Too funny.
Stop #2 – Rotorua’s Polynesian Spas. More natural, thermal hotsprings, where we bought ½ hour in a private spa which included a lake view. Mmmmmmm.
Stop #3 – Huka Falls, just outside of Rotorua for Hukafalls Jetboating. Seriously cool stuff. These boats use an internal propeller that allows them to be in water as low as 10cm deep! Not to mention how they hit speeds of 80km/hour and can do 360° spins. We were moving too fast for me to video the ride, but I’ve included the url (http://www.hukafallsjet.com/page/6-trip-experience ) of the site so you can see a quick video of what it looked like. Our hot-doggin’ driver tried to scare the pants off us by coming within centimeters of branches and trees. It was great.
Stop #4 – Lake Taupo. We learned – sadly - that we didn’t have enough time for the hikes here, so we just got some good advice from a wine guy and pressed on until Napier.
Stop #5 –Napier. Napier ws an interesting little gem of a town; its claim to fame is its art deco heritage. We stayed at the County Hotel, which simply charmed our socks off. Built in 1909, it was one of two buildings (that’s it!!?) that survived a terrible earthquake in 1932 that wiped out Napier. There are only 18 rooms in the entire hotel. None of the rooms have numbers. Instead, they have names (we stayed in the ‘Ruru’ room, which is the name for a Kiwi bird that looks like an owl). No swipe keys or modern technology here, no sir. You have old skeleton keys to get into your rooms, and the hotel sports a library that is fully stocked with about a thousand books, some old wing-backed chairs and a piano.
Although antiquated, they were 5 star. Our room, although modernized with a flat screen TV, stayed true to the art deco period, and as you can see from my photos, had high ceilings, an odd shape with little nooks and crannies, old light switches and a little writing desk. They even provided an ipod/CD stereo, and a 3CD set of Frank Sinatra. Ah, Frankie-baby, croon to me. Russ and I were enchanted. Oh, and let’s not forget the jet spa tub for two. And a foot-spa bath, too! Bliss.
Stop #6 – Hawkes Bay for Wineries!! (are you starting to see a trend?) We went to Black Barn, Clearview Estate, Elephant Hill and Craggy Range. I had originally planned to squeeze in a few art galleries as well, but unfortunately, all the ones I chose were either in the process of moving, or had already moved. L Booo. So, it was all about wine.
We had dinner at Elephant Hill. It was a simply breathtaking restaurant, recommended to us by the ‘wine guy’ we met in Lake Taupo. And we were not disappointed. And, to beat all, we were the only ones in the restaurant! Apparently, winter is simply not tourist season in New Zealand. I cannot for the life of me understand why they don’t close the restaurant(s) during this season, but, hey, we were thrilled. The chef was essentially cooking for us, and he made a show of it.
Back to Auckland, and a night out with Glen and his wife (without the kids this time :)). We had a great night – lots of good food and good conversation. Unfortunately, we had to be up at 3:30am for a 6am flight, so it was an early night.
And thus ends the vacation! This will likely end all interesting activity for a while as well. Not to say that life is dull, but really, life is just the same as back home….except much warmer, hee hee!
So what else? Hmmmm; Russ is training for a half –marathon on July 4th (crazy man). I have NOT joined up for this. Hah! My skin is back to its “Canadian-white” pallor, due to the fact that I am not walking around all day in the sun anymore. So sad. We will be moving again in 2 months time, as the place we are currently renting, well, sucks, to put it mildly. And….that’s about it, really! I’m sure you’re glad about that, as this is getting quite lengthy!
I hope you all have enjoyed tuning in for this long, rambling tale of our vacations, and really hope you enjoy the photos and videos.
Big hugs to all,
TL and Russ
In case you are wondering, I am now working for QGC (Queensland Gas Company) as a Personal Assistant to the GM of the Programme Management Office, Upstream Projects. If any of you have noticed how eerily similar this was to my last title/job, you are not alone :) It's like I stepped through a portal to the other side of the world and got the same job!
There is actually another good reason that I haven’t blogged in a while; nothing much has been happening here. We finally settled into a routine, and started living life like regular people i.e. it hasn’t been non-stop adventure every day like it was for a bit there <grin> . Having said that, we have just taken two fantastic holidays, which I am about to share with you right now! I know, you can barely contain your excitement – here we go! (NB: photos to go with this update are on the Update#9 Photos tab, and there are also a few new videos on the Video tab as well :)
PERTH/MARGARET RIVER: On May 8th, Russ and I hopped a plane to Perth. This was particularly exciting for me, as I have never been to the west coast of Australia before (but have done the east coast from Sydney to Cairns back in 1993-94). We decided to stay in a cute, artsy little coastal suburb called Fremantle. Fremantle is known for its weekend markets, which host everything from food to arts and crafts to street performers. We hit the markets that first afternoon, and had a great time. We tried two new kinds of fruit – persimmon and something else that tasted like a sweet avocado (loved it, but of course, can’t remember the darn name). We saw an amazing street performer who juggled knives and used whips, while cracking jokes and keeping the crowd laughing. Really talented.
That night we headed to the home of my friend, Angus, who I met back in the days of Sudbury. Isn’t it amazing where you can run into old friends nowadays? It really is a small world at times. I met Angus’ lovely wife, Rochele, and son, Pietro. Rochele made us a fabulous dinner – thanks Rochele! – and Gus cooked us up some serious steaks. Pietro entertained us before going to bed.
The next day saw us heading to Lancelin, a little town about 2 hours north of Perth, where there are sand dunes for miles. We did sort of a “monster truck” sand dune ride – check out the pics, you won’t believe this truck – and it was great fun. At one point, we got out of the truck with a bunch of sand-boards, and made our way down the dunes….first sitting down, then on our tummies, and then standing up! I can proudly report that yours truly, TL Kent, was the only one to successfully remain standing on her board all the way to the bottom. No wipeouts! Unfortunately, Russell’s photo prowess isn’t as good as mine :) and so the pictures really don’t show off my amazing feat, hee hee. However, the picture of the teeny-weeny TL at the bottom of the hill with her hands in the air is my whoop of joy when I made it! Following our sand dune rides we had an amazing lunch at a typical Aussie pub, but this one was on the ocean. Just gorgeous. Photos prove it.
Back to Fremantle and out for dinner with some friends of Russ, Blake and his wife, Norelle. Then up nice and early to catch some brekky before we went to pick up the folks at the airport. That’s right, The Vance’s! Hooray, visitors!! Al and Adrian joined us on the Monday around noon. We spent the next two days sightseeing around Perth, which included taking in the wonder of Kings Park, a giant park smack in the middle of the city.
The next day, we were off to Margaret River, home of some of the finest wines of Australia. We stayed in Gnarabup, another coastal town, in a lovely, huge 3 bedroom home called The Outrigger. We weren’t quite right smack on the ocean, but we were sure close. Russ and I had some great runs along the beach while there.
As we rode into town, we decided to make a quick stop at a winery (why not?) and so we dropped in at Vasse Felix. The next day we did a tour with Neil McLeod Tours that included a microbrewery in Cowaramup, 4 wineries (Leeuwin Estate, Cape Mantelle, Watershed, Bettanay’s), a venison shop and a chocolate factory. Not a bad day!! Sadly, it rained pretty much the whole time we were in Margaret River, given that it was winter time, and boy-oh-boy, we froze! I never thought I would need a heater in Oz, but here we were, shivering and cranking up the heat!!
We also took the time to catch up with Al and Amy while staying here, sipping the wine we stocked up on :)
So, home again, home again, jiggety-jig! Back to Brisbane, where Al and Amy stayed with our friend, Ainsley, who has a LOT more room than we do at our little abode. Our flight home was about 4 hours later than the Vance’s, so Ainsley was kind enough to pick them up at the airport. Geez, we seem to make great friends wherever we go :)
NOOSA HEADS/SUNSHINE BEACH: Up early for a nice breakfast, and then off to Sunshine Beach for a 5 DAY, SUPER-AWESOME, FAN-FRICKIN-TASTIC, LUSCIOUS LUXURIOUS stay in a 4 bedroom MANSION smack on the ocean just 5 minutes from Noosa Heads. I had surfed quite a bit online to find this little gem, and we were not disappointed. You have to see the pics to believe it. I also did a little video tour of the main level (there were 3 levels). Sigh. If only we could live there while here. The first day was a bit cloudy and rainy, but then the skies cleared and we had 3 magical days of utter sunshine bliss.
Russ made the most of his time there; he surfed every day. I wussed out, unfortunately, as the first day showed me there were some serious currents and rips and I’m a complete chicken (yes, I admit it) when it comes to the ocean. So, I was content to just paddle about in the water, run on the beach and simply let it all soak in.
Originally, we had planned to ‘do’ a whole wack of stuff – golfing, 4WD tours, markets, etc – but the scenery simply took hold, and we were all sucked in by the lure of relaxing by the ocean. It’s funny – we really did nothing while here other than drink wine, read, watch a few movies, go out for lovely dinners and walk by the ocean. Oh, and one extremely cool trip to the Steve Irwin Zoo (check out the pics). But this, bar none, was my absolute favourite part of the trip. Australia is almost overwhelming in its beauty at times…and this was one of them. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.
Back to Brisbane, and unfortunately, back to work :( Booooo! The Vance’s stayed until Wednesday, and although we worked during the days, we did manage to squeeze in 3 more nights of dinners and conversation. We then said a sad goodbye on Tuesday night, and they left on Wed.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! Yes, it’s true, the adventure continues for Russ and I, as two weeks later we boarded a plane to New Zealand.
NEW ZEALAND: The first two days were spent catching up with my friend, Dionne. Dionne and I met 17 years ago when I first travelled to Australia. She and I formed a very close friendship, as we stayed together almost 3 months in a little hostel called ‘Somewhere To Stay’. We also did a 4WD tour of Fraser Island together, and then worked in Sydney together in a chip/burger wagon for 2 weeks. Aaah, those were the days :) Anyway, we lost touch, but thanks to Facebook (never thought I’d say that), I caught up with Dionne 17 years later, and voila! She’s still out here, living in New Zealand, fer cryin’ out loud! And so we visited. We spent 2 days laughing about our backpacking antics, and getting to know each other (and our hubbies) all over again.
On Monday, we met up with another old friend of mine, this one a friend since high school – Glen Giroux. Glen has been living out in New Zealand for about 7 or 8 years now; he married a wonderful Kiwi named Anna, and has 2 adorable ‘sausages’ (children) names Coco and Daxton. Glen picked us up, and we spent the day touring various parts of the Northshore, including a thermal water spa park that his friend owns. Seriously cool. Hot pools everwhere at different temperatures, and water slides! Couldn’t take many pics as the camera was not waterproof, but there are a few J We spent the night at his mother-in-law’s (as Glen has 2 huge dogs and a cat, so can’t stay there), and then the next day Russ and I were off to adventure for 3 days on our own!
