Sydney

I spot the Opera House and Harbour Bridge lit up at night as the plane lands. Sydney done, I can move on now! Okay, okay, I suppose I ought to see whether there is any more to the place…

Q and Natalie pick me up from Sydney Airport, and give me the tour of the city - through Paddington, Oxford Street, past Hyde Park, (I'm not in London, honest!) then down Margaret Street and over the Circular Key and the Harbour Bridge.


As "Banjo" Paterson so aptly put it in 1902, commenting on my RTW trip..

It's grand to be an unemployed
And lie in the Domain
And wake up every second day
And go to sleep again.

They live just north of the bridge, in North Sydney, next to Neutral Bay park. We arrive at their flat, which is a three-storey thing, with underground car park. It's a nice flat which they've been in about a month. Q has stocked up with beers, which we enjoy before retiring. Luckily for him the decent ales he's ordered for his housewarming haven't been delivered, so we just work on his local lager supply.


Q lives in a place which is named "A good fishing spot"!

Next morning we walked down to the harbour, a 10 minute walk, leading out right next to the famous Harbour Bridge. The Opera House is just across the water.


Not bad for a 5-10 minute walk from one's front door


Q and Natalie

We hop on the ferry from here, admiring as we do so two chaps fishing next to a "No Fishing" sign.


Respect

The boat takes us across the water, over to Darling Harbour, past the James Squire brewpub, noted for later! There's lots happening around the waterside, entertainers performing etc.







Today is Good Friday, and we've been warned that almost everything is shut in Australia, it's supposed to be like Christmas Day back in England, but it turns out not so bad. We walk through to Chinatown, and the Market City shopping centre, where we go to Dragon Star Chinese restaurant for yum-cha. Of course Sydney has one of the best restaurants in the world, the French-Japanese fusion "Tetsuya's", (signature dish the mouthwatering-sounding confit of ocean trout served with unpasteurised ocean trout roe, followed by double cooked de-boned spatchcock with braised daikon and bread sauce) but aside from the remote chance of getting a table at the best of times, it's closed today. Next time...



After lunch, a pleasant and required stroll through Hyde Park to the Botanic Gardens, which is full of all sorts of weird things - it's the Australian way!







Tthen up to Sydney Opera House. It does look quite impressive, one of those icons you know so well before even visiting the country.





Next more walking, round to Darling Harbour and the James Squire brewpub. We try their Highwayman, IPA, Docklands IPA, Pilesner, Golden Ale, Craig Stout, Amber ale and Governer King beers, some a couple of times to make sure. I think we settled on the Highwayman and Governer King as being fairly pleasant and worthy of recommendation. Food for me is chilli squid and crab salad.


I am a happy boy

We watch an ultra-cute Korean 2-year-old try to make multiple breaks for freedom from her parents. Dad keeps having to collect her as she tries to totter between the bouncer's legs. Q and I brood away, Natalie thinks we're just plain rubbish.

Next day it's raining, alternating between light showers and seriously heavy downpours. We're waiting for a "window" to go fishing just near the house.


Moody blues

In the meantime we watch one of the old favourites, Blues Brothers 2000. Rain still hasn't stopped, so we start watching Ray. Finally the rain stops, so we wander out excitedly to go fish off the quay near their house. Some bait from the corner shop, where we were going to ask for advice, but as the old chinese woman there has trouble finding the words to explain that the bait is underneath the ice-creams in the freezer (!), so we head down unadvised to the chosen spot, just 30 seconds from Q's front door, and get set up.

There's a dead fish in the water, which isn't a great sign, but we're not fishing for food, it's for pleasure. After a bit of fiddling about with the line because I thread the line the wrong way through the bale, we get started. Q soon picks up his casting as Natalie appears to take some photos. We're getting a fair bit of tugging, but little else, until suddenly, Q's got one! He reels it in without too much of a fight - it's about as big as your average goldfish, but by jove it'll do, it's a catch!



Next challenge is to get the hook out, which is imbedded in his gill. I confidently explain that it's easy, you just put your finger in its mouth and AARRRRRGHHH I squeal like a girl as it clamps down on my thumb! Q has a go with similar results as Natalie catches our pathetic gestures on film. Finally we get it to settle down on the ground without wiggling too much (poor bugger's probably drowning by now) and I get the hook out, then Q scoops it back into the water via a few bounces on the rocks. Oops! Looks like Nemo will live another day...

