Tom's Blog

Well boys and girls this is the last day of the adventure down under. Quiet start as Sophie had an appointment to go to but I made a potatoe and spinach curry to go with the lentil and prawn one I’d previously made.

In the afternoon we went over to The Palm to pick up a pram holder for Sophie and called into the new Atlantis for a look see and a drink. Obviously it 27 star with Heston restaurant etc etc etc. it’s not my cup of tea by a very long way. All the girls were 8 ft tall with dresses stopping at their bum following elderly men about. Not impressed. But it has a nice lobby and shops on the ground floor of which I did not recognise any of the names. In the end we came back to Townsquare and had a pint of Stella in the local pub. A much better idea.

Well this is the end of another adventure. I hope you have enjoyed the trip as much as I have. It’s certainly been an experience for sure. Over three months away from home and seeing many amazing things. It’s a short flight back to Manchester in the morning and with a bit of luck I should be in the pub by 17:00.
The question is Where Next?? Any ideas.

The end.

Tom K

It’s so darned hot here that Sophie goes for a swim at 06:00 to avoid the midday sun. Not surprisingly I gave it a miss. After a few chores Sophie,Betsy and I went for brunch at the Polo and equestrian centre which was not too far away. Believe it or not they let me in!!!! I know the likes of me in the Polo club. But it was really nice and very up market as you would expect. Brunch was okay but nothing to write home about. They really don’t do sausages out here!!!

Back home to give Betsy a sleep and then just Sophie and I travelled over to Abu Dhabi. It’s only about 90 minutes and straight there on a four lane highway. They have no clue over here about lane discipline ( mind it’s the same back in the UK). We’d been to the Louvre and the under construction museum on a previous occasion so Sophie had booked a visit to the palace of Abu Dhabi. I’ve been in some buildings on my travels around the world but nothing,just nothing compares with this. It’s honestly beyond description. Nobody lives in it and it’s not really a palace, more an assembly room!! But it’s massive with gold and silver everywhere. It’s supposed to have cost $3billion and I believe it. Nowhere else in the world could a country get away with spending that kind of money on such a building. The only use I could make out is to host foreign visitor receptions and there is a very small room set aside for government cabinet meetings.

We had planned to have a walk round the Marina F1 circuit which is open to cyclists (anti clockwise) and walkers (clockwise) each evening. It was quite busy as the heat of the sun had subsided. Unfortunately we were running out of time but managed to get the atmosphere of the place. To be honest it’s worth half a day to give it justice. One of the great things I like was that the circuit was being used by the general public on a daily basis. There’s also a massive go cart circuit there as well. You can walk the full length of the circuit and then cycle it with a free bike hire facility. Like it.

Back home to see Chris and an excellent Thai takeaway. I liked that tooooooo.

Well!!! If God had meant man to fly he would have given him wings. That’s for sure after a 14 hour flight from Melbourne to Dubai. Unfortunately I was sat next to an elderly Indian couple of which the man needed to go to the toilet every five minutes. Or so it seemed to me sat in the aisle seat. Not good at all. But I did manage to get a bit of sleep along the way.
When we got to Dubai it turned out that most of the the passengers were in transit so there was only a handful staying in Dubai. It was 05:00 so the place was deserted. I was straight through immigration in no time at all. I had planned to catch a taxi out to Sophie’s. But she had made the effort to get up early. I had called into duty free but it was toooooo expensive.
I had planned to stay up as long as possible during the day and I managed it!!!! After a recovery time Sophie and I plus Betsy visited the Dubai butterfly centre. It was the only butterfly park I have ever been to that was cooler in the inside than the outside. Usually cameras get steamed up but not in this case. Surprised!!! Anyway the butterflies were interesting but not in any quantity.
We called into the local off-licence on the way back home. By this stage it was 42 deg C and mega hot. I had planned to walk there but that was out of the question. Anyway they recognised me in the shop so no passport registration necessary. I bought four bottles of wine plus four cans of beer for £38. Not bad.

I’ll sleep tonight.

Oh well!!!! Last day in Melbourne. It’s certainly some place and Louise has done me proud. After packing in the morning I headed down to the botanical gardens. It such a magical place with peace and quiet all around. When I was last here a couple of weeks ago the leaves were just turning but now they seem to have passed their best. There were still some in full colour about though. Round the cafe is a lake with lots of picnickers in abundance. I had lunch in the cafe in the sunshine which was very pleasant.

I returned to base to finish off the packing and get my luggage into the car. Louise was working in the office today so I’d arranged to pick her up on Collins and drive to the airport. Melbourne international is nothing to write home about with no automatic check in points so it was queuing for the desk. Anyway that did not take that long. Through security in minutes as you don’t have to take liquids out. That was good. After a quick pint at £9:89 got ready for boarding. The loud speakers are automatic but you can’t hear what’s being said resulting in everybody trying to board the A380 at the same time. Chaos. Why they can’t sort out the simple things is beyond me!!! Full flight so off we went.

Early start today as Louise had planned a run along Melbourne beach at 08:00. Meeting up with a friend called Tina they set off towards St Kilda with Gertie on a 10 K run. I set off towards Melbourne on a gentle stroll. The pathways along the beach are rammed with runners,joggers,cyclists and walkers. Some slow and some going like the wind. It seemed that half of Melbourne had turned out!!!! The sea was busy with canoeists and swimmers all doing their stuff. The pier was busy with fisher men although I’ve never seen anyone catching any fish. One day.

