Sunshine in San Diego

 A great flight to San Diego on Alaskan Aiways and on to the Pacific Terrace Hotel which was exactly what we wanted and needed. We were warmly welcomed and shown a table in the sunshine while our room was finished off .....and it was so sunny and warm. We were impressed from the minute we arrived - nothing too much trouble for the staff and our ten days there were heavenly. We established a routine of breakfast - an hour by the pool, maybe a stroll on the promenade, lunch and then an afternoon excursion. we booked various restaurants - a favourite being an Italian just around the corner but we ate in he hotel a couple of nights too. American food is not really impressive and the munu was typical - steaks, burgers, fish goujons and fries and either a cob, wedge or caesar salad. We wanted to relax as much as possible as we knew Las Vegas would be busy so we didnt plan much. 

On our second day I met a lovely lady staying there and she gave me all sorts of tips of where to go and what to do and that night a lerter was puched under the door containing all of these and more so we used this as a to-do list and ticked them off. We went to;-

*    Mount Soledad is a veteran's monument to all who served in all wars. Its set high up on a hill with 360' of Sandiago. I very moving place with walls and walls of names, photographs - some with brothers and family menmbers who gave their lives in service which brought me to tears! We found Glen Millers name and dates and US President Gerald Ford. Although a somber day it was a worthwhile visit and Im glad we went.

*    We had a hilarious trolley bus tour of San Diego going over the bridge to Coronada Island and saw Mexico on the horizon. Our guide cracked jokes the whole time and one elderly couple told us they live in San Diego but do this ride regularly just to listen to the commentary and always check its this driver as he's the best - we dropped them at the end of their street!

*    Balboa Park a 1200acre park featuring 18 museums, renowned gardens and restaurants all laid out in the spanish style architecture. We spent most a day here and couldnt do everything but we had a lovely day and really enjoyed the various buidings, the Japanese garden and beautiful Botanical building. Its home to the San Diego Zoo but we gave that a miss - totally agianst caged animals!

*    Temecular Valley Vineyards. A great day exploring this ancient wine region. We went on a tour with theee other couples and we were all great friends by the end of it! An hours drive from San Diego we first stopped at the old twn of Temecular with bijou shops, boutiques and great coffee places - it was very pretty and full of history - the land first occupied by the Temecular Indians, then the Spanish and then American settlers - a real frontier town. We visited three artisnal vineyards with generous pourings, had lunch at one and ended the day high up overlooking the vines, glass in hand as the sunset. A perfect day!

*    On our last evening we bobbed around the bay with more interesting people with an expert lady skipper and saw dolphins and seals and agian a wonderful sunset. Wed booked dinner downtoen that evening at a trendy and very popular Italian which was really good.

San Diego was great - the perfect match of relaxation, sunshine and interesting places and we decided wed love to spend more time there by the ocean in the future. WE were sad to check out and head for the airport.

We had to leave though as our adventure was ending in Las Vegas - again I had zero expectaions as everything I'd heard about Vegas was just so not me! We'd booked a hotel off-strip and our taxi driver told us en route that we would like it as the locals go there. It was the Red Rock Hotel which has a casino - there is no hotel in Vegas that doesnt have a casino but the casino floor was surrounded by various restaurants . It had a massive pool are consisting of seven pool and spa. Our room was very nice and had a view of the red hills in the distance. it had a huge flaw though - no kettle ot coffee making facilities! We were expected to leave our room - go down 17 floors to the Casino level and visit Starbucks for our morning cuppa or pay $16 every morning for room service to bring us one! I asked at reception and they were unhelpful - so I ordered a cheap kettle on Amazon - we had brought teabags with us and it arrived before breakfast  - hey presto it paid for itself before we left when we presented it to the cleaning staff! 

Las Vegas was a very special end to our trip and in my next post I'll let your know how we spent our time there.