The rainclouds roll back in shortly after, so we retire, then Marc and Jess turn up from their drive from Melbourne with Niran in tow. We all head out for pizza in the nice place all of 15 metres from Q's door, then retired to the house and stayed up chatting till all hours.


Little Kvanz


Big Kvanz

Once "all hours" was over, I had to help my little brother Lewis out with changing his flights to get him to Japan in about a day's time. Stress! I finally get to bed coming up to 5am. Up in a couple of hours!

Q drops me at the airport. In, all fairly painless, until the SOUR NOTE! Bloomin' airport security confiscate my antibacterial handwash, the wash that has accompanied me to Russia, all round Europe, to Nepal twice, to all of South America, across the Pacific, and they confiscate it. Why? Because the bottle is a 250ml bottle, and you're only allowed 200ml or something. THE BOTTLE IS 80% EMPTY! B**stards. Time for another continent...

Beautiful Perth

Perth, in Western Australia, is one of the most isolated cities in the world. I'm planning to stay with Tony and Marcia, who I met in Peru and again in Patagonia, and who have kindly offered not only to let me stay with them but also as Tony is not working, to hang out with me and show me Perth! Marvellous! Tony picks me up from the airport, and drives me around. I expected the city to be very linear and flat against the coast, but in fact it's quite hilly and deep, with lots of park space and conservation areas of bush. The town is booming at the moment, as mining, iron ore etc, from around here is driving the massive expansion of China, especially Shanghai. All over there are new smart houses being built, especially in the prime beach-side spots.

Tony heads through the centre of town, along the main thoroughfare, lined with skyscrapers, then climbs up to King's Park, an enormous green space with good lookouts overlooking the centre and the Swan River, which empties in Freemantle Harbour and the Indian Ocean. Freemantle, south of here, is the main port of Perth, and the oldest part of the city. We head along Perth's clean and uncongested roads to the cemetary. This is the resting place of Bon Scott, of AC/DC fame - cans of beer and Scotch bottles surround the grave.


Rock on, Bon

Next back to business, specifically the Little Creatures pub which Tony has shares in.



It's a large trendy industrial brewpub, with large benches, pipes lining the brickwork, and big aluminium vats on one side where the brewing magic occurs. The toilets look out over the factory floor through tinted windows. Out to the back, where we hop on to a bench facing a small quay with boats and yachts tied up.



There's an extra beer here since Tony last visited, and so we have a Pale Ale, Roger's Brown, Bright Ale and a Pilsner to sample. We work our way through them before settling on the Rogers, the mildest, as the drink of choice. The beers are bottled and sold all over the place, and according to Q there is a pub with their beer on tap in Sydney.

Nibbles were supplied by us ordering kangaroo!


Boing boing boing chop

Haven't seen any of the things, but apparently they are everywhere. But I have eaten one! Small chunks of meat on skewers, satay-style. Yum! As Tony points out, Australia is one of the few countries in the world that eat their national symbol. Marcia turns up later with her very nice friend, Anna, who has recently returned from 7 or 8 years of living in London. As Tony points out, Aussies all go to the UK to work for a few years, but they always without fail, come home. Brits coming to Australia to work for a couple of years never want to go home!

A couple of bottles of sauvignon blanc and some pizza later, we head off feeling somewhat light-headed, via Anna's house to pick up some pillows (Tony and Marcia came home a few days ago so are not completely organised yet!


Tony and Marcia's house

Back at the ranch, I meet Ned, the beautiful golden retriever who slobbers a lot and shows his affection more through licking his lips than wagging his tail.


The Nedster

Tony opens a bottle of red wine and walks me through some of the best Australian bands, possibly a mistake, as a short few hours later, Marcia wakes us up. Time to go to Rotto!

Rottness Island
Rotto, as those in the know call it, is an island [GPS: 31.99556S, 115.54095E] that one can just about see about 11 km off the WA coast, which has previously been used as a prison and a military base. The name comes from the Dutch for "Rats' Nest", so called because when the Dutch arrived here in 1696 they thought the island was covered in large rats. These rats are infact "Quokkas", a cute small marsupial unique to the island, like a cross between a wallaby and a cat. They're very stupid, pottering about the place without a care in the world, so it's just as well they don't have any natural predators on the island. A fox would have a field-day here.