Stop #1 – Rotorua Gondola, Luge and Skyswing. The gondola? Not particularly thrilling, as the gondolas at Banff and Lake Louise make this one look like a tinkertoy. But the luges were great fun – plastic bobsleds that you ride down on concrete, winding paths that they’ve paved into the hill. Russ and I strapped on our helmets and raced down the mountain. But the REAL thrill was the Skyswing. I bought the video of our ride and posted it for you to see – take a look at our expressions when we do the drop. Too funny.
Stop #2 – Rotorua’s Polynesian Spas. More natural, thermal hotsprings, where we bought ½ hour in a private spa which included a lake view. Mmmmmmm.
Stop #3 – Huka Falls, just outside of Rotorua for Hukafalls Jetboating. Seriously cool stuff. These boats use an internal propeller that allows them to be in water as low as 10cm deep! Not to mention how they hit speeds of 80km/hour and can do 360° spins. We were moving too fast for me to video the ride, but I’ve included the url (http://www.hukafallsjet.com/page/6-trip-experience ) of the site so you can see a quick video of what it looked like. Our hot-doggin’ driver tried to scare the pants off us by coming within centimeters of branches and trees. It was great.
Stop #4 – Lake Taupo. We learned – sadly - that we didn’t have enough time for the hikes here, so we just got some good advice from a wine guy and pressed on until Napier.
Stop #5 –Napier. Napier ws an interesting little gem of a town; its claim to fame is its art deco heritage. We stayed at the County Hotel, which simply charmed our socks off. Built in 1909, it was one of two buildings (that’s it!!?) that survived a terrible earthquake in 1932 that wiped out Napier. There are only 18 rooms in the entire hotel. None of the rooms have numbers. Instead, they have names (we stayed in the ‘Ruru’ room, which is the name for a Kiwi bird that looks like an owl). No swipe keys or modern technology here, no sir. You have old skeleton keys to get into your rooms, and the hotel sports a library that is fully stocked with about a thousand books, some old wing-backed chairs and a piano.
Although antiquated, they were 5 star. Our room, although modernized with a flat screen TV, stayed true to the art deco period, and as you can see from my photos, had high ceilings, an odd shape with little nooks and crannies, old light switches and a little writing desk. They even provided an ipod/CD stereo, and a 3CD set of Frank Sinatra. Ah, Frankie-baby, croon to me. Russ and I were enchanted. Oh, and let’s not forget the jet spa tub for two. And a foot-spa bath, too! Bliss.
Stop #6 – Hawkes Bay for Wineries!! (are you starting to see a trend?) We went to Black Barn, Clearview Estate, Elephant Hill and Craggy Range. I had originally planned to squeeze in a few art galleries as well, but unfortunately, all the ones I chose were either in the process of moving, or had already moved. L Booo. So, it was all about wine.
We had dinner at Elephant Hill. It was a simply breathtaking restaurant, recommended to us by the ‘wine guy’ we met in Lake Taupo. And we were not disappointed. And, to beat all, we were the only ones in the restaurant! Apparently, winter is simply not tourist season in New Zealand. I cannot for the life of me understand why they don’t close the restaurant(s) during this season, but, hey, we were thrilled. The chef was essentially cooking for us, and he made a show of it.
Back to Auckland, and a night out with Glen and his wife (without the kids this time :)). We had a great night – lots of good food and good conversation. Unfortunately, we had to be up at 3:30am for a 6am flight, so it was an early night.
And thus ends the vacation! This will likely end all interesting activity for a while as well. Not to say that life is dull, but really, life is just the same as back home….except much warmer, hee hee!
So what else? Hmmmm; Russ is training for a half –marathon on July 4th (crazy man). I have NOT joined up for this. Hah! My skin is back to its “Canadian-white” pallor, due to the fact that I am not walking around all day in the sun anymore. So sad. We will be moving again in 2 months time, as the place we are currently renting, well, sucks, to put it mildly. And….that’s about it, really! I’m sure you’re glad about that, as this is getting quite lengthy!
I hope you all have enjoyed tuning in for this long, rambling tale of our vacations, and really hope you enjoy the photos and videos.
Big hugs to all,
TL and Russ
UPDATE #8: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15 - A BELATED "HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!"
Yes, it's been too long! I know, I know! But I've been waiting on some photos from our buddy, Dan, as photos are always welcome additions so you can see what we've actually been up to!! Anyway, some photos are still missing. Sorry, you're just gonna have to live with that, but if you want to email Dan and give him a poke, go right ahead, heh heh :)
Anyhoo, this update takes us back to Friday, January 22 with Russ and I flying to Sydney to visit Dan Roth, our Aussie friend that you've already met in prior updates. He was kind enough to put aside 4 days for us in January and tour us around. Both Russ and I have been to Sydney before, and although we did do a little sight-seeing on the Monday, the weekend was about getting out of Sydney, and hitting some of the outlying areas.
DAY 1: Saturday! Up and at 'em nice and early, we arrived in Nelson Bay, which is about 3 hours north of Sydney, along the coast. Dan has a buddy there, also named Dan, who offered to take us out for the day on a boat, along with his girlfriend, Jaymee (sp?). It was a BLISTERING hot day - 41 degrees, so tooling around in a boat - getting some ocean breezes - was just what the doctor ordered. Dan (#2) and Russ managed to get in a little wakeboarding (Russ actually got up! I was so IMPRESSED!) before we snapped the rope and ended the fun. After that, it was fish 'n chips at a local beach, and then home again-home again-jiggety jig.
But our day didn't end there...nope! We melted our brains at some point during this day, and we decided it would be a great idea to do a little hike - UPHILL. Admittedly, it was only about 1-1.5 km's....not far (and I can't remember for the life of me what the lookout point was called, but I think it was Tomaree Head Lookout. However, I was delerious that day, so you can't trust me on this one). But it was, by far, the longest 1.5 km hike of my lifetime. If you look at some of the photos you will see white sunscreen running in riveluts off of our faces, necks, etc. The view was spectacular up top, and the breeze was so amazing it made it worth the hike, but the best part was the chilly swim we took afterwards, getting tossed around by some huge waves. Oh, and cold drinks to ease our parched throats, ahem. Musn't forget that salient detail <grin> We "camped out" at a luxury resort in Newcastle that evening, and dined the night away on a wharf restaurant in town. All in all, it was an amazing day.
DAY 2: Sunday! Again, up early (although not too early, we are on holiday, ya know) and we're off to Hunter Valley, the land of the hallowed grape. I have to mention the following 'incident' because I found it so darn AUSTRALIAN that it tickled me pink. We arrived at the first winery, and I went to use the washroom. One of the washrooms had a sign on the door that indicated it was closed permanently as "A Green Tree Frog has made his home here". What, seriously? It was locked, so I inquired at the desk, and sure enough, she took me in to the washroom to show me a huge, lime green, sticky tree frog stuck in a corner way up high. Apparently, he made his way in and out of the room through the toilet. Anyway, they were kind enough to let him live there, rent free. It was now his official home.
We managed to visit 3 regular wineries, 1 devoted entirely to sparking wine (wahooooo!), 2 cheese stores and a chocolate store. Sigh. BLISS! We tasted, we tippled, we ooohed and yummmed. And then we drove all the way back to Sydney. Needless to say, it was straight to bed.
Day 3: Monday! Dan unfortunately had to work, so Russ and I hit the town, starting at Circular Quay. We went to the Contemporary Art Gallery, listened to street musicians play didgeridoos (to rave music, no less!) and then took a ferry over to Manly Beach to see the Sydney Opera House from the water. We ended the day meeting Dan in Coogee Beach, where we had dinner at a greek restaurant. And for those of you that know my tastes, hold on to your hat....we all indulged in their specialty...a roasted-spit lamb dinner. Yes, I've started eating lamb during my stay here, as well as drinking Cab Sav wine....will wonders never cease? :)
Day 4: Tuesday! THE BEST DAY EVER! Today was Australia Day, and we had "A Goal": Meet up with Dan's friend, Matt, float from Shelly to Manly beach on floaty devices, while drinking a few beer and listening to the Top 100 on Triple J radio (a big thing here) on this teeny little portable radio Matt brought. Well....the party started with 6 of us.....and turned into a HUGE floating party. There was about 40 of us out there, a big Jim Beam drink floaty thing, a giant trampoline tube, a Tikki bar with an Esky* in it, and a giant speaker put out on shore that literally blasted the radio out to the water. Add to that a 35 degree, blue skyed day, multiple layers of sunscreen (but not enough), many bikinis and many beers and you have a giant party. What a romp! We were emotionally and physically exhausted by 5PM.
After all that, it was back to Dan's to pack up, and off to the airport. All in all, it was an amazing time - thanks again, Dan!!
*Definitions and Noteables:
Esky - a cooler. I believe the term Esky is derived from Eskimo...as in, it keeps your food "cold". Wow.
To 'chuck a sickie' - a phenomenon that plagued Australia this year on January 25th, as people called in sick on Monday to extend their weekend to a 4 day weekend due to Australia Day falling on a Tuesday.
Drinking - NOT allowed on a beach on Australia Day, but apparently, that did not include the water. We saw many policemen, and none of them bothered us. Odd.
Anyhoo, this update takes us back to Friday, January 22 with Russ and I flying to Sydney to visit Dan Roth, our Aussie friend that you've already met in prior updates. He was kind enough to put aside 4 days for us in January and tour us around. Both Russ and I have been to Sydney before, and although we did do a little sight-seeing on the Monday, the weekend was about getting out of Sydney, and hitting some of the outlying areas.
DAY 1: Saturday! Up and at 'em nice and early, we arrived in Nelson Bay, which is about 3 hours north of Sydney, along the coast. Dan has a buddy there, also named Dan, who offered to take us out for the day on a boat, along with his girlfriend, Jaymee (sp?). It was a BLISTERING hot day - 41 degrees, so tooling around in a boat - getting some ocean breezes - was just what the doctor ordered. Dan (#2) and Russ managed to get in a little wakeboarding (Russ actually got up! I was so IMPRESSED!) before we snapped the rope and ended the fun. After that, it was fish 'n chips at a local beach, and then home again-home again-jiggety jig.
But our day didn't end there...nope! We melted our brains at some point during this day, and we decided it would be a great idea to do a little hike - UPHILL. Admittedly, it was only about 1-1.5 km's....not far (and I can't remember for the life of me what the lookout point was called, but I think it was Tomaree Head Lookout. However, I was delerious that day, so you can't trust me on this one). But it was, by far, the longest 1.5 km hike of my lifetime. If you look at some of the photos you will see white sunscreen running in riveluts off of our faces, necks, etc. The view was spectacular up top, and the breeze was so amazing it made it worth the hike, but the best part was the chilly swim we took afterwards, getting tossed around by some huge waves. Oh, and cold drinks to ease our parched throats, ahem. Musn't forget that salient detail <grin> We "camped out" at a luxury resort in Newcastle that evening, and dined the night away on a wharf restaurant in town. All in all, it was an amazing day.
