Blog 19 Tuesday 30th Wed 31st October Fijian farewell

On Tuesday afternoon the weather cleared and we drove instead to the north side of the island to the end of the tarred road at a very small town called Korovou. The drive was again beautiful and we marveled at the lushness of the country, though with rain as it had been earlier it is easy to see why.

This evening was the first truly beautiful sunset, though there have already been some gently lovely ones and as the house faces west we get the full performance. (This is the real colour above. No enhanced photography!)

Supper was a delicious meaty fish, sweet potato and Chinese cabbage followed by an ingenious pudding made of paw paw and cassava with coconut cream on it. We had home entertainment with a grand rendering of The Charge of the Light Brigade by Tim and Anare played the guitar which is now up and working, though his poor fingers need some time to get hardened. We ended the evening nostalgically listening to a Simon and Garfunkel CD.

Wednesday - We finally made it to a beach! I think it was generally decided that whatever the weather we'd stick our feet in the ocean somewhere, so packed a picnic to go to a beach at Pacific Harbour, about 1/3 of the way back to Nadi. In spite of rain on the way there, particularly when we stopped off to investigate the outdoor workshop of Anare's brother, who is also a carver, we found the sun coming out as we got to the beach. We had a brilliant afternoon, with windswept waves, warm water, warm weather most of the time and a long long palm fringed beach almost entirely to ourselves. The only other people risking the iffy weather were a hardy Russian couple who also felt they were in paradise and a small group of Fijians clearing up driftwood and huddling round the fire (!!) Richard was determined to open one of the coconuts scattered on the beach and minus knife spent an hour digging away at it with a stick to get the outer coating and the husk off it. Anare explained that the local way to do it without a knife available was simple to tear it open with your teeth and proceeded to demonstrate, but for some reason Richard wasn't too keen. However, he happily messed about with it in the fond remembrance of time back in the workshop at home and I think it might keep him going for a bit longer.

We then went to get tea at a very attractive nearby hotel, sadly almost entirely empty, and felt it was such a pity that the tourists aren't flocking back yet, though great for us.

Returned contented to the house to find both Anare's sister had left us some beautiful woven gifts and Asinate's father had produced a whole family of wooden turtles for us!

Thursday will be an easy day off before our next lot of travels and we'll try to get back to the blog next week in New Zealand.

(Just some additional input on our last day in Fiji.) We travelled over to spend the night at a hotel in Nadi in order to be there in time for the morning flight to NZ. We were really pleased to have a chance to see Anare's sister, Hola and her husband William again. They are wonderful wood carvers and had offered to show us how they did some of the decorating when they met us for dinner at the hotel. The huge turtle below is by William and is on display in a Nadi shop.

Blog 18 Saturday 27th October - the Family gathering

Anare had invited various members of the family to come and meet us on Saturday evening. As more and more people arrived bringing food we wondered just how much more we could manage to eat of their generous portions! But before the meal was another cava ceremony, this time with Paula Linga (the wood carver) as our spokesman. It was an enjoyable repeat of the one earlier in the week, but this time Richard had to make a short appropriate reply (in English!) Then we left some of the men to continue with the cava drinking and sat down with Anare, cousins and one of their wives to another sumptuous meal. It was clear that it was relatively rare for the family to get together like this so we went to bed before it was too late to give them a chance to catch up. Both fo Anare's sisters stayed on that night so we could talk more to them on Sunday.

Sunday was special for us too as we were invited to share our way of welcoming Shabbat with the family. We demonstrated and explained and were asked a myriad of questions. A is really keen that their Sabbath should start more authentically and needed to know the thinking behind what we do.

On Monday we realised that the combination of poor weather and the prohibitive cost of a seaplane meant that we would not get to Fulaga this time round so decided it would be a day to catch up at last with blogs. So finishing this off on Tuesday morning we have finally arrived back in real time and listen to the wind outside wondering what today will have in store.

Blog 17 More of Fiji from Friday 26th onwards

Having seen Mele's headmistress had a very good hair cut I thought I'd be brave and have my bushy mane dealt with if I could. So R and I went into a small hairdresser's who had been recommended by her and I was delighted by a first class cut for about 4 pounds (no pound sign here). We explored a bit more of Suva and returned by taxi. Taxis are cheap and very very plentiful here so we are enjoying this novelty too.

After lunch we drove to the University of the South Pacific (USP) which is set on a beautifully manicured campus with low rise buildings. Here we met Asinate's Uncle who is teaching carving in spite of having no formal training himself, but a huge talent. We had been told that his work needed fork-lift trucks to move it about and indeed several entire trees, branches, roots and all had been intricately carved with imaginary beasts and patterns in every conceivable part.Paula Linga is his name and even his small pieces are beautiful. To our delight he gave us a smoothly carved black piece made of Vesi wood in the form of a mythical creature and I realised that it was close as could possibly be to the Oxford dodo by pure chance. He works in a marvellous domed outdoor studio and is now finishing off the works left by various students from surrounding islands. Everything he produces is sold instantly unless the University itself wants to keep them. What an idyllic life!

