All-Australian Experience

I hadn’t expected this to be as much of a holiday as it is so far turning out to be. We’ve spent the most of the last few days in planes and cars, baptising the man to true Aussie experiences. On the first day we made it to the beach (albeit only the sand, the water wasn't too inviting), on the second a barbie with my friends, on the third we flew to Sydney and climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. An All-Australian experience for our first few days. At this point it finally rained, leaving him questioning the insults he receives about the weather in the UK, but it made the walk up the steel pylons all the more adventurous!

We’ve been treated to gorgeous seafood spreads and this morning a tropical fruit spread with fresh croissants before heading to the airport to fly back to Melbourne. We also saw Australian animals (and more) at the Taronga Zoo and swam in the beach at Noosa. We were completely spoiled in Brisbane with seafood followed by sparkling wine in the hot tub and a swim in the outdoor pool in the morning.



A giraffe with Sydney in the background (!). We went for lunch in the viewing tower you might be able to make out in the distance. Don't bother unless you are just going for the seafood. It's ok but I'm not a huge fan of buffets at the best of times, I like the choice but hate that the lack of focus that usually means most things aren't great, or that they have been sitting in the warmer for hours. The view is lovely though. I did get to introduce the man to some Aussie desserts though: Lamingtons, Cherry Ripe Slice, Caramel Slice. Unfortunately not the greatest examples of these, I might have to make some with the kids over Christmas.

The only blip in our fabulous Northern side trip was this:


He was actually ON the toilet roll when I started to pull it. Needless to say, I screamed. I don't mind spiders, unless they surprise me in a small room at such close quarters. I was just grateful I had only just closed the door and could escape quickly!! (And that there was another toilet in the house.)

Back in Melbourne, we've got a few fancy meals planned while we're here. Taking advantage of the fact that nice restaurants are slightly cheaper here than restaurants of a similar quality in London. Tomorrow night we're off to Vue de Monde, given the Best Restaurant in Melbourne for 2007 title. As we can't try them all we might as well try the best!