DAY 2: Sunday! Again, up early (although not too early, we are on holiday, ya know) and we're off to Hunter Valley, the land of the hallowed grape. I have to mention the following 'incident' because I found it so darn AUSTRALIAN that it tickled me pink. We arrived at the first winery, and I went to use the washroom. One of the washrooms had a sign on the door that indicated it was closed permanently as "A Green Tree Frog has made his home here". What, seriously? It was locked, so I inquired at the desk, and sure enough, she took me in to the washroom to show me a huge, lime green, sticky tree frog stuck in a corner way up high. Apparently, he made his way in and out of the room through the toilet. Anyway, they were kind enough to let him live there, rent free. It was now his official home.
We managed to visit 3 regular wineries, 1 devoted entirely to sparking wine (wahooooo!), 2 cheese stores and a chocolate store. Sigh. BLISS! We tasted, we tippled, we ooohed and yummmed. And then we drove all the way back to Sydney. Needless to say, it was straight to bed.
Day 3: Monday! Dan unfortunately had to work, so Russ and I hit the town, starting at Circular Quay. We went to the Contemporary Art Gallery, listened to street musicians play didgeridoos (to rave music, no less!) and then took a ferry over to Manly Beach to see the Sydney Opera House from the water. We ended the day meeting Dan in Coogee Beach, where we had dinner at a greek restaurant. And for those of you that know my tastes, hold on to your hat....we all indulged in their specialty...a roasted-spit lamb dinner. Yes, I've started eating lamb during my stay here, as well as drinking Cab Sav wine....will wonders never cease? :)
Day 4: Tuesday! THE BEST DAY EVER! Today was Australia Day, and we had "A Goal": Meet up with Dan's friend, Matt, float from Shelly to Manly beach on floaty devices, while drinking a few beer and listening to the Top 100 on Triple J radio (a big thing here) on this teeny little portable radio Matt brought. Well....the party started with 6 of us.....and turned into a HUGE floating party. There was about 40 of us out there, a big Jim Beam drink floaty thing, a giant trampoline tube, a Tikki bar with an Esky* in it, and a giant speaker put out on shore that literally blasted the radio out to the water. Add to that a 35 degree, blue skyed day, multiple layers of sunscreen (but not enough), many bikinis and many beers and you have a giant party. What a romp! We were emotionally and physically exhausted by 5PM.
After all that, it was back to Dan's to pack up, and off to the airport. All in all, it was an amazing time - thanks again, Dan!!
*Definitions and Noteables:
Esky - a cooler. I believe the term Esky is derived from Eskimo...as in, it keeps your food "cold". Wow.
To 'chuck a sickie' - a phenomenon that plagued Australia this year on January 25th, as people called in sick on Monday to extend their weekend to a 4 day weekend due to Australia Day falling on a Tuesday.
Drinking - NOT allowed on a beach on Australia Day, but apparently, that did not include the water. We saw many policemen, and none of them bothered us. Odd.
UPDATE #7: THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2010 - MORE VISITORS!
More visitors! Yup, we were kept busy when Michelle, Scott (from Melbourne) and Charlie Young (from Canada) came up for a 5 day visit last week. Unfortunately, there will be no pics to accompany this update at this time, as they are all on their cameras, so I have to wait until their trip is finished, which will be another 3 weeks I believe.
For now, suffice it to say we had a great time. One of the highlights (certainly for me, anyway) was a trip to Dreamworld on the Goldcoast, home to the 6 biggest Thrill Rides in Queensland. We did 5 of them (the 6th was closed for repairs), and for me, the biggest and best was the Giant Drop. Check out the video prepared by The Guiness Book of World Records on my Video tab. The other rides were great too, but that day I confronted a big fear of mine - heights - and won, so I just had to share that with you.
We spent a day touring around Brisbane, which included a ride on the City Cat (ferry), and the Gallery of Modern Art. The exhibitions there are always changing, but this time around we lucked out and it was a combo of mixed media, including mirrors, sculpture, videos and more. We oooohed and aaaaahed for a few hours.
We also took Scott, Michelle and Charlie to Noosa, to show off the lovely beaches on the Sunshine Coast. Scott and Russ broke in our new surfboards, while Charlie, Michelle and I just paddled around and boogie boarded a bit. I've pulled a hamstring recently, so haven't been allowed to surf, but I'm quite confident I've got it 'on the run' with a bit of physio, so I should be back up (and falling down) in no time <grin>.
Well, thus ends my latest report. I have also started painting again. I've attached my most recent effort, and I've another abstract underway as well. I'm trying not to get discouraged, as I sure don't see much 'budding talent' in my work...but hey, whaddya gonna do? I'll keep at it. Rome wasn't built in a day, right? Lately, I find myself looking at everything....artistically. I have high hopes!
Later, gaters!
For now, suffice it to say we had a great time. One of the highlights (certainly for me, anyway) was a trip to Dreamworld on the Goldcoast, home to the 6 biggest Thrill Rides in Queensland. We did 5 of them (the 6th was closed for repairs), and for me, the biggest and best was the Giant Drop. Check out the video prepared by The Guiness Book of World Records on my Video tab. The other rides were great too, but that day I confronted a big fear of mine - heights - and won, so I just had to share that with you.
We spent a day touring around Brisbane, which included a ride on the City Cat (ferry), and the Gallery of Modern Art. The exhibitions there are always changing, but this time around we lucked out and it was a combo of mixed media, including mirrors, sculpture, videos and more. We oooohed and aaaaahed for a few hours.
We also took Scott, Michelle and Charlie to Noosa, to show off the lovely beaches on the Sunshine Coast. Scott and Russ broke in our new surfboards, while Charlie, Michelle and I just paddled around and boogie boarded a bit. I've pulled a hamstring recently, so haven't been allowed to surf, but I'm quite confident I've got it 'on the run' with a bit of physio, so I should be back up (and falling down) in no time <grin>.
Well, thus ends my latest report. I have also started painting again. I've attached my most recent effort, and I've another abstract underway as well. I'm trying not to get discouraged, as I sure don't see much 'budding talent' in my work...but hey, whaddya gonna do? I'll keep at it. Rome wasn't built in a day, right? Lately, I find myself looking at everything....artistically. I have high hopes!
Later, gaters!
mERRY CHRiSTMAS!!
We wish all our family and friends a very Merry Christmas! May all of you be blessed with as much love and happiness as your hearts can possibly hold. Russ and I wish we could celebrate the holidays with you. We shall, however, have a beer and a steak, and maybe a prawn or two, in your honour. Cheers!
UPDATE #6: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009. HEATHER VANCE COMES TO VISIT, AND WE GO ON A FEW AMAZING HOLIDAYS!
Pheeeeeeew! Finally…something to write about! Russ and I have had a fun-filled, action-packed three weeks, I am happy to report. So, let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
On November 20, Heather (Russ’ sister) arrived for her 4 week stay in Oz. This, of course, kicked off a vacation for Russ and me as her elected tour guides for Queensland. Heather also arranged for her roommate from Ottawa, Christina, to join us, as Christina just happened to be in Sydney for work (small world, isn’t it?)
So, we piled our car high with bags and supplies and made it as far as the end of our underground parking lot before the rear wheel bushings (we thought it was the suspension at the time, but it turns out it was bushings, whatever the heck those are) in our car gave out with a loud ‘CRACK’! As luck would have it, we had never really had anyone in the backseat before, so Christina and Heather (and the 100 pounds of luggage and wine) were the proverbial ‘straw that broke the bushings back’, you might say. But we were not be deterred! We pressed on….the siren sound of Byron Bay called, and we felt its pull. Good thing you can drive with busted bushings, heh heh.
Byron Bay was a 3 night, 3 day surfing holiday. The town itself hasn’t changed too much since I was here 15 years ago, which I find interesting. It has become a wee bit more commercialized, but the locals are still 100% hippy-dippy, all the way. Dreadlocks everywhere! And best of all, Byron has miles and miles of BEACH! We tanned, we surfed, we frolicked, we ate too much….we had a vacation! Check out the pics in the Byron Bay section of the Photo tab. There was also an interesting encounter with a cockroach that I have filmed for your viewing pleasure. Check it out on Videos tab. Our weekend in Byron was also a shocking introduction to a new (for Canadians, not-so-new for the Aussies) word: ‘schoolies’. Schoolies, or ‘Schoolies Week’ refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates having week-long holidays following the end of their final exams in late November and early December. ‘Toolies’ refers to older men (and sometimes women) who participate in Schoolies Week but are not high school graduates i.e. they are long finished high school. They are basically trolling for, um, how shall I say it – jailbait? And there are even ‘Pre-schoolies’ – younger adolescents who participate in Schoolies Week but have not graduated high school yet. Yes, you can just imagine; it was a gong show :) But we survived.
After one day of recovery, the next stop was Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, located right here in Brisbane. I have to admit, I thought it would be pretty cheesy, and a bit boring…you know, just a zoo. But I was pleasantly surprised, as it is an interactive sanctuary where you get to touch all the animals (well, the harmless ones, that is). I have included pics and videos of that too. Good clean fun with lizards, kangaroos, lorikeets, peacocks, Tasmanian devils (yup, they are real, but they don’t spin around like tornados. Boooo :)) Check out the pics and videos. The second smiling face you’ll see in those, in addition to mine, is the lovely Heather Vance.
Next adventure – the Whitsunday Islands….a 3 day, 3 night sailing cruise aboard the Whitsunday Magic. Our sailing adventure included a trip to the Great Barrier Reef for a day of diving and snorkeling, and a day at Whitehaven Beach, voted one of the Top 10 Beaches in the world. Its claim to fame is the sand, which is 98% silica. It feels like baby powder under your feet –really incredible….and a bit weird. Really, I can't describe how amazing this trip was....you need to check out the pics to get a sense of what we experienced. If you ever get the opportunity to come here, try and do this. It’s so relaxing, and just beautiful. I would also highly recommend the boat we took: the Whitsunday Magic, as I’m fairly certain it’s one of only two boats that does these trips that has air-conditioning (and private cabins). And I’m pretty sure it’s the only one that has sun loungers, a dining room and fine dining (seriously, the food was top notch). What a treat!!
Fast forward to the next weekend, and we were off to Melbourne. Or, as the Aussies seem say it, “Melbun”. Come on, people, use the letter ‘r’, will ya? Don’t be shy, it won’t bite! :) Sheesh. Anyhoo, this trip was to visit with Allison Young, Russ’ cousin, and to meet Hal and Sue Young, an uncle of Russ’ from Adrian’s side. We also met their kids, Scott and Michelle. We had an amazing time. What a great city! (And what a great family! :)) Allison toured us around the city of Melbourne on Friday, squeezing in shopping, Chinatown, wine tasting in Yarra Valley and then a “blow-your-mind” seafood dinner at an upscale restaurant. Her “shout”, too (which means her treat)! Thank you again, Allie.