(Anare (right) with his cousin Jim with the carved tree)

As Sabbath was coming in that evening (A feels that Friday is the appropiate evening according to the Bible anyway) we had family prayers and an extra big feast.This was in the form of a Fijian ' take-away' in the sense that Asinate had spent part of the day with her sister who runs a chicken farm with her husband. They were busy making up packed meals for customers all over the area to raise additional money for Asinates's nephew's wedding. It consisted of a vast package including roast chicken, marinated and smoked fish, ro-ro, lasagna and a casava pudding. Tim brought in wine as a treat too. It was a lovely evening if you could ignore the tannoyed preaching from the church in the village below that went on for hours, but we slept well in spite of that.

Blog 16 - More of Fiji

(Views from the Verandah)

On our first Sunday Richard drove us all into Suva under A's guidance. (Anare has a painful knee at present so R is driving when possible). A had warned us it was small and sped through in the space of lighting 3 matches, but that is an exaggeration. It is set along the shore and a mixture of modern, usually Indian entrepreneurial shops and organisations, and touches of colonial grandeur with plenty of greenery and shade under palm trees and a huge market for fresh fruit, vegetables and fish of every imaginable colour. The roads here are smooth and traffic reasonable.

We went back on foot next day to explore some more, though it is quite a walk! We passed innumerable varieties of Church, including a huge Mormon Temple on the hill as the Fijians are naturally very religious. The other delight of Sunday was family prayers, mostly in Fijian, though with translations for our benefit. The singing in 4 parts is normal and makes a beautiful sound. The Fulaga islanders are Methodists and Sunday is generally a day of rest and prayer and very peaceful.Apart from Sunday lunch, the main meal is in the evening and bedtime is generally very early, ready for an early start the next day.

On Monday we went downstairs to watch Asinate's father carving wooden turtles which he sells on to a local shop and all are readily bought so he has no need to look for further outlets. We're told that most of the carving seen in town will have been done by members of the family.

We are getting familiar with the wild life here - few animals, though we have spotted the occasional mongoose and lots of dogs and cats live in the houses along the roads. As I type overhead is the clatter of minah birds which land on the roof at about 5am screeching wildly and then generally fly off, but return now and then during the day. There are some beautifully melodic song birds to make up for the minahs and we look forward to catching site of the Kula (I think) bird with gorgeous red plumage. We have also been enthralled by the very large bats which come over the house in the evening heading for a night on the tiles in Suva. (When Anare mentioned that there are no children's stories based on Fiji I decided that needed rectifying and we now have a miniature book in which the three children here, Samuele, Mele and Alison meet Becky the Bat (beka is bat in Fijian) and sort out her sonar problems. Publication so far is limited to 4 copies but I'm up for offers!)

Tuesday was fantastic fun. We went with Mele (4) and her kindergarten class and mothers to Pacific Harbour by bus with Asinate and Alison.

The bus was an unforgetable joy infusion. An hour of rollicking along bumping over potholes with singing at the top of their voices to the very loud Fijian music and even occasional dancing when it got too much to bear to sit still. Everyone laughing and happy. The bus had a fixed top but no proper windows and a tarpaulin with plastic not-very-see-through panels for the sides when it got too rainy and windy. The scenery going along the coast road was glorious when we could see it. Pacific Harbour itself is a tourist set-up so that you can see what it was like in a traditional Fijian village, complete with singing, dancing, fire walking, dramatic rendering of a story about a couple of lads who are planning to run off with 2 young maidens, fight and are then put in the pot (off scene) for their trouble. It is well done and there are lots of shops selling handicrafts etc. to tempt you, but we had to go back by the end of the morning.

By Wednesday the sky was blue and clear after a dramatic storm on Tuesday afternoon and we drove to the Fijian museum in Suva with Anare. It is small but with his explanations it was much more interesting. The huge exhibit of a restored boat was originally made by his own islanders and restored by his cousins. It was a magnificent construction holding many islanders at 13m long, with large sails and an outrigger, but a dwarf in comparison with the largest one they had built which was ocean-going and held hundreds at 36m in length.

On Thursday we were taken inland into the hills in a 4 wheel-drive with a driver (pot holes a real challenge here) and Anare's cousin Jim in the back seat had it worst of all being bounced into the car ceiling every now and then. Everything en route was massively lush and A explained that although much of it is heavily cultivated they need no fertiliser. However, the down side of this is that weeds grow just as enthusiastically. We passed countless beautifully kept villages, mostly with houses built of corrugated aluminium on posts and often highly coloured. We travelled over rivers that were pretty high after the recent rain and A said that only the British bridges had survived the serious flooding after the last hurricane caused by El Nino. We had the privilege of being taken to visit Ratu Solomone, the Paramount Chief of the inland district of 9 villages, 15000 people. He arrived at his large house in the hills at the same time as we did, also in a 4 wheel drive car, and was entirely gracious and welcoming and asked us all to come and sit cross-legged on woven mats. (In Richard's case only whilst drinking the cava as it was clear that he doesn't bend naturally that way!) First we offered him a cava root, presented formally with a speech by Jim, Anare's spokesman for the tribe and equally formally accepted with all names and titles of everyone concerned included and then A made a speech I think. After this the large wooden cava bowl was brought out by his son-in-law and the ground cava was mixed in a bag with water poured into the bowl. Polished coconut shells were then dipped in and formally presented by his son to the Chief, then Anare, his spokesman and then Richard and myself. A had stipulated that we should have no more than 2 bowls as the effect of minor numbing of the mouth becomes more pronounced as more is drunk until it would be difficult to converse coherently, but the tradition is that the contents of the large bowl are finished so the others manfully kept drinking until it was empty. Each small bowl has to be drunk in one go and it is a pleasant fresh flavour unlike anything else I have ever tasted, so difficult to describe and each drinker is clapped formally. We then chatted on about life, the universe, travel, the Foundation (Fijian tribal development), government, pensions and herbal healing and were impressed that as a young fitter at the Fijian Sugar Corporation Ratu Salomone had decided that he wanted the Chief Exec's job and patiently went through life till he reached it. Running a huge company and fulfilling his own tribal duties simultaneously must have been a 36 hour a day job.After leaving and looking forward to his visiting us in Oxford we travelled on higher to the special administrative village and hospital that the Brits had laid out as centre of the province and then bumpily returned to Suva and an excellent Chinese meal at a local restaurant together with Asinate and Tim.

