Category: Uncategorized

Day 21 Thursday 28th March

Another early start and breakfast this morning, as we wanted to leave early to miss most of the morning rush hour on our way to the airport for my flight to Perth. Check in was a straightforward affair that was mostly automated.

Once check in was complete Graeme, Briony and I stopped for a coffee and a final blether before I went through security, again this went relatively well and I quickly made my way to the departure gate to wait for my 4 hour flight west. For once, everything went to plan and we left on our scheduled departure time and the flight was uneventful, we made good time and arrived 30 minutes early. I was met at the airport by my cousin Betty and her granddaughter Katie and we quickly made our way to the family home in Waikiki a southern suburb of Perth.

It was nice to meet up with them all again and an evening meal round the table was a convivial way to catch up.

Day 22 Friday 29th March

Today being Good Friday with everything in the area closed, we all stayed at home working on Adrienne & Craig’s conversion of their camper van. They recently purchased a fairly new delivery van and have been working to turn it into a home from home. Today they were concentrating on finalising the plumbing and fitting the furniture. Again another family meal rounded off the day.

Day 23 Saturday 30th March

Just as I was leaving Melbourne, a lens fell out of my glasses, so today Betty and I visited Specsavers in nearby Rockingham to get them repaired, after a bit of shopping, we then headed to the beach area to soak up some sun and to have a nice lunch on the promenade, it was good to just sit and watch the world go by. After a drink in one of the local bars, we then caught the bus back home for a well earned afternoon siesta. As Adrienne & Craig had left to try out their camper van over the weekend, we had the place to ourselves for the night.

Day 24 Sunday 31st March

As it was another beautiful day, Betty and I decided to hit the seaside again, this time we visited Madurah using the excellent public transport links. Being Easter Sunday the place was extremely busy with families enjoying themselves, we saw the usual seaside fare, ice cream and fish and chip shops, cruise and fishing boat trips on offer and plenty of eating places. We stopped for lunch in the Brighton Hotel before strolling along the seafront watching the region’s famous black swans. Before leaving for home we finished off the day by enjoying a refreshment in one of the many bars and just watched the boats sailing by. A great day in the sun, we returned home tired but happy.

Day 25 Monday 1st April

I took the chance to visit the Perth CDB today, thinking it would be quiet due to the public holiday, since I was travelling by public transport servvices were reduced, but I still got there in plenty of time.

After a wander tound the city centre to see if any art had been added since my last visit, I took the Red Cat free bus out west to the Mandalarup Bridge to visit Trinity College to see a large mural by Fintan Magee. Once back in the city, I stopped of in a favourite haunt in Globe Lane for some lunch and a refreshment.

I then headed north to Fitzgerald Street and Leederville to capture images of some fine works, again by Fintan and another of my favourites, Guido Ban Helten, after a nice cooling frozen yogurt, I then took the bus back into the city to catch the train home. It was a great day out in a city I really like.

Day 26 Tuesday 2nd April

A real early start this morning for Adrienne to drive Betty and I to the station to catch the 6:30 train into the city for our pick up for a day tour down to the Margaret River area.

Our first stop was at the town of Busselton, home of the southern hemisphere’s longest wooden jetty at 1.81 metres long, unfortunately we weren’t there long enough to get out to the end either by walking or by the little train it would have been interesting as there is an underwater observatory at the end.

Continuing south, we stopped for lunch in the Black Brewery where we sampled some of their beers with our lunch, which was very good, however, the promised wine tasting and production process demonstration did not happen which was a bit disappointing.

Our next stop after lunch was at the Mammoth Cave, a palenetology era limestone cave system, our guide, Lily, was very knowledgeable and entertaining as she explained when and how the many caves in the area were formed.

Finally reaching the most southeasterly point of Australia, we visited Cape Leeuwin, the point where the Souther Ocean meets the Indian Ocean, it was interesting to see the lighthouse and lighthouse keepers cottages and read about how they lived there until fairly recently.

Having reached the end of our journy south, we turned northwards, stopping in the town of Margaret River for a comfort break and a chance to see this nice little town before the long slog back to Perth. As it happened we stopped at a roadhouse at Baldivis, which is near to Adrienne’s house so we got off the bus there to be collecte rather than going into the city and getting the train back down again.

This was a brilliant day and a wonderful way to see a part of the world I had never visited before. I’m so glad Betty suggested it and I enjoyed her company during thd day.

Day 27 Wednesday 3rd April

As Adrienne was off work today, Betty and I joined her in another road tfip, this time to go see the Thomas Dambo Giants of Mandurah.