There are all sorts of measures to keep them from getting into trouble, like "Quokka Blocker" saloon-doors about two feet high on the entrance to shops. It is the symbol of the island, so the pub is the Quokka Arms, newspaper Quokka Times etc.

So, we say goodbye to Ned, always difficult when he gives you the "look"!



Then take the 7:30am (!) ferry over to the island from Freemantle, the other side of Perth. Neither of us are feeling great after the couple of beverages the night before, especially with a reasonable swell which the boat surfs along. A pie and coffee for breakfast at the bakery sorts us out though, and we head off on our bicycles.



The island is quite well organised, with good paved roads running all the way round, no cars, a single bus looping round, toilet facilities periodically and lots of informative signs. However, the main draw of the island is that it is dotted with small but very beautiful beaches, all round. It's always possible to find a small sandy bay for yourself to enjoy in peace.



Pottering round, it's hot, but okay as there is a nice breeze. Temperature's probably in the early 30s, as it is for most of my time in Perth.


Here'll do

We swim at the Basin and another beach on the south side, snorkling a bit, there is plenty to look at, some reasonable size fish but our attempts to catch them "bear style" fail miserably.



The water is cool but oh so refreshing, and spectrum of beautiful blues, from turquoise through deep ocean blue. From some of the island, as one paddles about, it is just about possible to make out the towers of the CBD in the distance, filled with suited and booted workers wasting their life away, and of course poor Marcia and Anna. This is the life!


What Tony does when he says he's "working from home"

Time for a spot of lunch, adequately catered for with fish and chips at Geordie Bay general store.



After we amble round at a leisurely pace to the second lighthouse of the island, Bathurst Lighthouse, built after a disaster on the island when the other one wasn't spotted.



By now it's mid-afternoon, so we drop the bikes and head to the Quokka Arms for a quick beer before the ferry back. Tony says that usually there are Quokkas all over the place by this time, but today they're being especially lazy and are not entertaining us.



The ferry back is much less bile-inducing than the way out, and so we arrive back feeling good, albeit slightly tired.

After popping home for a shower and to dump the bike, we miss the sunset, or rather enjoy it en route to the OBH, the Ocean Beach Hotel, a bar with a lovely view of the sea. Again, the Little Creatures Pale Ale is on tap, so Tony and I settle down on that before the ladies join us, when we head over the road to the Blue Duck restaurant. I commit an Australian faux-pas by ordering a bottle of the Wairau River Pinos Gris from (gasp) New Zealand, to frowns all round, though reluctantly all agreed it was good. I've been there, they're nice people so I'm happy to buy their wine!

Food was oysters to share, Tony having the Pear and Parsnip (or am I imagining that?) soup, which sounds awful but was apparently quite good! Then fish of the day, which was nicely done, though I confess I can't remember what fish it was! A local one!

Tony and Marcia have had enough by this stage, but Anna kindly takes me to a pleasant bar at Subiaco Hotel, in the trendy Subiaco area, apparently one of Perth's most stylish and cosmopolitan suburbs. Incidentally I like the dress codes they enforce in bars and restaurants in Perth - the general statement made, even in quite swanky places, is that shoes must be worn. How the London bouncers would be straight out of a job here! Anyway, the vibe is good, though it's beginning to quieten off as we arrive, and after a bottle of Madfish *Australian* wine, we call it a night as we're one of the last left. Overall, as Marcia pointed out, I've done quite well considering that it has been mid-week here. Perhaps we've been in all of the best (or only!) good bars in the city, but I am impressed!

Have rod, will fish
Next morning, it's one of my rites of passage as a man... Tony is taking me to the Fishing and Tackle shop! I need help, and I'm not ashamed to ask for it. These guys have a wall six metres across just with hooks, floor to ceiling. I have no idea what I'm doing. A nice chap guides me to a rod, the Ugly Stik graphite 4 piece, which is not telescopic, but does break into four pieces, making it more beefy. Compliment that with a Daiwa Spitfire 2500i reel loaded up with a 4kg line and we're ready to go. We grab a box of hooks and sinkers, and some whitebait, as recommended, for bait and we're off to satisfy our hunter gatherer instincts.