Blog 15 Monday 28th October Fiji

Sorry for the long gap. It wasn't so much inaccessibility of a computer but rather the need for us to get our heads round the whole wonderful experience of Fiji. As the original plan had been to visit our friend Anare's island I felt it should include that in the equation. However, last week A had to be available in Suva to tie up business and this week, when it was planned that we should go, we were very aware that we would be reliant on weather conditions to be sure to be back in time to fly up from Suva to Nadi on Friday so that we could catch the plane to New Zealand on Saturday. (You see even 7 weeks is not enough!) The normal inter-island ferry takes 16 hours to go to Fulaga in the Lau island group to the far east of Viti Levu, the main island, and it is 12 hours by direct boat. If the weather is bad there would be uncertainty of date and time of return. Our first few days were hot and wet, then we had hot and sunny and now it is intermittently wet again.

The surest way to go was by seaplane (1hr) but we have just learned that they won't stay on islands overnight and will charge double to return to get us at a totally crazy price. A needs to get out there for a meeting so although his Foundation was going to pay it simply isn't worth double and he will try by boat next week instead. However, it makes me realise why he has travelled so casually round the world up to now as a 16 hour trip to his own island is almost as long as going most other places. We are disappointed, but we were so relieved to get here at all after a scare in Australia when the News reported an imminent coup again and we feared that Quantas might not take us. But apparently that was all in the heads of the Australians and although life is not straight-forward politically at all there is no coup on the books. The other aspect is that all Anare's sisters and brothers and most of the rest of his family now live on Viti Levu, having come over to work or for their children to go to secondary school here. To meet them and see their carvings and share a family feast we needed to be in Suva not Fulaga.

Snorkeling will happen from a closer island, possibly tomorrow depending on sea conditions and the views from the house are spectacular anyway. I've found time to paint whenever there has been a spare moment so we are perfectly content (understatement!). My major curiosity, after knowing Anare for 36 years was how someone with his extensive education (2 years Marine Biology at Fiji University, disrupted when the government asked him to go to England to study Estate Management in Cirencester, followed by Law, followed by becoming a chartered surveyor) and who travels round the world more than anyone I know, could deal with the simple island life which consisted of fishing, carving (his family's speciality) and weaving. From meeting his extended family, most of whom are fluent in English and well-educated, I think the answer lies in very much the same area as how we deal with 21st century life and our commitment to our religions and their rituals, something that is valuable to keep alive and practised and taken seriously but needs a separate niche from the machine-ful world of everyday.

So having explained all that I'll try to fill you in on some of the rich diversity of pleasures so far:

We flew into Nadi (pronounced "Nandi") on the main island Viti Levu at about 8pm on Saturday 20th and were met by A and his nephew in a comfortable air-conditioned car and were driven the 3+ hrs east along the main coastal road to Suva, skillfully avoiding some interesting
potholes. It was frustrating to realise that it was a beautiful drive but invisible in the dark so we arrived with little sense of our surroundings.

The house is built on pillars in the hillside outside Suva, leaving space for the car, washing, sitting in the shade, below, as well as a bedroom. It is very large, white and square, but with beautiful verandas round 3 sides both on the main floor and the bedroom floor.

We woke to find that it has fabulous views on one side of the bay, mountains and small villages all set in lush green fields and forests. In his capacity as chief of his island A has responsibility for all the islanders wherever they live, so his house has to be open and available to them at all times. His large 7 bedrooms (many ensuite) are usually full and sometimes the downstairs rooms and verandahs too. Living here at present are his Mother, Asinate, his cousin and astonishingly calm housekeeper, her parents, 3 adopted children of 2, 4 and 10 (extended family members) and Tim, an American colleague. The huge living rooms on the first floor consist of a big open kitchen with entrance both ends, a room which is a dining room and lounge and on the other side of the kitchen another with woven floor mats only for cava ceremonies, rest and play. Then there is also a utility room, an ironing room and 2 bedrooms on that floor. Asinate's father works at carving outdoors under an awning in the garden during the day. Richard would love to have the warm weather to work like this, but here there are no loud machines either.