This collection of giant wooden sculptures made from recycled timber were very impressive. They are situated around the city of Mandurah and we were able to visit 4 of the during our day, the first one, named Jyttes Hytte, was spotted hugging a. Tree in the Yalgorup National Park, near Lake Clifton, where we also visited the Thrombolites a natural phenomenon of calcium carbonite micro-organisms found only there. Our next stop was to a place called Wannanup to see the giant called Seba’s. Song, this giant was very impressive seen sitting spit of land overlooking the entrance into Austin Bay, it was just a pity that we weren’t able to get a frontal shot of this one. An added attraction whilst we were there was watching a group of dolphins playing in the bay, they really looked like thy were having fun putting on a display.

Our next stop was along the coast to Koolyiningap (Halls Hill) to see Santi Kinto sitting high on the hill, arms outspread in a happy pose. To visit our final stop of the day, we travelled to Coodanup to see Yaburgurt Winjan Cirkelstone, this giant lying on the ground is in a playground on the shore, there were many families there and the children loved climbing all over him.

This was a great day out, a brilliant way to see yet another part of the country and to learn a little about the stories of each of the giants, I was so grateful to Adrienne and Betty for taking me to see them.

In the evening, Betty, Adrienne, Cameron, Georgia, Katie and I went for a meal and a few drinks in the Piper’s Inn in Rockingham, it was strange to see so many of our local Scottish beers on tap, I enjoyed the Tennent’s Stout in draft for, something we don’t get at home. They even have Buckfast on their wine list I was told that it is not so popular. All credit goes to Betty who had the haggis and Cameron who tried the bangers and mash in a yorkie for the first time, I stuck to the traditional Aussie Parmi. A great night to help finish off my trip to Perth.

Day 28 Thursday 4th April

Nothing much happening today, laundry time again, packing my case again, finishing off the blog post and just resting up to recharge my batteries to prepare for the next couple of weeks in Vietnam.

Day 16 Saturday 23rd March

A nice sunny day today, so i decided tp take a trip into the city. My first stop was the Queen Victoria Market to do a bit of shopping and to grab some lunch, I opted for a Tibetan chicken fried rice dish, boy was it good, but a little spicy.

My next stop was on the south bank to get a bit of the vibe from the F1 race, they certainly brought some of the buzz into the city, with racing simulators, display cars and team merchandising stands.

Federation Square was my next stop, where the Melbourne Food and Wine festival was being held, more live bands on stage and plenty of food on offer (I couldn’t find the wine though), whilst in the square, I popped into ACMI, which I had visited last year, but unfortunately it was getting ready to close so I went next door to the NGV, where there was a display by the Williams Racing team with more race car simulators and all sorts of interactive activities, it was great fun.

As I was in the area, I nipped into the Duke of Wellington pub for a nice pint of White Rabbit dark ale (an Australian favourite of mine) before catching the train home.

Day 17 Sunday 24th March

An early start this morning to enable me to get into town to catch a train to Geelong, the journey from Southern Cross station took just over an hour and was very pleasant and comfortable. On arrival at South Geelong station, I made my way to the Admiralty Inn, my accommodation for the night, at first glance it looked like the type of place Jack Reacher would use, despite being early, I checked into my room and scoped it out, declaring it perfect for purpose, I left for a stroll around town.

Heading initially for the waterfront, once there, I discovered that I had arrived at the finish of an Iron Man competition, it was great fun watching them all coming in, there certainly was a buzz in the area in the sunshine. A quick stop in the tourist information office to pick up a map, and a chat about the local facilities led me to further wanderings to discover a great deal of good street art, one I especially liked was one titled “To the Unknown Mariner” by Cam Scale, it really is a spectacular piece, although my photograph does not present it in the best light.

After a nice lunch in a place called Laksa & Beer, I continued my walk eventually ending up in the Naval Association of Geelong for a beer, a chat with the lads who were there and to watch the final stages of the Formula One race. It was a nice day, but feeling a bit tired and with my phone battery running low, I decided to return to the hotel for a late afternoon siesta.

In the evening, I made the mistake of not checking their website for opening hours, and headed out towards the Little Creatures brewery for dinner, to find it closed. I eventually found a bar nearby and got a late dinner and a beer before returning to the hotel tired after a great day in the city of Geelong.

Day 18 Monday 25th March

After checking out of the hotel and a quick breakfast in town, I set off wandering again. My first stop was the city library where I had been told there was a viewing platform on its dome shaped roof, unfortunately a private party had booked it for the morning and I was told to return in the afternoon.

I returned to the waterfront, here I decided to photograph some of the 100 or so painted and sculpted bollards along the shore. It was great to just stroll leisurely along the seaside it was such a good holiday feeling, i stopped off at one of the beach pavilions for lunch before heading back into town to visit the library.

The viewing platform was open and it gave me a nice view of the city. Whilst in the area, i went into the State Government Office to see a spectacular large 50 metre mosaic mural depicting the history of Geelong, before stopping for a coffee in the Arts Centre, the coffee was good in the stylish cafe which matched the funky outside of the building. I then visited the Art Gallery, enjoying looking at the art on display in an air conditioned atmosphere.

