I was wrong ...

... to call what we saw in Windsor yesterday a sandcastle competition, because it was not. It was really about very complex and beautiful sculptures built by artists from many different countries. Not surprisingly quite a few from the Netherlands.

It was while in Holland on a short vacation with our two daughters that we suddenly saw several limos stop and out stepped these well-dressed businessmen with buckets and spades. I admit that we had a little giggle, they just looked so out of place and probably felt it too.

They were herded down to the beach and told to take their shoes and socks and jackets off and then they were divided into teams and the sandcastle/bonding session started. I guess it is as good a way as any to bring people together and teaching them coordination and team spirit and other good leadership qualities.

This year the theme was Fairty tales and Fables and one sculpture that was quite impressive was Gollum from Lord of the Rings but they were really all so beautiful.

Writing about this subject got me Googling around and I also found something about this guy, Amazing Walter  and his sandcastle activities in case you want to read more.

The temperature yesterday in the part of NSW where we were got up to +40 °C so a pub visit was called for and since it was a sports bar I got a quick cricket lesson, so that was good.

Today will probably be a stay at home Sunday since there is no jackhammering on the building site. I know I have to leave home tomorrow and stay away until 5.

Since most of this blog was about sand I will leave you with this little saying:" We all leave footprints in the sand, the question is, will we be a big heal or a great soul?".

Weekend outing

Very often our outings are train related.  I guess you know who is responsible for that! Don't get me wrong though, I quite like it. The station buildings are often the oldest in the town. Even though the train line might have been discontinued it is still interesting to see how these little places were built up around the station and the one main street. So this weekend we went to Windsor in the foothills of the Blue Mountains and also to Mt Wilson, both very cute places.

Windsor was the third established settlement in Australia and got its name from Windsor, England, of course. I only have one photo from Windsor though because we got quite distracted by the fact that they have more hairdressers than pubs and forgot to take photos. We counted at least ten and in this building alone there were four. In fact I just Googled it and there are 19 in and around Windsor. Why? Who do they have to look so pretty for? What is this obsession with hair?

We asked our waiter where we were having lunch about it, but he didn't know why there were so many, although he looked like he had been asked this before.  Speaking of lunch, I had a lovely risotto. It was meant as a starter but was very filling, and hubby had lamb souvlaki. The place was called 22 and was a little bit away from the main street where it was quite busy.

I might only have one photo from Windsor, Australia, but many from Windsor, England where I went last year with my UK girlfriend and elder daughter just before returning to Australia. We had a great visit of the castle and the beautiful doll's house and then lunch in the former railway station (even though hubby was not with us). This is where the Queen's train used to arrive when she visited Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle

    

Anyway, back to the present. After lunch we drove to Mt Wilson which has beautiful gardens. In our guidebook it said to come at all different times of the year, especially spring and autumn, to see the colours. Now it was wonderfully springlike with flowers everywhere.

There was also something called the Cathedral of Ferns which as the name indicates, has some beautiful ferns. I thought at first that these tall ferns were palm trees but no, they are ferns.

Oh, by the way, the reason I am wearing Crocs is that I have stubbed my toe and cannot get shoes on. Good excuse, huh, and so stylish!