Home Sweet Home

Back to Australia- hard to believe.

Landed in Sydney at 6am tired and excited all at once. First we had to go through customs, which should have been a doddle, but at the last minute we were stopped and a large customs woman was summoned and we wondered what we had done wrong!!! After Helga arrived she asked us if we knew that carrying handcuffs was a police offence? We started to explain that they were children's ones that we had bought in Scotland, but Helga did not want to know, we offered to surrender them, however Helga declared that would not be necessary this time!!!

We queued up for the transit bus to the domestic terminal and then finally caught the plane home. Kids slept all the way and the hosties gave them snacks for the car trip home. The children both slept in the taxi. We arrived home and had no key for the house and so spent some time breaking into our own house (again!). This was mainly done by JSR and AJR, while MLR slept on the trampoline under my red jacket. Millie dog was mad with excitement and it took her a long time to settle down.

Our parcels that we had sent home from Scotland had arrived, so AJR and JSR went off for provisions and parcels, MLR continued to sleep, while I got serious about putting together some of the titles of this blog, to ensure that I would not forget (as if). Again no photo's, but JSR did video some of this, so there will be some pictures, eventually.

There you have it, the whole trip from woa to go.

Stage 3 Water Restrictions

Well it had to happen and a month ago they were predicting stage three water restrictions in January, so I for one am glad that we are moving to stage 3 earlier. If you check out what we are allowed to do with water in the stage 2 restrictions the restrictions are generous, we can water 3 or 4 times a week using hoses and also use sprinkler systems for upto three hours once a week, even numbered houses on Saturdays and odd numbered houses on Sundays. This is pretty generous when compared with watering on the south side of Sydney for instance, they are only allowed to water twice a week.


For the full range of the new restrictions see the link above. I still think this is generous, considering how low the dams are.

It is of course raining in Newcastle tonight.

Garden at 122

We had a beautiful sunset last night

reminded me a little of the Scottish sunsets we saw not so long ago.

I took a walk in our garden this morning and here are the photo's


a calistemon

two of my carpet roses

MLR's Learning Journey

MLR had both of us come to see her learning journey and we are sharing her journey with you. This is her postcard that we sent from Rome!

Here is the shark Project

Where class news is put up

art on the board.

Here is MLR's diarama of the sea

Here is MLR's friend A

Here is MLR demonstrating the movie the teacher made of the class trip to the Canberra National Zoo and Acquarium. Our neice used to work here.

Borders Canberra now open

We all made it to Borders today with our 20% discount voucher and the thrill of exploring a new bookstore - this one does have a coffee shop, although I wish it had someone other than Gloria Jeans. I am realiably informed (thank you) that GJ is Australian, but their coffee is mediocre, trying to emulate the star bucks (which is terrible) style coffee is just not necessary. How about a good Austro/Italian coffee maker, preferably from Melbourne where good coffee is on every corner. Here is a selection of what we purchased today, something for everyone.

We came away with a $10 discount on our next purchase, so we will definitely be going again. The children decided, based on the book we bought today, about Kids growing things to eat and then cooking them, to "work" on the garden, with kitchen sissors!!! Of course Millie helped too. She is great at digging, which will be useful for planting, except that they are growing things in pot plants!

Paris to Singapore

Paris is raining on this Sunday morning. We drag all our suitcases down the tiny lift and onto the footpath. It takes three trips. Eventually we are down and we hail a cab. We drive with plenty of time to Charles De Gaul airport. I decided long ago that I did not want to deal with Heathrow airport, not with luggage and bags and kids!!!! Next time we go this way we are thinking of going through Amsterdam and then onto Humberside Airport near Hull. This will enable us to head north more easily, enable us to spend time with our friends S&J, as well as avoid Heathrow. Also a great excuse to explore other parts of Europe - particularly interested in cruising down the Rhine and also cruising into St Petersburg.