Motown to Jazz

 December in Detroit 

Ha Ha - I wrote the title of this blog on January 11th probably when  I was full of New Year's resolution and determined to keep up with my online diary - I hang my head in shame! Here we are coming to the end of March - I have excuses all valid but I cant travel and spend time writing at the same time.

Our trip to the US was a grat success and we enjoyed every minute. Our plans changed when Nick took one look at the traffic in Los Angeles and abruptly decided driving was not an option for him so we arrived in Detroit on 23 December knowing only that we had a hotel booked in New Orleans in January and as Christmas was looming we focused our energy else where. We truly enjoyed our family time in Detroit and also the excurtions we had which were a bit limilted because of snow on the ground affecting mobility but downtown Motown was wonderful - full of festive people all wrapped up and rosy cheeked families skating on a man made rink under the Chrsitmas tree with a warm lounge serving hot chocolate and other warming drinks for spectators. We toured the old train station which is newly rennovated and listenened to jazz and played 'UNO' the grandchildres favourite game when Mr Nick is around as they love to witmess his losing tantrums! We also went to a lakeside brewery - clad in wood and looking like something from the series Virgin River and the customary Costco shopping visit and the Skechers outlet - simple tastes - and our already full suitcases were even fuller as we set of the New Orleans.

January in New Orleans

It's difficult to describe New Orleans - a Euopean city in the centre of America on the banks of the mighty Mississippi river with a diverse population and jazz playing morning, noon and night sort of sums it up. A lot of craziness and I suspect a place where people go to be someone else - a carefree, creative person they busy inside them. In South Africa we used to have an arts festival every year in Grahamstown where you would bump into people you knew but didn't - lawyers in velevet cloaks, teachers in crazy knitted hats and neighbours in colourful garb - never seen on thier washing lines. We stayed in the historic French Quarter in an amazing hotel The Monte Leone  https://www.hotelmonteleone.com/ in Royal Street, which had a revolving Carousel Bar which opened at 10am and was full by 10.05 until closing time in the early hours! We sat on it one day and chatted to visitors who got louder and louder as the cocktails went down. Gals on bacherlorette weekends, friends on a reunion, a convention of health care workers, an anniversary couple reliving thier honeymood and telling us it was even crazier twenty years ago but in a classier way. There was live jazz in the hotel every lunch and evening and it was a constant hive of activity. We toured the city on a horse and cart, an open top bus, a trolleycar and by foot. We heard stories of famous celebreties that own property there - Nicholas Cage and Sandra Bullock - to name two. We learned of the history and the tragedy of hurricaines and floods and we admired the old French/American style architecture of Creole Cottages, American Townhouses, Raised Centre Hall Cottages and the early Spanish influence of internal courtyards, fountains and wrought iron balconies which made a fascinating backdrop to all day Jazz. 

Jazz suposedly started in Bourbon Street in the 1930s and the city has nurtured this genre ever since - you walk down Bourbon and there is jazz belting from every dooway together with dubious smoke odours and a rowdy appreciation for life. Like nowhere else sums it up! We were warned not to go there in the evening as fights can break out, so we chose an afternoon set at Fritzels tiny jazz venue which is free if you order a drink for every set you stay for - we did two and witnessed the resident band joined by friends who played improvised sets - it was amazing and I think as authentic as it gets. The nightly jazz in the hotel was pretty good too from traditional to modern and always the band had an additional member - a bucket that was passed around for tips which was how Preservation Hall started all those years ago - bands playing for tips.

On our last day we went on a river boat and enjoyed a relaxing cruise up the Mississippi and were reminded of a time when days were slower, the cocktails sipped slowly and laziness was approved of but there was a jazz band aboard and some energetic passengers danced the Charleston! Walking back to the hotel in the middle of the road we stopped in our tracks by a piano on wheels being played expertly, a singer with a megaphone, a banjo, saxaphone, trumpet and mobile drum kit - an impromptu jazz session (the group is called Dirty Rotten Vipers and member change regularly) a small crowd gathered - foot tapping, swaying, shouting appreciation - what an experience!