All cultured out I headed back ito the town centre, again intending to visit the Little Creatures Brewery for dinner and a pint before heading for home, however I was disappointed to find that they only open Wednesday to Sunday, so I caught the teain back into Melbourne where I went back to Chinatown for a really good Laksa curry and a beer before getting the train home, unfortunately due to work on the line, the train stopped short, but Graeme stepped up and came to collect me.

I was glad to be home, but I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Geelong, i felt just like a seaside break in a nice place I wouldn’t hesitate to visit again.

Another feature of the city I was told about were the Bollards dotted along the shoreline created from salvaged timber piles. During my stay I managed to photograph quite a few you can read more about them and see my photographs of them on my Geelong Bollards page

Day 19 Tuesday 26th March

I returned to Frankston today to take photographs of the completed murals that were done for this year’s Big Picture festival, it was good to see them all finished. When I first visited, last Monday, I met Tinky, a miniaturist working on one of her pieces, I then went in search for some others and managed to find a few more. After a lunch of one of Australia’s favourites, a Chicken Parma, I headed for home to spend some time relaxing in the garden with my book.

Day 20 Wednesday 27th March

For my last full day in Melbourne, we drove to Beaumaris to collect Pat & Kay then went into the city to the Melbourne Museum to visit the Titanic: The Artefacts Exhibition which features more than 200 real artefacts, recovered directly from the wreck site, there even was a sample iceberg on display.

Once we received our boarding passes, we were taken on a journey from the beginning when the ship was planned and built through to its fateful maiden voyage we all know how it ended. There were sample cabins, showing the stark difference £117,500 for a 1st class ticket compared to £1,050 for a 3rd class ticket. Each of us received a boarding pass, detailing the particulars of a passenger, Graeme, Briony, Pat & Kay’s passengers were located in 1st & 2nd class and all survived the sinking, however my passenger Austin Boyer Van Billiard, who was in 3rd class with his 2 young sons didn’t survive. This and many of the stories were particularly harrowing.

On leaving the exhibition, we had a nice lunch in the museum cafe before visiting the Dinosaur Exhibition with its giant skeletons on display. We returned home after exiting through the gift shop after a great day out.

For a farewell dinner we met Pat &Kay, Sean, Moni with Jensen & Ollie for a lovely Japanese dinner in the Japan Inn in Beaumaris before going back to P&K’s house nearby. Unfortunately Andrew and Sheree are away on holiday so couldn’t be there. It was sad to say goodbye to them, they are such a lovely family and I will miss them, but I will no doubt see them all again next year.

Day 21 Thursday 28th March

Up with the lark, or it’s Australian equivalent, to leave to catch my 12:50 flight to Perth, we left early to try and miss the rush hour traffic on the highway, this paid off and we arrive at the correct time to check in, we then stopped in one of the airport cafes for breakfast before saying goodbye to Graeme and Briony and going through security.

Day 9 Saturday 16th March

Briony had a Vaccine yesterday and woke this morning feeling decidedly the worse for wear, so it was a boys day out for us. We took the train into town, busy with the footy supporters heading to the MCG, we travelled further to the. Abbotsford suburb to visit Dutch Vinyl, one of Graeme’s favourite record stores. Shopping complete, we then visited the Abbotsford Convent, an old convent complex that has been transformed into an arts space, it was nice to stroll round the grounds, read about the history of the place and have a nice lunch in one of the many cafes in the grounds. On our way back into town we stopped off for a refreshing pint in Bodriggy, a brewery/pub along the lines of Drygate in Glasgow. We continued along Johnstone Street, our wandering taking us into Collingwood where we caught some good street art along the way, revisiting some old favourites such as the Keith Harringay mural. As we were in the area, I took the chance to take Graeme to visit Easey’s bar/diner, climbing to one of the old trains on the roof for another refreshing beer.

A tram back to Flinders Street to catch the train home saw us meeting the footy crowds on their way home, we were glad to be back in the cool of the house and finished off the day with a nice Japanese meal at home.

Day 10 Sunday 17th March

The big excitement for today the return trip to the MCG this time to watch Graeme’s team, the Melbourne Demons, play the Western Bulldogs. What I found interesting was the amount of families there, making a fun day out for them all, with supporters of both teams sitting together in the stands. The stadium wasn’t full but with a crowd of over 40,000 there were plenty to create an exciting atmosphere, it’s good watching on TV but when you actually see the size of the stadium it’s really something to watch the game in real life. Each game is split into 4 quarters and at half time I was able to sample a Four’n’Twenty pie and a pint, the pie was very good, similar to the famous Killie pie. After the match, we visited the Demons Store, where Graeme and I picked up some merchandise before joining the crowds on the train home. A quick stop for some shopping then home for a nice dinner from Saki Souvlaki, a local Greek deli, which Briony supports.

