Finally made it to a place where there is connectivity again. So back to my last blog. After our fifth flight from Adelaide to Alice Springs, we hit the hot red center of the country. Alice Springs was settled as a telegraph relay station on the north-south overland route, when the explorers thought they had found a permanent waterhole. Unfortunately they showed up during the only rainy time of the year. They started building in February when the river Todd, named after the explorer, was running from the rains. He named the permanent settlement after his wife, but when she found out about the climate, she never visited. The original station consisted of a telegraph office, blacksmith, paddocks camels and an aboriginal school. All the buildings were made of stone so it was always better to ... read more

Can not believe that our final day here is over! Went to visit Rippon Lea, an historical mansion set among modern condos. Fourteen acres of lawns. Gardens, a fern grotto, lake, observation tower ballroom and a 23 bedroom house. Had a wonderful tram ride to get there. We then went to the Victoria State Library. Not a lending library, more on the order of our Library of Congress. Over 25,000 books, but they can not leave the library building. Gorgeous reading room with long parquet type finish tables, hand carved wooden chairs at the tables. Tried to do laundry last night, but the European washer/dryer only worked well on the washing part. Had to admit defeat and go to front desk to get help this morning. After maintenance guy showed me what to do, it took ... read more

Well everyone, I made it. Been in AUS for almost eight hours. Tour guide is keeping us busy so we don't fall asleep now and wake up at 2, disoriented and unable to sleep again. Have free wifi at hotel so using. Really long trip, and do I mean long. First leg, the plane was delayed almost an hour. Got into LAX in plenty of time, but tremendous turbulence all the way across. Qantas was a double decker plane, never been in a commercial one before;though the girls and I rode in the top of a C5 to England many years ago. Melbourne, pronounced as in burn; is a truly eclectic city. This weekend they are having a Formula One Grand Prix race, plus all kinds of other entertainment videos. The city women are putting together ... read more