Hal Young picked us up at the restaurant and drove us out to Phillip Island, where he and Sue have an awesome little cottage. They were fantastic tour guides, and kept us busy all weekend. The first highlight of the trip (for me, anyway) was the Penguin Parade. Sadly, we were unable to take photos, as they weren’t permitted. Perfectly understandable, since most of the event takes place at dusk, then on into night, and the flashes on cameras would probably scare the bejeezus out of the penguins. Check out www.penguins.org.au for an idea of what they look like. Basically, we watched 100’s of these little guys waddle up the beach in little groups to find their sand burrows, where their babies waited, making a whole lot of racket, as they are starving. It takes approx. 2 weeks for the penguins to find enough food to get fat enough, and swim back. Once they return, they regurgitate their two-week fat stores as a nice tasty, vomit fish-snack for their babies. Yum! Anyway, these little guys are all about 10 inches high, and are so flippin’ cute you just want to squeeze ‘em.
The second highlight was Seal Rocks. To be honest, I thought we’d take a boat ride out to a rock, where we would see, oh, about 50-100 seals in the distance. Whoa! It was waaaay better than that! As we approached Seal Island, the smell was the first giveaway that there a few more than a 100. Try thousands!! And we just pulled right up, and they frolicked around the boat without a care in the world. Wow. What a gift to see something like that. I took lots of pics and videos of that event, so be sure to check it out. And to top that trip off, on the way back, one of the ‘sister’ adventure companies that did jet boat rides pulled up and asked if anyone wanted to ride the ‘fast’ boat for $10. Hello!!! WE DO!!! So all of us (except Sue) piled on and had the ride of our lives! Can you say FAAAAAAAST?? Phew! Our screams were real; that’s the best way to describe it. Thank you again to the Young Family for making our visit so memorable. We hope to visit again soon!
And home again, home again, jiggety-jig. Hey, here’s something you might find interesting….it certainly blew my mind. We didn’t get asked for ID (not just photo ID…any kind of ID) once when we flew to Airlie Beach or Melbourne. That’s right; print off your boarding pass online, or at the automatic kiosks, then simply show it as you are getting on the plane. No ID required. I guess terrorists don’t fly domestic here! Oh, and apparently the Aussies never got the ‘memo’ that liquids where dangerous either. Giant 2L bottle of water? No problem, ma’am. Just put it through to be x-rayed (just like the good ol’ days) and go on your merry way. I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!! :)
Alright, well, that pretty much wraps up my account of our adventures. I hope you enjoy the pictures and videos as much as I did taking them :)It might be a little while before anything “exciting” happens, as we won’t be travelling again until after Christmas. However, if anything comes up, I’ll be sure to write. If we don’t connect with some of you by phone or email, let me just say, on behalf of both Russ and I…..MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! We miss you all, and wish you were all here to share in the sunshine and adventure!
Oh, and PS: I know Russ will kill me for writing this down, but I also know he says he reads this blog but doesn't really ever "get around to it", so I'm gonna write it anyway.....some of you might notice a much slimmer version of Russ in the pictures. Since he's been here in Oz, Russ has dropped nearly 30 pounds! This is a BIG deal, and I am personally very proud of him. I invite you to tell him how great he is doing by way of email once you've seen the pics for yourself. My personal favourite is the "superhero" photo of us in our diving gear. You can really tell Russ has lost weight around his waistline!
On November 20, Heather (Russ’ sister) arrived for her 4 week stay in Oz. This, of course, kicked off a vacation for Russ and me as her elected tour guides for Queensland. Heather also arranged for her roommate from Ottawa, Christina, to join us, as Christina just happened to be in Sydney for work (small world, isn’t it?)
So, we piled our car high with bags and supplies and made it as far as the end of our underground parking lot before the rear wheel bushings (we thought it was the suspension at the time, but it turns out it was bushings, whatever the heck those are) in our car gave out with a loud ‘CRACK’! As luck would have it, we had never really had anyone in the backseat before, so Christina and Heather (and the 100 pounds of luggage and wine) were the proverbial ‘straw that broke the bushings back’, you might say. But we were not be deterred! We pressed on….the siren sound of Byron Bay called, and we felt its pull. Good thing you can drive with busted bushings, heh heh.
Byron Bay was a 3 night, 3 day surfing holiday. The town itself hasn’t changed too much since I was here 15 years ago, which I find interesting. It has become a wee bit more commercialized, but the locals are still 100% hippy-dippy, all the way. Dreadlocks everywhere! And best of all, Byron has miles and miles of BEACH! We tanned, we surfed, we frolicked, we ate too much….we had a vacation! Check out the pics in the Byron Bay section of the Photo tab. There was also an interesting encounter with a cockroach that I have filmed for your viewing pleasure. Check it out on Videos tab. Our weekend in Byron was also a shocking introduction to a new (for Canadians, not-so-new for the Aussies) word: ‘schoolies’. Schoolies, or ‘Schoolies Week’ refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates having week-long holidays following the end of their final exams in late November and early December. ‘Toolies’ refers to older men (and sometimes women) who participate in Schoolies Week but are not high school graduates i.e. they are long finished high school. They are basically trolling for, um, how shall I say it – jailbait? And there are even ‘Pre-schoolies’ – younger adolescents who participate in Schoolies Week but have not graduated high school yet. Yes, you can just imagine; it was a gong show :) But we survived.
After one day of recovery, the next stop was Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, located right here in Brisbane. I have to admit, I thought it would be pretty cheesy, and a bit boring…you know, just a zoo. But I was pleasantly surprised, as it is an interactive sanctuary where you get to touch all the animals (well, the harmless ones, that is). I have included pics and videos of that too. Good clean fun with lizards, kangaroos, lorikeets, peacocks, Tasmanian devils (yup, they are real, but they don’t spin around like tornados. Boooo :)) Check out the pics and videos. The second smiling face you’ll see in those, in addition to mine, is the lovely Heather Vance.
Next adventure – the Whitsunday Islands….a 3 day, 3 night sailing cruise aboard the Whitsunday Magic. Our sailing adventure included a trip to the Great Barrier Reef for a day of diving and snorkeling, and a day at Whitehaven Beach, voted one of the Top 10 Beaches in the world. Its claim to fame is the sand, which is 98% silica. It feels like baby powder under your feet –really incredible….and a bit weird. Really, I can't describe how amazing this trip was....you need to check out the pics to get a sense of what we experienced. If you ever get the opportunity to come here, try and do this. It’s so relaxing, and just beautiful. I would also highly recommend the boat we took: the Whitsunday Magic, as I’m fairly certain it’s one of only two boats that does these trips that has air-conditioning (and private cabins). And I’m pretty sure it’s the only one that has sun loungers, a dining room and fine dining (seriously, the food was top notch). What a treat!!
Fast forward to the next weekend, and we were off to Melbourne. Or, as the Aussies seem say it, “Melbun”. Come on, people, use the letter ‘r’, will ya? Don’t be shy, it won’t bite! :) Sheesh. Anyhoo, this trip was to visit with Allison Young, Russ’ cousin, and to meet Hal and Sue Young, an uncle of Russ’ from Adrian’s side. We also met their kids, Scott and Michelle. We had an amazing time. What a great city! (And what a great family! :)) Allison toured us around the city of Melbourne on Friday, squeezing in shopping, Chinatown, wine tasting in Yarra Valley and then a “blow-your-mind” seafood dinner at an upscale restaurant. Her “shout”, too (which means her treat)! Thank you again, Allie.
Hal Young picked us up at the restaurant and drove us out to Phillip Island, where he and Sue have an awesome little cottage. They were fantastic tour guides, and kept us busy all weekend. The first highlight of the trip (for me, anyway) was the Penguin Parade. Sadly, we were unable to take photos, as they weren’t permitted. Perfectly understandable, since most of the event takes place at dusk, then on into night, and the flashes on cameras would probably scare the bejeezus out of the penguins. Check out www.penguins.org.au for an idea of what they look like. Basically, we watched 100’s of these little guys waddle up the beach in little groups to find their sand burrows, where their babies waited, making a whole lot of racket, as they are starving. It takes approx. 2 weeks for the penguins to find enough food to get fat enough, and swim back. Once they return, they regurgitate their two-week fat stores as a nice tasty, vomit fish-snack for their babies. Yum! Anyway, these little guys are all about 10 inches high, and are so flippin’ cute you just want to squeeze ‘em.
The second highlight was Seal Rocks. To be honest, I thought we’d take a boat ride out to a rock, where we would see, oh, about 50-100 seals in the distance. Whoa! It was waaaay better than that! As we approached Seal Island, the smell was the first giveaway that there a few more than a 100. Try thousands!! And we just pulled right up, and they frolicked around the boat without a care in the world. Wow. What a gift to see something like that. I took lots of pics and videos of that event, so be sure to check it out. And to top that trip off, on the way back, one of the ‘sister’ adventure companies that did jet boat rides pulled up and asked if anyone wanted to ride the ‘fast’ boat for $10. Hello!!! WE DO!!! So all of us (except Sue) piled on and had the ride of our lives! Can you say FAAAAAAAST?? Phew! Our screams were real; that’s the best way to describe it. Thank you again to the Young Family for making our visit so memorable. We hope to visit again soon!
And home again, home again, jiggety-jig. Hey, here’s something you might find interesting….it certainly blew my mind. We didn’t get asked for ID (not just photo ID…any kind of ID) once when we flew to Airlie Beach or Melbourne. That’s right; print off your boarding pass online, or at the automatic kiosks, then simply show it as you are getting on the plane. No ID required. I guess terrorists don’t fly domestic here! Oh, and apparently the Aussies never got the ‘memo’ that liquids where dangerous either. Giant 2L bottle of water? No problem, ma’am. Just put it through to be x-rayed (just like the good ol’ days) and go on your merry way. I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!! :)
Alright, well, that pretty much wraps up my account of our adventures. I hope you enjoy the pictures and videos as much as I did taking them :)It might be a little while before anything “exciting” happens, as we won’t be travelling again until after Christmas. However, if anything comes up, I’ll be sure to write. If we don’t connect with some of you by phone or email, let me just say, on behalf of both Russ and I…..MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! We miss you all, and wish you were all here to share in the sunshine and adventure!
Oh, and PS: I know Russ will kill me for writing this down, but I also know he says he reads this blog but doesn't really ever "get around to it", so I'm gonna write it anyway.....some of you might notice a much slimmer version of Russ in the pictures. Since he's been here in Oz, Russ has dropped nearly 30 pounds! This is a BIG deal, and I am personally very proud of him. I invite you to tell him how great he is doing by way of email once you've seen the pics for yourself. My personal favourite is the "superhero" photo of us in our diving gear. You can really tell Russ has lost weight around his waistline!
UPDATE #5: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009 - "DAN THE MAN COMES TO BRIZZIE"
This past weekend, Dan Roth came up to visit from Sydney for a fun-filled 3 days. (For those of our readers who haven't had the pleasure of meeting of Dan, we met this particular Aussie friend back in Canada about 2 years ago. He has, obviously, since returned to Oz).