We head down to the dog beach at Brighton, feeling guilty that we don't have the lovely but oh-so-dim Ned with us. Over dunes to a beautiful golden beach with turquoise water.


Bit busy today

The plan is to fish, then perhaps have a swim, but the water is just too nice to ignore, so we switch - swim first then fish. Into the beautiful blue water, through some swell, not enough to be unpleasant, but just enough to enjoy an occasional body surf. The water's a perfect temperature. We can see dozens of dolphins slightly further out, doing some fishing themselves. As Tony points out, you always feel safe when there are dolphins about, as they will protect you from any sharks that come in close to shore.

We decide there's precious little fishing at this beach, so drive along to Hilary's Boat Harbour, where there are rocks that we can sit on and cast lines from. There are plenty of fish about, we can see them! We find a comfy spot, then I unpack my rod, removing plastic, tags, stickers etc. What a newbie! Oh well, we all have to start somewhere. I fidget about with my kit, and am eventually in a position to attach hook and sinker, which Tony does for me (the first time). Bait attached, and we're all ready.


Fumble fumble

I cast my rod, but it all goes wrong, tangled fishing wire everywhere. I haven't quite worked out this reel system. I mess around, trying to untangle and sort it out, meanwhile my hooks flail about down below. Of course they get jammed. The embarrassment. My first attempt with my own rod and I don't even get into the water! In the end I reluctantly cut the line. Tony suggests just the one hook for starters might be more economical. I hang my head low and agree.

Now things start to work though. I soon get my casting technique going, and to my pride Tony admires a throw, though of course the next time I completely fluff it as the bale flips over prematurely and I nearly gouge my own eye out. Anyway, the whitebait we are using as bait are certainly being enjoyed by the fish down there, but they're obviously not stupid enough to bite the hook. Time and time again we throw our lines down, only to bring them back up seconds later empty.



Action


And rest..

Of course, the mission today is to catch a "WA dhu fish", a local fish that apparently is a rite of passage for anglers around here. The lovely Anna has promised to come to the BBQ tonight if we catch one. Tony laughs at me at and tells me there is absolutely no chance of catching one on-shore. I try anyway. Then the goal drops to catch something, anything. Then the goal becomes "bring your line back with the bait still attached". We resort to playing with the crabs which creep about on the rocks next to us, at least they grab and hold our bait for a few seconds before letting go, more action than the fish are providing.

Tony gets the closest to catching something, bringing a fish up to the surface, but the little bugger gets away at the last minute. People wander by and ask "caught anything, mate?". I learn that "nah, just feeding 'em" is the correct response to this question. In the end though, it's not about the results, it's about the taking part. We're in a beautiful spot, looking back across the bay, the weather's perfect, and the conversation is good. All that's missing are a couple of beers and life would be complete.


What life's all about

Fishing lesson 1 over, we go shopping for the bbq that Tony and Marcia are hosting for me and my friends I met in Egypt tonight. All is prepared, and we wait, enjoying a few beers. Eventually I call, and find out they're not coming. Oops. Slightly awkward, though Tony and Marcia are very nice about it. I suppose it does mean more food for us, and even Ned shares in the feast, enjoying a few tasty sausages that are left over at the end.

Marvellously late start the next day, some breakfast, bit of breakfast TV. There is outrage here about a sudden rise in the price of petrol. It's the long Easter weekend, and everyone is going somewhere, and when Australians go somewhere, they have to drive some to get there. 1,000km is fairly normal, and a 10% rise in the price of fuel is going to make a significant difference in cost. What is amazing is that this is a fairly regular thing, and apparently they always drop it back down after the weekend! The breakfast show TV presenter suggests it is clearly collusion between oil companies, and just before the show cuts to an ad-break, leans in to the camera and says "Am I allowed to use the word B**STARDS!?" It'd never happen on Breakfast with Frost!

Next day. Back to the Dog Beach.