After a very pleasant coffee at the sandbar cafe Louise and I headed back to base with Louise stopping off at Chapel St to look for some work clothes.
In the afternoon we went to see the Mavericks play the Giants at netball at the Australian tennis complex. It’s a very high standard here in Australia. A good game to watch but the Mavericks lost. Rich joined us during the second quarter as he’d been playing hockey.

We had the prawns for dinner that were bought from the fish market yesterday. Delicious. Afterwards we had a walk down to the local Mount Erica hotel for pint. It was completely full with diners and people in the bar. That place does some business on its specials night. Roast Sunday dinner tonight!! They have a really nice beer garden out the back which is heated and you can bring dogs. Build it and they will come.

Interesting day. First went off to the local cafe for some croissants. Plain,chocolate and almond for breakfast. Louise had booked us on a walking tour of Melbourne starting at 10:30 starting at the central library. We went with gertie the dog on the tram. Now you’re not supposed to bring dogs onto the tram for some reason but half way into town the tram was visited by the inspectors. About six of the got on so we evacuated stage left to escape. No harm done.

There must have been about thirty people on the tour from all over the place. Unfortunately I’d been all over the city centre during my stay here so I did not learn much. But if you were a visitor it would be a good way of getting a feel for the city. It ended up at Hamer Hall which in adjacent to Flinders Station.

Rich picked us up by the botanical gardens and we made it across to Footscray fish market. It was well after 14:00 by then and probably a bit too late to visit a fish market as all the good quality fish would have been sold. Nonetheless there was enough to go at. It’s in a Vietnamese part of town and very busy and noisy with the traders shouting to sell their good. We got some clams for dinner plus tiger prawns and some salmon for the freezer. It certainly was a lot cheaper than the supermarket.

Early dinner and then Louise and I popped round the corner to the German club. We were not sure how to get it but they welcomed us. It had a function room and a general restaurant where we went. There was no vegetarian dishes on offer but lots of pork knuckle etc. The beer was not up to much.

Not a lot going on today. I took a walk down to Prahran to get some ingredients for a lentil curry. A funny thing happened to me on the way. I called into a cobblers to buy some laces for my boots. The young guy in the shop and I got talking as you do. After a while he says to me “are you from Bolton?” No denying that but he could tell from my accent. I’m sure I don’t sound I’m from Bolton but he got it right. That’s a first.

Anyway I met up with Louise for lunch and then back to cook the lentils. Nothing exciting but after work Louise and I took Gertie for a walk along the beach. Louise and Rich were out for a birthday party at night so a quiet night in for me. More action tomorrow when we are in the city.

Louise had asked me to make some salmon and prawn burgers for dinner on Friday so I headed down to the supermarket to get the ingredients. I did not take the dog as I was nervous about leaving her outside the shop. Too valuable to leave. A way got back and got stuck into the task. No problem.

In the afternoon I took Girty for a good beach walk along the shore line running from St Kilder. I passed through Brighton and ended up at Sandringham. These areas are the posh end of town where the great and the good commute into Melbourne. Some stunning houses. The beach was deserted but hard work to walk on as the sand was very soft and damp. But we managed.

The Western Bulldogs(The Dogs) were playing Sydney at home tonight so we set off to watch that game. Catching up with Louise along the way. They get vast numbers at these games even though it was midweek. That’s the third Dogs match I’ve been to since I’ve been in Melbourne and they’ve lost everyone. From an outsiders point of view they need to change tactics!!!! But what do I know?

It was a rest day after my exertions of the last few days in Sydney. I worked it out that since the start of May I have averaged 7 miles a day. That’s every day!!!!

So I just listened to the radio and sorted out my photos over the last month. During the afternoon I when to pick up Gertie the dog from one of Louise’s friends. From time to time they look after her. She’s a border collie and a beautiful dog with a very placid character. It took me over two hours to get there and back through the rush hour traffic.

During the morning I made a lemon posset for after dinner. The lemons were from next door’s neighbours garden. Nice.

A bit late posting this but I was travelling yesterday and I’ve only got round to listing it today.

They say you get a different perspective of a place from the sea and so it turned out to be. I walked down to Circular Quay and caught the fast ferry over to Manly which is about 15 minutes away. Andy Burnham take note £.53 per trip. All transport integrated over here. I had a good view of the Opera house and the Bridge.
Manly is a quiet suburb of Sydney and completely laid back. They are all asleep here. The Main Street is pedestrian so it makes it easy to get about. The beach is only 400 m from the ferry terminal with the street lined with shops and cafes. I called into a small cafe called Rollers just off the Main Street for breakfast. Croissant filled with ham and cheese. Tasty. Then off to explore.

The beach is super clean with surfers having a go at various spots along its length. Lots of walkers and runners along the prom. Don’t they do any work here???

Bach to Sydney and to the airport. I got there relatively early so decided to have a beer. £9.85!!!! I swear I will never complain about the prices at Manchester airport ever again. It’s only an hour down to Melbourne and then straight out. There’s a bus to take you to the Southern Cross station ,down town. $23 so not too bad. I got back to Louise’s at around 18:00 and met up with her at the pub round the corner,The Mount Erica. Tuesday is steak night and the bar plus restaurant were packed. Only one pint but enjoyable. Back home for dinner.