So Long Sydney

Well, another last day. This evening we are leaving Sydney, and of course Australia. We have had a marvellous time here. We expected the weather to be glorious, which it was, and the food sensational, which it also was. However, what we didn't expect was the warmth and humour of the people. They have really made our trip. In Melbourne and Port Douglas particularly, we met dozens of people along the way, who made us really feel at home. Sydney is more like London, but a great place to visit nonetheless. Even now, I still cannot believe we have seen the Harbour Bridge and Opera House for real. Maybe one day we will be able to return so Ross can climb the bridge.We leave here with many happy memories, and for Ross, the world's most unusual sun tan. Travellers' Tip: If you use a spray sun tan lotion, you must still rub it in. Otherwise you are left with a strange blotchy effect, a bit like the Turin shroud. See picture below....

Is it me, or can you see a map of Australia in white across Ross' stomach?

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Remember to tune in soon as we say "Aloha" to Hawaii. We'll be crossing the International Dateline, so see you on Wednesday, 34th Mayvember.

Life's a Beach

It was so hot on Friday that we decided to stop being city slickers and spend a day on the beach. I believe it snowed a little in London that day! Oh well...

We took the ferry from Sydney Harbour to Manly Beach.

The crime rate in Manly is so low that the police have time for a second job! (Or perhaps they were practising for the not so secret policeman's ball.

Contrary to popular opinion, Ross doesn't spend all his time surfing the net.

Japanese tourists waste no time in trying to imitate Vettriano's well known painting, The Singing Butler.

CA UK meets CA AU

We have just spent a really enjoyable evening with Hunter Chang from the CA office here in Sydney.
We look forward to meeting with him the next time he visits London!

Chinese Whispers

Our official silver wedding anniversary picture. Well, we do like to do things differently!

What a great teacher. Hilary will go to any lengths to make her students feel at home.

Ross discovers the effects of too much MSG in his Chinese takeaway.

NB: Confusius say: "Strupid Blitish tourists will do anything for a photo opprortunity in Sydney's Chinese Garden."

Living the High Life?

Never mind climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, I must be the only person who has fainted just looking at it!
Last night we decided to really enjoy the high life by eating in the beautiful Altitude Restaurant on the 36th floor of our hotel. We got off to a great start with cocktails in the elegant Blu Horizon bar, which boasts 360 degree views of Sydney. The vista was nothing short of spectacular as night fell and buildings below began to twinkle. From the bar we were escorted to the exquisite restaurant, where we had a view of both the bridge and the opera house, which glowed magically below us.
We decided to chose the taster menu, an eight course banquet of mini delights. We'd barely got through the quail, or was it the sweet pea and fois gras cappucino? when I started to feel sick.
"I might just go to the ladies," I told Ross, but befoe I could stand up I had an overwhelming desire to lay down.
"Put your head on the table," Ross said, trying not to panic. "You'll feel better."
Trying not to think about what the other diners must be thinking, I obeyed. But it didn't work. I had to lay on the floor. Now.
"You'll be fine," Ross repeated, the merest thread of panic in his voice now. "Don't fall. I can't catch you because of my back."
"I have to lay down," I snarled, ashen faced by now. "Now."
The next minute I was under the table. I was soon joined by a voice behind me. "I'm a doctor."
One in front. "I'm the hotel's first aider. Don't worry we get this all the time. Just relax"
All the time? I doubted it.
Two minutes later I felt well enough to open my eyes.
"Can we move you to another table, perhaps a little more, er, out of the way?" said the hotel manager (Where on earth had he come from?)
"Can't I just crawl under these tables and out of the door?" I replied, my ashen complexion turning a violent beetroot with embarrassment.
Anyhow, five minutes later (after stumbling into the table and tipping an entire bottle of wine over Ross) I was safely ensconced in my new seat. Ross was on course number four.
So what had I learnt from this?
1. A two course meal can be just as good as a eight course one.
2. A good restaurant floor is as clean as the table tops.
3. Never allow yourself to become dehydrated by the sun and rehydrate yourself with a Cosmopolitan.
4. Room service is sometimes the best option.

Signing in in Sydney

Ross quickly felt at home. Here he is reading his own magazine in the hotel coffee shop.

Hilary outside the Sydney Opera House. Not only would they not let me sing, but they'd sold out of tickets for the opera, so unfortunately we were unable to see a show.