Today it's back to the dog beach, this time with a dog, our Ned. Tony has to lift him leg by leg into the car. He angles him towards me, then once we get going tells me that Ned has been known to spew in the car before. Nice! Out and on to the beach. Ned is a quite nervous soul. He's a beautiful dog, and was bred as a show dog, but just doesn't have the temperament for show-grounds. He has a good time sniffing about with the other dogs as Tony and I enjoy the Perth surf, me for the last time (this trip). It's ridiculous that this is just a dog beach. You can see from the photos how nice WA beaches are. Maybe it's not as fun when the weather is bad, though thunderstorms are apparently beautiful to watch out at sea.

Tony takes Ned for a swim. Ned doesn't like swimming, and it's no great surprise, as he hasn't yet worked out that it's best to keep one's mouth above the water when in the sea.


Hasn't quite got the hang of swimming without diving gear

After the sea Ned gets hosed off.



With the inevitable shake that follows



Followed by mad dog syndrome to ensure coat is nice and dirty again! Hurrah!



That done, we meet Marcia for a last lunch for me on the grass up in King's Park, looking down over the lovely city that has been my home for the last few days. It's been lovely, thanks to the gorgeous Marcia and especially Tony, for giving up so much time and being such marvellous hosts.



Goodbye Perth, and thank you Tony and Marcia!

Welcome to Down Under

G'day mate. Sweet as and fair dinkum!

In the morning Dad and I drove back to Queenstown early - I would fly out first, Dad later in the afternoon. We had agreed that Dad would be doing the canyon "shotgun" adventure ride in my absence, though I had a mild and surely unfounded suspicion that he would head to the pub. My domestic flight to Auckland was fine until we were near to landing, when we ran into fairly severe turbulence - in fact the most I've ever experienced. Not "people hitting the ceiling" turbulence, which is what I've always wanted to see, but we were being buffeted about quite badly.

Out of the plane into the fairly heavy rain that we had dodged so successfully round the South Island, though it eased slightly for the walk from the domestic to international channel. I was glad to be flying Business from Auckland to Melbourne as the queues were ridiculous for check-in, security, immigration - every step of the way. I wonder whether I would have made the flight without the dear old priority channel!

On the flight I sat next to a very nice English couple who had been over visiting their daughter, and so the flight passed by quickly. Filling out the arrival card, I wondered whether to lie on the "address in Australia" box, as I wasn't sure of Marc and Jess' address. Do I just put "a friend's house"? Sounds a bit lame! Do I put "Hilton, Melbourne" - this would contradict the fact that I've ticket the "visiting friends" box under 'purpose of visit'. The dilemmas that law-abiding types face! Reminds me of the other times in my life when I've felt incredibly guilty - crossing Hyde Park after hours as a student, and worse - pinching trolleys from Sainsburys Finchley Road then being spotted by a father with his young son, or the ultimate disgrace - I've crossed the road when there's a red man, in front of children. The shame of my hedonistic behaviour!


It wasn't me!

As it happens arrival was fairly painless, and even my dodgy Argentine tea didn't set off alarm bells, though all my Australian friends are incredulous as to how I got away with it! Marc and Jess were pleased I finally made it out, as I had told them my departure time from Auckland as my arrival time, and so even with the time difference they had been waiting a long time, fun at the best of times, but when you have a 7 year-old child, especially so. Marc drives us back to their house in Brunswick, a suburb of Melbourne. It's a quiet residential district, but not too far from the centre. And the temperature is perfect, although Merburnians apparently regard it as cold. I delight in the fact that Jess has picked up a slight Australian lilt! G'day, Sheila!

It was raining, apparently the first decent downpour for several years. Melbourne, and most of Australia, currently has quite severe water restrictions. Car washing is not allowed, watering lawns etc. The reservoirs around Melbourne have falled to twenty-something %, which is well down on what they ought to be at this time of year. However I read recently that domestic water usage only accounts for a small part of the total usage, 5% perhaps? So industry needs to be targeted, presumably agriculture primarily. I need my showers!


The flower show was on

First thing the next morning I am woken by a light sabre being shoved into my hand. I am evil apparently. Niran is Jedi. The battle is on! I have the duvet as an additional weapon, but eventually the battle is brought to premature close by me going for a shower (and locking the door). After breakfast, with fresh bread from the breadmaker (how much do I miss mine?!), we all drive into town, Niran, Jess and myself being dropped at Niran's smart looking Victorian red-brick school. His schoolmates are fairly cosmopolitan, one of the influencing factors for choosing it.

