Nicole's Dad

We are currently heading south from Sydney having spent the last few days there. We stayed in Bondi with Lesley, a friend from back home who is lovely, albeit from Bolton but you can't hold that against her. We had a really great stay but it was time to leave as her and Matt were bringing out the worst in each other, i.e their accents. No seriously, enough Bolton bashing, we have had a fantastic timer in Sydney and it was lovely catching up with Lesley and sheer bliss to have a room, a sofa and a BATH - such luxuries.

When we arrived Lesley took us out for dinner, our choice of where to go. There was no question, it had to be a curry house. It had been over two months since we'd had a Balti and we were in serious need so Lesley took us to her local where we filled up on poppadoms and caught up on the last six months gossip. It's strange what living in Eric has done to us, but instead of exploring the Sydney nightlife as we thought we might, we just wanted to get back to the flat, get comfy on the sofa and enjoy a glass of wine out of an actual glass rather than the travel-safe beakers we have become accustomed to.

The next night I cooked dinner for us, another luxury we've missed. The space, the cooker and the sharp knives required to make a decent meal was lovely. We've started getting used to the packet french onion soup and '2 minute noodles' that have become staples of our diet, but having a proper home cooked meal was a real treat.

On Saturday evening Matt and I got ourselves spruced up, put on our shirts and aftershave and headed out to mark the passing of another long and arduous year together, courtesy of our friend Helen we were to do it in style - a seven course degustation meal aboard the James cook cruise around Sydney Harbour. When we arrived to check-in we were told that we were 'gold' ticket holders - we got as excited as Charlie Bucket did when he found his - and were escorted past all the unwashed bronze ticket holders who looked on as we were taken straight to the front of the queue and introduced to the captain. We were then escorted up to the top deck to enjoy champagne and canapes whilst taken in the views of Sydney Harbour. Flashpackers, us? Never.

We then enjoyed the feast of food that followed along with the free flowing champagne and wine that accompanied each course. A live band played as we cruised under the Harbour bridge and past the Opera House and we rounded off the night with a couple of G&T's out on deck, just because we could (and because they were free of course).

Thank you so much Finnimore, it was a truly scrumptious present x x

We got up the next day (to the joyous news that John Howard had been ousted from office and Australia had a new PM) feeling a little worse for wear, went out for breakfast and then headed into town for the Christmas parade. It was all a bit surreal singing 'Rudolph the red nose reindeer' and waving at father Christmas in 30 degree heat but we did it nevertheless and then made our way down to the Opera House for the social event of the year - Australian Idol, The Final. As if this wasn't going to be the best thing in the world ever anyway, it was only to become more spectacular as we stood under the sails of the Opera House with the most amazing fireworks I've ever seen going off right above us when who should jump on stage but Lionel Richie. It was all a bit too much for Matt and I and we found the whole experience genuinely emotional (and that's got nothing to do with the hangover or Lionel's singing in case anyone dared to think it) as the atmosphere, the fireworks and the location were so iconic and rounded off another top night in Sydney.

So we said our goodbyes to Lesley but before we did we managed to compose a list of all the Christmassy things that we'll need for when we get back. I don't think she knows what she's letting herself in for as we are getting very excited about heading back to Bondi beach for the festivities next month.

For now though a new State beckons, Victoria, where we will have to (I'm getting emotional again just thinking about it)... sell Eric!

Wined and Climbed

I want to start this entry with a couple of announcements. Firstly you may remember an entry, posted about a month a go, wittily entitled 'The Sh*t Sundays' about our sailing trip that included a free smell of sewage. Well after much emailing and one angry phone call, I'm happy to report that we got a 200 dollar refund. Disgruntled from Tunbridge Wells wins again!
Secondly the reason I've asterisked the blog title above is because we've received a rather severe complaint and telling off from my Aunty Mary in regards to the obscene language that Ed and especially me, often use in our posts. According to my Aunty Ann, Mary's daughter, she literally had to be scraped off the floor after reading my last entry. In order to make amends I've decided to make this post completely swear word free. Unfortunately Aunty Mary it is just a one off for you and we will be returning to our foul mouthed ways in the future cos we find rude words dead funny!