The bridge they said was too big for Ross to climb. After all that, he was advised not to attempt the bridge climb as it would be too uncomfortable on his back. Guess we'll have to come in a few years time. Me? I wasn't allowed on grounds of cowardice.
And they said Sydney was hot! Here we are cooling off in Minus 5, Sydney's new ice bar.
Here is our hotel, the Shangri La. It's the first tall building on the right. The area, the Rocks, is quite hilly, so to get down the steep incline, we have to take the lifts from one hotel to the other, going down a floor at a time.

Sailing the Great Barrier Reef

Together with 12 of our closest friends we boarded our luxury yacht which took us to a remote desert island called Low Isle. I forgot my desert island discs, but luckily had my mp3 player anyway!
Ross took to the water like a duck to, well water. Here he is doing his Jacques Cousteau impersonation. The blue thing on the right is called a noodle, and is actually an inflatable to help you float along when snorkling. I was able to view the coral from a glass bottom boat. We even saw a giant clam, it's huge mouth opening and closing in the water. I wonder who that reminds me of?
Whilst Ross was swimming, I discovered the island. This is the picture I will have in mind when preparing for my next class if I ever return home.
I could get used to this. Hope the weather isn't too bad at your end!
Posh and Becks have nothing on us
It was all too much for the old sea dog.

A fond farewell to our hearty crew, Julie and Andy.

Good Reef! It was no Barrier to us!

Unfortunately we were unable to get pictures onto the blog last night, so you'll have to wait until we get to Sydney to see them.
Suffice to say, we had a brilliant time. We took out a yacht to the Great Barrier Reef (Low Isle). Don't worry, Ross wasn't at the helm, we had a small crew and 12 of our closest friends! The sailing was fabulous, pulling in at a desert island with nothing but sand, trees and a lighthouse. We had to get to the shore on a little glass bottom boat, which meant stepping from the yacht onto it in the middle of the ocean. Quite a feat in itself for me, as you can imagine.
Ross went snorkling with a noodle. No, not his lunch, but a foam sausage. Ross says it was a bouyancy aid, but I think it was a sausage.
After we had lunch on the boat, which fortunately we were able to retain despite rolling seas. From the glass bottom boat I was able to see the coral reef and a giant clam, plus several tropical fish. It was amazing.
Hopefully in Sydney we will be able to find another internet facility which allows us to download pictures.

Watch out for what happens when Ross takes to the stage at the Sydney Opera House, and we discover if Sydney Harbour really does have a bridge too far (for Hilary).

Animal Crackers

We visited the Wildlife Habitat Centre

in Port Douglas today and had a

great time meeting the animals.

The natives are really friendly here,

especially if you give them plenty of

eucalyptus leaves.

At last, someone who appreciates

Hilary's cooking!

This crocodile rocked.

Who's a pretty boy then?

ME!!!

Daytrip to Kuranda

1) 2)
3) 4)
5) 6)
7)


1) Our day began with a scenic railroad journey through the mountains near Cairns.
All aboard. The railway was built by 19th century pioneers, and even then was more efficient than British Rail.

2) Not quite the Orient Express, but a great journey none the less. (We had to tie Ross to the railway lines to get this photo)

3) The views included stunning waterfalls.

4) Kuranda is a village in the heart of the rainforest frequented by tropical creatures and Japanese tourists.

5) Crocodile Dundecent!

6) The rainforest is even more spectacular from above.

7) Back to earth, luckily without a bump.

picture these....

Yarra River Trip in Melbourne

Hilary and Avril out shopping.....AGAIN!

Up Close and Personal with the Fish

in Melbourne Aquarium

Yes, I Found Nemo!!!

Hilary Doing her Stuff in the Blog Room!

Open Wide and say that'll be $200 please
Me outside the Hotel in Port Douglas ...and me inside. No comments thank you!!!

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The Flying Dentist, or Ross bites off more than he can chew...

Ok, health up date on Ross. Back ok, tooth, not so good. On the day before we left Melbourne, he bit on something at lunchtime, heard a cracking noise and developed a whole new pain in his jaw where his wisdom tooth had been removed before we came away.
By the morning, his face looked like a hamster (no change there, I hear you cry). So when we arrived in stunning Port Douglas, one of the most beautiful areas of the entire planet, we lost little time in finding a dentist.
It must be the most beautiful surgery in the world, with running water and fabulous palms all around. Oddly enough Ross didn't seem to notice this. I don't know if he was more worried about his tooth or his bank balance.
Anyway, turns it was just a nasty infection, so our latest holiday souvenirs include vitimins, anitbiotics and an x ray.
Fortunately someone kindly gave us a lift to a nearby pharmacy, so he could start his treatment straight away and hopefully it will do the trick.