New Orleans was a once in a lifetime adventure - we left as Mardi Gras season was starting and already the streets were getting ready for the colourful parade and decked in green, purple, black and yellow and colourful costumes as rehearsals staryed. The party of the year was about to start but we slipped away and headed for the dessert - next stop Arizona!

Headspace in the Desert

 We flew from the craziness of New Orleans - YOLO as the locals call it to Pheonix, Arizona with great service from American Airlines including a check in facility at the drop off zone so our suitcases were in the airport before we were! We had arranged Broome Transport to take us on to Sedona, a favourite place of my Detroit family - Broome were prompt, efficient and in no time at all we were on the road into Sedona. Not many folk outside of America have heard of it but it is a most magical place.

 Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavpal counties in the northern Verde Valley. It has a population of 9,684 and it lies within the Coconino National Forest. We arrived in the dark and checked into our appartment in a vacation club - main thing was it had a washing machine because when you are travelling for months you need laudry stops!  Sedona's main attraction is its array of pink sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in pink when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. So we awoke to a room bathed in pink as the sun rose and opened the door to see we were surrounded by rose pink mountains! These rocks form a popular backdrop for many activities, ranging from spiritual pursuits to the hundreds of hiking and mountain biking trails. Sedona is also home to several vortex sites and a place that attract creative, spiritual people along with people who see UFOs. It really is a magical place and one of outstanding beauty - a perfect place to spend my birthday. We had ten days to explore and thought we had perhaps booked too long but not so, we enjoyed every single day and when we werent out riding around on pink jeeps we realxed in our resort and swam - yes the temperature were in the high teens and the pool was heated, 

We explored those pink hills with a guide called Snake - who wore one around his neck - well the skeleton of a rattler's head that is. He took us out on a Jolie Trolley and pointed out local businesses to enjoy and those to avoid and was very knowledgable about .....snakes and other wildlife. Thanks to him we found a great American Diner to enjoy a burger - one of the best we had in the US! We explored off road in pink jeeps going up to a chapel built into the rocks designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's grandson with panaroamic views which was worthy of the adjective 'awesome' and a perfect place for worship. It's still a working chuch but I am so glad we got taken up there in a jeep - even the walk from the carpark was almost vertical. We did one of the most challenging jeep rides right up into the red rocks a scenic rim tour where I hung on for dear life coming down the devils staircase - we were the eldest in our group of six and have the bruises to prove it! Oh but the scenery was so worth it! We explored by train too and took a day trip on the Verde Valley railway where we sat in comfort and watched the world go by - snacks and drinks provided and the company of some great folk - four ladies on a school reunion aged in their 70s and celebrating over 50 years of friendship - when I mentioned my upcoming birthday in two days - gifts appeared out of thier bags - chocolates and keepsakes that they insisted I took and then a bottle of champagne appeared and when the rest of the guest in our coach saw this a whole choir singing Happy Birthday surrounded us! It was a magical birthday memory...... A great day our!

Sedona is also well known as a food destination and we soon discovered Wild Flower bakery for breakfast and bought a delicious artisan loaf that looked like one of those moutains! We tried all the restaurants over the ten days we were there and were not once disappointed. However Mariposa - where where we had lunch on my birthday was a standout latino inspired grill that had the most magnificent views - it was a perfect place to celebrate another trip around the sun and following lunch we went out on another jeep to a sacred vortex site where we used divining rods which whizzed back and forth and my hair actually stood on end, For days I was electified and got shocked when I touched anything metal. We visited a replica Mexican village, Tlaquepaque a replica of a village of the same name in MExico. It was full of galleries, boutique shops and restaurants where spicey margueritas were enjoyed with authentic quesadillas. We found a great supermaket called Whole Foods full of amazing produce and also home cooked ready meals and a huge assortment of treats.