We hit "Wet 'n Wild" Water Park on Saturday and relived our childhood (you are never too old for water slides :). Unfortunately, due to the fact that you can't really take anything with you on water slides, particularly a digital camera, I have no record of the festivities. However, I do have a couple of new Aussie words to add to my vocabulary (as used by Dan and his friends - thank you, gentlemen :)
1. Bogan: According to Wikipedia, the term 'bogan' is used to describe a person who is, or is perceived to be, of a lower class background. According to the stereotype, the speech and mannerisms of "bogans" indicate poor education, cheap clothing and uncultured upbringing. This translates in good ol' Canada to 'redneck' or 'white trash'. Bogans were plentiful at Wet 'n Wild. They were easily identified by their attire, most notably the budgie smuggler (see new word #2) or shorts/swimsuits worn low enough to proudly display the crack of one's butt (women included). This attire was usually accompanied by facial piercings, tattoos, moustaches* (usually sparse) and rat-tails....yes, rat-tails are BACK in Brisbane...bigger and thicker than ever. There were also countless mullets to be seen. It is always a particular pleasure to spot the bogan family, where children ages 2 to 5 years already sport tattoos and rat-tails just like Daddy. Yes, quite a treat.
*My new uploaded pics include a few lovely shots of Dan's new moustache....which they call a 'mo' here in Oz. May I just say in Dan's defense that November is 'Mo-vember', and he is growing it to raise money. Or so the story goes, heh heh. Sure Dan, sure.
2. Budgie smuggler: Now, this term may not be new to you, but it certainly made me giggle my pants off the first time I heard it. This term is just one more way to refer to the notorious, tight-fitting Speedos that are found in abundance here on the beaches (and in water parks, ooooh boy). The name, if you haven't guessed, describes the 'lump in front', which is said to resemble a budgie (bird) shoved down their shorts. Gotta love it.
Other than Wet 'n Wild, our time with Dan was well spent drinking wine, eating too much, and just enjoying his company. He also introduced us to a few more great people who we hope to see more of over the next few years. All in all, it was fabulous to see him.
As for other new things we have learned or discovered....hmmmmm. Let's see:
1. Well, I don't think I've mentioned yet that we have found it virtually impossible to buy any wines other than those produced here in Australia. The Aussies are quite proud of their wines (as they should be); but this translates to very few imports. In other words, if you want to savour a Pinot from California or a Malbec from Argentina, you need to scour the city for days and weeks, and you better be prepared to shell out $30 to $40 a bottle (minimum, even for crappy wine).
2. The fee of $30/$40 per bottle isn't as shocking to me as the fact that Australian wines are more expensive here then they are back home! I know the Aussie dollar is not as strong as the Canadian dollar, so this would account for some of the difference....but usually, it's somewhere in the region of $5 to $8 more per bottle. So, if you add export fees to the price of a bottle here, then do the currency exchange, shouldn't that mean we pay more in Canada? Strange.
3. The silver lining to these "wine-y" tales is that Aussies have something called "cleanskins" here. (Again, maybe this is done in Canada, but I've never seen this before). Cleanskins refer to bottled wine that does not carry a label or any identifying mark. Wineries will sell cleanskins to 'dump' excess or unwanted wine stocks without the negative consequences of discounting their existing brands. This usually has nothing to do with the quality of the wine. In other words, for the low, low price of $3 to $6, you can buy a very decent bottle of wine. Couple this with bulk discounts that wine stores do (20% off purchase of 6 bottles, 30% off purchase of 12), and what you have here is a recipe for alcoholism. Welcome to Australia! :) Russ and I, as most of you know, are lovers of wine. Since drinking large quantities of wine is not synonymous with our recent attempt at healthy eating, we struggle a bit. Wish us luck!
4. Aussies all ask you "How ya goin'?" as a greeting. This, obviously, is another way of saying "Howzit going?" or the simple "How are you?", but what is interesting is they definitely do not expect an answer. If you do answer, you look like a weenie :) The correct response is to just say it back (according to our Aussie friends).
5. Aussies don't take their shoes off in their homes. And they certainly don't take them off when coming into your home. So don't bother washing your floors before a BBQ or party (as I have learned)....your floor will be filthy as soon as your guests arrive. (And it's not as simple as asking them to remove their shoes; tried that, doesn't work). Russ has adopted this new habit quite willingly. So adaptable, our Russ. BLERG!
Well, that's it for now. We've got a few big weekends comin' up (Byron Bay and the Whitsundays), so I hope to have some fantastic pictures soon. Tune in again. xxoo
We hit "Wet 'n Wild" Water Park on Saturday and relived our childhood (you are never too old for water slides :). Unfortunately, due to the fact that you can't really take anything with you on water slides, particularly a digital camera, I have no record of the festivities. However, I do have a couple of new Aussie words to add to my vocabulary (as used by Dan and his friends - thank you, gentlemen :)
1. Bogan: According to Wikipedia, the term 'bogan' is used to describe a person who is, or is perceived to be, of a lower class background. According to the stereotype, the speech and mannerisms of "bogans" indicate poor education, cheap clothing and uncultured upbringing. This translates in good ol' Canada to 'redneck' or 'white trash'. Bogans were plentiful at Wet 'n Wild. They were easily identified by their attire, most notably the budgie smuggler (see new word #2) or shorts/swimsuits worn low enough to proudly display the crack of one's butt (women included). This attire was usually accompanied by facial piercings, tattoos, moustaches* (usually sparse) and rat-tails....yes, rat-tails are BACK in Brisbane...bigger and thicker than ever. There were also countless mullets to be seen. It is always a particular pleasure to spot the bogan family, where children ages 2 to 5 years already sport tattoos and rat-tails just like Daddy. Yes, quite a treat.
*My new uploaded pics include a few lovely shots of Dan's new moustache....which they call a 'mo' here in Oz. May I just say in Dan's defense that November is 'Mo-vember', and he is growing it to raise money. Or so the story goes, heh heh. Sure Dan, sure.
2. Budgie smuggler: Now, this term may not be new to you, but it certainly made me giggle my pants off the first time I heard it. This term is just one more way to refer to the notorious, tight-fitting Speedos that are found in abundance here on the beaches (and in water parks, ooooh boy). The name, if you haven't guessed, describes the 'lump in front', which is said to resemble a budgie (bird) shoved down their shorts. Gotta love it.
Other than Wet 'n Wild, our time with Dan was well spent drinking wine, eating too much, and just enjoying his company. He also introduced us to a few more great people who we hope to see more of over the next few years. All in all, it was fabulous to see him.
As for other new things we have learned or discovered....hmmmmm. Let's see:
1. Well, I don't think I've mentioned yet that we have found it virtually impossible to buy any wines other than those produced here in Australia. The Aussies are quite proud of their wines (as they should be); but this translates to very few imports. In other words, if you want to savour a Pinot from California or a Malbec from Argentina, you need to scour the city for days and weeks, and you better be prepared to shell out $30 to $40 a bottle (minimum, even for crappy wine).
2. The fee of $30/$40 per bottle isn't as shocking to me as the fact that Australian wines are more expensive here then they are back home! I know the Aussie dollar is not as strong as the Canadian dollar, so this would account for some of the difference....but usually, it's somewhere in the region of $5 to $8 more per bottle. So, if you add export fees to the price of a bottle here, then do the currency exchange, shouldn't that mean we pay more in Canada? Strange.
3. The silver lining to these "wine-y" tales is that Aussies have something called "cleanskins" here. (Again, maybe this is done in Canada, but I've never seen this before). Cleanskins refer to bottled wine that does not carry a label or any identifying mark. Wineries will sell cleanskins to 'dump' excess or unwanted wine stocks without the negative consequences of discounting their existing brands. This usually has nothing to do with the quality of the wine. In other words, for the low, low price of $3 to $6, you can buy a very decent bottle of wine. Couple this with bulk discounts that wine stores do (20% off purchase of 6 bottles, 30% off purchase of 12), and what you have here is a recipe for alcoholism. Welcome to Australia! :) Russ and I, as most of you know, are lovers of wine. Since drinking large quantities of wine is not synonymous with our recent attempt at healthy eating, we struggle a bit. Wish us luck!
4. Aussies all ask you "How ya goin'?" as a greeting. This, obviously, is another way of saying "Howzit going?" or the simple "How are you?", but what is interesting is they definitely do not expect an answer. If you do answer, you look like a weenie :) The correct response is to just say it back (according to our Aussie friends).
5. Aussies don't take their shoes off in their homes. And they certainly don't take them off when coming into your home. So don't bother washing your floors before a BBQ or party (as I have learned)....your floor will be filthy as soon as your guests arrive. (And it's not as simple as asking them to remove their shoes; tried that, doesn't work). Russ has adopted this new habit quite willingly. So adaptable, our Russ. BLERG!
Well, that's it for now. We've got a few big weekends comin' up (Byron Bay and the Whitsundays), so I hope to have some fantastic pictures soon. Tune in again. xxoo
UPDATE #3: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009
Well, we finally bought a car...the newest member of our family is a 1995 Blue Honda Civic Sedan. We felt pretty good about our purchase until yesterday (just 3 short weeks from purchase date), when an odd bubbling noise started coming from the engine. I didn't feel good about it, so stopped driving immediately. It turns out that was the exact right thing to do; had I driven it a second longer, I probably would have blown the head gasket from overheating the engine. As it is, we had to replace the water pump, timing belt and 4 or 5 other belts that were affected. All this for the low, low price of $1,200. BLERGH!! Aw, well, live and learn, right?
Russ and I started a "diet" last Monday....I put diet in quotations, because really, we have simply started to eat more like adults and less like children <grin>. Apparently, man cannot survive on cheese, wine and cured meats alone. So, with the introduction of the previously non-existent fruit and vegetable as staples, we have already seen some pounds come off (phew!). I have also purchased a Juicer as part of our new, healthy initiative, and let me tell you - I LOVE MY NEW JUICER! I did my research, and chose a Breville Juice Fountain Plus. Let me just say, oh my God, it is a gift to mankind. There is simply nothing like a fresh apple/carrot/celery juice to start your day. Heaven in a glass....sheer bliss!! I don't know how I ever lived without it :)
Hmmmm, let's see - any new adventures? Well, I had a Beach Week a bit ago; I went to the beach 4 days in a row, surfing on two of them. Noosa Heads, Byron Bay, Southport and Burleigh beach - oh, such fun! I actually had company as well, as my friend Scott was off on holiday that week, and he had a guest from Germany, so all 3 of us trekked up and down the coast in search of the perfect beach. (Note: For those of you that are alarmed at the thought of me crisping myself slowing over here, you will be pleased to know that I am careful about sunscreen and never sit in the sun for more than 40 min. Fear not!) I have added a couple of photos of Byron, but unfortunately, Wibke took most of them with her camera and has yet to send them to me. I'll add them when I receive.