So what have we been up to in our first week here? A massive quantity of eating certainly. Asinate seems to provide endless delicious meals, often specifically Fijian dishes for us. Fish, vegetables and fruit may be cooked on a 'lovo' outdoor oven by some of A's nephews which consists of stones baked white hot over wood. They bake sweet potatoes, breadfruit and yams, till soft as well as a dish of big green ro ro leaves folded around tuna or coconut fillings. We watched fascinated as they pounded the breadfruit to a smooth paste in a large wooden dish held between the legs and mashed with an unripe paw paw held with 3 wooden prongs. This was mixed with coconut and sugar (latter is the main crop of Fiji) to make a very tasty desert. Other dishes are usually prepared on or in the cooker indoors. The wonderful variety of fish is usually cooked in coconut milk (We've been shown how to break them in half skillfully, but not yet tried ourselves) and the fish soup is then served in a separate bowl with the meal and is delicious. We haevn't managed to cope with eating fish heads which are the best bit, but it is enjoyed with relish by A, reducing everything efficiently to the bones. The fruit here seem to have stronger flavours than back in UK; paw paw, pineapple, mango, watermelon, limes, breadfruit (though this is starchy so eaten as bread or a sweet dish). Much of it grows in A's garden below. We drink a deliciously balancing ginger tea with milk, fruit juice, coconut juice or coffee. Enough for one blog. More to come.

Blog 14 Friday 19th October

Last day in Sydney and we headed to Elizabeth Bay House to see an elegant example of an early classical home. It was originally set in acres of bush granted to the Colonial Secretary Macleyn who came out at 60 with his natural history collection and his numerous daughters. The poor man got carried away with his cultivated tastes and all that land to turn to garden and follow his passion for collecting and eventually had to hand it all over to his 'rapacious' son who had loaned him thousands to fulfill his dreams. The house is a gem but what a sad tale of obsession.

Chastened, we hurried on to see the astonishing sight of thousands of fruit bats/flying foxes clinging upside down to swathes of trees in the Botanic Gardens (how had I missed them last time?). They are weird and fascintating, with their huge bat wings and furry fronts, gliding effortlessly, the size of seagulls, flapping to cool themselves as they hang and squeaking now and then, fairly active in the daytime.

On again, this time to sketch some of the Aboriginal works in the Sydney Art Gallery to try to get a more immediate feel of them. The very act of trying to copy them made me more aware of their rich complexity. We also went to look at the outstandingly good Dobel Drawing Prize entrants. Drawing is alive and well in Australia folks. Many large scale pieces of superlative vitality and technique.

After a rest back at base we went for our last trip to Circular Quays and to the PJ Doyle restaurant overlooking the harbour. Richard had promised good fish and chips there but I wasn't prepared for the major dilemma this posed. Up to now the Magpie at Witby held the prize for the best fish and chips, but it is one heck of a way to go to get the even more perfect version in Sydney, worthy of the white wine with it. But there are worse problems.

We rounded off the day by seeing Miriam Margoles in 'Dickens' Women' brought to life with wicket relish.

Blog 13 Wed 17th Oct and Thursday 18th

I'm really glad I'm keeping a diary or I would be reeling by now mentally, trying to hold it all together. It had chilled down considerably on Wednesday and we went back to The Rocks to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art. Disappointed by 'Primavera', the exhibition of youngest contemporaries. Thought Banbury came off better both in concept and in quality of production of most of it, with a few exceptions. However, the upper galleries showing large spaces devoted to individual contemporary Australians put paid to such dismissive attitudes. I really fell for the calm grey and pink canvases of Rosslynd Piggott whose serenity took me straight into another peaceful space and then the astonishingly beautiful porcelain busts of friends and family by Ah Xian were superlative, both in concept and executi0n. Many others well worth the visit and we then went up to see a show-stopping exhibition by Juilie Rrap. Expecting clever but shocking works of this artist who works from her own body that would only need a few moments before dismissal we found a very very thought-provoking exhibition, again beautifully executed by a very talented lady working in photo, video, sculpture and painting. Yes, shocking at times, but mostly making very valid statements.
Lunch at the Lord Nelson pub was poor (first disappointment with food anywhere) but the area was still worth more time and sketching and a chance to go down to the Pier areas to get some tickets for Friday evening at the theatre.
Back with a sushi supper in the room and onwards to the promised highlight of The Gondoliers by G &S at the Sydney Opera House. First, a grovelling apology for my vitriol over the entrance in an earlier blog. That was only the horrible box office area. Once above that and into the main foyer and the auditorium, grace and excitement is restored and it is a very fine place to be.
The performance was brilliant - wonderful singing, acting and a really hilarious dance scene with life-sized rag dolls, that just worked perfectly. OK Richard you were right on that one. It is exceptional.

Thursday 18th The Blue Mountains

For a change of scene and just to take advantage of all possible moments in Australia we headed by train early in the morning for the Blue Mountains. (Blue because of the blue haze given off fromthe Eucalyptus trees). A leisurely ride of 2 hrs passing Sydney's suburbs and into real country. Very very green everywhere and I was surprised to find the mountain tops so flat too. But it is beautiful country and we were able to use a hop-on, hop off bus round the small town of Katoomba and is surroundings to make the most of the time. We walked from Gordon Falls, along a cliff top path, to Leura Cascade. A beautiful and easy walk for an hour and a half. As we got to the spot we thought was the end of the walk we panicked at the possibility that we had missed the turn back to the road and would need to walk for another hour - this with only water and a biscuit available and Richard facing a seriously wild creature of the woods - me unfed. He hadn't seen this frightening reality for some years and the look of terror was unfeined. However, just as dispair was setting in we found the turning and it revealed a totally unexpected sight. What we had been told was a mid walk 'kiosk' turned out to be an astonishingly sophisticated restaurant/kiosk which served a gorgeous lunch with splendid views called 'Solitary' (We find these strange Australians have a tendency to be a bit loose with nouns, verbs and adjectives)
Refreshed and revived and with Richard reassured that life might continue safely we continued with the bus to 'Scenic World' Despite the possibility that this tourist centre verges on 'Alton Towers' in its advertising and appearance outside, it did give us a real opportunity to take a 52 degree sloping train down to the temperate rainforest boardwalk, walk for about 3/4 hour and then be taken back up by a cablecar. Richard at both points proving real bravery, but after being faced by a hungry wife, nothing is impossible. We spotted a lyre bird, a parrot and a snake and found it chilly and dark down there, but really interesting to experience and the signage explaining the flora is excellent. Up, returning to Katoomba and the train home for two tired but very satisfied individuals.