We get to the Singapore gate, but it has not opened yet. After a while it opened and we went through. We are very good at queueing now. Then we tried to get our VAT/GST back by standing in another queue and putting in our papers- in Canberra it was easy they processed it on the spot and put the money into our credit card, in Paris we had to fill in the forms have them stamped by customs and then posted them off (not sure where too now). We still have not seen that money!!

I wanted to find the guy that lives in the airport, he has lost his identity papers and his country of origin refuses to take him back, however we did not see him. His name is Merhan Karimi Nasseri.

We looked for coffee next and had to walk miles through terminals and past the duty free. Into our departure lounge, where I heard one woman tell another that she thought "the coffee was through here" and then into the next departure lounge where we found the "coffee shop" - it was really an excuse for a coffee shop and was slightly worse than the coffee shop at the international train station in Ashford.

Andrew was called over the loud speaker and we went to the information counter, where we found that the Singapore people had processed the wrong part of his ticket and had to stick it back on and take another part. The plane was delayed by at least half an hour, then we were able to get on.

The flight to Singapore is 12 hours. We knew how to operate all the machinery in the chair in front of us and we watched and played our way to Singapore with even less sleep than we got on our way from Singapore to Rome. MLR had a blister on her ankle which she took to the toilet and popped. She told me this when she got back. By the time we landed it had come up again.

Last bit of soccer, I promise. Soon after we took off the Soccer World Cup Grand Final started, and despite the technology live TV was not available. When we landed in Singapore, the captain announced that Italy had won and the plane were sad and happy at the same time. In the row behind us there was a group of Australian students returning from a six month exchange in Paris and they spoke a wonderful mixture of English and French.

We arrived at our hotel around 10am and we were given one of our rooms straight away, even though we were not due a room until 2pm. I think the sight of two sleeping children in the lobby helped them to make up their minds.

Late that afternoon, after we had all had some sleep, I took MLR to the Dr in the hotel to get the blister checked. He was most unconcerned and said that she had probably been bitten by some bug. Don't you just love Dr's.
Mondo

MLR photo essay no. 2

MLR being ?

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Art and Football (Parisienne Style)

We visited the Georges Pompidou Center. The day we went was quiet, no crowds, so it was a good day to be there. Check out the webcams. Number two is my favourite. This is the modern art exhibition of Paris.

The first exhibit we went to was on the ground floor, a touch and feel exhibit on heads. You could put your hands under a cloth and feel different heads. Further into the gallery were other exhibits that you could touch, one painted pictures based on heat. The kids really enjoyed this. We knew that the Pompidou Center had a fabulous view from the top, so we climbed the stairs that are in the tube (actually escalators) all the way to the top and the view was worth climbing for. There was a silver service restaurant at the top as well. We went down to the fourth floor gallery which was having an exhibition on moving images (Les Mouvement des images). The one I liked most was a montage of scenes depicting women sleeping, waking and looking scared, creeping out of bed, moving slowly, with terrified looks on their faces to a door. Opening the door, screaming and then moving slowly back to the bed and getting back into bed. There must have been 100 actresses doing this, some quite famous.

We went down to the ground floor for some food, but decided to go outside and find some in the area. We ate Italian (again) and then bought the children paintings from a street vendor. AJR got a dragon with Paris 2006 written on it and MLR got her name on hers.

The apartment faced a main road and on two of the nights we were in Paris, France played soccer matches. On the 5th of July France played Portugal. The French won and put themselves into the final against Italy. We watched the game on TV and listened to the neighbourhood, every time France scored a goal a roar would go up - around 10.30pm the game finished and the road went wild - we have video footage which I will upload sometime. The guys across the road waved their tricolour over the balcony, the cars tooted the national anthem, one guy was leaning horizontally out the car window waving a French flag. The noise was amazing.

Paris Disney

We set off around 10 am and in true American style, started the day with McDonald's, across the road from the apartment. We caught the Metro to the nearest RER station that went to Disneyland.