Day 11 Monday 18th March

I struck it lucky this year, as each year the nearby town of Frankston has a big street art festival, which I always seem to miss. However this year’s festival started today. I thought I would take a trip down on the train to see if I could catch the sight of the murals created last year, which I missed. I visited the tourist information office, where I picked up a map showing the location of them all, so off I trotted to capture photographs of them all, as usual, I was impressed with the quality of the works. During my time in the town I met up with some of the artists who are painting the murals for this years festival, It was nice to have a chat with them and it looks as though their work will be very good. I am looking forward to going back to see them again later in the week. As it was so warm, I decided to return home early in the afternoon to enable me to chill out and catch up with my book.

Day 12 Tuesday 19th March

A day in the city was my outing for the day, I took the train to the Southern Cross station and walked up to the Stella Maris in Little Collins Street where I met up with Lee Anne, the manager who I met last year, we had a nice chat about the future proposed amalgamation of the missions in Melbourne. Leaving there, stopped off for lunch before, continuing into the Docklands area to visit the Flying Angel, another seafarers mission to hear their side of the story of a proposed plans, interesting times ahead for them both I think.

Crossing the river onto the South Bank I enjoyed seeing all the Formula One merchandise outlets as I strolled along, there was also a display of some crazy cars, I especially liked the Thomas the Tank engine van, I continued along the South Bank until I come to St Kilda road, stopping off in the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) where I spent some time admiring the displays.

On leaving the gallery, I took a tram down to St Kilda, I was meeting Graeme & Briony later, so I spent some time on the hunt for some street art, finding a good few. Graeme & Briony are both members of a club in one of St Kilda’s bar, The Local Taproom, called Ale Stars. For an annual membership they receive an embroidered shirt, a tankard and locker, they meet once a month when a guest brewer visits to give a talk about four beers being sampled, a meal is served and there is also a beer related trivia quiz during the evening. We were joined on the night by Simon, one of Briony’s friends, (he was best man at their Australian wedding), It was a great fun night, one I would love to go to again, just a pity they only have it once a month.

Day 13 Wednesday 20th March

This morning Graeme and I spent some time in his shed, earlier we visited Bunnings, an Australian version of B&Q, to pick up some supplies, before building his laser station and doing a bit of tidying up.

After lunch we. took the train into town to go to the cinema. Graeme had booked tickets to see Dune 2 at the IMAX cinema, it was a fabulous movie, shown on the world’s largest screen of the type (32×23 metres). Leaving the cinema we headed down to Chinatown on Little Burke Street to finish off the day with a nice meal in Chine on Paramount, a typical type of restaurant. This was followed by the train home.

Day 14 Thursday 21th March

A day at home today, I spent most of in the shed, firstly, I tried to repair one of the faulty light fittings, then I powered up the laptop to complete the designs for a job I have to do when I get home.

After lunch, Pat came round to allow me to give him a demonstration of the laser and its use. He came with a wooden bowl he had turned at his men’s shed and some gumwood slices Kay wanted a design added to. Pat told me of some young children who joined both their names into one word Patakay, which allowed me to design a logo using the concept, adding a guitar rosette to finish it off, once we had lasered it onto the base of his bowl, we then added an Easter Bunny to Kay’s wood slices. He left delighted with his products.

While on the laptop, I booked a hotel room in nearby Geelong for Sunday night. I’m looking forward to visiting the city for a couple of days.

Day 15 Friday 22 March

A quiet day at home, catching up with my laundry, sorting out the blog and getting ready for a. Busy weekend and week ahead. Tonight we are going down to Frankston for a street party to mark the end of the street art festival, a trip into town on Saturday to catch some of the buzz around the Formula One race then my trip away to Geelong on Sunday. Read all about it next week.

It is becoming a bit of a habit, Jim came to stay last night, a nice meal and a few drinks before retiring for the night to get up early this morning to drop me off at the airport for my flight to Melbourne. I was a wee bit disappointed that I couldn’t use the Emirates lounge, so i settled myself at the departure gate and whiled away the time with my book.

The first stage of the journey, Glasgow to Dubai on an Emirates Airbus 380, went reasonably well considering I had a boisterous 2 and half year old boy next to me, having great fun kicking me for most of the 7 hour flight. On arriving at Dubai we were put into a holding pattern for an hour, I wasn’t too worried about this as a had a potential 2 hour stop over, but I could empathise with the mother next to mewho was left with 20 minutes to catch her flight to Bangladesh.

The stand out movie on this flight was Oppenheimer, a very enjoyable way to pass some time.

My shortened stopover went quickly, and again I was dissapointed not to be able to use the Business Class lounge I was looking forward to. Once through the 2 stages of security, we boarded yet another A380 bound for Melbourne, this flight was not full which meant there were a few empty seats and I was able to grab a full row to sprawl out on to try to get a decent sleep, no matter how I try, I can never sleep on a plane so it was back to my book and a movie for me.

The standout movie on this flight was alike a blast from the past, Indiana Jones and the dial of Destiny, a real boys own adventure story to while away the hours.