We may not get much chance to blog for a while, but as all appears to be fine for the visit to Fiji we are very excitedly looking forward to this and will get back on line when we can.

Blog 12 Tuesday 16th October More of Sydney

Forgot to mention that we also found the Victoria Building yesterday on the way to the Rocks. It is an older building, beautifully renovated to make a modern and very up-market shopping centre inside. Up-market until you get to the top when they have managed to perpertrate a singeing naffery with the clock tower. On the hour 4 trumpeters come out of each 'plastic' turret and after that you get the history of Britain from Canute to Charles I with little moving figurines. My favourite is Henry VIII enjoying the company of all six wives at once. I imagine the head chopping of Charley is the favourite of many others. If this becomes tiring you can go and see Queen Victoria in full coronation regalia, surrounded by her replica crown jewels.

Hey ho. On to Tuesday:

30 degrees but comfortable with a strong wind to cool it down. We sheltered in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, full of goodies and again some fantastic Aboriginal work.
Lunch there on the terrace filling ourselves with salads full of goodies and then onwards to the Coffee Cruise of Captain Cook's Tour of the Harbour. Beautifully done, and I was staggered by the size of the bays and the quantity of million dollar pads I shan't be owning sometime soon. We experienced the strange sensation of the 9 degree drop in temperature in 3 mns reported on TV and today is cooler (19 degrees).

Delicious kangaroo steak for dinner in Darling Harbour and returned to find The Bill on TV to get us back to earth.

Blog 11 Monday 15th October Sydney continues

Laundry first and then culture afterwards. We walked to the famous Rocks area which is the historic part of Sydney. Yes, interesting, quaint and the history is well-explained but after UK towns and villages it doesn't really register strongly. What did register was the terrific BBQd steak at lunch in the warmth of real sun under bougainvilleas (I think) and glorious jasmine in the Sydney equivalent of the Turf Tavern in Oxford. (OK let's admit it my culture appreciation fades drastically in relation to any good eating and drinking experiences anywhere in the world.)
The other wonderful moment was looking harbourwards and having the view of the Opera House dwarfed by a sizzling white cruise ship in port towering over the tiny cottages beside us and set off by skyscrapers behind it. Totally weird!

And then the real Sydney got me in the guizzard - coming back to watch a film (Death at a Funeral - brilliantly silly and funny - real laughter, not just the odd chortle) at the Opera Quay Dendy Cinema - I was totally bowled over by the spectacular romance of Sydney Harbour at night. There is simply nowhere else that has the grace, excitement and beauty that I can think of, given the addition of warm balmy weather. I am, however, up for any disagreement on this point, just as long as I can go and check it out for myself.

Blog 10 - Sunday 14th October - Sydney first day

Wow are you still really with us here?! Definitely the longest postcard ever written but the best way I know to remember where and when we were. OK onwards

Sunday morning - catching up on email etc. Then walked on through Hyde Park to the Botanical Gardens for my first view of the iconic Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

I found the BGs really odd - wonderful exotic foliage (and birds like Ibis, maybe they are) neatly laid out in Victorian formal beds and offset by skyscrapers behind. The great views of the harbour were only possible when walking round or sitting on the hill above as sitting down meant they were partially hidden by the harbour wall. I was troubled by my first view of the OH as it seemed much more clunky than I'd expected, till I realised that it was the bottom third of massive concrete that did nothing for the wonderful sails above. From the higher view the proportions work fine and then when we took a ferry later and saw it from the normal side it is broken up by strips of windows and actually looks like a paved area around the sails rather than chunky walls.

We walked over to it in search of refreshment and again a surprise - a wonderful walk up the steps towards the towering cathedral vaults of the sails and then once inside the foyer a disaster of lost opportunity; low concrete ceilings, dim lighting and pure ugliness meets the disappointed eye. However, it might just be forgiven for my first experience of floodlit toilet paper(!?!) We decided to find refreshments outside and enjoyed a sunny view of the harbour nearby instead.

Various galleries enticed as we wandered towards the ferries and we learned yet more of Aboriginal art and then a really good ferry trip back to Darling Harbour was just what was needed by flagging legs. The view of the OH and bridge (what maniacs were those walking over the top of it!!?) was the expected one, but no less terrific for all that, but it is interesting how important it is to get the backside and insides right too.

A yummy splurge in Chinatown at Marigold's fine cuisine set us up for some interesting dreams (at least it did me). Onwards now for our first weekday in this fine city.