Anyway back to the travel stories. After Byron Bay we got to Coffs Harbour and the rain continued to pour. In fact it was freak weather for Australia and all that was left for us to do was go down to the local bowls club and watch Ian Pike, a one man country band who did the most courageous Elvis impersonation I've ever had the misfortune to see. Even more frightening was watching the couple ballroom dancing to it! Naturally me and Ed loved it and it quickly became our regular. Apart from that not much happened in Coffs, finally the rain stopped, the sun shone and I gave Eric the clean of his life.

So on we went to our next stop, the Hunter Valley, New South Wales' most famous wine region. It was also time for Ed to wheel out his one and only joke: What did the grape say when it got stood on? Nothing, it just let out a little wine! Funny the first time, plain irritating the twentieth. Our plan in the Hunter was to educate ourselves about wine and take in the scenery. Having romantic images of small country roads and acres of vineyards we decided to hire bikes from the aptly named Grapemobile - cue another opportunity for Ed to tell his grape joke once again. Now me and Ed walk a lot but we are not riders, in fact we've never ridden a bike on a main road or any great distance but we thought it didn't look that hard and we booked the bikes for three days.

Day One - Morning: I choose our route, a gentle 20 mile circular bike trip on incredibly hilly roads - roads which actually turned out to be more like motorways, with huge trucks driving by us, oh and a temperature of around 35 degrees Celsius.

Day One - Evening: After our 8 hour cycle is over Ed can hardly sit down and I have feelings in my groin that I've never experienced before and never want to again.

Day Two: We take the bikes back and ask for a refund. Apart from the bike riding we actually had a fantastic time in the Hunter. We've taken wine appreciation courses, drank sparkling Rose in the park, toured vineyards and tasted lots of incredible wines and cheeses. It was a very chilled and relaxing place to leave but leave we did, with a sparkling chardonnay in hand as we headed to the Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains got their name from the blue mist that rises from millions of eucalyptus trees and hangs in the mountain air, tinting the sky and the range alike. We stayed here for four days and did some amazing walks.

The most famous of these takes in the views of the famous Three Sisters. These three rocky points take their name from an Aboriginal Dreamtime story which relates how the Kedumba people were losing a battle against the rival Nepean people: the Kedumba leader, fearing that his three beautiful daughters would be carried off by the enemy, turned them to stone, but was tragically killed before he could reverse his spell.

In order to get a better view of the Three Sisters I took us on a short hike up 900 steps, as you can see from the photo below, Ed was overjoyed with the result.

However, the walk that really blew us away was the Grand Canyon Loop. Taking around 4 hours to walk the circuit, pictures just don't do it justice. We walked deep down into gorges, brimming with magical scenery, beautiful creeks, waterfalls and ended with amazing views of the mountains.

By our third day the weather began to take a turn for the worse. Laying in Eric we watched some amazing electrical storms that were sometimes a little too close for comfort. Then, once the rain had broken a little, we decided there was only one thing to do, you guessed it, go to the pub. Luckily it happened to be Trivia night at the Ivanhoe Inn. After making ourselves comfortable on a paisley sofa we were invited to join the team of Betty, Mary and Terry, a group of retired ex-pats who lived in the area. Uninspired by my team name suggestion of Quiz Team Aguilera we finally settled on The Five of Us - personally I still think my idea was better but Betty was insistent. Run by an ex-pat called Geoffrey, who looked frighteningly like Reg Holsworth from Corrie, with an open red bow tie and wielding his second bottle of Jacob's Creek Riesling in one hand and a microphone in the other - the quiz started and battle commenced. After 40 questions and a few brain teasers, I'm glad to report that we came a very respectable second, losing by just one point. Our prize was one of Denise's savoury chicken and mushroom pies, which Betty, Mary and Terry very kindly donated to us. We also had another stroke of luck when Ed correctly guessed the weight of the largest chocolate ever made and won us a bottle of wine (just in case you are interested it weighed 2280 grams and was an After Eight mint).