ParisDisneyland is about an hour out of the centre of Paris and we did think about staying there in one of the hotels that surround the complex. However we would have to stay a minimum of two nights and we just did not want to devote that much time to Disneyland. Arriving at the station we were confronted with Disneyland Park, Disneyland Studio's and Disneyland Village. AJR of course wanted to go to all three.

I will let AJR tell the story for a while.

Disneyland
At 6am in the morning we all woke with excitement everything was done in a hurry and through the slowness of the trains and crowds of Paris we didn’t get to Disneyland resort Paris till1pm. Okay it was amazing. From the second I stepped in my eyes where overwhelmed, it was impossible to describe. After about 5 minutes of standing in silence dumbfounded we slowly stepped forward. The first thing that assailed my senses were the horse drawn carts heading up & down Central Street U.S.A past many restaurants.

But in the end we selected Walt’s and took our photos with a bust of Walt Disney. The food we selected was absolutely amazing and the dessert was even better than that. Michaela’s dessert of choice was a puzzle made of white chocolate. The completed puzzle was of Mickey Mouse donning a chef’s hat holding a wooden spoon with sauce dripping off and it came with a paintbrush and blobs of different coloured liquid chocolate to paint Mickey with. After the delicious meal we headed to the central plaza where sat a giant disc with a mosaic of Jiminy Cricket on it waving his wand that extended out from the mosaic.

But sitting behind the gargantuan disc was the Disney castle from the beginning of Disney movies. That the beam shoots across which underneath was the gate to Fantasyland to our west was frontier land and adventure land to our east was discovery land. That was where we split up. Me and Dad headed for Adventure land we were dying to go on the pirates of the Caribbean ride, It was probably the shortest line, It probably only went about 50 metres long and it took about 5 minutes yet was very enjoyable and though the line was short there was like 150 metres of pirate styled caves where it was bright enough to see but too dark to see our feet

When we got off the ride we went to Captain Hooks cave it was dark damp and the best place in parc Disney to spook your friends by jumping around the corner and shouting. When we made our way to the eye sockets of skull rock we noticed a guy looking very relieved, In fact he was the man who had ran past Dad & I only minutes ago in a hurry, with a panicked expression on his face. It was odd but Dad and I soon discovered why the sudden change, because the first thing we noticed was that the place smelt of urine. Dad and I were absolutely appalled.

Dad and I then went on a number of fast and exhilarating rides from the slow paced Buzz Lightyear shooting game to the thrilling thunder mountain ride to the eerie phantom manor Disney land had it all at 5 pm we regrouped well kinda, you see the girls were late. So Dad and I decided to go on another ride, it was based on Star Wars and it was a simulation of us being in a space ship, with a panicked robot screaming in French. Then we headed back to the ice cream parlour and found the girls. We had a drink and showed each other what we had bought. After that we once again split up. Dad and me went to the dragons lair, which was this dark cave, in which was a lake, but that’s not important, what is important is what was in the lake. It was a giant smoke spitting dragon. It was gargantuan and it literally made me feel like an ant.

At 8pm we left because we had too, Disneyland was closing. We regrettably left the magic behind and returned to reality,
The End!

Here is MLR with her desert.

MLR and I went on the cups and saucers ride and the dumbo ride, they were our favourites. We also went to Pinnochio, a favourite of MLR's for the whole trip, the Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribean, Swiss Family Robinson, and through the Indian reservation. Here is the map we followed (in Francais of course!)JR &AJR had the one in English.We got home very late, about 10pm. The Monoprix closes at 9.50pm. I went across the street to the chinese and managed to buy seafood for us and vegetarian for AJR. We all had a fantastic day and went to bed happy.

