Great roadtrip

I was picked up in Guilford last night, by my friend, after returning the rental car. We had a very nice road trip which included Winchester and the New Forest and also Dorset where we did some walking on the coast.

The weird thing was that after having driven manual cars almost all my life, it had only taken a year in Australia driving an automatic for me to forget completely how to drive a manual. So my poor daughter who had forgotten her driver's license and therefore could not be signed on as second driver had to bear the stops and starts, and grinding gears and stalling in the middle of roundabouts and more. The second day was a bit better, but not much.

However, we did manage to get to Winchester where we visited the cathedral and also did a town walk which included visiting a gallery where G had some paintings exhibited. About cathedrals, they are so amazing. The size but also the intricate details. Here is a picture of the cathedral inside  and also one of me outside.

Oh, I almost forgot that before we got to Winchester we also passed by Jane Austen's house but since we had started our trip very early, we found many places still not open. This one didn't open until ten thirty so we had to leave it.

For example we passed this great looking pub that looked so interesting and welcoming but it was completely empty and we thought we might look too needy if we went in and ordered beer at a quarter passed nine in the morning. I guess we have to come back some other time.

The next place we came to was New Forest which had been suggested by our friend. I don't think I would have known to go there and that would have been such a shame because it was very nice. Wild horses and their foals roamed freely everywhere, so you had to be very careful driving. Here are a few examples.

There is a lot more to tell you (and show you) but I have to go out now because it is another sunny day here in Surrey and it doesn't seem right to sit inside. It's almost a shame really because when I woke up this morning it was grey and looked like it was going to rain any minute. Great, I thought and rushed to the cupboard that my friend had showed me the night before, where they have all their movies. I was going to have an all-day movie stint, I thought, because they do have a lot of goodies. But no, the sun is out again so I have to leave it for another visit, I guess.

Sunny Surrey

We have just spent a few glorious days in sunny Surrey, with good food and good wine and good friends.

When we drove from the airport we noticed that in many of the little villages the decorations were already up for the Queen's Jubilee next weekend. I will be in London then, so maybe we will go and see the Royal Barge on the Thames.

Now we are all packed and ready to go on a two day roadtrip. It was intended to be a three day trip but Europcar messed up. It clearly stated on their website that they were open on Sundays and they were not. Very annoying, I won't use them again, that's for sure!

However, another day in Surrey was great and yesterday we had a great walk in the woods.  We passed a very cute little farm and my friend told me that in the summer these nice people offer a cup of tea and cake etc to passersby and it has been really nice but when we passed by yesterday there was a sign up that due to complaints from the neighbors they have been forced to stop it. How can you not allow such an innocent and pleasant initiative! Some people are really killjoys!

Will try to write more when I get to London since there are lots of things to tell!!

Swede in transit

Good morning again.

Just to let you know that we had an incredible four seats for the two of us from Sydney to HK.
On arrival in HK, and after a bit of shopping, we are now just chilling with our feet up, waiting to board for the next flight to London.
I am racking my brain to solve the word jumble MISTUB and HOMOLA, can anybody help me? I am going mad!!
Also, note that behind me is the Qantas Frequent Flyer lounge that we couldn't get into because we were flying Cathay Pacific this time. We had so looked forward to going there, since we had the vouchers and all but it wasn't to be, however where we are is not too bad. See you soon!

Packin' up, gettin' ready to go!

Good morning!!

It is a beautiful morning, and "all would be well with the world", except that the builders next door are also profiting from the good weather. They are using every power tool that was ever invented, and I have to use earmuffs in the house.  I can't wait to get away from the infernal racket for a while. We are leaving for my yearly Sweden trip tomorrow, and this time it coincides with hubby having to go to Europe for work, so we can travel together.

As the title indicates we are trying to pack up, and it is not so easy!  20 kg is not very much really, especially when you are packing for a few months, I hope we don't have to pay excess luggage fees!

Anyway, so long land of eternal sunshine, and hello country with little red cottages.

Surprise trip

Yesterday after work we picked up beloved son and his luggage so he could spend the night over at our place (closer to the airport), and so that we could take him to the airport in the morning. We thought we might have to bring some stuff back since they are such sticklers for weight these days but in fact he was okay. He is now on his way to Chile to visit his younger sister, loaded down with Heinz Baked Beans, salt and vinegar chips, and other goodies. Youngest daughter will be very happy. They are going to travel to Patagonia together and also to the Atacama desert.

Going to the airport that early meant that we got an early start for my "surprise" week-end trip. Hubby had concocted something and my only clue was that it was to see something that was in the Guinness Book of Records. You can see how that left open a very wide spectrum of guesses. From  the biggest koala, or the biggest earthworm, or maybe the person with the longest nails or...... It could have been anything really.
On the way I pestered him with questions, like "Does it have anything to do with trains?" or "Does it have anything to do with eating or drinking?" or "Does it have anything to do with animals?" or "Does it have anything to do with motor sports?"  The answer to everything was "No". So I had to just be patient, and we all know I am not so good at that. Anyway we had a little stop on the way in Kiama and it was really beautiful.

We saw some young boys jumping from a very high cliff near the blowhole which itself was quite impressive.

We continued our trip and near the surprise destination we saw a man our own age hitch-hiking and we picked him up. He was very chatty and knowledgeable about the area and told us that we were very close to the beach with the whitest, and cleanest sand in the world and that it was in the Guinness Book of Records.

So, by just picking up a chatty hitch hiker, hubby's surprise was blown, just like that, in a few words. We had a good laugh about it, and then when we arrived where our venerable hitch hiker had to get out, we could hardly part since he had so much to tell us. We had a great lunch at the Hyams Beach Store and Cafe before going to the beach itself.  The cafe has recently come 'under old management', i.e. the original owners bought it back, and we are so glad it did.  'Kingfish with a Moroccan sauce on a bed of cold ratatouille' - beat that!