I have finally put brush to canvas in an attempt to become a painter. Wow, I'm terrible. Yes, I can admit it <grin> But Rome wasn't built in a day, and so I shall perservere. I have actually booked a class next Thursday to learn some basic techniques, and am looking forward to it. My first painting, entitled "Brown Eyed Girl" is soon to be finished, and when it is, I plan to post a picture of it here. Despite the fact that it's crap, I'm happy to share my efforts and give everyone a giggle :)
Later skaters,
TL xoxo
Russ and I started a "diet" last Monday....I put diet in quotations, because really, we have simply started to eat more like adults and less like children <grin>. Apparently, man cannot survive on cheese, wine and cured meats alone. So, with the introduction of the previously non-existent fruit and vegetable as staples, we have already seen some pounds come off (phew!). I have also purchased a Juicer as part of our new, healthy initiative, and let me tell you - I LOVE MY NEW JUICER! I did my research, and chose a Breville Juice Fountain Plus. Let me just say, oh my God, it is a gift to mankind. There is simply nothing like a fresh apple/carrot/celery juice to start your day. Heaven in a glass....sheer bliss!! I don't know how I ever lived without it :)
Hmmmm, let's see - any new adventures? Well, I had a Beach Week a bit ago; I went to the beach 4 days in a row, surfing on two of them. Noosa Heads, Byron Bay, Southport and Burleigh beach - oh, such fun! I actually had company as well, as my friend Scott was off on holiday that week, and he had a guest from Germany, so all 3 of us trekked up and down the coast in search of the perfect beach. (Note: For those of you that are alarmed at the thought of me crisping myself slowing over here, you will be pleased to know that I am careful about sunscreen and never sit in the sun for more than 40 min. Fear not!) I have added a couple of photos of Byron, but unfortunately, Wibke took most of them with her camera and has yet to send them to me. I'll add them when I receive.
I have finally put brush to canvas in an attempt to become a painter. Wow, I'm terrible. Yes, I can admit it <grin> But Rome wasn't built in a day, and so I shall perservere. I have actually booked a class next Thursday to learn some basic techniques, and am looking forward to it. My first painting, entitled "Brown Eyed Girl" is soon to be finished, and when it is, I plan to post a picture of it here. Despite the fact that it's crap, I'm happy to share my efforts and give everyone a giggle :)
Later skaters,
TL xoxo
UPDATE #2: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2009
It’s about that time….time for another chapter in the Excellent Adventures of Russ and TL, that is! I know, I know, you can barely contain your excitement ;) Stay with me, folks.
First, we have found ourselves a humble abode. The Powerhouse, as previously updated, did NOT work out for us, which was sad (but not tragic). There was still cat fur everywhere, even after cleaning, and my eyes turned into two little itchy, watery red tomatoes upon entry. So, onwards and upwards! We are now living in a lovely 2 bedroom in a similar complex called Fusion in Newstead (a suburb in Brisbane). It is a very modern, furnished apt on the 3rd floor which has a teeny weeny sliver view of the river :) It is on a busy street, so it’s not all that quiet, but we can open our patio doors up wide and get a beautiful warm breeze right through the place. Come summer, I think we are far more likely to button the place up tight and blast the air/con until icicles form (for a little taste of home). We shall see, of course. However, after a 3 minute walk today, I was dripping in sweat and wishing it would snow. So my money is on the air/con. Heh heh. There is also a pool, which had been closed for maintenance since we moved in (since it’s winter here, remember?), but finally opened this past Saturday. Being a lady of leisure at this time, a pool figures nicely into my daily routine, so as you can imagine, I am pleased as punch right now!
Russ and I held our official housewarming party this past Friday, and it was a huge success. We had 14 of our new friends attend, and it appeared that everyone was "raring to go", as they say. It was quite a night! Most of us had to write Saturday off due to massive hangovers, but if I had to pick a place to be hungover, I couldn't pick a better place!!
As evidenced by the attendance to our housewarming, we are settling in nicely and have made many new friends. The people here are simply wonderful; very helpful and welcoming. Many of our friends live right in our area, just blocks away, which is handy for last minute barbecues and occasional beers here and there. One nice young couple we’ve met are avid surfers, and have brought Russ and I surfing twice already. They’ve even got an extra board, which helps tremendously in terms board rental savings. And, thanks to their help, we now know of more than a couple of pretty good spots to go, all within 1 hour of home. And, let me tell you, driving for an hour on a bright sunny day is not really a hardship. It IS pretty difficult when you are wiped after a day of being tossed around by waves, however. The ride home is always longer than the ride there ;)
So….surfing. How’s that going, you wonder? “Not too bad at all!!!”, she says excitedly! Yes, there have been ‘war wounds’ , so to speak, including pulled groin muscles, serious board rash, sand abrasions from being literally launched from the board, etc. Nothing we can’t handle though. I have actually been lucky enough to find a full-body wetsuit at a Salvation Army for $15. It may have a hole or two, but this little gem has proved to be handy at eliminating both sand abrasions and board rash –wahoooo! What a bargain! Russ, unfortunately, hasn’t been so lucky to find something like this, so he suffers through the injuries :)
As for our surfing skills (the word 'skills' being used loosely, of course)….both Russ and I have been ‘popping up’ consistently now (a fancy way of saying standing up on our board), and we’ve gotten pretty good at timing the waves. It still takes us a while to get up, so we lose a lot of momentum on the wave because of that…but it will come – I have faith!! We have yet to really paddle 'out there' and just dangle our feet while sitting on the board, waiting for waves. That will come in time. In the meantime, we are having an awesome time bobbing around in the water where our feet touch the ground, waiting for the next wave to show up. We hope to buy surf boards soon, because it costs us anywhere from $20 to $25 for 2 hours rental. However, buying a board hasn’t made sense yet, as we don’t own a car.
Which leads me to our next adventure – buying a car! We’ve been searching for about four weeks now, and we’ve missed the boat on two good deals for Toyotas that we’ve found i.e. we took about an hour to “think about it” and lost them both. Geez, you’ve sure got to act fast around here! We've also had two 'near misses' with very dodgy sellers; one that appeared to be a dealer trying to pass himself off as a private seller and another trying to sell a written off, water damaged vehicle for top dollar. We figured things out just in the nick of time for both. Still, it leaves us feeling a little vulnerable. Anyway, the search may have ended with a 1995 Honda Civic with 157,000 or so km's. It was apparently driven by one owner (log books seem to support that), and he just passed away, so now his son-in-law is selling the car. We are going to take precautions this time and have a mechanic look at it this morning, so we'll keep you posted.
OK, so, what else? Hmmmm; Russ and I just did a fan-frickin-tastic trip to Noosa Heads. We spent far too much money and spoiled ourselves rotten, in celebration of this OLD gal - yes, me - turning 39. Noosa is unbelievably gorgeous; so sunny and blue, 3 or 4 different beaches to choose from, lush green foliage everywhere…just amazing. The surfing wasn’t fabulous, but I'm pretty sure this was largely due to choosing the wrong weekend - the first weekend of break for primary schools. Eeek. The beach was simply packed solid with families and lots o’ children (and apparently, mowing a small child down with your surf board is frowned upon here, heh heh). On our way home, we found a more deserted beach area, so we know where to go next time!
I attended a Perfumerie class recently, which included a night of champagne to “clear the olfactory senses” (in Canada, we smell coffee beans to clear our nose; here, you drink champagne....is it any wonder I want to live here??). Yeehaw! Like I needed a reason to drink champagne ;) Anyway, it was great fun. Russ attended a 'Whiskey Tasting' night (I've heard of wine....but whiskey? Really?) which included a full meal cooked and paired with various whiskeys. Good fun.
And, finally, I’ve joined 2 different gyms here. One is a regular gym with weights, yoga classes, Body Pump classes, etc. and the other is the Aussie version of Boot Camp (which I used to do back home). It is in fact called Boot Camp, but you pay a weekly fee here, instead of joining for 8 or 16 sessions as we did back home. These sessions are painful, and from start to finish I tend to think to myself "What in heck are you doing??? You pay for this torture???". But 2 or 3 of those per week, and I should start to feel like a fit Aussie soon! (They really are into exercise here!). Neither gyms have contracts so if I start to get lazy (what, me??) I can quit at any time. Wish me luck! I'LL NEED IT!
So, that’s it in a nutshell. You will find my first surf video on the Video tab (Russ was kind enough to get out of the water to take it, so we don't yet have one of him), and all kinds of pics on the Photos tab! And so, to wrap up, let’s go through a few more things I’ve learned in Oz:
1) Groceries are more expensive here. However, from what I can see, the Aussies eat considerably less, so therefore buy less food, and it all works out in the wash. I either need to learn to eat less, or spend 20% more of my budget on food. Humpf. For example: the price of a pint of blueberries in Canada when I left was $2.99. A punnet of blueberries is about ½ of a pint (a bit less I think…maybe 1/3). The price of a punnet here is usually about $8.99 (OUCH) although I've seen specials at $5.99 (still....OUCH!). Looks like I’m going to give up blueberries for a long while. But I’ve got a hankerin’ for antioxidants! Help!
2) Further on the subject of portions: we went to the movies the other night, and the popcorn sizes they offered were very interesting. A large here is approximately the size of a medium back in Canada and their small size would have made you laugh - it's TEENY-WEENY. And they don't offer butter. Maybe we can learn from this? Hmmmm....
3) I love the way they sell portions of things in grocery stores; 1/4 cabbages, 1/8 of a pumpkin, 1/2 bunch of celery. So if you want to try something new, you can just try a small bit first. Oh, and on the subject of pumpkin, they cook with it liberally over here! Pumpkin quiche, pumpkin in salads, pumpkin in stir frys. Since I've never eaten anything other than pumpkin pie, I was surprised by this. Same goes for beetroot - on everything. They even make chips dips out of both of them.
4) Perhaps you’ve heard that Aussies are laid back. This is true. So laid back, in fact, I’m not sure how anything gets done around here. Making demands or trying to rush them only results in them completely ignoring you. The moral of this story is…sit back, relax, “all in good time mate”, “no dramas”.
5) On the heels of #5, let me sum up by saying that there are two words that, although found in the Australian dictionary individually, are NEVER used together: “customer” and “service”. Oddly, the Aussies themselves warned me about this.
6) And finally, salt water tastes like crap. I've swallowed alot of it in the last month, so trust me on this one
Wishing you were all here, enjoying this with me….
Sunshine and smiles,
TL (and Russ)
PS - I have run into 2 icky black spiders to date, both of which JUMP, extremely quickly, and were really hard to catch and kill. One of them in fact, is still living in my closet, as I couldn't catch him. I have also encountered two GIANT cockroaches (seriously, 1.5 inches, 2.5 if you include feelers - eeeewwww), which I've been told are a part of life here, as they grow bigger due to the tropical temperatures. I can tell you, all of these things give me the heebie-jeebies. Full time, live-in bug catcher and spider killer wanted. Russ doesn't want the job. He's pretty busy engineering. So I am accepting resumes at this time ;)
First, we have found ourselves a humble abode. The Powerhouse, as previously updated, did NOT work out for us, which was sad (but not tragic). There was still cat fur everywhere, even after cleaning, and my eyes turned into two little itchy, watery red tomatoes upon entry. So, onwards and upwards! We are now living in a lovely 2 bedroom in a similar complex called Fusion in Newstead (a suburb in Brisbane). It is a very modern, furnished apt on the 3rd floor which has a teeny weeny sliver view of the river :) It is on a busy street, so it’s not all that quiet, but we can open our patio doors up wide and get a beautiful warm breeze right through the place. Come summer, I think we are far more likely to button the place up tight and blast the air/con until icicles form (for a little taste of home). We shall see, of course. However, after a 3 minute walk today, I was dripping in sweat and wishing it would snow. So my money is on the air/con. Heh heh. There is also a pool, which had been closed for maintenance since we moved in (since it’s winter here, remember?), but finally opened this past Saturday. Being a lady of leisure at this time, a pool figures nicely into my daily routine, so as you can imagine, I am pleased as punch right now!