Tour Eiffel

We caught the metro to Ile De La Cite and had lunch in an outdoor cafe, near the Sorbonne, on the Boulevard Saint Michele. It was of course much warmer than the last time I had had anything to eat on the Boulevard, as the last time it was January and freezing (and I was 14). We walked back down to the Ile DeLa Cite and tried to see the Sacre Couer. It was too busy. Then we walked along the Seine towards the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel tower in Paris was inaugurated on 31 March 1889. It was the keystone of the Universal Exposition celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution. It was built by Gustave Eiffel. With 2 million visitors the first year and almost 6 million people a year today, the Eiffel Tower is a real crowd pleaser. Not bad as a temporary tower that was really meant to come down after the Expo. In 2000 they called in the new century with a firework display, and today they have a light show most nights.

Parisian's are not happy with the light show, tourists of course love it. If you are interested in the facts and figures about the tower, then click on the link at the top of this page.

It took us 45 minutes to get to the lift. Then another twenty minutes waiting for the lift and finally we rose to the second level. The second level has two stories, multiple shops, cafes and a restaurant. The views were stunning and it was not too windy. We then queued again for the lift to the third level. There was no signage that we could see to direct us to the queue, we just followed others. There were several groups of Aussie and NZers in our queue's. The top story was very crowded and made me feel a bit claustraphobic, also I was not feeling well and there was nowhere to sit down.

Around 7pm we made our way back down to the street and caught a taxi home. J went to the Monoprix to buy supplies for tea.
Mondo

MLR photo essay no.1

No idea why you photograph your own foot!

I think it must smell??

Here is what is important when you are 8.

It is amazing how amazing your face can look!

Paris Je t'adore

At last we are in Paris, in a fourth floor apartment with a view into a courtyard from the main bedroom and a view over the Boulevard General LeClerc from the living and dining rooms. The apartment was well equiped with a dishwasher and washing machine, as well as cable TV. We were in a secure block, although we did not get the right security number to get into the building. We "borrowed" someone else's. The entrance to our building was masked somewhat with a luggage seller, who had suitcases and handbags, belts and hats set up for sale to the passing trade. Another thing we liked about where we were in Paris, was that there were few tourists, mostly workers and students.

Living room at night.
The apartment is on the Boulevard General Le Clerc which (after 3 or 4 kilometers) turns into the Boulevard Saint Michel (my favourite street in Paris) and the centre of Paris. Across the road is a chinese/asian restaurant and on every corner that we can see there is a cafe. Looking to the right about one minute's walk away is the metro station, looking to the left about one minute's walk away is another metro station, both on the same line. Less than 50 meters from the front door was the local woollies, or Monoprix where we could get the stuff not in the Market. Like travellers washing liquid.

Then there was the market - Rue Daguerre, a whole street dedicated to fresh fruit and veg, stall holders calling out their wares, housewives and workers rushing along. One thing that I did that I had not thought we would do is buy cherries in July, when I know that I buy them in December. I asked for 300 grams in my best French of the indian stall worker, who did not speak French either and took home 1kg of very yummy cherries - we had no trouble getting through them!

There was handmade pasta, a cheese shop, bread shop and wine shop, along with Cafes and

stores not selling food, such as the
second hand bookshop that was piled to the roof with books and it was difficult to see how you could get into the shop, let alone buy anything.


The photo of the street sign is my favourite here as it has both our street name and the market street name on it. We were sure that we were in heaven.

After we had put our things away and explored the apartment, we went for a walk. Had a late lunch in a cafe on the corner, then walked through the market and bought fresh hand made pasta, hand made pesto and fresh cheese and walked "home" to cook it up for tea, accompanied by a bottle of red. Here is the view from our bedroom window into the courtyard.

To Ashford and Paris

Up early this morning to wave S off to a field day for work and then packing up and cleaning up as we have a lunch date with Uncle S, Aunty D and Cousin A.