Raindrops Keep Falling on Our Heads

Guess why it's called the rainforest? Because it never stops *****! raining!

Pictures? Perfect. A message from Ross

Rigth, she"s foinally let me at the computr adn I Kan't UNDErstund y shee woz So keen,;t to keepo me way.. Itz just @ work I only yous THE thing got plsyin gamez so I huv forgotton how to tyPE. Anyhow, here are a few pickts 4 u too luk at..Hop y liketehm. Rosss:?

Up, Up and Oy Vey

After 10 days travelling you would be forgiven for thinking we wouldn't know what day it was. Well, let me tell you, the crew on Qantas are not helping. Our flight from Melbourne to Cairns is only one hour behind, so it seemed reasonable to expect breakfast. Sure enough, half an hour into the flight the stewardess came around with her trolley. The choice? Spaghetti bolognese or chick with tomato sauce.
"But it's only 10 a.m., 9 a.m. in Cairns," Ross said to the stewardess. "Surely we should have breakfast? I don't want spaghetti at this time of the day."
"Sorry, sir," she replied. "We've done surveys and customers say they have usually had breakfast before boarding, so when they get on the plane they are ready for lunch."
We declined, but the strawberry ice lolly which turned up half an hour later was nice!

Moving On

This is our last day in Melbourne. It's a vibrant, friendly city and we've learnt a lot about it since we've been here. Tomorrow morning it's off to Port Douglas, a coastal resort in the rainforest, right at the top of the country. I'm looking forward to it immensely. I could do with a holiday!

PS: Ross will be writing soon, I promise. He's feeling fine but having trouble keeping out of the shops long enough to get to the computer. More importantly, I'll leave him to put on some photos. Watch out for sea creatures, coastal scenary and more, in the next episode of Around the World in 31 Days.

PS: Today is Valentine's Day, so how else could we celebrate but with a Neighbours get together in a local pub. I reckon I can easily trade Ross in for Dr Karl and continue on the trip with him.\!

Sister Act

It's been fantastic meeting up with my sister Avril again. In the past 30 years we've only met once, when she came to England for a brief visit in 2000.
Ross has been finding the whole thing a bit disconcerting, as we are so similar. Not just mannerisms, but other foibles too.
We both have to hold onto a rail when walking down steps (no sense of balance). Our favourite ice cream flavour is pistachio with coffee a close second.
Naturally, I am younger, slimmer and prettier, but she is more mature, cultured and intelligent.
We also share a similar sense of humour, so here are just a couple of quotes.
To a shop assistant: "This is my sister and brother-in-law. They are here celebrating 25 years of happy shopping."
On her marriage: "When Ric and met it was like a biblical experience. We were at it for 40 days and 40 nights!"

Everybody Needs G'd Neighbours

What's the first thing to do when you hit a town like Melbourne? Shopping, sightseeing? I'm afraid if you're me it's going on a two hour bus trip to see the most famous cul de sac on the planet.
Yes, I'm coming out. I admit it. For the past 20 years I've been a fan of Neighbours, the cheesy Aussie soap that makes Crossroads look like Ibsen. So I lost no time in asking our new concierge how to join the tour.
"Gee, no one's ever asked me that before," he said, looking at me as if I was some kind of idiot. "No one even watches it here."
He checked the Internet like a man seeking the source of a bad smell, and reluctantly found the information.
"Do let me know how it goes," he liked. "Just in case anyone else ever asks me again."
Distance means nothing in a country the size of Australia. They talk about journeys in terms of time, not kilometres. Therefore, a two hour journey to an eight house street was nothing to them. It was an unreal experience, see somewhere so familiar so far from home.
Of course it isn't really called Ramsay Street, it's Pin Oak Court. The residents don't marry each other, interbreed and have long lost children visiting in the dead of night. The strangest thing was that we had to take our own street sign which we took turn in holding for photos, but hey, it had to be done.

Those of you who know us well know how we like the good things in life. Fine dining, candlelit dinners, theatre, music - and that's just at home before leaving for work on a Monday morning!
Anyhow, our 25th anniversary would therefore need to be really something. And it was, but not quite in the way you may imagine.
It began at 6.45 a.m. on Sunday, February 12th. My sister Avril and her husband Ric took us on a little journey to visit some of his friends and relations. Now Australia, in case you didn 't know, is a big country. To us, half an hour is a long trip to visit friends. Well, let me just say 13 hours and 300 miles later (no exaggeration) we had met some great people and seen half the continent!
Our romantic anniversary turned out to be fish and chips out of paper with a vintage diet coke beautifully presented in a paper cup. But we could not have wished for more. The whole day was just enchanting. Please
check soon for photos.
Best of all, when we returned late at night to the hotel, was a fabulous firework display to mark the day. Well actually, it may have something to do with the end of the Chinese New Year, but it worked for us.