Russ and I held our official housewarming party this past Friday, and it was a huge success. We had 14 of our new friends attend, and it appeared that everyone was "raring to go", as they say. It was quite a night! Most of us had to write Saturday off due to massive hangovers, but if I had to pick a place to be hungover, I couldn't pick a better place!!
As evidenced by the attendance to our housewarming, we are settling in nicely and have made many new friends. The people here are simply wonderful; very helpful and welcoming. Many of our friends live right in our area, just blocks away, which is handy for last minute barbecues and occasional beers here and there. One nice young couple we’ve met are avid surfers, and have brought Russ and I surfing twice already. They’ve even got an extra board, which helps tremendously in terms board rental savings. And, thanks to their help, we now know of more than a couple of pretty good spots to go, all within 1 hour of home. And, let me tell you, driving for an hour on a bright sunny day is not really a hardship. It IS pretty difficult when you are wiped after a day of being tossed around by waves, however. The ride home is always longer than the ride there ;)
So….surfing. How’s that going, you wonder? “Not too bad at all!!!”, she says excitedly! Yes, there have been ‘war wounds’ , so to speak, including pulled groin muscles, serious board rash, sand abrasions from being literally launched from the board, etc. Nothing we can’t handle though. I have actually been lucky enough to find a full-body wetsuit at a Salvation Army for $15. It may have a hole or two, but this little gem has proved to be handy at eliminating both sand abrasions and board rash –wahoooo! What a bargain! Russ, unfortunately, hasn’t been so lucky to find something like this, so he suffers through the injuries :)
As for our surfing skills (the word 'skills' being used loosely, of course)….both Russ and I have been ‘popping up’ consistently now (a fancy way of saying standing up on our board), and we’ve gotten pretty good at timing the waves. It still takes us a while to get up, so we lose a lot of momentum on the wave because of that…but it will come – I have faith!! We have yet to really paddle 'out there' and just dangle our feet while sitting on the board, waiting for waves. That will come in time. In the meantime, we are having an awesome time bobbing around in the water where our feet touch the ground, waiting for the next wave to show up. We hope to buy surf boards soon, because it costs us anywhere from $20 to $25 for 2 hours rental. However, buying a board hasn’t made sense yet, as we don’t own a car.
Which leads me to our next adventure – buying a car! We’ve been searching for about four weeks now, and we’ve missed the boat on two good deals for Toyotas that we’ve found i.e. we took about an hour to “think about it” and lost them both. Geez, you’ve sure got to act fast around here! We've also had two 'near misses' with very dodgy sellers; one that appeared to be a dealer trying to pass himself off as a private seller and another trying to sell a written off, water damaged vehicle for top dollar. We figured things out just in the nick of time for both. Still, it leaves us feeling a little vulnerable. Anyway, the search may have ended with a 1995 Honda Civic with 157,000 or so km's. It was apparently driven by one owner (log books seem to support that), and he just passed away, so now his son-in-law is selling the car. We are going to take precautions this time and have a mechanic look at it this morning, so we'll keep you posted.
OK, so, what else? Hmmmm; Russ and I just did a fan-frickin-tastic trip to Noosa Heads. We spent far too much money and spoiled ourselves rotten, in celebration of this OLD gal - yes, me - turning 39. Noosa is unbelievably gorgeous; so sunny and blue, 3 or 4 different beaches to choose from, lush green foliage everywhere…just amazing. The surfing wasn’t fabulous, but I'm pretty sure this was largely due to choosing the wrong weekend - the first weekend of break for primary schools. Eeek. The beach was simply packed solid with families and lots o’ children (and apparently, mowing a small child down with your surf board is frowned upon here, heh heh). On our way home, we found a more deserted beach area, so we know where to go next time!
I attended a Perfumerie class recently, which included a night of champagne to “clear the olfactory senses” (in Canada, we smell coffee beans to clear our nose; here, you drink champagne....is it any wonder I want to live here??). Yeehaw! Like I needed a reason to drink champagne ;) Anyway, it was great fun. Russ attended a 'Whiskey Tasting' night (I've heard of wine....but whiskey? Really?) which included a full meal cooked and paired with various whiskeys. Good fun.
And, finally, I’ve joined 2 different gyms here. One is a regular gym with weights, yoga classes, Body Pump classes, etc. and the other is the Aussie version of Boot Camp (which I used to do back home). It is in fact called Boot Camp, but you pay a weekly fee here, instead of joining for 8 or 16 sessions as we did back home. These sessions are painful, and from start to finish I tend to think to myself "What in heck are you doing??? You pay for this torture???". But 2 or 3 of those per week, and I should start to feel like a fit Aussie soon! (They really are into exercise here!). Neither gyms have contracts so if I start to get lazy (what, me??) I can quit at any time. Wish me luck! I'LL NEED IT!
So, that’s it in a nutshell. You will find my first surf video on the Video tab (Russ was kind enough to get out of the water to take it, so we don't yet have one of him), and all kinds of pics on the Photos tab! And so, to wrap up, let’s go through a few more things I’ve learned in Oz:
1) Groceries are more expensive here. However, from what I can see, the Aussies eat considerably less, so therefore buy less food, and it all works out in the wash. I either need to learn to eat less, or spend 20% more of my budget on food. Humpf. For example: the price of a pint of blueberries in Canada when I left was $2.99. A punnet of blueberries is about ½ of a pint (a bit less I think…maybe 1/3). The price of a punnet here is usually about $8.99 (OUCH) although I've seen specials at $5.99 (still....OUCH!). Looks like I’m going to give up blueberries for a long while. But I’ve got a hankerin’ for antioxidants! Help!
2) Further on the subject of portions: we went to the movies the other night, and the popcorn sizes they offered were very interesting. A large here is approximately the size of a medium back in Canada and their small size would have made you laugh - it's TEENY-WEENY. And they don't offer butter. Maybe we can learn from this? Hmmmm....
3) I love the way they sell portions of things in grocery stores; 1/4 cabbages, 1/8 of a pumpkin, 1/2 bunch of celery. So if you want to try something new, you can just try a small bit first. Oh, and on the subject of pumpkin, they cook with it liberally over here! Pumpkin quiche, pumpkin in salads, pumpkin in stir frys. Since I've never eaten anything other than pumpkin pie, I was surprised by this. Same goes for beetroot - on everything. They even make chips dips out of both of them.
4) Perhaps you’ve heard that Aussies are laid back. This is true. So laid back, in fact, I’m not sure how anything gets done around here. Making demands or trying to rush them only results in them completely ignoring you. The moral of this story is…sit back, relax, “all in good time mate”, “no dramas”.
5) On the heels of #5, let me sum up by saying that there are two words that, although found in the Australian dictionary individually, are NEVER used together: “customer” and “service”. Oddly, the Aussies themselves warned me about this.
6) And finally, salt water tastes like crap. I've swallowed alot of it in the last month, so trust me on this one
Wishing you were all here, enjoying this with me….
Sunshine and smiles,
TL (and Russ)
PS - I have run into 2 icky black spiders to date, both of which JUMP, extremely quickly, and were really hard to catch and kill. One of them in fact, is still living in my closet, as I couldn't catch him. I have also encountered two GIANT cockroaches (seriously, 1.5 inches, 2.5 if you include feelers - eeeewwww), which I've been told are a part of life here, as they grow bigger due to the tropical temperatures. I can tell you, all of these things give me the heebie-jeebies. Full time, live-in bug catcher and spider killer wanted. Russ doesn't want the job. He's pretty busy engineering. So I am accepting resumes at this time ;)
UPDATE #1: TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2009
Heeeeeey yooooooooou guuuuuuuuuys! WE MADE IT! We are officially living in 'the land down under'!!
How is everyone? Missing us yet? Hope so! Russ and I aren't quite settled in yet, but are certainly busy, busy, busy. Although I've only officially been here for, oh, 17 days, it feels like longer. Let's see, let's see, what have we been doing?....
Most importantly (certainly, on my list ), we drove north up to Caloundra one of these past weekends, and attempted surfing. Well, Russ actually managed to stand up and stay up for a lot longer than me. I personally attempted to surf, because I was basically smacked around by waves and swallowed a whole boat load of sea water. Seriously, the next day you feel like you wrestled a bear! The surf board acts as a sail when the wind catches it, and it drags you all over the place. However, I did manage to stand up like a wobbly baby on new legs 3 times (only to fall over within 1 to 5 seconds). I have 'board rash' (like road rash when you rub out on concrete, except it's from the scratchy surface of the board) on my right leg from knee to hip and I pulled a muscle in my neck. BUT IT WAS EXHILARATING! And I won't give up. I shall try it again. Russ and I started practicing our pop-ups in front of a mirror at night. Let's hope that helps.
Next on the list, after many hours/days/kilometres on my poor tired feet, I think I may have finally found Russ and I a place to live. It's a two level, 2 bedroom flat in a little leafy suberb called 'New Farm', with a small balcony that is nice and shady. I would prefer a big, sunny bright home, but everyone here tells me that it will simply be too hot come summer time, and I know they are right (they would certainly know!), so I'm avoiding sunny apartments. So sad . However, this flat is sort of peaceful, sheltered by trees. It's also very artsy (the interior, that is - for example, it includes a strange oil painting of a young boy in superman outfit on a beach - odd. I'll send you a pic once we live there). I think it will work out very nicely. Plus, Russ will get his bbq (which is why we need a patio) :) and he will be happy. I will get my big couch (all the others we have seen were love seats and chairs....who sits on those??; this one has a nice long couch you can spread out on) and I will be happy.
The apartment itself is in a little complex called The Powerhouse, and actually has a pool and gym too. Have you ever been on an all-inclusive vacation? Well, it's a lot like those complexes. These are everywhere here, right downtown, a little oasis. We've submitted our application and I talked to them today...so far, so good! (Check it out at http://www.seqrents.com.au/powerhouse/). The only thing I'm a little worried about is that the current owners have cat - which as most of you know, I am desperately allergic to. We will be renting fully furnished, and that little kitty surely has rubbed her furry little body all over everything. So, unless we can "de-cat" the place, it's a no-go.
Tomorrow, Wed, August 12, is a stat holiday in Brisbane. We just found out today (Tues), so it's a really nice surprise for Russ. It's a holiday called "Ekka", and it is only in Brisbane, because of an exhibition here called Ekka. Who cares, really? It's a stat day off! Wahoooo :)
I drove for my first time last weekend. Russ did the driving the first weekend, it was my turn this past one. Whoaaa - extremely stressful! If there are no cars on the road, there is a real danger of turning into the wrong lane at an intersection. Right now, Russ and I are only driving together to support each other through this <grin> Even being a passenger is hard, because all the cars seem like they are going to hit you on that side, since you are so used to being on the opposite side in oncoming traffic. Ah well, it will get easier, I know. And really, we can't wait to buy a car (but we have to....we're going to rent for a while). But all this walking is killing me! I think I've put on about 10-15km per day. I'm starting to feel older than my age - everything is creaking and cracking. When I stand up after sitting for long periods, I actually make "old lady"noises like 'ooof' and 'grunt' and 'uuuuh'. Geez.