Being used to the process by now, I got through passport control, picked up my luggage and was met by Graeme and Briony in double quick time. We then hit the road and reached their new home in Bonbeach, arriving around 1:00 in the morning, after a chat to catch up we all hit the sack, despite not having had any sleep during my 24 hour journey, I found it had to switch off, drift off I eventually did, only to waken around 7:00 am ready to face a new day in another continent.

Day 1 Friday 8th March

Graeme and Briony’s new house is really nice and it looks like they have found their forever home, tons of space with a very functional layout and a nice garden, after breakfast, it was nice to just sit in the morning sun catching up with the news. To let me see some of the local area, we all took Joffrey a walk before heading to their local shops in Chelsea to pick up some shopping and to let me get a new travel card, it was then back to the house for lunch followed by more relaxing in the sun with my book for me. Due to some slight jet lag, I had a quiet day relaxing with my book, eventually around 8:00 pm the tiredness hit me so I had an early night.

Day 2 Saturday 9th March

Today it was very warm (over 35 degrees), after breakfast I sat in the garden in the shade, but could only manage about a half hour before calling it quits, even my iPad shut down due to overheating. In the afternoon Pat and Kay called over and it was so It was nice to see them again and spend some time catching up.

I had a slightly different experience in the evening, Graeme and I drove to the Thornberry area to see the Teenage Fan Club, in the Croxton Band Room, they one of Graeme’s favourite bands. We got there early, stopped off for a beer before going to 1800 Lasagne for a nice meal before the gig. We had a great time listening to the band and met up with some of his mates. It seemed a wee bit strange to have travelled so far to go and see a band from Bellshill.

Day 3 Sunday 10 March

The extremely warm temperatures continued today, so it was a day for relaxing at home with the air conditioning turned up. Briony and Joffrey went out early in the morning for one of Joffrey’s scent dog classes, something he really loves and excels at, on their return, Graeme and I walked round to their local farmers market, it was good to see, but after a short while we felt it was too warm so returned home to the cool house.

In the evening when it was a bit cool we took Joffrey down to the nearby beach, where he had great fun running into the sea, it really was a great way to end the day, cooling off watching the sun set over the city.

Day 4 Monday 11th March

Today I ventured into the city to pick up a SIM card for my phone, I visited Southern Cross Station for a timetable for the Geelong trains, which I intend visiting later, and to pop into the nearby Stella Maris Seafarers Centre, I was surprised by the stunning new mural but Damien Mitchell which has just been completed, it was nice to relax in pleasant surroundings chatting with the staff and volunteers. After a quick lunch, a stroll around town, I had a pot of beer before returning home in time for dinner.

Day 5 Tuesday 12th March

The weather was much milder today, which gave me a chance to just chill out with my book on the sun deck in the morning, after lunch I got out one of Graeme’s computers to allow me to design a wee job I have to do on my return. Initial designs done, we then set up his laser machine to do some trial cuts. In the evening after dinner, Graeme and Briony went out to a Pink gig, which they said was spectacular and possibly the best gig they had ever attended. Joffrey and I were given the task of looking after the house, it was good to have a cool chill out day after the extreme heat of the last few days, although I am glad to be away from the cold and rain.

Day 6 Wednesday 13th March

After breakfast Graeme and I disappeared to catch the train to Richmond where we had a walk around looking at the street art in the area and to visit a book store, which is obligatory for Graeme, before heading to the Corner Hotel for a nice lunch. We then headed up to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the MCG, where we had a pre-booked tour of this amazing Stadium, our guide, Jill, provided us with an enjoyable tour which took us from the pitch level all the way to the tippy-top, as she called it, where we could see the extent of this massive stadium with its 100,024 capacity. From the top of the stadium we then worked our way down through the different levels where we were shown the players areas, the television broadcast rooms, the reporters areas, then finally the changing rooms and interview areas. It certainly was a memorable visit.

Returning home via the city, stopping off for some shopping from the local shops, we were glad that Briony came to pick us up as we were both pretty played out.

Day 7 Thursday 14th March

This was one of the days where I go walk about looking for new street art, i had read of a new piece by one of both Jim and I’s favourites, Dan Kitchener. Located in a suburb called Sunshine West, meant that i had a fair journey to get there, starting off with a train into a part of the city called Footscray, another train and bus got me to an industrial estate where the mural was located. The work certainly was worth the effort getting there, created by Dan, Damien Mitchell and Heesco, it surely brightens up a bland area. Whilst there, I discovered that the mural was sponsered by a guy called ‘Duke’, who runs the local Loop spray paint operation, so I popped in for a chat with him, hearing his story about the roots of hip hip and graffiti in Melbourne reminded me of Glasgow’s Gaz Mac. Duke pointed out some other good works in the area, so off I headed to seek them out, finding some good pieces by the likes of Matt Adnate and more from Heesco plus one by the lad recommended by Duke, ‘Itstandsout’ in Footscray.