We then hung around the bar because Ed was desperate to get chatting to Geoffrey. His wish was soon granted as Geoffrey stumbled over, now on his third bottle of Riesling, and said a slightly slurred hello. A very odd night then began as Geoffrey introduced his friend Jean, a woman whose hair had been dyed black to within an inch of its life. She then proceeded to sing hits from Phantom of the Opera, accompanied by Russ on the piano, a slightly autistic jazz musician wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Once the musical review had finished, Geoffrey then tried to grope Jean as she attempted to go home to her husband, five times she refused his offer of walking her to her car - it was absolutely priceless. Naturally we loved Geoffrey and his non stop trivia facts and we should hopefully be joining one of his quiz teams when we move to Sydney. It was a fantastic night and a fitting end to our time in the Blue Mountains.

So on we go to Sydney for a harbour dinner cruise, to celebrate our 6th anniversary and we have cunningly managed to get tickets to the live final of Australian Pop Idol too! Fabulous.

So Long Sarah

We're currently feeling a bit blue as after two fantastic weeks together we have just said goodbye to Sara. After Fraser Island we headed down to the Gold Coast and spent three days behaving like big kids at two theme parks and a water park. The rides were scary, the flumes were fast and fortunately I wasn't the most scared musketeer, that prize goes to Sarah who jumped out of her skin so high one day that she literally fell over. It was a great few days and I'm looking forward to seeing some of the photos Sara took (when she eventually sends them to us, hint hint).

We realized what heathens it made us 'wasting' our time at theme parks so we headed off Lamington National Park next to top up our culture quota. Here we set out on a six hour walk through the rain forest which was beautiful if a little leech ridden. By little I mean a lot of course and for approximately four of the six hours we were constantly pulling the blood sucking buggers off our shoes and legs. One of them even managed to work its way through Sara's amazing pom pom socks which was thoroughly horrible for her and yet another photo opportunity for us.

The next day we left the rainforest and in doing so we too left Queensland, a great State in our opinion and a place that has given us loads of fantastic memories to take away. When we crossed into New South Wales we set our watches forward an hour and then headed to Byron Bay, the place that's been our home for the last week. On the recommendation of Nick and Rebbecca who we met on Fraser Island, we checked ourselves in to the Arts factory, a hippy little place that doesn't allow vans and so we have been camping for the week. A very chilled out place that's close to the even more chilled Nimbin, the Arts Factory is clearly home to a number of people who come for a few days and end up staying for a few months. The late-night movies in the attached cinema, the constant jamming, the didgeridoo making etc does make it a very appealing place but unfortunately for us getting our tent out seemed to upset Mother Nature somewhat and so she right royally pissed all over us for four days, pretty much non stop.

There have been many highlights though, one of which was turning a corner to hear "Vot is ze name of ze game?" being shouted at us by Lena and Simon who we had also been on the Fraser Island trip with. We've spent the last few days with them too and it's been really nice to have our own little gang, even better that it's with people who we really got on with and who reminded us of friends back home. Another highlight has to be watching the Melbourne Cup - Australia's Ascot, a 130-year old horse race which brings the entire country to a standstill around the television. We put our $5 bets on numbers 6 and 12 and headed to the pub to meet up with the others. The atmosphere was great, a band was playing, ladies were wearing dresses and hats, men had put their best suits on and so we got ourselves a drink and got positioned in front of the huge screen. As the race started a huge cheer went up and we started looking out for our horses. It wasn't until about ten seconds before the end of the race that we realised it was mine out in front, number 12 heading for victory. "You've got it!" Matt shouted, "Schnell, Schnell!" Simon and Lena added, at which point another horse at the back of the pack appeared to gain wings and fly down past all the others to join mine at the front and literally pip me at the post. We couldn't believe it and stood in shock looking up at the screen as they put the name and number of the winning horse up, 'Efficient' - Number 6. Hang on, that's Matt's horse, none of us had realised and so we all started jumping up and down throwing hi-fives at each other (honestly, we've taken up 'hi-fiving' since getting here, how awful). we went out and picked up Matt's winning, all $113 of it and treated ourselves to lunch in a Thai restaurant the next day.

It's now Friday and it's still raining. The damp clothes in the damp bed in the damp tent have become too much to bear and so we are leaving the crusties in their teepee's behind us and heading further down the coast of New South Wales. Next stop, Coff's Harbour.