Blog 9 - from Canberra to Sydney Sat 13th October

After another early-morning, but abortive kangaroo hunt in the surroundings we picked up a hire car and followed Adrian and Jenny as they drove out to their daughter's 'cottage' in Kangaroo Valley (half way to Sydney). This took us through some beautiful scenery, hills covered magically with the pernicious Patterson's Pest, a deeper purple than bluebells but the same effect. Still no kangaroos though. En route we collected some real Aussie pies from the 'Best Pie Shop in the World' - not to be confused with all other Aussie pies which are apparently almost indescribably nasty (quoting Adrian here). The valley itself is spectacularly lovely and the cottage a very comfortable bungalow with lots of character and views all round, set in a very pretty garden. The land goes down to the stream/river and up to the surrounding wooded hills and is truly idyllic (if it were not for the wombat that seems to have taken up residence beneath the property. The name seems appropriate - they are about a metre long and tough as anything and no joke in the garden.) We tore ourselves away to continue on to Sydney, stopping off half way to get to know the small town of Kiama by the sea rather better than we planned. The first third was to enjoy a drink and a stroll and the second to rush round all our previous steps and the police station looking for Richard's missing wallet and the last third trying hard to find a way out once we discovered the wallet in my handbag! We finally got to the hotel, having dropped the car off at the airport and were pleasantly surprised to find it pretty stylish and conveniently near Darling Harbour - so no long walks to get to places. Not so good was the next discovery that R had mislaid the case key and of course mine had been locked in the bag. We went for a tasty Indian take-away (taken away to a seat overlooking the harbour) and meanwhile a metal cutter was found back at base. Hey presto - clothes again! Followed by a good sleep.

Blog 8 - more from Canberra Thursday 11th October

It is still really Sunday but I published the last one in case it disappeared into the ether.
Thursday was terrific. Dennis and Pauline took us slightly diffidently out of town to a small town/village called Bungendore to see a wood gallery. But what a wood gallery! The work was superlative and so much of it at that absolutely top-level of quality. Having established that we could be awed to such levels we could then enjoy everything else on offer. We were a bit suprised to be taken to an English-style pub for lunch - but the quality of the meal was far greater than most English style pubs! We headed back to Canberra via Mount Ainsley, from which we had a spectacular view of the city and were able to get a greater sense of how it was put together. Whenever you read Canberra you must think in terms of being serenaded by wonderful birdsong everywhere, which might help to get the flavour. My favourite is a pink breasted parrot - a Roselle, which has a trill of 6 notes that sound like the deeper end of a xylophone!! Onwards from Mt. Ainsley to a relaxing stroll round the beautiful Botanic Garden - laid out in zones of planting as seen in various parts of the country - lovely landscaping but really interesting at the same time. We finally saw our first wild kangaroos, a mother and joey probably, quietly grazing on the lawns there. Sitting for tea in the cafe and learning yet more about the country in a thoroughly relaxed way is my idea of serious travel.

Dennis then took us over to stay with Adrian and Jenny and everything about their hospitality was gracious; a lovely home surrounded by gloriously scented jasmine, wisteria, roses etc. and relaxed and interesting explanations about everything. We spent the evening chatting over a delicious meal and collapsed into a large and comfy bed - this time with the window open and birdsong to wake us.

Friday 12th October

How is it possible to pack so much into a day without feeling knackered? (though probably Adrian was on his knees by the time we finished!) He drove us first to a private gallery showing Aboriginal art and we were thrilled to fine our arrival coincided with a party who had come from where the art was painted and the 90+ year old painter proudly pointed out his own work. Jimmy Baker is apparently a legend amongs Aboriginal painters and we had seen him for real!
The work was so full of vitality, colour and movement and most had sold at the Private View the night before - bargains I'm sure.
Mood changed entirely as we drove off and were halted by a large funeral procession, led by a lone piper, various members of the police department and bizarrely with the herse followed by a group of very aged bikers on their Harley Davidsons etc. soberly riding at walking pace. We still don't know who it was.
We then had a drive out in the country (via the impressive recycling works and compost production zone?!?) to Lanyon, one of the few original estate farms, kept just as it was first set up in some cases, with its convict barn, sheep sheds etc. It was a really unexpected treat to have a taste of this aspect of Australia as we had thought that staying in 3 capital cities would mean the outback side of life would have to be foregone this time. It is set in beautiful countryside and I would love to have had days there to paint the scenery. We also discovered the Anzac biscuit, for those who don't know it, wait till I get back to try the recipe.

Lastly, just in case we felt we hadn't fitted in enough (ok I forgot to mention the Glassworks on the way out too) we had tea and a walk round the new Australian National Museum. It is a sumptuously hideous construction outside - a world -class horror, but with a clever entrance atrium that rose like a cathedral space inside, cream, black and red with slopes, wallks, windows that were shaped with references to Aboriginal animal forms. The rest of the interior spaces were chaotic and incoherent but the section on Aboriginal life was brilliantly informative.
A relaxed local Thai meal rounded off a perfect day.

Blog 7 - filling in the week in Canberra!