I started keeping a little journal of all the things that the Aussie's do differently. Here a few for you:
1) In Canada, we tend to ‘keep right’ when walking, as we drive on the right hand side of the road. One would think that this might mean that Aussies would ‘keep left’. However, it has been my experience so far that as a pedestrian, it is best to just ‘keep out of the way’. There is no rhyme or reason to what side of the sidewalk they will use…and they will pile-drive right into you if you are in their path. It’s like they’re practicing for rugby or something :).
2) In Calgary, pedestrians have the right of way in most situations; certainly, in residential areas, cars allow pedestrians to cross at most every corner without a light. Here in Brisbane, I think it is safe to say that pedestrians have no rights whatsoever. If a car is anywhere near you, you should GET OFF THE ROAD. They will attempt to run you down, and they will bring down the house honking as they do so. Buses are especially deadly.
3) Buying a fan in Australia is not possible during their winter months i.e. June/July/August…and at this point I’m not certain if it is even possible in their spring or fall. What I do know is that when I went to purchase a fan this past weekend, the clerk looked at me like I was crazy and advised that “they were selling heaters at this time”. No joke; it is average 25°C during the day, and they are turning on their heaters.
4) Speaking of winter, I stood on the corner at an intersection the other day, and noticed that the three women beside me were all wearing some variation of the same outfit: black boots, black tights, a black (or brown or blue) skirt, a heavy, black sweater or a black/brown/blue WINTER COAT (no kidding), and SCARVES!!!! The only thing missing was mittens. I was wearing white pants, a white/grey tank top and flip flops. And I was sweating. They were not. It was 25°C. Are these people human???
5) Renting in Brisbane (or, up to this point, attempting to rent) is quite an exercise.
a. First, all owners list their properties with Property Managers. You must attend “inspections” arranged by these Managers; these are preset times to show a property. None of them are in the evening. All of them are in the middle of the week, so if you have a job, I have no idea how you would manage this.
b. You cannot take pictures of the apartments (privacy laws). So you better take notes to remember what the heck you saw. In the past two weeks, I went to see more than 25 apartments. By the time I get home every day, I can’t remember what I saw that morning, let alone last Tuesday. :)
c. I heard from an Aussie (although I haven’t confirmed) that 45,000 people per year are moving to Brisbane. This amounts to just a bit less than 1,000 per week. All of them are looking to rent, as buying a house here requires you to sign over an arm or a leg and your first born child. Therefore, you can expect to line up with anywhere from 1 to 20 other people for an inspection. If it’s just you, you can be assured the place will be a dump.
d. Expect to line up to fill out an application, which they will grade by a point system. The number of points per application depends on the number of pieces of ID, rent receipts, phone bills, bank statements, proof of income, etc. that you provide. Each person that will live there must complete an application. The applicants with the most points will get the apartment.
e. Fridges, washing machines and dryers are called “white goods”. White goods do not come with an unfurnished apartment. In other words, you need to bring your own fridge (who in heavens name came up with this bright idea?) and washing machine. When they say ‘laundry’ available, they mean they’ll provide a water hook-up. Gee, thanks.
f. Rent is quoted per week i.e. $500pw. You only need to give 2 weeks notice to move out. So you know how nice and orderly things are in Canada, where everyone moves in or out at the end of the month? Here, any day could be moving day!
Anyway, the adventure continues! I'll keep you updated periodically.
But I would also love to hear from you! (One thing: I don't have internet yet, and basically "steal" it from Russ' office now and then when I can. So be patient with delays in my replies!).
Big hugs to everyone from TL and Russ in the land down under,
TL
Heeeeeey yooooooooou guuuuuuuuuys! WE MADE IT! We are officially living in 'the land down under'!!
How is everyone? Missing us yet? Hope so! Russ and I aren't quite settled in yet, but are certainly busy, busy, busy. Although I've only officially been here for, oh, 17 days, it feels like longer. Let's see, let's see, what have we been doing?....
Most importantly (certainly, on my list ), we drove north up to Caloundra one of these past weekends, and attempted surfing. Well, Russ actually managed to stand up and stay up for a lot longer than me. I personally attempted to surf, because I was basically smacked around by waves and swallowed a whole boat load of sea water. Seriously, the next day you feel like you wrestled a bear! The surf board acts as a sail when the wind catches it, and it drags you all over the place. However, I did manage to stand up like a wobbly baby on new legs 3 times (only to fall over within 1 to 5 seconds). I have 'board rash' (like road rash when you rub out on concrete, except it's from the scratchy surface of the board) on my right leg from knee to hip and I pulled a muscle in my neck. BUT IT WAS EXHILARATING! And I won't give up. I shall try it again. Russ and I started practicing our pop-ups in front of a mirror at night. Let's hope that helps.
Next on the list, after many hours/days/kilometres on my poor tired feet, I think I may have finally found Russ and I a place to live. It's a two level, 2 bedroom flat in a little leafy suberb called 'New Farm', with a small balcony that is nice and shady. I would prefer a big, sunny bright home, but everyone here tells me that it will simply be too hot come summer time, and I know they are right (they would certainly know!), so I'm avoiding sunny apartments. So sad . However, this flat is sort of peaceful, sheltered by trees. It's also very artsy (the interior, that is - for example, it includes a strange oil painting of a young boy in superman outfit on a beach - odd. I'll send you a pic once we live there). I think it will work out very nicely. Plus, Russ will get his bbq (which is why we need a patio) :) and he will be happy. I will get my big couch (all the others we have seen were love seats and chairs....who sits on those??; this one has a nice long couch you can spread out on) and I will be happy.
The apartment itself is in a little complex called The Powerhouse, and actually has a pool and gym too. Have you ever been on an all-inclusive vacation? Well, it's a lot like those complexes. These are everywhere here, right downtown, a little oasis. We've submitted our application and I talked to them today...so far, so good! (Check it out at http://www.seqrents.com.au/powerhouse/). The only thing I'm a little worried about is that the current owners have cat - which as most of you know, I am desperately allergic to. We will be renting fully furnished, and that little kitty surely has rubbed her furry little body all over everything. So, unless we can "de-cat" the place, it's a no-go.
Tomorrow, Wed, August 12, is a stat holiday in Brisbane. We just found out today (Tues), so it's a really nice surprise for Russ. It's a holiday called "Ekka", and it is only in Brisbane, because of an exhibition here called Ekka. Who cares, really? It's a stat day off! Wahoooo :)
I drove for my first time last weekend. Russ did the driving the first weekend, it was my turn this past one. Whoaaa - extremely stressful! If there are no cars on the road, there is a real danger of turning into the wrong lane at an intersection. Right now, Russ and I are only driving together to support each other through this <grin> Even being a passenger is hard, because all the cars seem like they are going to hit you on that side, since you are so used to being on the opposite side in oncoming traffic. Ah well, it will get easier, I know. And really, we can't wait to buy a car (but we have to....we're going to rent for a while). But all this walking is killing me! I think I've put on about 10-15km per day. I'm starting to feel older than my age - everything is creaking and cracking. When I stand up after sitting for long periods, I actually make "old lady"noises like 'ooof' and 'grunt' and 'uuuuh'. Geez.
I started keeping a little journal of all the things that the Aussie's do differently. Here a few for you:
1) In Canada, we tend to ‘keep right’ when walking, as we drive on the right hand side of the road. One would think that this might mean that Aussies would ‘keep left’. However, it has been my experience so far that as a pedestrian, it is best to just ‘keep out of the way’. There is no rhyme or reason to what side of the sidewalk they will use…and they will pile-drive right into you if you are in their path. It’s like they’re practicing for rugby or something :).
2) In Calgary, pedestrians have the right of way in most situations; certainly, in residential areas, cars allow pedestrians to cross at most every corner without a light. Here in Brisbane, I think it is safe to say that pedestrians have no rights whatsoever. If a car is anywhere near you, you should GET OFF THE ROAD. They will attempt to run you down, and they will bring down the house honking as they do so. Buses are especially deadly.
3) Buying a fan in Australia is not possible during their winter months i.e. June/July/August…and at this point I’m not certain if it is even possible in their spring or fall. What I do know is that when I went to purchase a fan this past weekend, the clerk looked at me like I was crazy and advised that “they were selling heaters at this time”. No joke; it is average 25°C during the day, and they are turning on their heaters.
4) Speaking of winter, I stood on the corner at an intersection the other day, and noticed that the three women beside me were all wearing some variation of the same outfit: black boots, black tights, a black (or brown or blue) skirt, a heavy, black sweater or a black/brown/blue WINTER COAT (no kidding), and SCARVES!!!! The only thing missing was mittens. I was wearing white pants, a white/grey tank top and flip flops. And I was sweating. They were not. It was 25°C. Are these people human???
5) Renting in Brisbane (or, up to this point, attempting to rent) is quite an exercise.
a. First, all owners list their properties with Property Managers. You must attend “inspections” arranged by these Managers; these are preset times to show a property. None of them are in the evening. All of them are in the middle of the week, so if you have a job, I have no idea how you would manage this.
b. You cannot take pictures of the apartments (privacy laws). So you better take notes to remember what the heck you saw. In the past two weeks, I went to see more than 25 apartments. By the time I get home every day, I can’t remember what I saw that morning, let alone last Tuesday. :)
c. I heard from an Aussie (although I haven’t confirmed) that 45,000 people per year are moving to Brisbane. This amounts to just a bit less than 1,000 per week. All of them are looking to rent, as buying a house here requires you to sign over an arm or a leg and your first born child. Therefore, you can expect to line up with anywhere from 1 to 20 other people for an inspection. If it’s just you, you can be assured the place will be a dump.
d. Expect to line up to fill out an application, which they will grade by a point system. The number of points per application depends on the number of pieces of ID, rent receipts, phone bills, bank statements, proof of income, etc. that you provide. Each person that will live there must complete an application. The applicants with the most points will get the apartment.
e. Fridges, washing machines and dryers are called “white goods”. White goods do not come with an unfurnished apartment. In other words, you need to bring your own fridge (who in heavens name came up with this bright idea?) and washing machine. When they say ‘laundry’ available, they mean they’ll provide a water hook-up. Gee, thanks.
f. Rent is quoted per week i.e. $500pw. You only need to give 2 weeks notice to move out. So you know how nice and orderly things are in Canada, where everyone moves in or out at the end of the month? Here, any day could be moving day!
Anyway, the adventure continues! I'll keep you updated periodically.
But I would also love to hear from you! (One thing: I don't have internet yet, and basically "steal" it from Russ' office now and then when I can. So be patient with delays in my replies!).
Big hugs to everyone from TL and Russ in the land down under,
TL