So our ten days flew by and we were packing again for our return trip to Pheonix - again we thought five nights in Phoenix was far too long but it turned out to be such an interesting place and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Our hotel was huge - and we racked up hundreds of steps just getting to breakfast and in the grounds - a JW Marriot property the staff were the epitome of great American service. Highlights here were the Botanical Gardens...... full of gigantic cacti and a great restuarant that served the best margherita of the trip! We went to a Japanese reataurant reccommended by my son - the best dinner we had of the trip with amazing food choices and we rode there in a driverless taxi just Nick, myself and the invisible man at the wheel - freaky but very efficient! Our last trip in Pheonix was to Canyon Lake where we had a great bob around the Lake after visiting Superstition Mountains where the community are still looking for the Dutchmans Gold fifty years after he took his gold find to the grave. We also called at Apache film studios where many of the Westerns of our youth were filmed including High Noon - we stopped up the road for lunch on a ranch and there was a real/mock gunfight in the street to remind us that we were in the Wild West!

A great stay and time to head for San Diego where the ocean awaited us.

Happy New Year 2026

 

My annual tribute to New Years Eve......

Here we are again - the very last day of the year! Has it been a good year - YES! Every year after age 70 is a great year - I’ve had my three score and ten so I make it a point to appreciate everything that comes my way. Highlights for 2025 must be having the family visit from the the USA and at the same time grandson Craig visited from South Africa so it was almost a family reunion. We had a lovely warm Punchestown in Ireland for the racing festival and our travels afterwards to Ardmore and a week in Jersey - a first for me! So here we are in Detroit getting ready to see the new year in after a very special Christmas with the family while the snow gently falls outside. We are warm and cozy and finalising arrangements to visit New Orleans, Sedona, Phoenix, San Diego and Las Vegas where it will be a little warmer. Travelling gets tiring but it’s still worth it and we have learned to enjoy things at a slower pace. Happy New Year- let’s hope 2026 sees peaceful times ahead with us all showing more kindness to others.

I repost this each New Year to remind me of how time passes so quickly! We are about to say goodbye to 2024 and hello 2025 which hardly seems possible! This year again has been full of surprises - the biggest one being that I have remarried! I’m still in shock but adamant that nothing will change. Travel highlights for this year have come from a northerly direction with Scotland and Balmoral and Donegal in Ireland. My trip to the US fell later and I was there for a most spectacular fall and Halloween and because we are seldom here for Christmas, I went all out and had a very busy and enjoyable festive season which is about to come to a close as we prepare to leave for sunny shores. I hope it’s warmer and brighter when we return. Till the Happy New Year ….. time to remember!

It’s that day of the year when you either celebrate and look forward to what the New Year has in store or you sit and recollect what happened in the year that you are leaving behind. Whether you are looking into a crystal ball or in the rear view mirror – it’s all about reflection. Just like Bridgette Jones it’s about taking stock, tallying up the numbers in your life, doing a few calculations and deciding whether you are winning or not.

That probably explains why some years you will find me sitting at home in my slippers watching The Royal Variety Show and other years I will be putting my left leg in, my left leg out, doing the Hokey Cokey with a bunch of jolly strangers.

Traditionally New Year was a time for first footing, dark haired strangers bearing coal and a lot of Scottish people on the TV swinging their kilts and their whisky bottles. My father, Harry, used to celebrate New Year in a big way down at his local while we children waited for him to come home intoxicated so that we could laugh at him. One year he did the Highland fling with a party can - a huge can of beer that held seven pints – then opened it! We welcomed 1962 in a shower of beer and the house still reeked of Ansell’s’ bitter in June! 

Another year – 1976 I think - the family accompanied dad to his local, the Seven Stars, and at midnight we three sisters marched into the bar because that was the year that women were declared equal and couldn’t be refused entry anywhere based on their gender. We wanted the moon, equal pay and the opportunity to buy a pint in the snug! My sister took our newly legislated freedom a step further by marching into the Gents toilets while my father cried into his beer and declared that the world had gone mad.