Returning to the city, I met up with Graeme in the Windsor Castle hotel after his work for a pint before returning to Chelsea for dinner before heading for home.

Day 8 Friday 15th March

Today I had arranged to meet Sean, a guy who is a regular Facebook poster on groups that I follow along with many members of our Association. Briony dropped me off at his house which is close to theirs, around midday and I spent a nice afternoon with him and a few of his old seafaring mates, it was good fun trading stories.

In the evening Graeme collected me from Sean’s and we returned home before heading out again for dinner with the Cullin clan at the Cheltenham RSL, it was great to see them all again and to see how much the children have grown since my last visit, Andrew however couldn’t be there as he was working away, as usual we were all busy chatting hat we forgot to take a group photograph. It was yet another nice day.

As we are leaving Singapore in the early hours of the morning and will be travelling for quite some time, I will be unable to post the final instalment of our travel blog until I get home, so watch this space.

Sunday 4th September

For our first full day in day in Sydney, we wandered down George Street intending to get a train to North Sydney, however, due to repair work we ended up going to Circular Quay to catch a ferry to Milsons Point near Luna Park, this took us to Kirribilli, where Graeme stayed when he lived in Sydney many years ago. After a nice coffee and pastry there, we then walked back to the city via the iconic Harbour Bridge, despite it being a little windy on the bridge, it provided great views of the harbour and the city.

The city side of the bridge took us back to The Rocks where we stopped for lunch in the busy market being held there. The morning’s weather was wonderful and we eventually got to a ’taps aff’ situation before it started raining, the only shelter we could find was in a pub, this time the Mercantile Hotel, this was an Irish bar and there were 2 guys, Martin and Shaun, playing some great tunes, so good in fact that we spend the afternoon in the company of a bunch of nice people before heading back to the hotel for a wee rest. I was pleased to see that a piece by Vhils was still in place in the Rocks.

We had a choice of places to go for dinner, but ended up heading north to Surry Hills to visit Hotel Harry which is an old haunts of mine, as expected the food, beer and ambiance was just right for us, a nice leisurely stroll back downtown finished off another great day.

Monday 5th September

I got up early this morning to catch a ferry up river to meet my cousin Betty and her daughter Fiona. Jim stayed behind to go on a tour of the Opera House, intending to join us later. The trip up river on one of the fast river catch ferries was a pleasant way to spend a morning. After lunch at my cousins house we went down to the famous Sydney Rowing Club at Abbotsford, where we met up with Jim after his Opera House tour, later in the evening the rest of the family arrived and we had a lovely family meal. After dinner we returned to the ferry wharf, there were a bunch of guys fishing off the wharf, it was fun to see one of then land a whopper. The trip back down the river was quick and easy, it was great to see the city ablaze with lights.

Jim told us that his tour of the Opera House was very interesting and informative, especially since they have just completed the renovation of the concert halls, this was due to the 50th year celebrations and to provide better acoustics and accessibility. After a stop for lunch, Jim caught a ferry from Circular Quay to join at Abbotsford.

Tuesday 6th September

Another early start for us this morning as we went to catch the bus for our Blue Mountain Tour, unfortunately we had selected the last pickup point and the time we boarded it was pretty full. We then quickly made our way out of the city to our first stop at the Featherdale Wildlife Park, this park was interesting but very similar to the one we stopped at in Melbourne, this gave us the chance to have a quick morning cuppa.

We then headed up into the mountain region stopping at Scenic World where we experienced 3 different cable cars and funicular railways, Jim bottled out on riding on the cable car roof, but he did take a good photograph, all of this is situated around an old mining region which afforded us some spectacular views of the rainforest and the 3 sisters rock formations, we then stopped of at the Echo Falls Viewpoint for even more views.

We returned towards the city sropping at the Olympic Park area to catch a ferry back to Darling Harbour. We returned to the hotel for a chance to recharge (ourselves and phones) before heading out to a Japanese Ramen restaurant on Liverpool Street, for a nice meal, a pint in a pub across the road finished it all off. As Wallace and Grommet would say, we had ‘a grand day out’.

Wednesday 7th September

After a fun morning trying to get the microwave working in our apartment we made our way to Town Hall station to catch one of the double decker trains to Bondi Junction where we hoped to meet Dan’s Challenge to find a Starbucks and Lego Store everywhere we go, we were successful in both. Jim thought it was unusual to sit upstairs on on one of Sydney’s double decker trains. We found the Lego Store easily but were a wee bit disappointed that there was nothing specific to Sydney or Australia in store, after taking a few photographs and having a look around we boarded a bus to Bondi Beach.

It was wonderful at the beach, the sun shone and the water was warm, we both took off our shoes and socks, rolled up our trousers and went for a paddle, the only thing missing was the knotted hankie hat, we strolled along the shore watching all the surfers, settled on the beach for a bit of sun bathing before heading along to the North Bondi RSL for a well earned beer and lunch. Another stroll along the promenade with a brilliant ice cream before heading back to the city on the bus, it was another great way to spend a day.