I wander down on my own to the CBD, the Central Business District, which is effectively the centre of Melbourne. It's a grid of roads which probably takes about 20 minutes to walk across, lined with mostly high-rise buildings. Shops and cafés line the main streets, although there are a few shopping centres and galleries too. I notice that there are lots of (independent) coffee shops. The first one I go into seems nice, though luckily I remembered as ordering that I haven't taken any money out since arriving in Australia - I am cashless! I apologise and say I'll be back, though of course I don't return. Too many alternatives!

After surfing the web for a while in a bookshop net café place, where the hippie guys behind the bar don't charge me because I'm using my laptop not their computers (spot the entrepreneurs there!), go to buy my Japan Rail Pass (you need to buy it in another country) from Jalpak, a Japanese travel agency up in one of the office towers. I provide all the usual details. Normally when I put my mobile down, I put my UK number, which my cousin Pippi currently is using. This time I put my own roaming mobile down, which is lucky as they forget to stamp my pass, and so called me back twenty minutes later. This would have been somewhat awkward to resolve in Japan I suspect!

Later I head back to the Melbourne Museum, which wasn't open when I passed it at 9:30am, to visit their Great Wall of China exhibition. $16 entry, which includes the whole museum. The exhibition is interesting. I hadn't realised that in fact there are several walls, each built by a different dynasty, the most famous being the Ming walls up in the mountains. The walls also enabled trade to flourish across the mystical Silk Route which interests me so much. Next grand trip may have to be a Silk Route journey. Watch this space :)

The gallery is trying to be as interactive as possible, which is in general irritating, but they do have a computer showing a live blog of an Australian couple travelling the length of the wall. I scan the blog, interested more in technique than content. It's well-written and has excellent photos. Not hosted on Blogger. Interesting. They update it with a sat-nav phone though, the jammy sods.

In the evening, I meet Marc and Jess down in the Docklands area. To get there I walked down past the modestly-sized Central Station - trains are not very exiting here - just a couple of lines - the large sporting arena of the Telestra dome and a rather bleak railway bridge, before arriving at the quayside. It's quiet, but is still early, about 6pm on a Friday night. Later when we leave the restaurant everywhere is bustling and packed. Bed-time for us then!


Telstar


Swanky new places in Docklands

The Indian restaurant Bhoj http://www.bhoj.com.au/docklands/index.html , has won cheap eat awards for the past several years. It's a smart place, with big glass windows overlooking the harbour, and as Marc reserved the night before, we have a nice table with comfy chairs. They have an extremely spicy sauce for the popadoms which I tuck into. I have an unpronouncable chicken dish which is good. The waiters are attentive and the beer is okay. In fact, I haven't found Fosters yet, and none of the Aussies I've met on my travels have admitted to drinking it. Perhaps it's just a UK thing. There's certainly plenty of Victoria Bitter about, but we are in Victoria State so it's not entirely surprising.

Following day, we go to the beach at Brighton. This is one of the richest areas in Melbourne. Large detached houses with high walls and beach views line the pretty bay, as people kite-surf and windsurf off the next bay. Dozens of yachts are floating about further out, possibly racing. It's a very pleasant scene. A small wedding party take photos with the couple walking along the sand, with colourful beach huts behind.


Beachhuts with wedding photos happening

In the afternoon, we head to Queen Victoria Market, the large covered market in central Melbourne, selling vegetables and fruit, fish, meat, cheese and all sorts of other tat. After Marc and Jess buy what they need, we enjoy a nice coffee and cake and one of the smart cafés lining the market. I guess it could be compared to Borough Market in London, but this is bigger. It's refreshing to be in a market where people are yelling at you in English! I wonder if Lisa works here?

Later after dropping Jess off near her concert hall, we hit an Italian ice-cream parlour in Lygon Street, which is lined with restaurants and bars spilling out on to the pavement. I go for Green tea and Nutella flavours. We sat in the park across the street and enjoyed what was left of the ice-cream by the time we'd walked there. Then we went to a Japanese restaurant in the centre, where I enjoyed gyoza then a rather unpleasant beef ramen. Jess turns up just as we've all finished.