Sorry for delay folks (It is now Sunday 14th) but we got a bit sidetracked in our efforts to make sure we didn't miss a moment's opportunity back last week. Surprisingly we're still feeling relaxed and excited by it all - so the mass information and experience input over the last week doesn't seem to have blown fuses yet. I'll try to fill you in without weighing in too heavily though.
Tuesday 9th October - The Melbourne War Memorial is genuinely awe-inspiring and a fitting tribute to the soldiers. On the 11th hour of the 11th day etc a shaft of sunlight falls on the word 'love' on the central stone 'Greater Love Hath No Man' - simplicity amidst the grandeur surrounding it all.
We spent the rest of the morning visiting the private galleries and learned more about Aboriginal art and how to tell good from poor and what is involved to a greater extent. Fascinating.
An easy, fast flight to Canberra and we arrived in warm sun in its small and attractive aiport. There was an immediate sense of release in Canberra - it is laid out with massive light and space and a beautiful central lake 'Burley Griffin'. The few skyscrapers are clustered gently together in the shopping and business area and all the rest is hills and trees and birds and the occasional government building or museum. It was a perfect contrast to Melbourne.

We arrived at Richard's favourite hotel, the Hyatt and it is truly astonishing. Only 2 floors are visible above ground and it stretches backwards the size of a small airport. Built early on in the construction of Canberra for the politicians to have somewhere civilised to stay it is classical 1920s, brown and cream and sedate. The bedroom was huge and kept in a modern take on the style elsewhere and the bathroom was the size of our last bedroom in Melbourne.

OK that will be the mega-fancy part of the blog and it was only for 2 days! The food was unexceptional and it was hard to cope with having no way of opening the windows for real live fresh air, but they are small grouses.
However, we were truly lucky to have some of Richard's ex colleagues living in Canberra and they really did us proud. We met Adrian, Dennis and Pauline for dinner at the Hyatt the first evening, had Wednesday to ourselves to be impressed by the New Parliament building and its very impressive tour guides. The building (about 10 years old) opens wide welcoming 'arms' to the nation, is set on a lowish hill so as not to be too imposing and even has grass over the top of the roof so that you can stand above your representatives. Sadly, it appears from what we are told, that those representatives do not necessarily improve by this treatment and behave in much the same way as those world over.
We then took ourselves off to the National Art Gallery - good collection of indigenous art and a small but interesting sculpture gallery. It also had a delightful sculpture garden set by the lake, which we then walked along to get back to rest at the hotel. In the evening we were met by Melany and Stuart, also ex-colleagues who took us to dinner at the Old Parliament House. The dinner was absolutely fine, though smoked kangaroo didn't have me jumping with pleasure (sorry!) and its strange emptiness was disconcerting. However, the company was good and helped us learn yet more about Australia and its doings.

Blog 6 Monday Tuesday

Reporting back whilst we have a few spare moments before Melbourne starts up (10am before anything gets going here) - last night's Moroccan meal at Docklands was also exceptionally good, so nothing new there. Dreary walk to and from and hardly worth the effort to go by tram for only 2 stops but once there it is picturesque. Sorry for no photos yet. Discovered that this student hostel/internet shop doesn't allow uploading of photos. What do they think we plan to upload?? So it will have to wait for higher technology in Canberra. This morning we plan to go to the War Memorial which is a huge classical edifice on a hill overlooking the city and has spectacular views.
I've forgone the mind-blowing experience of going to the highest floor in Melbourne with a glass-bottomed viewing platform - purely you understand for Richard's sake so will enjoy the more sedate view from the memorial. It puts our little Cenotaph into a back pocket in terms of care for the soldiers - that's for sure. Off now and will report back from pastures new.

Blog 5 Sat. Sun Mon

OK so we left off having been mightily impressed by the Victorian Art Gallery and after recovering back at base went out to explore the restaurant scene of Melbourne. It lived up to expectations and we found ourselves in a very snazzy Australian take on stylish food in the Crown Centre by the river. The steak and pud were sumptuous and for the price of an average meal back home we had an unforgettable one, busily people-watching too as this was obviously a lucky find at real live trendy living. On the hour we found huge fireballs sent up from chimneys over the Centre which were a pretty dramatic way to tell the time. The skyline was improved by the night lights too.
Next day - Sunday, after visiting an open-air high quality craft market (yes - of course there was a turner) we made our way over to the Botanic Gardens and found we seemed to have hit on another place to be on Sunday mornings - especially with children. We had none available so made the most of the walks, lakeside views and terrific planting. After another good light meal, this time at Federation Square (town centre I think) we explored the Ian Potter series of buildings, principally to enjoy the Australian National Collection of Art and above all the wonderful Aboriginal paintings. They really are inspirational and I can see what all the fuss is about at last. On a large scale they have huge vitality and sense of design and rhythm.
At a point of total collapse we returned to our boutique hotel (means you have 3' and 5' beyond the size of the bed- but it is clean and comfortable, if a bit out of the centre of things).
Another great evening meal, this time at the Southgate Centre, the other large compendium of multifarious choice restaurants. They are seriously large dining experiences here! We had an Italian meal this time and were much fussed over by the staff who gave the impression of genuinely caring - an unusual experience - that they want you back some time.

Next morning - Monday, it was time for Docklands to have the once over. Yes, it is impressive with masses of modern buildings and appartments going up, surrounded by restaurants etc, but at the moment seems a bit sterile as it isn't yet fully under way. We are about to try an evening meal there though. In the meantime we went to see the Kourie Foundation galleries next to our hotel, with a brilliant description of all things aboriginal in this part of the world and some more great works of art. Lunch was Greek snacks and then we attempted to be impressed by the classier shopping streets and private galleries of downtown Melbourne, but sadly were not - but again we are competing with Hong Kong and in the case of the few galleries, none were open so we shouldn't judge. We didn't spend our million dollars on that irresistable little daub in the corner though - so that's a relief on the baggage carriers! Back soon as we can get to a computer in Canberra, but if R's description of his favourite hotel is anything to go by, I doubt I will be able to prise myself away from their Elysian fields for long enough to type. We shall see.