Perhaps that’s why my father chose the 31st December to cast off his mortal coil and join the spirit in the sky. That year I lay in bed listening to neighbours singing Auld Lang Syne, distant fireworks and the world celebrating and I wandered how people could be so happy while I was so sad. I suppose that sums up New Years Eve – some have had a year to celebrate and others are sadly counting their losses.

Since being in South Africa we have the additional burden of celebrating twice – at midnight and at 2am as we wait for and send good luck messages to the UK. A few of years ago I opted to babysit for New Year and when friends asked had I seen the New Year in – I replied, “Yes! At 23h30, 00h15, 01h45, 02h30 and 04h10!” I had forgotten that is what New Year’s Eve is like with a 3 year old.

I am also remembering a New Year spent in Cape Town visiting a friends who were in isolation there. Our dear friend had been diagnosed with acute T-cell limblastic lymphoma so while the champagne corks were popping, he was in hospital popping pills and battling the horrors of chemo. Friends of friends opened their home to us and we saw the 2010 in with strangers in Monte Vista and drove back as the sun came over Table Mountain unsure of what the year held. He is a survivor and a hero and I know will celebrate many New Years!

2012 Is it really only 6 years ago that Tony and I were singing,“We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne,"  with sister Julia and Tom in Manchester - dining in style and dancing the night away. Such a joyful evening and the expectation of a great year ahead - Four weeks later, I was numb with shock and arranging Tony's funeral.

2013 - Spent in Natal with where we eventually found somewhere to eat - Jimmy's Prawns - at 10pm to be told they weren't licensed, Never Again!

2015 I spent the night on my own, scrap booking, I think and then climbed into bed early, content, healthy and grateful to have made it through another year and achieving most of what I set out to do. This year I turned my dream of sailing on the Chobe River into reality. I have visited Singapore and Thailand and spent precious time with Sean Nadine and Katherine. I managed a few days in the UK having fun with Julia, Tom, Sandra and Janice and family. I have fished for trout in Dullstroom, set sail in a canoe on the Keurbooms river (albeit briefly) and I have enjoyed some wild adventures with my camera. I have been productive and managed financially to maintain my home, my health and my sanity, I am content with my lot and looking forward to 2016 - excited at the possibilities it has in store and plotting my path to make more of my dreams come true. Tonight there are no plans as yet,  but I shall be remembering the past and definitely looking forward to celebrating a life lived deliberately.

2016 Today V is arriving from Natal - this will be our last New Year together - the decision is made and I just have to take action. I am disappointed but I am truly worth more than a daily phone call at 9pm and a long weekend per month. My sister and hubby is arriving tomorrow so I am excited for that. We will travel a little and enjoy the beach and the bush! I have new projects to look forward to and enjoying time with my family and friends. I have goals to visit Namibia and  Botswana and perhaps I will fit in a trip to the UK too!

2017 Surprise Surprise - Isn't life full of them! This year I am spending New Years Eve in Novi Michigan. Wrapped in a white blanket of snow - snug and warm and watching Little Women on BBC. Yes - I will be having a glass of bubbly but probably at 9pm as that is what parents of small children do lol. I have achieved all that I set out to do this year so I deserve to celebrate my achievements.  My plans for the year are in progress and I do believe that I will have some exciting adventures in 2018. I am blessed with a loving family and privileged to spend time with the little people in it.

2018 Change, Change and Change! Reflecting on last years comment that I plan to have exciting adventures in 2018 is a bit of an understatement. Who would have thought that life would have washed me up here on the very south coast of England watching swans, gulls and river traffic on the Arun in between rushing off to races in Ireland and the UK? I have had some wonderful adventures, traveled on trains and boats and planes to Canada and the USA and through England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. I have met some really interesting people, made a couple of new friends, spent time with old friends and met someone who is kind, thoughtful and loving and is great fun to spend time with. I hope I have made a difference to a couple of elderly folk and I have loved my year of living differently! I am already making plans for 2019 but right now I am looking forward to seeing you all again in January and catching up with all your adventures.

