Photos from NSW

steers at the cattle station (these dudes were big!)

dunes at sunrise

working on Roger and Janice's "Taj Mahal"

more dunes

the admiral(weather girl)  and janice doing their radio show

Back to NSW

We made another country -link train /coach adventure last week to visit with our friends Janice and Roger in Coolongolook, These best laid  plans always seem to have a little unexpected adventure thrown in,this one was no exception with a 5am text explaining that our train had got stuck in front of an overpass bridge in which a truck had become jammed,but no fears ,coaches would be laid on.In fact the transport detours and transfers worked well,but the journey became considerably longer.
It was also an extremely wet week in Queensland and NSW,but we were lucky enough to miss all of the floods. For me this was a wonderful land locked week re-connecting with my creative ,tactile and  earth-loving pursuits .For example, Janice and I had one day where we were up before dawn clambering some enormous dunes ready for the sunrise,the light and shadows for photography are sensational in those early hours.Next was breakfast with her friend Jackie and then onto 4 hours of pottery. We met the guys at a waterfront restaurant in a town called Tea Gardens for lunch ,I had oysters ,champagne and desert ,then a nap and it was time to return to another beach for photography at sunset.
I spent a few more days  watching kangaroos from the porch whilst eating breakfast plus taking as much opportunity as possible immersed in clay and glazes also.
Janice volunteers as a DJ at the local radio station for 4 hours a week, so I had a new experience by accompanying her  twice ,helping to choose music from the 60's ,70's and also by reading the hourly weather forecasts and the community announcements.Meanwhile Michael and Roger we're very busy this week touring  the countryside including a farm and an excellent wine and cheese sampling at the Vista del este vineyard plus working hard on the new art studio for Janice, as you will be able to see in some of the photos.
Time went by quickly and it was time to brave the trains and coaches for our return to Brisbane.

Museums,wifi and good eats in Brisbane

The "beach" downtown Brisbane













Enjoying lunch at Govinda's
Farmer's Market at New Farm










South Bank Brisbane

Queensland Public Library










Finally on friday we discovered the state library of Queensland, free fast wifi,with printing facilities,air-conditioning,water fountains and toilets plus plenty of comfy seating ,now our Internet work has become a pleasure. There is free wifi also at the very airy and comfortable art museum next to this library on the south bank.
Whilst exploring Brisbane we found A delicious, vegetarian ,Indian restaurant (with free second helpings) ,they served a most refreshing Ginger and mint lemonade, I am recommending Govinda's on Elizabeth street. It is always a bonus for me to be able to choose anything from the menu ( for those who don't know me, I'm a vegetarian). We managed to find a Nespresso section in the department store at the Myer centre ,so I had a free coffee tasting while purchasing more capsules (another item off my "to do" list.)
The second Saturday in the month is the market at the powerhouse in New Farm ,a suburb of Brisbane .Farmers markets are one of my favourite pastimes wherever we travel . This one was a real treat, a very large Market with a great variety of choices, I like to buy local produce and I love being able to taste my produce before I buy it,and the bonus is that breakfast can be eaten from all the tastings,I tried dragon fruit for the first time. When strolling down the south bank of the river here in Brisbane I was impressed yet again with the way Australia is so family orientated,providing so many free opportunities for families to spend time together,and they do. We saw a small man made beach, with pools and water features for families to come and cool off and picnic in.Every city has a botanical garden which is beautifully kept with shade and large green spaces that are very user friendly,plenty of benches plus paths inviting you to walk, cycle,picnic etc.
We have had the free tour in each of the state and federal parliaments ,New South Wales,Victoria, Canberra and today Queensland.
Brisbane like Melbourne has a free city loop bus also , it runs every 15 mins ,so you can jump on and off at all your tourist sites. We have seen most of what this city has to offer.

What do we do all day?

For my first week here it rained solidly,so we spent our days spring cleaning from the inside out on 'Callisto.' This included washing all the furniture covers, ( the best tip I gleaned from the Dusseldorf boat show was to place the cushion covers back on to the cushions whilst they are partly wet,this has made this chore so much easier) washing all linens,headliners , waxing and polishing wood and steel etc.etc
This has all been possible because we are in the Dockside Marina on the Brisbane river and have unlimited water and power ( thank goodness for air- conditioning ,it's humid and hot here)
Another chore ,was sitting in maccas,( the Oz name) they seem to have free wifi worldwide, trying to log on to slow Internet,this is one of the lesser pleasures of the cruising life, we have been trying to send our Sail Indonesia rally forms now for days,but due to the size of the file,photos ,docs etc we really need a good connection. Patience is a requirement! We have purchased a few books and need to start planning our route north through the great barrier reef, we need to be in Darwin around the beginning of July,so we will leave here close after the first week of April.

Admiral's diary in Europe

After the captain left mid - February I had 2 weeks to visit and catch up with old friends and family before leaving for Brisbane.I divided my time between London with my sister Susan, Amersham with my parents,Rome with our youngest daughter Josette and Strood with Jess ,Ben and our baby granddaughter Sydney,plus an overnight visit with Phil and Sandra ( Bens parents)in the village of Wisborough Green.
London......
Trying new restaurants is a delicious hobby Susan and I always practice on my trips home to England,so these last 2 weeks with lunches and dinners we went to the following...
The Bull and Last,Pollen Street Social,Opera Tavern,Dabbous, Wright Brothers Soho ,Danesfield House,and for nostalgia the Ritz and Fortnum and Masons.
Josette and I also followed the same practice and tried many new restaurants in Rome .this was also my catch up time with many of the award winning movies this season,here are my thoughts.....
The Help, I found disappointing ,but worth seeing,the book is much better.
Hugo, interesting I would recommend .
The Artist, I found the first 10 mins slow and then became captivated.Well worth seeing,an interesting observation was that for the first time in a long while the audience in the cinema was silent ,and well mannered throughout the movie, no munching of popcorn or slurping of drinks,a wonderful experience.
The Iron Lady, well worth seeing,this movie brought tears to my eyes a few times,somehow the 1980's passed me by ( probably because this was the decade I was pregnant with or nursing our 5 children) I had forgotten what a remarkable woman Margaret Thatcher was ,and how turbulent England had been,a wonderful portrayal .
The Descendents ,worth seeing. George is delicious rather like good wine.
Moneypit, a good plane or DVD movie.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,a quintessential English movie, a great cast,most enjoyable.
I did manage a couple of plays plus an excellent David Hockney exhibition at the Royal academy.
Susan and I went for the first time to London fashion week at Somerset house, a must for shoppers,allow plenty of time as there are bargains to pick up.
Rome......
This was my first visit to Rome,I had 2 days pouring cats and dogs and 2 days with perfect blue sky and sunshine.so with contrasting weather Josie and I explored this magnificent city,she had already been to many of the sights ,so she was an excellent tour guide passing on all sorts of interesting information.On all my travels so far ,I have not seen so much history in one city,rather overwhelming,I need to return and take it more slowly. We were lucky that Ruth( the captains sister) and Stef (a native Roman )were there at the same time so we had a very special night tour of the city.check josettes blog ( jositaly.blogspot.com)
Strood.....
What can I say,having a baby granddaughter is one of the most wonderful experiences,I loved every moment I was with her,it was so very hard to say goodbye to Jess and Ben who have become wonderful parents and little Sydney, knowing that the next time I see her she will be 9 months old, crawling around no doubt.
As is the way, I am always having to say goodbye,until the next time.This is the hardest part of leading this amazing traveling life.