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Hi pals! We're writing this from Honkers but this blog is actually about the three busy days we had last week travelling between Auckland, Sydney and then on to Hong Kong. Phew - it's the most active that we've been for months.
We left Auckland on Tuesday afternoon - a big thanks to cousin Ian for driving us to the airport in his lovely new Pajero, and for Auntie Sylvia for accompanying us. It was ace having you both there to ensure that we got on the plane, but you were probably glad to see the back of us! From there it was absolutely terrific to be back in Sydney, albeit only for a couple of days. We arrived here late afternoon, got a cab straight into town to meet Bingo and promptly had ourselves a ball with some drinks in Paddy Maguire’s followed by tapas in the Spanish Quarter. We feel very much at home in Sydney and could definitely do a ‘living’ stint here if work visas permitted (which unfortunately they don’t as we are too auld - tsk!). This city has such an excellent laid back cosmopolitan vibe, and rattles & shakes along at a pace that
we love. Next day we got up early, enjoyed mocha & croissants at the Manly Wharf, sped across the water on the Jet Cat to Circular Quay for a spot of Opals & I-Mate window shopping in the city, partook of the purest fresh juices at Darling Harbour, walked our legs off by enthusiastically sightseeing all the bits we missed last time round and munched a tasty-tasty-tasty lunch at a sophisticated Italian eaterie on Finger Wharf. We were lapping up the feeling of regenerated travel enthusiasm as we bodded around, and put ourselves in a superb frame of mind for the next leg of our trip.
The weather was excellent on Wednesday - 24 degrees and sunny with a nice cooling breeze wafting through the streets. Later in the day the rain came on so we sought refuge in a glamorous city bar and enjoyed some Pinot Noir in the midst of alluring softly lit décor while surrounded by a sea of ‘suits’ enjoying a post work drink. It reminded us completely of that feeling we used to get before we came away, when we’d meet up in Edinburgh at the end of the day and mosey on down
to All Bar One or somewhere equally salubrious to complete our regular autopsy of the day’s events in our respective offices, and decant whatever snippets of gossip had been offered up by those in the know…... The best part was appreciating that we don’t have to return to this life just yet and that we can still rest in the knowledge that we have a great deal of excitement awaiting us in China then Europe.
We went to this other bar that same night before catching the ferry back to Manly. It’s an ice bar on Circular Quay near the Opera House called Minus 5, where the concept is quite unusual; The bar is kept at a temperature less then minus 5 degrees celcius, and upon paying 30 dollars (about 11 pound fifty) you are given parkas, gloves & a timer pendant to wear before entering a set of chilly rooms to sip a delicious cocktail served from a glass that’s made from frozen water and study the collection of icy sculptures scattered throughout. When we were in there the bar was minus 12 degrees and we have to admit it really did feel like it. You only get
to stay in the room for about half an hour, and the management buzz you on the timer pendant to let you know when its time to leave. It was quite a 'different' experience and we had good fun. Some of the sculptures are really excellent and include statues of Kangaroos, the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, plus they have a water feature which is made of pure Anti Freeze. Apparently there are other Minus 5 bars in Auckland and Barcelona. Just incase you were interested.
On Thursday we chilled out a bit and sorted our stuff all out for the flight onwards to Hong Kong, then that night we met up with Paula, and the Sydney crew down in Manly Wharf for a number of drinkees and nice foods. We were all absolutely plastered and at one point Shaz was up dancing by herself to this band that was playing in the Boathouse bar. We had a complete nightmare of a hangover the next day and were just lucky that we didn't have to catch the flight until 2:25pm. On the plane we had a row of 4 seats to ourselves and it was just aswell because
Extortionate Boulder Opals
We were doing a bit of opal shopping for Shazza's sister who fancies some to make into a bracelet. We ended up not buying any because they are so incredibly expensive and don't look worth the money. The one shown in the middle here is about 1700 Aus dollars and ws really small. Struth!!!! Shaz spent most of the flight stretched out along 3 of them sleeping, while Alan slumped next to her glued to the video screen on the seat in front of him watching various comedy videos and playing Tetrus. 9 hours later we arrived in HK and set straight off to our hotel in a cab. It cost about 20 quid and took about 25 mins to get to Kowloon where we've been staying since.
Now then, we have some BIG THANKS to get down to here........
1)The Grants in Hamilton, New Zealand: Massive cheers to all of you for looking after us while we commandeered your house & lives on and off for the last 3 weeks or so. We appreciate everything that you did for us, and can’t wait to get that 50 grand from you for the sale of the campervan. Oops - did we say 50? We meant 75! We truly hope that you will come and visit us very soon and let us return the favour of looking after you guys. And Dominic - if you ever want us to adopt you then just jump on a plane! Alan promises not to chase you
Ronald Villiers?
This is Darling Harbour in the background, and Alan saw this guy walking past looking EXACTLY like Ronald Villers from Chewing the Fat, complete with fedora hat and paisley silk scarf.. with his stinking socks.
2)BINGO: Gee girl, you are the best and we are totally gutted that we couldn’t spend more time with you than these last couple of days. To let everyone know, Paula has vacated her own bed and given it to us for the duration of our Sydney stay - such a wonderful pal that we wouldn’t swap for the world. Pauls - you need to get married soon so that we have a legitimate excuse to scamper back Down Under for another lovely visit! Thankyou so much!
3)Danny Boy: You have re-enriched & restored harmony in our lives by working your majick on our little music machine. It’s tremendous. So far we’ve been smiling & nodding along to Gomez, Jamiroquai, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys (Shaz’s new personal faves of late), Gorillaz and the Stripes. Believe us when we tell you that there are tears of joy in our eyes, and little beats of happiness in our hearts as we type along……... Hopefully we’ll be able to catch up with you while you visit the UK this year. Either way we’ll stay in touch. Cheers mate!
Ooh we must tell you that
Wolfmother have just came on the i-pod. They’re great - think Led Zep & White Stripes crossed and you’re on your way to knowing what they sound like. Gosh, I really DON'T know how we’ve coped for the last 6 months without our tunes. We may only have been half alive, like a couple of vampires or zombies……………………..
So then, that's us till next time,
Shaz & Al. xxxx
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