Once back in the city we went over the Pyrmont bridge to find a laundry for us to visit in the morning, later in the evening we visited the nearby Lal Qila Indian restaurant for a really good meal, then returned to the hotel weary but happy to have had a good day.

Thursday 8th September

An early start for me as I delivered our bag of laundry, (to be collected later), while Jim had his breakfast, we then decided that as it was much warmer, that it was time to break out the shorts. Bags packed we then went down to catch the ferry to Manly Beach for another day of sun, sand and surf. We caught a ferry to Manly and after crossing over to the beach side we quickly discovered the it was much windier than expected, so it wasn’t a day for lounging on the sands, spotting a little sheltered looking bay in the distance, off we went to find Shelly Beach, a nice little spot with a convenient bistro where we sat for a coffee and cake break. There was some interesting wildlife in the area, there loads of Gulls, Australian Brush-turkeys, and we even came across a 6 foot Diamond Python sunning itself on the rocks at the side of the path and we even saw 2 water dragons having a territorial battle on the path side.

We decided to make better use of our time, so after a quick lunch, we headed back on the ferry to pay a visit to the Sydney Tower Eye observation deck, this gave us some stunning 360 degree views over the city rooftops. It was soon time to collect our laundry so we crossed the Pyrmont Bridge to do so, while there we came across a good looking Chinese restaurant and decided to call back later for our evening meal, which did live up to expectations. Another good and interesting day.

Friday 9th September

For our last full day in Sydney we ventured out in a rainy morning and travelled by train to Newtown to find Enmore Street, listed as the 24th coolest street in the world, as Dan had informed us. I had visited there in 2018 and the Enmore Theatre was a regular place for Graeme to see bands when he lived in Sydney.

Newtown is indeed a pretty cool place with many independent shops, restaurants and cafés plus the street art scene is very active with plenty of murals by The likes of Fintan Magee, one of my favourite Australian artists. Surprisingly one of the largest murals was painted by AsOne, a Glasgow artist, on the side wall of a house currently owned by a fellow Scot who we met outside, he told us that it may have to be removed later due to cracks in the building. We had a nice lunch on one of the cafés on King Street before heading back into town to visit Chinatown and Paddy’s Market.

In the evening we went to see the Opera House illuminated specially in tribute to Queen Elizabeth, which was very appropriate and impressive. To use up our remaining travel card credit, we took a ferry ride back to Darling Harbour where we stopped off for a nice Italian meal to finish off our stay in Sydney.

Saturday 10th September

An other early start for our flight to Cairns, fully packed and ready to travel, we waited outside the hotel for our car to the airport where we quickly checked in, passed through security then relaxed in the departure lounge for boarding. The flight left a little late but we arrived in time for pickup to Port Douglas around 1 hour further north. The countryside here certainly is much different from our other stops, with sea and beaches on one side of the road, with rainforest and hills on the other, some sections of the road was like driving on the A82 in the west coast of Scotland but with glorious sunshine. Once checked in to the hotel and having unpacked our cases we went for a stroll around the resort before having dinner in the bistro then having a fairly early night

Sunday 11th September

In the morning before breakfast we took a stroll down to the nearby beach, it was as spectacular as you would expect for North Queensland with miles and miles of pristine sand. A quick shuttle bus service took us into Port Douglas town where there was a local market running, we had a nice breakfast with some local food in the market before exploring the town. We eventually ended up at the marina where we were spoiled for choice on Great Barrier Reef tours, we eventually choose one for tomorrow then went for lunch in Paddy’s, a local bar, only to be served by a young couple from Glasgow. Back at the hotel we lounged by the pool, had a swim and relaxed with our books in the sunshine. Whilst in town earlier we did some shopping, which meant that we could have a nice relaxing dinner on the terrace outside our room with a glass of chilled wine to end this phase of our holiday.

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Sunday 28th August

While Saturdays highlight was for Jim driving on the race track, I had one today too, Briony booked a slot for us all on a street art walking tour in her home town of Frankston, we wandered the streets, led by our guide Steve, to discover more than 50 mammoth murals around the city centre from renown street art artists such as Smug, PichiAvo, DVATE, Vesod, Peata Ead, Phat1 and Lady Diva, it was good to hear all of the stories behind the pieces. It is refreshing to see a community embracing street art the way Frankston has, the tourist information website is full of information about it.

After the tour we all went to General Public, a funky restaurant and venue in Frankston for lunch, there was something for all ages under one place, ten pin bowling lanes, digital arcade games, table tennis, and pool tables. Pat was happy to go back there as he was the manager when the building was a timber merchants.

After lunch Jim and I went with Pat and Kay for a drive down the Mornington Peninsular, stopping off at Arthur’s Seat Eagle. This chair lift had us soaring from 315 metres above sea level to take in the spectacular views across Port Phillip Bay, towards the Melbourne city skyline and beyond.