2019 / 2020 /2021 What happened??

I was trying to remember today how I celebrated the last couple of New YearsEves ? We were in South Africa - packing for Cape Town I think last year. Beyond that I can’t remember - perhaps a long term effect of Covid! New Year seems to lose its sparkle as you age and today we had lunch with friends and will stay at home and look for something good on TV.  Plans - fingers crossed - to travel south are imminent. This year,  I have managed a visit to the USA and had a great time with the family there. We have holidayed in Ireland and as far north in Scotland as we could, and explored the Jurassic coast as far south as we could get. I have reconnected with my eldest brother and made the most of travel opportunities around various restrictions. I am grateful for my health, my family and that my nearest and dearest is well. I am loved and had the opportunity to spend time with my loved ones - a blessing! 

Once my life was lived from goal to goal. I had to-do lists, bucket lists, f#*&-it lists and short and long term plans. Now I am just living in the now - savouring the special times with people and taking life as it comes …..mostly in boxes from Amazon! I know I will spend my 69th birthday in the wild bush of the Eastern Cape and hopefully awake to the rumble of lion, the call of a Knysna loerie  and that special earthy fragrance of  nature that I love. 

Not sure whether we will be doing the Hokey Cokey this year as sadly , Larry La Prise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Pokey" died peacefully at age 93 last week. The most traumatic part for the family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in..... and then the trouble started. Hee Hee!

Happy New Year to all my family and friends........and special thoughts of my dad Harry – I hope that you are enjoying a wee dram at the ‘eighth star.’

A fab five days in Christchurch!

 

Our last day in New Zealand for a while and it’s been great! As much as I love Queenstown, I love Christchurch for different reasons especially when you arrive here after a month of relaxation and the stillness of the mountains! Christchurch is smaller, busier and has great shops!  We o benighted in Oamaru on the drive up here, which is the steampunk centre of the universe! It’s a quirky odd little town full of fabulous Victorian buildings from a prosperous era and a thriving steampunk culture of penny farthings, old machinery and rusty trains! We stayed in the Poshtel which was as wacky as the town and housed in one  of the old buildings renovated beautifully - high ceilings, sash windows and the slowest lift in Christendom! We are at Fat Sallys who’d run out of seafood and salad stuff - the supplier only comes on Tuesdays! It was such an entertaining stop over - it’s also home to a colony of small blue penguins and has a beach full of surreal oddly shaped boulders.

In

We drove on Christchurch - quite a boring journey over the Canterbury Plains and headed out for dinner to a pub we’d spotted on our way in. We were lucky as a group were playing traditional Irish music - they were very good and our feet were soon tapping away. The following morning we headed out to Catheral Junction where the trams head out from and hopped on one to the Botanical Gardens - the roses were in full bloom and just magnificent. We had a lovely stroll around then hopped back on the tram to check out the shops. Ballentines is a traditional and well loved department store here and it was lively in the run up to Christmas - they are very proud of their window displays and even have barriers erected to control the crowds that gather around to admire them. Probably the most Christmassy we’ve seen this season but nothing compared to Oxford and Regents street or even the local windows in Littlehampton!

Yesterday we drove out to Akaroa - cloudy but pleasantly warm - it’s a simple and lovely little town on the coast with some quaint boutiques - I bought not one but two hats! I know …I know but I couldn’t rest them! We got home, had a quick change and then headed o out on the tram again - this time the restaurant tram and we fine dined around the streets of Christchurch - round and round ! The food was great and served beautifully - I just wished we hadn’t passed the queue of homeless being fed by the Christchurch Mission - it sort of made me feel guilty! I came back to our room and donated as I couldn’t get them out of my mind. 