This is the last entry from sweltering Singapore. Tonight we are back to the airport to begin our trip to the land down under. Singapore has been fabulous. The people are very friendly, the whole place is an excellent example of how different cultures can live together quite happily side to side. Personally, if I lived in Chinatown I would never need to diet again, but Little India was fascinating, with loads of really cheap shopping. Of course this is actually really expensive shopping if you are the recipient of any of our purchases!
We've shopped till we've dropped. Actually, that's not true. We've shopped till I've dropped. It's amazing how Ross has been managing since we arrived. Course my arms are like gorillas from carrying everything, but he always slows down so I can keep up!
Keep reading and commenting, and if anyone has tips for things to do in Melbourne, let me know!

Day 3: Breakfast before Tiffany's

You don't need me to tell you how sumptuous the Raffles Hotel is - just check it out at www.raffles.com. The trouble is, staying in a place like this can go to your head. The service is sublime, the food presentation exquisite and the spa facilities a dream. After a while you start to believe you can really afford to stay there.
So it was after breakfast in the Tiffin room we found ourselves at a swish designer shopping mall, Takashimaya, on Orchard Road.
We went into Tiffany's where I pretended to be looking for a diamond ring and asked the assistant to show me some. Oddly enough, none were quite right, so we politely declined. It was only afterwards Ross told me about my favourite, a reasonably sized heart shaped solitaire.
"I really liked that one," I said, fluttering my eyelashes at him.
"I'm afraid not," he replied. "It was $275,000."


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By the way, the picture shows me having a bit of r and r in the famous Writer's Bar in Raffles.

If you are reading this blog, please comment as otherwise I feel like I am talking to myself!

A Fine Romance

After 25 years I can safely report that romance is definitely dead in the Decent relationship.
Last night as I was preparing for bed, Ross called to me from the shower.
"Hilary, come and have a look at this."
After so many years together, I was doubtful that Ross had anything I hadn't seen before. Still, it was a beautiful bathroom with a double shower, so I thought my luck must be in.
His eyes lit up as I approached.
"Look at this," he smiled, reaching up above the bath. "A pull out washing line!"

Day 2 Mon Feb 6th: Food for Thought

Food in Singapore ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous. Guide books insist that tourists can enjoy sumptuous meals for very little from hawker stands on the street. So putting on a brave face we set out to find an inexpensive lunch. Chinatown boasts a myriad of places to eat. We tried not to be put off by the smell, the filthy looking tables and flies as we trawledfor something to eat. It was a truely magical experience. The more I looked, the less hungry I became. In fact, by 2 p.m. I was sure I wouldn't be able to eat a thing.

Perhaps the most unusual boasted frog porridge which bore an uncanny resemblence to hot steaming pig swill. Even Golidlocks would have turned her nose up at this delicacy, but it might have given the princess in the story of the Frog Prince something to get her teeth into!

Day 1 Sunday February 5th 2006: The Road to Singapore

Ok. So maybe it wasn't the best decision to have a farewell party ending at 3.15 a.m. when we had to be up three hours later to leave for the airport.
But then maybe it wasn't a good idea for Ross to have spinal surgery six months earlier, a wisdom tooth removed six weeks earlier and my mother a heart attack six days earlier either.
But "que sera sera" and with such recent bad form things had to get better sometime, so why not now?
Ok. So the car taking us to the airport arrived 20 minutes late. Fortunately Ross's painkillers, taken 21 minutes earlier, had just started to kick in so he was beyond caring.
Ross naturally had a trump card to play at the airport: a letter from his pain specialist.
"Please can Ross be excused from flying with the general public today as he has a bad back and is unable to play". What did he expect? A place to stretch out in the hold?
In the end we ended up with an aisle seat. Quite apt, I felt, for a trip to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary.
You know how most air stewards are gay men? Well, we had a lesbian with shaved blonde hair and rectangular horn rimmed glasses. She may not have looked good, but by the end of the 12 hour flight I had been given three lunches, four glasses of champagne, three luxury wash bags and a $50 voucher for duty free, so I'm not complaining.
After a little rest I woke up to see Ross next to me, head back, mouth open with headphones and eye mask.
"My, how attractive you look," I commented.
Turning towards my voice in the darkness he conceded dryly: "So do you."