Here you see me at Hyams Beach in the sand which looks like snow,  and when you walk in it, it actually squeaks, it is that clean.  However, I think the sand in Panama City, Florida might be equally white or even whiter. My memory might be a bit rosy though, I was fifteen after all, when I lived there.

A mother's special day

Yesterday we "kidnapped" the son since it was Mother's Day and he is the only one of our three children living in Australia so he had to step up and pay the price. We went for a drive to the northern beaches of Sydney and since the weather was very nice, albeit extremely windy, we were able to sit outside in a little beach cafe at Warriewood Beach. The cafe was okay and the view was brilliant but the food was maybe not what we had hoped for.  Don't get me wrong, we wolfed it down, but it wasn't the oysters that we had hoped for, nor was it enough. After a drive and a nice walk to the point of the quite spectacular Long Reef, we ended up in Dee Why and decided to have  a second lunch with oysters and other goodies in the park. Does it get any better? Well, that would have been if the two daughters were here too and I keep thinking of my own mother and also my mother-in-law and how often they must have thought of us and missed us on this special day. We were far away in France and missed out on many Mother's Days and other family occasions unfortunately.

Thoughts about birds

While sitting on the stone wall outside our house after my walk I saw a bird up in the big pine tree. She was chirping away, warbling even, and I felt that she was calling for someone, that she wanted company. It was quite intense and insistent, in fact that is why I said "she" about her/him/it. Suddenly, lo and behold, after a few minutes a bird of the same type flew up to her and started chirping to her. They sat there and "chirped" for a while and then the first bird flew off and left the second one alone and forlorn. I guess I don't understand the bird protocol.  If I had invited someone to come and see me, I wouldn't just go away like that. Oh, well, they'll have to sort it out.

Another thing that is cool about being a bird is that you never have to worry about finding a toilet. You just do it, and it seems to be number 1 and number 2 in one go. We have reason to notice this since one of our balconies is a bird assembly point. Every time we are having people over for barbecues we have to do a big bird-poop clean up.

Most people would probably say that the most obvious great thing about being a bird is the flying of course  but since I am a little afraid of heights I think if I was a bird I would be more into the singing.

Well, those are my thoughts on birds if anyone is interested. Oh, I just forgot to mention that we saw emus on our last trip. They are very big, very big. According to Wikipedia they can reach 2 m in height and run at 50 km an hour. I look on them as a two legged horse with feathers. I have a healthy respect of horses.

Now I am going to my painting class. I am still riding high on our visit to the Red Centre of Australia and the painting I am doing right now is from there.

I can't believe I only have two more classes after this and then we are going to Europe for the European summer. I will have to rename the blog to "going back" or something.

Back from painting and walking on the beach. It is supposed to be the Australian autumn but it is still around 26° or more in the day and people still surf and swim etc, it is quite nice. The downside is that they don't often have heating in their houses and at night it gets down to 12° or something so a lot of cuddling is necessary.

A week-end on my own

After having taken hubby to the airport veeerryy early yesterday morning I went home and straight to bed again. He was going down to Melbourne yet again for more things connected with his father's passing away.

This has been a sad week. When we got back from Melbourne and the funeral of my father-in-law we learnt that our dear friend in Sweden had passed away as well. He was only a year or two older than me. His wife died last summer when I was in Sweden from the big C and now so did he, not even a year later. I guess the lesson in all this is, while there is time, do good to others, and don't rush through life, but stop and look around and enjoy family, nature, art, whatever makes you happy.

In the afternoon I did some errands and when I got back a lady was standing in our front yard letting her dog do his business on our lawn, and a big truck was parked in my drive way. I hopped out of the car and pointedly looked at her and the dog and tried a bit of sarcasm "If you need to go too you can use our toilet inside if you like".  It didn't work.  She just looked at me and shook her head as if it was me who was in the wrong. The truck was from next door where a house is being built and they came out immediately and moved it when they heard I was back.

Now I am just back from Bundeena where they have an Art Trail every first Sunday of the month. It was  fun and interesting to see all the different styles. In such a small place as Bundeena is, there were 23 artist studios to visit so I guess it is an inspiring place for artists. One of my absolute favorites was Peter Mulden, I really loved his vibrant style and colors.

I drove down through the Royal National Park but you can also go by ferry from Cronulla.  On the way back I stopped at  Weir Cafe and picnic ground, a place that we had never been to before. It was a bit too late to have lunch but it looked like it was definitely a place to go back to.

Last piece of bad news. My camera doesn't work so all I have to show for today is a photo of my foot that accidentally was taken when I fiddled with the camera to take a photo of the river. So sorry, folks just my ramblings today, no photo.

Tribute to a gentleman

We are back from Melbourne, again, this time for my father-in-law's funeral. Sadly we had to go down just a few days after we had been down to see him last week. He passed away quietly, and he will be sorely missed by his three children, ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was a kind and gentle man and never complained, even though he must have been in pain.
I will always remember my in-law's visits to us when we lived in France and how patiently my father-in-law worked in the garden. He was never someone to do things quickly but everything he did was always very nicely done.
Another thing that springs to mind when I think of their visits to us in France was his simple eating habits. Here he was in the land of gourmet cooking and outstanding wine and all he really wanted was "bangers and mash", and if you also made an apple crumble he was in seventh heaven! This should of course be served with a cup of tea or two to make it perfect.

To my mind this picture of my in-law's from their courting days captures perfectly the post-war optimism as they head in step towards the Australian dream of marriage, a home of your own, and two or three children.  This they did with elegance and a life-long devotion to family and one another.