Today was a lovely day - we had one last visit to the shops and then to - what has now become our local pub - for a snack and I left Nick there to watch the cricket while I went to the Banksy Exhibition which had just opened and was on next door at the Exhibition centre! I loved it - it’s just been on in London and I missed it so was grateful to catch it here!

We dined at the Monday Room this evening and WOW - loved it - everything about it! Old original building that had survived the earthquake, great ambiance, seriously delicious food and a great wine list! So so glad we have discovered this gem!

So goodbye Christchurch - it’s been perfect! I hope we’ll be back.

The most beautiful town in the world.

 

Queenstown! I know that’s a big title but Queenstown really is the most beautiful town in the world. We have been here four weeks and our time is coming to an end. We arrived to fresh alpine air and some pretty low temperature as Spring had come late and there was plenty of snow on the Southern Alps. It was so refreshing after the heat and humidity of Sydney. After stocking up the cupboards at the apartment and unpacking we headed straight for Glenorchy about an hours drive along the shores of Lake Wakapitu to check if the wild lupins were in flower along the dry river bed. They were just starting to come into bloom so we knew we had a treat in store and have visited regularly throughout our stay to watch them come alive. Our last visit was two days ago and they have reached their peak - the scent was amazing - but  in a week or two they’ll have gone to seed again. We are often alone as we wander through them and as well as feeling privileged to enjoy them, I feel relieved that they remain a secret - I’d just hate it if they became a stopping place for the many coaches and tour groups that descend here. Selfish I know!

Its  been great using The Rees as a base to explore at our own pace and we have enjoyed two visits to Wanaka over the Crown Range along many bends. Another lovely little town - quieter than Queenstown and just as scenic with some lovely boutiques and upmarket shops. We enjoyed lunch and window shopping on our first visit - over the mountains on the way there and returning through the vineyards and orchards - a longer but easier route. On our second trip we  reversed the order and arrived at Wannaker Lavender en route - which looked nothing from the road - but once inside it was like a fragrant heaven. Beautifully laid out gardens lined our path to the lavender fields which were in full bloom and buzzing with bees not the least interested in us as they got on with their very important work. What a lovely couple of hours which concluded with a photo on the purple tractor! I love a Massey Ferguson!

The highlight of this trip though was our trip to Mount Cook National Park. We tried to book a flight up there from here but they all included 5 hours in the reserve which we felt was too long, so we drove there ourselves having booked a helicopter flight up to the glacier and a ski plane for our decent. It was amazing and well worth the 3 hour drive! We stopped at a great farm stall at Tarras before heading over Lindis Pass into the mountains. The word Awesome doesn’t adequately describe how you feel surrounded by the mountains still thick with snow and looking down on the turquoise rivers below and the palest blue ice of a new glacier formation. It was just magic…… but we needed a miracle as we had to get from the helicopter to the plane across 200 m of ice and snow between aircraft up there! It was interesting to say the least as I sunk into a foot of snow and struggled to stay upright. The pilot helped Nick as I couldn’t but I did make it albeit on my knees at times!! Thankfully I had packed a change of clothes in case it got too warm later in the day for jeans and a fleece - so back on the ground I didn’t have to sit with wet jeans for the rest of the day! We travelled on to Lake Tekapo - a place we have stayed at previously. The scenery was beautiful and we had the perfect weather - clear blue skies, roads lined with wild flowers and fields of blue and pink lupins and the turquoise waters of Lake Pukiki and Tekapo. There is an amazing restaurant at the Lake - delicious food and a welcome glass of wine to celebrate the day! We set off back around 6 and we’re home at sunset - these long hours of daylight really help you get the most out of your time here.

Another great experience was the Arrowtown Longtable which we were lucky enough to join this year. A table the legnth of the high street is set up and each restaurant caters for the section of the table in front of it and it was a great opportunity to mix and chat with the locals. We sat with a couple from Dunedin - a baker and a nurse practitioner and with one of the sponsors from a food company in Aukland and a young woman from Arrowtown - it was very interesting and the food was good too! We headed home around seven but the party was still in full swing with live music at most of the venues and the booze was flowing! We have met some interesting and lovely people on this trip and even swapped books with one.

