After a leisurely breakfast, Alec and I checked out of the hotel. We went to lunch at the Inner Light Tea Rooms with Lisa and Alan before heading back to Sydney.
The tea house is on the site of the old light house and has amazing views of the bays.
Lisa and Alan and their root beer spiders.
Magpie on the lookout.
Mmmm quiche.
Tasty scones.
This little fellow caught a worm right at my feet. Having people around didn’t bother him in the slightest.
We both slept badly, so had a big sleep in, then drove down to Fingal Bay to spend a cruisy day lying on the beach.
By a total co-incidence, Alec’s dad and his wife were staying at the same hotel as us, so we met up with them for dinner that night. After dinner we went down to the marina at Solder’s Point to watch the sun set.
After several weeks of being sick, spending a few days relaxing at Port Stephens with Alec was just what I needed.
We stayed at Salamander Shores on Soldier’s Point. Since we booked last minute, we didn’t have much of a choice of places. We had a “garden view” room, which overlooked a rainforest type of fernery. It was really pretty, like being in a rainforest canopy, along with the kookaburras that woke me up the following morning.
View from the balcony.
Our room – it came complete with a headless Alec.
The storm started rolling in in the late afternoon. This pic is taken from Soldier’s Point – you can see the storm in the distance.
Alec on the wharf. He loves having his picture taken.
Self-portrait. I am addicted.
Wandering around the garden at the hotel.
Hugest rainbow I have ever seen.
Amazing sunset over Nelson Bay.
We found a delicious noodle place at Nelson Bay – fast, delicious veges and noodles… mmmmmm.
I had to fly down to spend a day in Melbourne for work. Apart from the unexpected chill factor, it was a very groovy city that I popped into.
You can’t get hot chocolates like this in Sydney!
Tired and hungry at a funky cafe.
Cool sign in the cafe.
My breakfast. Heavy on the eggs.
Olah’s half-a-pig brekkie. Holy crap!
An accidental mini video – we thought it was on photo mode. Whoops. Taken in Florence, Italy.
This is at the Roman Forum, one of my favourite places we saw.
Rosalie and I saw the Sydney Dance Company perform Berlin at the Theatre Royal. We’ve been getting sick of the Australian Ballet, so it was a great change to see a new company.
What I loved most about the company is that all of the dancers look completely different. Different body types, shapes, so they look like real people.
The Show was quite unexpected – set in Berlin, it went for about 75 mins with no interval, on the one stage set. The performance really flew by – I was entranced by the delicacy of the choreography. The show was divided into a group of smaller pieces, each one with a different mood and character set epitomising Berlin. The live singer with giant angel wings added to the great atmosphere.
It was a little strange, with some of the characters dressed like circus performers, but I really thoroughly enjoyed it.
30 days, nine countries, 3,000 photos and one wedding later, we’re back where we started from.
Europe is great because:
They love dogs. I’ve never seen so many happy, healthy, butt-sniffing pooches before. Now if only they picked up their poop as well, it would be completely AWESOME.
Berries taste 100 time better than they do back home. As does pasta. Cheese however, goes the opposite and tastes blander as the others improve.
Puzzling things I will never understand:
Czech dairy – it looks like cream, but tastes like nothing. It’s a big wedge of calories for no pleasure.
Pedestrian crossings in Budapest are more of a suggestion than an actual road rule. Cross at your own peril. The car coming towards you is indeed speeding up at the sight of you, so you’d better movie it.
Bidets in hotels – they take up heaps of room in tiny little bathrooms and are there even when other basic things are lacking, like towel racks or soap dispensers for example.
Public bathrooms in Italy seem to be lacking in toilet paper (and a lid you can sit on) most of the time, so alway carry emergency tissues and do some leg squats before your trip to prepare yourself.
What I missed the most:
English TV. I am now very good friends with BBC, CNN and MTV as they are the only English channels shown all over Europe. I have also read about 6 novels in the past month and become acquainted with all kinds of world politics.
I was picked up at 3am on Thursday morning for our trip to Thredbo. It’s been seven years since my last trip to the snow. I decided to snowboard again – several runs and awesome stacks later, I was back linking turns and belly flopping in the ice all over again.
On my feet finally!
Oh-oh!
Splat!
Two days later, I was back, with plenty of bruises to show for my little adventure. Can’t wait for next season!