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Nov. 16th, 2010 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pensnestIt'd probably be a good idea to post about the epic not-holiday before I forget the details.
Well, a successful trip! I'm glad we went. There was much to do, and I don't think FIL would be anywhere near ready to buy a house now if we hadn't been there to get him through the viewing process and help with the various bits of admin he had to get done. Though local friends were brilliant and would probably have helped a lot if we weren't there; one friend managed to find FIL a nice little car, which he collected on our first morning in Launceston and which was much more suitable than the behemoth he drove in Bexhill. In fact, we did an amazing amount, really, up to and including having a contract to buy agreed, and even going back to the chosen place for another visit while the Building Inspection was being carried out. It looks as though he has apricots, peaches and possibly a plum tree in the garden, and self-seeded tomatoes, courgettes and corn, so that seems to me a jolly good start. And I think the friend who's going to help FIL furnish his house shares my ideas on what is suitable, so I have hopes that he will actually end up buying a good quality bed and easy chair, and probably some nice wooden stuff too.
Amazingly, I managed to write a Kradam Holiday fic, too.
We didn't get sunshine for our trip to Beauty Point, which was pretty but not that spectacular, we thought—but the ride there was lovely. It's so fascinating to pass through a landscape where the trees are completely different to what I'm used to seeing. So many ghostly grey treetrunks!
We left Launceston on the Wednesday and got to Melbourne without a hitch. Took ourselves straight out to ride the City Circle tram, which does a big loop, with commentary, around the centre of the city. Very cool. Our hotel was right in the middle of town, really could not have been more central, and we walked past dozens of Chinese/Vietnamese/Malaysian restaurants to get to the tram, so after our ride we found a Vietnamese one for supper.
Next day we walked to the Victoria Market, which was splendid, and at which Much Shopping was done. Once I got started, ahem, I thought, well, we have some spare capacity in the suitcase (we'd brought some of FIL's stuff in our own case, as well as a bag of his), and it *is* nearly Christmas... Among other things we got me a fabulous Australian knitted zipped cardi with a hood, lovely textures, in shades of beige. I was enchanted with that style of knitwear at Melbourne airport on the way out.
In the afternoon we went to the Melbourne Museum, where we looked at the Aboriginal exhibition, and then were lured by a really fantastic display of sparkly rocks. I do like sparkly rocks. Then we saw the Hubble telescope film at the IMAX.
That evening we met up with the lovelycopracat who took us to a great restaurant in her part of town; among the items consumed were wallaby tartare, kangaroo steak, and saltbush-fed lamb. Excellent meal, and such a fun conversation which seemed to wander from touristy things to Shakespeare to fannish stuff and on again to... well, I don't know, but it was most enjoyable.
On Friday we went out to the Docklands on the City Circle tram to see the Amazing Bodies exhibition, which was quite something—never really seen anything quite like it, lots of preserved bodies, human and animal, showing details of skeleton, nervous system, digestion, musculature and blood circulation. Quite fascinating.
Hunting for art, we first tried the Nicholas Building, which turned out to be distinctly characterful but a bit intimidating for art novices like ourselves. Splendidly personalised lifts, though. We walked along Flinders Lane instead, and found some nice galleries, including the craft one, which I liked particularly.
We'd intended to visit the Botanical Gardens, but Beast was suffering badly from the pollen so we stayed in the shopping area instead, exploring a mall and then admiring the Myer's Christmas Windows (a Nutcracker display), before visiting the Parliament Building for a tour which turned out to be not so much a tour as a succession of random anecdotes. Very handsome building, the chambers plainly modelled on the Houses of Parliament in London (but rather more comfortable, I suspect). We ended up back at the hotel for an agreeable dinner, and had to take a taxi to the airport because the fools at the pre-booked shuttle bus company had managed to get things wrong despite being telephoned with a correction. Sigh.
Then, the epic flight home. Oddly, every takeoff was late, but we got to Heathrow nicely on time. My ears, however, are not happy ears. My sinus headaches were evil for a couple of days, but things are easing up a bit now. And I have managed not to fall asleep yet today, so that's an improvement. We even made it to Body Balance on Sunday and did our gym session today, which is not bad going.
Acourse, it's a bit sad having to come back to November in the north, when it was spring in the south and the horse chestnuts were encandled and there were roses everywhere. Really very pretty.