Queenstown has been great - lunch at Kinross, Gibbston Valley, Ayrburn and Mount Difficulty vineyards is always a pleasure. Although getting busier and busier Queenstown is still the most beautiful town in the world and The Botswana Butchery the best restaurant in New Zealand. The iconic TSS Earnslaw is a reassuring site as it chugs along the lake to Walter’s Peak and back and beloved Glenorchy may you stay a hidden gem.  We are packing up today and heading to Christchurch before heading to the US for a white Christmas. I’ll miss waking up to this view! 

Exciting, glamorous and pulsating with life - we are in Sydney.

 I’m sitting in the foyer of a noisy hotel in Sydney - it’s hot outside and I’m jet lagged! We arrived on whatever day it was - I’m still getting my head around losing a day of my precious life in transit. When we landed we threw ourselves into the waterfront nightlife at Darling Harbour after being cooped up mid air for too many hours. We went to bed - he slept while I tossed and turned, played sudoko and read.

Yesterday we planned a stroll around the harbour - there’s a boat show on - but ended up hopping onto a ferry, meeting a couple carrying a life size purple banana in a witches outfit which they’d won at a funfair. She had her life story etched on her face and tattooed on her body and he kept wanting got talk to us about Manchester United! We hopped off the ferry to return to Darling and hopped on the wrong one which took us to the zoo so we stayed on and returned to the ferry terminal to find the right one and get us somewhere for lunch. Sydney Harbour was full - a massive cruise liner was docked and sightseers in Instagram poses everywhere. I’ve never understood the point of someone taking a photo of the back of your head while you stare into the distance but there was plenty of that and some contortionist, would-be cameramen trying to get the perfect shot - just how many photos of a bridge is too many?

I love people watching and the ferry and surrounding quay was the perfect place. As well as the mad couple with the purple banana - did I mention that it was life size - we saw so many people in fancy dress. It was Friday but this took casual day to a new level - two brides to be, a bumble bee, an angel in wings, a clown ( it could have been a designer outfit hard to tell these days) a pirate,  a witch or was it a wizard of Oz. The mind boggles - clearly Fridays are party days down under.

We found a perfect lunch spot and watched the world go by while an opportunistic seagull watched us. Seven thousand steps later we arrived back our hotel and had a hour to change and step out again - another ferry but this time to Manly carrying a long box which held an ancient barometer being relocated to Nicks nephew along with some other heirlooms. We arrived at the terminal just as the sun was setting and were met by the family for the handover and catch-up and enjoyed a lovely meal with a fabulous view al fresco.

Clearly Friday is also ‘let your hair down’ night and there were loads of young people looking glitzy and  glamorous, sun-kissed and sparkly in skyscraper heels, flirting and laughing while I felt like a country bumpkin in my H&M cotton frock and sandals. 

After 10pm we hopped back onto the ferry past the illuminated Opera House under the bridge and back onto dry land - into an uber and back to the hotel exhausted but happy. You’d think I would have slept but no……. I tossed and turned, dreamed of turtles WTF then gave up and read the paper online - I’m not sure if it’s tomorrows or yesterdays. 

 We’ve just enjoyed a late breakfast and relaxed in the foyer while housekeeping sorted our room out. Two gorgeous girls all glammed up in a backless red dress and a sequinned gold dress have just walked past us heading out and I just know for sure they will be enjoying an Instagram moment.

I’m going for a nap - well I’m praying for a nap. Tomorrow we have an early start and fly to New Zealand and another time zone. I’ll do the Wordle puzzle and then maybe I’ll sleep……..

Sydney is always exciting, glamorous and pulsating with life! It’s great for a few days and then it becomes exhausting and I am craving fresh air and a quieter pace of life. Looking forward to the blue blue skies and the  mountains and lakes of Queenstown. Here we come!