Blog 4 Saturday 6th October

Remedied that immediately. Having woken to find we were again surrounded by roads and high rise blocks we headed riverwards to establish connection with the land. The river's promenade was always going to have a hard time competing with Amsterdam last week and Hong Kong this but we ploughed past fairly uninspiring skyline dwarfing the bizarre and huge St Pancras-type Victorian railway station and headed towards parkland and the Victoria Art Gallery. The entrance is a brilliant sheet of water cascading down and gives life, movement and excitement to herald the collection. You turn to a door to the right to get in and onwards. The gallery itself is a huge and clever modern architectural space inside, though a blank wall outside which is slightly reminiscent of the Forbidden City. We skipped the huge queues on the last day of the Guggenheim exhibition to see the permanent collection and what gems! It had fabulous representations of European painting, porcelain and furniture and there's still more to return for tomorrow.

Blog 3 Friday 5th October to Melbourne

A good, easy 8 hr flight down to Melbourne in the daytime but in the twilit world of 'no time' on boards, with blinds down and lights dimmed and half the passengers asleep, having flown direct from UK. We managed to get through many of the disposable Oxford Limited Editions that there is never time to read at home, as all the films were rubbish. My plans to catch up on all the films not yet seen in the UK (most) may be foiled if we only have Spiderman and Harry Potter to choose from. But reading will benefit. Disgusted to find after long wait for baggage an even longer wait to get out of customs via X-ray machines. Tempting to follow the example of one poor woman who started gibbering eventually and was taken through in a flash. This meant arriving at the Hotel Sofia in the rain and dark too late to go out again, so after hot drinks and biscuits oddly spent the night not having any sense of where we were.

Blog 2Day 4 -7 (We think - confused already!)

We strolled through a narrow park of tropical foliage and fountains down to the 'Walk with the Stars' waterfront to sit and watch a dazzling light and sound display of the buildings on Hong Kong island and the Kowloon side with lazer light dancing on the clouds.

We spotted a waterfront restaurant in the Intercontinental Hotel and walked up throught its exotic entrance drive to find ourselves in James Bondland. A huge comfortable bar with a jazz band overlooked the harbour and below it a lively restaurant buffet which had great views and food too.

The following morning was sunny with light cloud so we headed straight for the Star Ferrry over to HK island. We then entered Science Fiction World, travelating uphill through modern covered tubes to a series of escalators taking us further up. At this point we decided we needed to update our reading to see what was in store for the 22nd Century. 21st century returned all too forcibly at the top when we found we needed to descend again on foot via a web of spaghetti junction roads to the Peak Tram terminal. If confusing (signs, what signs?) at least it meant a chance to9 go via the HK Botanic Garden and Zoo, say 'hi' to the panther, before joining the vast queue for the funicular tram. At this point we realised that using parasols were a real boon. Hats and sunglasses mean no breeze circulating can be appreciated so when in 'Rome'.... and up went the umbrella, but it was a long wait. We finally packed into the tram and rose to about 400m above sea level. The multi-tiered building on top took us to greater heights and fantastic views of both sides of HK island but I badly wanted to sit with a fruit juice to enjoy it fully. So view first,

and refreshments after, finding I was totally whacked. Eventually the juice took effect - enough to let us stagger over to lunch with a view lower down the complex but still too tired to sketch. We shared a taxi down hill rather than queue again and then wandered along Hollywood Road, bizarrely the antique centre. My high spot of the day was jasmine tea and Chinese buns in Lok Yu Tea Rooms on Stanley Street, - authentic, serene, and very traditional with polished mahogany booths, mirrors, white linen and warm flannels and kindly waiters. I realised to my surprise that this was giving me greater pleasure than the glitz of the Peninsular Hotel (though I wouldn't have missed that). We sat quietly and enjoyed the peace for a while
.
(walking at the base of some of these was a bit overwhelming though)

On then to an impressive (cheap, tvs, comfortable seats, head-room) bus ride to Aberdeen on the far side of HK island. It's a strange mixture of skyscrapers and old Chinese boats and super yachts but good to stroll along the waterfront there. I sketched, relieved to find my energy returning, and we were deafened by birdsong

Why is it that vegetables abroad look so much more exciting?

First day out

In spite of an attempt to leave from the wrong terminal at Heathrow, these seasoned travellers made it safely out to Hong Kong. It has lived up to all the gasped expletives in terms of spectacular quayside views and inventive light shows.

We've gorged on fresh and succulent Chinese meals - even dumplings (in spite of major overdose in error back in Beijing). Culture sqeezed a look in at the beautiful Art Museum in Kowloon. The contents are glorious examples of Chinese art and craftsmanship, though we skipped their much vaunted 'Treasures of the British Museum'. This was a great building internally but has dumped itself slap bang to spoil the magnificent view once held by the Peninsular Hotel. English tea there had best-ever (lightest) sandwiches and a fine classical trio playing above the palm court lobby. Though it lowered the tone by requiring us to queue for it ignomineously. I suppose if we'd arrived in one of its private helicopters from the airport (750 pounds per hour) this might have avoided the wait (but we didn't).