16th March, 2016

So, our last stop in Australia, in one of my all-time favourite cities, Sydney. We arrived nice and early from NZ and took the train the two stops to Mascot where Val’s friend from way back, Alfie has her very nice flat. It is IMMACULATE! with stunning views over the city. Val took the opportunity to have a swim and we ended the day with a drive down to Botany Bay with a windy (as in blowy) walk along the beach near a place called Brighton Le Sands! Honestly, it sounds like somewhere out of Keeping Up Appearances. Supper was at Hurricane Grill – ribs!! Fantastic. I particularly like Val’s expression (and bib) in the photo below.

17th March, 2016

One of the main purposes of visiting Sydney (and indeed Australia) was to catch up with old friends and as some of you may have noticed, Inspector Val of the Yard was doing a pretty spectacular job of tracking down virtually every friend of hers that exists and today and tomorrow were no exception.

First up were two friends from Malaysia days, Denzil and Peppy who very kindly hosted us at their house along with a distant cousin of Val’s, Sulo and her husband, Nick. Denzil gave us a tour of the local area including a great looking beach at Cronulla and we feasted on superb prawns and salmon from the barbie – VERY Aussie! Stupidly I forgot the camera, so the following photos are courtesy of Denzil – which means, of course, that he is not actually in them!

18th March, 2016

Another day, another meal and more catching up with friends. Lunch was with more Methodist Girls School’s alumnae (is that the correct female plural? As in mensa?) Sally and Helen and their husbands,Eddie and Chee Hong. Great Chinese food and lots of laughs and chat about the old days.

The evening was time for catching up with some friends from Papua New Guinea days. Unfortunately Val had a slightly upset tummy, so I ventured out alone to dine with the loquacious Irishman that is Bill and his wife Hung-Ying and the frighteningly tall Aussie that is Rod. LOTS of catching up, jokes, wine and not enough time, but so much fun.

19th March, 2016

Our last day in Oz and as our flight was not until the evening, Alfie very kindly ferried us about the city. First stop was to pick up some scrummy Vietnamese rolls and then it was off the Centennial Park for a picnic. Really nice, helped, of course by the usual great Sydney weather. And even better – they have lots of BIRDS! Oh you lucky things (there are even some black swans). And I have thrown in some lovely flowers and even some, wait for it…..bats!!!

Alfie then drove us down to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, a lookout point in the harbour and left me there so that I could have a quick photoshoot of the Opera House, Bridge and other bits of the city – so here you go, a photo montage of Sydney (not as good as the birds, but there you go).

And so we then had to say goodbye to Australia. A great place to visit and it was so good to see old friends again. Our thanks to all who hosted and looked after us so well.

And now the last ‘leg’ of our journey – the US of A, starting with Hawaii. ALOHA!!