Jess is performing in the Melbourne Singers of Gospel choir this evening, in the NGV Centre. The choir is joined by the Gospel Bells, three female singers who usually do the pub circuit (sticky gospel they call it), and a famous ? black singer from the US. They perform a variety of gospel and rhythm and blues hits. The girl next to me asks me why the choir is not all black and wearing white gowns. Overall the evening is marvellous. The Gospel Bells are great, although I'm convinced one of the three singers, and their pianist are both men (the singer looking a bit like the thing that crawls out of the television in The Ring). The black singer has an incredible voice (how do black girls do this?!), and the choir is energetic! They have a few soloists, some of whom are very good (Go Cara) and some not quite so good (one reminded me of a BA air stewardess I once had - not a compliment).




Gusto

Next day I head to the Australian Impressionist exhibition at the NGV Gallery. This details the movement in this area in the 1880s to capture the landscape of Australia, focussing on Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Charles Condor and others. Charles Condor's work appeals to me the most, as it is the least "pastoral" - much of the exhibition is slightly tedious, consisting of many landscape pictures etc. Their work focussed on Box Hill, Mentone and Heidelberg and followed their expeditions to Sydney (including the camp at Sirius Cove) and rural New South Wales. It examined the lively art world of ‘Marvellous Melbourne’ in the 1880s, the influx of artists and entrepreneurs from all over the world, and the staging of the famous 9 x 5 Impression Exhibition of August 1889, which was slated by critics at the time.

As I toured the gallery, I thought how it would be lovely to set up an art colony, perhaps in Spain or Italy. If I could buy a ramshackle house somewhere very picturesque, I could live in poverty, painting and capturing life on canvas.

After the exhibition, I head to Chinatown to find Bubbly tea. I'd seen people before enjoying this drink but not managed to find it. This time I asked. Bubbly tea is a Chinese invention, I first tried it in Vancouver with Leo. It consists of some kind of (iced) tea, with, say two dozen small black chewy balls (semolina apparently) in the bottom of the tea. The tea always comes with a very wide straw which one uses to grab the "pearls" as well as the tea. I go for the Iced Green Pearl Tea variation, one of hundreds available. Next I carry on walking up to Lygon St, where I meet Marc and Jess, and go to Brunetti's, an Italian cake shop.

I choose the Nutella cheesecake with an iced-coffee with ice-cream. Naughty but nice etc.


Low-cal? Err, no thanks!


Someone chomps happily on their cake


Spider on the ceiling


Marc and Jess

In the evening, Marc and Jess host a birthday party for Jess, the highlight being raclette, a German grill where each person has a mini frying-pan which one fills with vegetables, meat and cheese, then place on the top of the special raclette grill to cook, then underneath the grill to brown. It's a good concept, except when the weather is hot already - having a large furnace in the middle of room is not especially welcome as the temperature soars.

Also in attendance are Selena and Peter, she being Marc and Niran's piano teacher, the young ladies Hua and Jessie, Marc's colleagues from his institute, and later Silke, a German colleague from the same place.

Later Marc makes his famous cocktails, tasty and with the alcohol completely hidden. We do battle with a small wood and string puzzle that Jessie has brought with her. It's the usual thing that if you're worked it out, it's obvious, otherwise extremely frustrating! Jessie is desperate to explain it or provide hints. Hua fidgets with it until she and Jessie leave. I bask in the glory of completing it with ease immediately (this time)!

Next day, time to head off. Cab to the airport, as going all the way into town then all the way out again on a bus doesn't really appeal, then check in. Rather chaotic, but quick, and soon I'm into the Qantas Club lounge, which must be the biggest lounge ever. It seems to me that there are more people in the lounge than out, and I generally get the impression that "Qantas Club" is rather too achievable. Awful for first-class types like me to have to slum it with what must be a couple of hundred people! :)

On the flight, I listen to From Our Correspondent. This is the name of a BBC radio show presented by Kate Adie. If you haven't heard it, it is an interesting and informative spoken collection of reports from the BBC overseas correspondents from all over the world, not necessarily news, but focussing on life in cultures so foreign to us in England. Front Row, Broadcasting House, Today Lead Interviews. Another potential job for me, eh? BBC Foreign Correspondent. How easy would it be to get a foot in the door? Where would I want to report from? Possibly Perth...