Well, a successful trip! I'm glad we went. There was much to do, and I don't think FIL would be anywhere near ready to buy a house now if we hadn't been there to get him through the viewing process and help with the various bits of admin he had to get done. Though local friends were brilliant and would probably have helped a lot if we weren't there; one friend managed to find FIL a nice little car, which he collected on our first morning in Launceston and which was much more suitable than the behemoth he drove in Bexhill. In fact, we did an amazing amount, really, up to and including having a contract to buy agreed, and even going back to the chosen place for another visit while the Building Inspection was being carried out. It looks as though he has apricots, peaches and possibly a plum tree in the garden, and self-seeded tomatoes, courgettes and corn, so that seems to me a jolly good start. And I think the friend who's going to help FIL furnish his house shares my ideas on what is suitable, so I have hopes that he will actually end up buying a good quality bed and easy chair, and probably some nice wooden stuff too.
Amazingly, I managed to write a Kradam Holiday fic, too.
We didn't get sunshine for our trip to Beauty Point, which was pretty but not that spectacular, we thought—but the ride there was lovely. It's so fascinating to pass through a landscape where the trees are completely different to what I'm used to seeing. So many ghostly grey treetrunks!
We left Launceston on the Wednesday and got to Melbourne without a hitch. Took ourselves straight out to ride the City Circle tram, which does a big loop, with commentary, around the centre of the city. Very cool. Our hotel was right in the middle of town, really could not have been more central, and we walked past dozens of Chinese/Vietnamese/Malaysian restaurants to get to the tram, so after our ride we found a Vietnamese one for supper.
Next day we walked to the Victoria Market, which was splendid, and at which Much Shopping was done. Once I got started, ahem, I thought, well, we have some spare capacity in the suitcase (we'd brought some of FIL's stuff in our own case, as well as a bag of his), and it *is* nearly Christmas... Among other things we got me a fabulous Australian knitted zipped cardi with a hood, lovely textures, in shades of beige. I was enchanted with that style of knitwear at Melbourne airport on the way out.
In the afternoon we went to the Melbourne Museum, where we looked at the Aboriginal exhibition, and then were lured by a really fantastic display of sparkly rocks. I do like sparkly rocks. Then we saw the Hubble telescope film at the IMAX.
That evening we met up with the lovely
copracat who took us to a great restaurant in her part of town; among the items consumed were wallaby tartare, kangaroo steak, and saltbush-fed lamb. Excellent meal, and such a fun conversation which seemed to wander from touristy things to Shakespeare to fannish stuff and on again to... well, I don't know, but it was most enjoyable.On Friday we went out to the Docklands on the City Circle tram to see the Amazing Bodies exhibition, which was quite something—never really seen anything quite like it, lots of preserved bodies, human and animal, showing details of skeleton, nervous system, digestion, musculature and blood circulation. Quite fascinating.
Hunting for art, we first tried the Nicholas Building, which turned out to be distinctly characterful but a bit intimidating for art novices like ourselves. Splendidly personalised lifts, though. We walked along Flinders Lane instead, and found some nice galleries, including the craft one, which I liked particularly.
We'd intended to visit the Botanical Gardens, but Beast was suffering badly from the pollen so we stayed in the shopping area instead, exploring a mall and then admiring the Myer's Christmas Windows (a Nutcracker display), before visiting the Parliament Building for a tour which turned out to be not so much a tour as a succession of random anecdotes. Very handsome building, the chambers plainly modelled on the Houses of Parliament in London (but rather more comfortable, I suspect). We ended up back at the hotel for an agreeable dinner, and had to take a taxi to the airport because the fools at the pre-booked shuttle bus company had managed to get things wrong despite being telephoned with a correction. Sigh.
Then, the epic flight home. Oddly, every takeoff was late, but we got to Heathrow nicely on time. My ears, however, are not happy ears. My sinus headaches were evil for a couple of days, but things are easing up a bit now. And I have managed not to fall asleep yet today, so that's an improvement. We even made it to Body Balance on Sunday and did our gym session today, which is not bad going.
Acourse, it's a bit sad having to come back to November in the north, when it was spring in the south and the horse chestnuts were encandled and there were roses everywhere. Really very pretty.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-19 11:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-21 01:59 am (UTC)Didn't see any peculiarly antipodean animals, though. So they're still unreal!