Arrived late for lunch, but recognized the dove cote immediately we came round the corner. There was my Cousin standing in the drive looking for us. We sat down to a sumptuous feast, I am sure that my Aunt wanted to make sure we wouldn't starve for a few days. Kids played with the pond, taking weed out. We took photo's and video. Uncle S and Aunty D both seemed very well and Cousin A is part way through his teaching degree. Getting great results and really loving it. We discussed the amount of security they had. They had suffered from a number of burglaries, including one where they had taken a gazebo. Aunty D said it took about 10 minutes to turn everything on before going to bed or going out. They also had the ride on mower bolted down. Aunty D is still mad about animals and the bird (sorry forgot what sort) that they had when I was a child there, had only died recently - lived to 43 and they still miss it. They also have a dog, who is easily spooked, so was locked up. The kids found it hard to see the dog and not touch it, but as we all said, wedid not want anyone to get bitten!

Aunty D drove with us through Scunthorpe, to send us on our way south to Ashford. Thank you so much. We had a booking at the Premier Inn, which is very close to the railway station where we will catch the train to Paris. We got in about 8pm and went straight to the Woolpack Beefeater restaurant next door. Here they had colouring in books for the kids, as well as a playground and great meals. J and I sat and talked and relaxed, it was a lovely last evening in England.

Next day we took the car to the petrol station and filled up - the petrol station was on a very busy round about, but I am quite good at pushing in now. We parked the car in the multistory attached to the railway station and were met by a rep of Avis who took our keys and agreed with us that the set up of the handbrake was stupid. Off to the waiting area for our train. If you are interested, click on the link for more information about the Channel Tunnel. We had premium seats, which entitled us to breakfast, not cattle and not first class. Unfortunately at Ashford station the ticket person reassigned our seats so that we had four facing each other. However those seats had been reassigned in London and had not shown up on the database at Ashford, so we spent the first 20 minutes on the train arguing about the seats. We sat in our original seats and enjoyed a great breakfast. Suddenly we were in France and the train sped up. A blurr of green, brown and blobs flew passed our windows. It is a fantastic way to travel. Before we knew it we had arrived in Paris. Stood in a long queue for the taxi, we had to be at the apartment by a certain time and we were running out of time. Eventually we got to the front of the queue, J had fended off a beggar or two and then flying through the streets of Paris. Did I mention that I love Paris? Found our apartment, but then had to get change to give the driver, so I bought an English language paper and J bought batteries. I took the tiny lift to the fourth floor and then stood there, as I was not sure which of the two doors I was looking for. Then the door on the right opened and a lovely lady welcomed me in her excellent English. Her English is most certainly better than my French. If you have not seen the apartment before, then check it out here. We immediately felt at home.

Brocklesby Station part 3

Here is the church in Scunthorpe, where P and K got married and where the art gallery 20/21 is.

After a sleep in and a rest we drove into Scunthorpe to check out an interactive art exhibition in the art gallery called 20/21.
Here the kids played with the exhibition it really was fantastic, great when kids are allowed to touch.

We walked into the town centre for lunch and were disappointed with Scunthorpe, it was dirty and scruffy and apart from smoky pubs, there was nowhere to eat. We did walk through the market and I managed to buy some anchovy sauce for Mum. We returned to the cafe at 20/21. Kids then had a second go at the exhibition and I went off to the internet cafe for half an hour.

We decided to go and explore the rest of the area and ended up in Brigg - very pretty little market town that S grew up in. We walked though the main street, which was eerily quiet. Then we realised that England were playing Portugal in the quarter finals and everyone was in the pub. We heard lots of boo's and shouts of disgust, so we assumed that England were not doing well!!!!

We headed back to S and J's and had a wonderful meal with my other mum P - another late, but great night.

The next day we headed off for York. We took the park and ride option, which makes for an easy afternoon. We had lunch at Pizza Hut, as it was the first place we saw, then we realised that there were thousands of great cafe's here. Oh well. We went to the Jorvik Centre after lunch - it was fascinating. We went round on a track, the cars swung us towards the exhibits, left and right. Jorvik is the actual site of a Viking Village, as you go around you are subjected to the sights, sounds and smells of an early village. Not pleasant, but very informative. We then looked at the York Minster and went for a long walk that took in many streets, including the

"Shambles".

We saw an official haunted pub.

We caught the last bus back to the park and ride and drove back to S & J's for our last night.