Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy

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Hello!

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas indeed - we certainly did, though the promised Christmas in the sun did not work out quite as we had planned. Oh no, the weather Gods clearly decided we were missing Scotland and sent us rain, hail and the coldest Melbourne Christmas on record to remind us of home... Thanks, weather gods.

But to recap on what we have been up to since arriving in the lovely land of Oz, here goes...

Melbourne is a great city, very cosmopolitan with plenty of great restaurants, bars, shops etc. The budget took a bit of a hit with christmas shopping and Lucie's need to have her hair highlighted... (no comment, both)

The first night we decided to brave the weather and go and see the Penguin Parade (a wedding present from Lucie's lovely parents :-) ) Our grand wildlife tour of the world continued and in the one day we managed to stroke and hand feed kangaroos, see koalas in a nature reserve (sooooo cute) and finally see the incredible Penguins! We splashed out and got special VIP tickets, thankfully, as it appears the ordinary tickets, while saving 5 quid, don't actually let you see the penguins! As we sat and shivered in the rain and wind, protected from the elements only by charming blue plastic ponchos, we watched as about 500 penguins made their way past us to their little pingu homes. They were close enough to touch!

On the second night we braved the weather (sense a theme emerging?) and went to the Moonlight Cinema (thanks to Kath, Steve and Amy!) and enjoyed a cold glass of champagne (no fridge present, but still nicely chilled...!!) as we curled up on our bean beds (with three blankets each) and watched a film together. How idyllic... despite almost freezing!

The third night we decided to celebrate Christmas in style and went to watch the famous Melbourne Carols by Candlelight. Oh how we cheered as the rain lashed down around us and random Australian TV personalities serenaded us chirpily :-)

The final day we set out for the Ashes (thanks Lucie's Grandma!) and watched the start of a crushing England defeat. At least we got to see them both bat and bowl on the same day. Well done England. And stop sniggering Dave...

Hiring a car we set out up the coast for a short 1500 kilometre drive to Sydney. Various adventures included talking our way out of a speeding ticket after being pulled over by a lovely copper - tut tut David. He was a nice chap though and after a bit of a telling off we ended up chatting about our travels and comparing road quality in the UK to Oz. We also saw some great sights including a natural water blow hole, some lovely picnic spots by the sea, an amazing sea-cliff bridge, the world's whitest sands and... oh yes... stroking a WOMBAT. OH so cute. Really so cute. Lucie fought her way through a crowd of toddlers (no competition really...) to the head of the queue. Dave, cringing, took the photos to record this monumentous event. Years of 'A Country Practice' viewing came flooding back.

We finally arrived in Sydney a few days ago and have been having a great time ever since. New Years Eve was one of the most cracking evenings on record (and a big thanks to the Hither Green Lane gang for that wedding present...) We watched the fabulous fireworks from a boat in the harbour with some old and new friends, while consuming disgusting quantities of alcohol and eating a 7 course meal!

We set off for New Zealand on Friday and are busy planning our routes around the country. Fingers crossed it will be as good as we hope it will be! The next few days will see us enjoying more of our wedding presents with a night out at the opera (opening night of the Marriage of Figaro no less!) thanks to Robin and Marion for that one, and we promise to put in a good word for your incredibly talented daughter... and eating at a highly recommended restaurant courtesy of Rhona and Jim - where we hope to see Pierce Brosnan as Rhona did!

Enough for now, we'll leave you with our very best wishes for a great 2007 - we're both hoping it will be as good as our 2006 was!!

Lucie and Dave

xx

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Comments

[Emma]

never trust the pesky weather!!
So good to hear (well read) about all the experiences you are both having (even the not so pleasant ones!!!they make me feel a little better about my present having no life because of the pressures of a 1 year drama school course!). Still haven't figured out how to look at the pictures you have posted but that probably just cause i'm a complete numpty. Can't believe you're experiencing such rubbish weather, can't wait to hear more.