On our return home we ran up the coast road to see just how much Australians love living near the beach, this was another special day for us.

Monday 29th August

As heavy rain and thunderstorms had been predicted, we decided to have a day indoors to rest and recharge our batteries. Jim made the most of this by sitting and watching the Belgian Grand Prix on TV for most of the morning. This continued into the afternoon where we caught up with a coiple of episodes of a series we have been watching. It was indeed a great way to chill out for a bit and to recharge. The turned out to be not as bad as predicted and we also had a nice relaxing lounge about in the yard with Joffrey.

Tuesday 30th August

We were picked up by Pat & Kay this morning and after a stop in their local town of Beaumaris to see the new community mural, before heading to the Bayside Men’s Shed to meet Pat’s mates and have a nice brew and blether, this turned out to be a great place to visit and very interesting.

After lunch in Pat and Kay’s house we paid a visit to Shannon’s, a classic car auction house to see some pretty spectacular vehicles, stopping off at the town of Black Rock to see more new murals. We finished off the day at the Naked Racer Cafe, a cross between a bar and a motorcycle museum, again this was a really great way to spend some time chatting over a couple of beers, we then returned home stopping off at Half Moon Bay to see the wreck of the HMAS Cerberus on the way. Again this was another great day giving us the chance to see parts of Melbourne that most tourists would never see.

Wednesday 31st August

Today we went into the city to follow the city street art walking tour, this self guided tour took us to a number of good locations where quality street art could be found, I had seen many of them when I visited in 2018, but it was good to see all the new additions. After we had finished the tour we found the HER rooftop bar where we had a nice lunch, with really good views across the city

After receiving a text from Dan stating that Gertrude Street in Fitzroy was voted the 2nd coolest Street in the world, Glasgow’s Great Western Road was 3rd, we decided to see how good it really was, we did think that it had a bit of a cool vibe with loads of independent stores, coffee houses and bars. As Fitzroy was near Collingwood we took the opertunity to go and see the tallest mural in the southern hemisphere painted by Matt Adnate, plus one by the American Keith Haring, it certainly was worth the visit.

Once back in the city we went back up to the Night Market to meet Graeme for a bite to eat before returning to Mordialloc, Graeme then took us to his favourite local pub, Mates, where we met Briony for a beer before returning home.

Thursday 1st September

Today we spend most of our time in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens, this was a great place to spend some time, we enjoyed seeing the exotic plants, giant trees and unusual looking birds. Our visit was made more exciting by following an Augmented Reality exhibition called “Seeing the Invisible“, 3 art installations by national and international artists, it made the walk in the park more fun and interactive. We enjoyed our time in the park so much we stopped to have lunch there.

After leaving the park we walked along the St Kilda Road to try and find the elusive tram 35, the city tour one, to no avail. After a pint we decided to wander along Flinders Street to find some very good street art around the Southern Cross Station, some I had seen before but there was plenty of new ones on display.

We returned to the city centre via the south bank, where we had a bit of fun trying to see the Crown Hotel’s rooftop bar and restaurant, I don’t think we were wearing the right clothes to enter. We decided then to go back to a new/old favourite, The Duke for our dinner, however a message from Graeme directed us towards Curtin House and their rooftop bar, this was a good choice as the food and beverages met our needs and the city with the skyscrapers all lit up look really spectacular. The train journey back to Mordialloc gave us a chance to rest our weary legs after so much walking. Another great day.

Friday 2nd September

For our last full day in Melbourne we stayed local to Graeme’s taking a walk into and around Mordialloc stopping off for lunch on Main Street. A bracing walk on the beach and a pint in the Bridge Hotel topped off a nice day.

In the evening we went for dinner in True South in Black Rock, the venue where Graeme and Briony had their Australian wedding 11 years ago, Graeme and Briony looked so happy to see us all there again, thankfully this time we weren’t wearing our kilts. It was a great way to say goodbye to them and Pat and Kay, we then returned home in time to watch Melbourne play Sydney in the AFL, a game Jim has come to enjoy.

Saturday 3rd September

An early start this morning to get ready for our departure to Sydney, after breakfast and a check around the house to see if we had left anything, we drove to Melbourne Airport and quickly checked in and went through security before settling down to wait for our flight.

On arrival we were met by Russell our driver and taken to the Adina Hotel, in Darling Harbour, the hotel and room is perfectly adequate for our needs and is well within walking distance of all the sights.

After checking in we went for a wander heading for the Circular Quay and the Opera House, we stopped at the Munich Brauhaus in an area known as The Rocks for some dinner in a German styled beer hall, the food and ambiance was very good. The harbour area looks very good at night with the area sparkling with lights, we even had a fireworks display in Darling Harbour on our return to the hotel. This was a nice way to end our second week in Australia.

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