One day at a time

  Met Graham at the Museum train station and took the short walk to Hyde Park in the centre of Sydney. We found row upon row of classic and vintage cars, which stretched down the length of Hyde Park and down Macquari Street, to the top of the Botanical Gardens. Filled in a few hours looking at the cars and eating at one of the BBQ stalls in the Park, before wandering down to Circular Quay, through the Botanical Gardens. Sat a while waiting to see the fly pass by the RAAF, only to see all of just one plane swoop over the harbour. We then walked down around the bay to the Opera House and watch the rather slow race between the big ships to the Harbour Bridge. Walked back to Hyde Park and after some more food, relaxed in my hotel room for a while before heading towards Darling Harbour. Unfortunately, whilst we had been in the hotel, the weather had changed from a warm dry day to a very wet one. Luckily one of the free city shuttle buses turned up as we were making our way to Darling ...

  Had a bit of a lay-in as it was a late night, but soon got time to start out to Graham's again, this time to meet Chris and go to Olympic Park. Had to wait a while for the train, but remembered where Graham was staying. Chris was slightly late, but in the end it did not matter, as we reached the Visitors Centre in good time and the Segway man wasn't in any hurry to get going. After a short intro to the Segway, we set off around both Olympic and Bicentennial Parks. They were great fun and certainly got lots of looks and featured in one or two photos. I would agree with Graham that this is the most fun that I have had on this trip and after getting over my initial worries that I would not be able to master the machine, I felt very comfortable on mine. Unfortunately, I did cause Graham to crash, although he has challenged me to a race. After stopping off at Chris's place, Graham and I had a few drinks and dinner at the Bank Hotel in Newtown. The food was good and the oth...

  Didn't sleep too well, I think I over did the food last night. No rush, meeting Dean at 10am so was a easy morning. Fill in the time until Dean arrived and meet him outside the hotel. Walked over to the closest monorail station and took it to Darling Harbour. From there we walked to a cafe in Prymont, behind Star City. Had a lovely brunch and chat with Dean, again he gave me some good advice regarding my apartment in Brunswick. Naturally I would like to get to know him better, but do enjoy our friendship. Arranged to meet Graham later, so filled in the afternoon by walk through Hyde Park and then down to Circular Quay, didn't realise how easy it was to reach there. Took lots of pictures and saw one of the tall ships coming into harbour, although not under sail. It was very hot, the wind especially, but managed to stay in the shade for most of the walk. After showering, it was time to get going to Graham's place in Marrickville. Simple journey and met Graham at the...

  Simple matter of packing and getting to the airport in the morning. The flight went smoothly and we managed to get a couple of the emergency exit seats. The flight passed quickly and I didn't manage to get to the end of my video. I took the train to the city and left Graham at the airport. After a shower and shopping at the local supermarket, I caught up with Graham and we went out for dinner up Oxford Street. Had dinner at a nice Thai restaurant, I was too full to go out for a drink afterwards, but we walked along the street. Then we went to the square in front of the Central Station, which had a Chinese festival on to mark the Chinese new year.

  Not the most successful a day, first set off to visit the Arts Centre, but we decided to forgo the guided tour, as we were the only ones that had turned up for the tour and there was work going on a couple of the theatres. Instead we weren't to the South Terrace, via the East Terrace. Had brunch at one of the cafes along Hutt Road, the gardens along the South Terrace are not as well maintained as the north ones. Took the tram back to the hotel and then went to catch the bus to Mount Lofty. We discovered that the connecting bus only ran until midday, but thought we could walk to the top. By the time we had reached the Crafer Park & Ride, the weather had changed and was getting cold. We attempted to reach the botanical gardens, but there was road works blocking part of the road and I didn't fancy walking on the road passed them. Returned to the hotel and then went out for dinner, again along Rundle Street. Had a hard time choosing between a Greek or Argentinian restaura...

  Long day at the Botanical Gardens in Adelaide, first with a guided walk around the gardens and then individually around to the Rose Gardens and Lotus flowers. It was another very hot day and I hope that I have put enough sunscreen on. After the Botanical Gardens, we went to the Ayers House and were taken on another guided tour of the house, which was interesting. After a quick break for an ice coffee, I returned to the hotel to organise washing my clothing and Graham remained behind to use the wifi available at the cafe. Washed my clothes, which took a while so didn't get out to dinner until after 8pm. Rundle Street was busy again, but not overly. We had pizza and this made a very refreshing change and finished with a drink, and watching the parade of people wandering along the street. Returned to the hotel and both logged on to the internet.

  Arrived early in the morning in Adelaide. Again had had some trouble sleeping on the train. After a quick shower and simple packed breakfast, we detrained and after picking up our luggage, we took a taxi to the Majestic Hotel. Unfortunately, our room was ready, but that was to be expected at this time in the morning, so Graham and I wandered around the centre of Adelaide to fill in a hour or so. The hotel thankfully found a room ready for us and it was a twin room (although single beds), it was great to be able to have a real shower.. Then went out again to enjoy more of Adelaide. Had lunch at the South Australia Art Gallery and then went into the SA Museum. Art Gallery was interesting, but the Museum was a bit of a disappointment, especially with all the kids running around, although did spot one of the previous contestants from So You Think You Can Dance. Came back to the hotel for a rest and had another shower, before heading out for dinner and had a great dinner.

  Full day on board the train, beginning to regret this idea. Not quite the romantic view of rail travel that I had envisaged, I found it difficult to sleep and to fill in the day living in a cabin no bigger than most people's bathroom. The highlight was the stop at Cook and an opportunity to take some pictures of the train. Had an interesting dinner partners, firstly a video artist from Chile and then an Italian diplomat on holiday from Canberra.

Indian Pacific Originally uploaded by PD Blog Pics

  Saturday 17 January 2009 Today was the trip to Freemantle. Took the Captain Cook ferry, although we discovered after purchasing the tickets that we could have gone for less with another ferry company. The trip went smoothly, although I was glad to get off at the other end, I think an hour on a ferry is about my limit for traveling by sea. The ferry dropped us close to the Round house and after a quick look around, we walked in to Freemantle proper, following the walking tour in Graham's guide book. Didn't take long to find South Terrance, which is known locally as Cappuccino Lane and to find the busiest part of the city. We wandered up and down the street before settling on some where to stop for lunch and I had a nice salad, while Graham had barrimundi. After lunch, we went to the market, but after a quick round around the stalls, we made our way back out on to South Terrace for tea and cake. By this time, both of us had had sufficient of Freemantle and we took the tra...

  Sunday 18 January 2009 Woke up early enough to check out and have breakfast before going to the Perth Mint. Unfortunately Graham was able to buy the gold that he wanted to, as the international market for gold was closed. Got to see gold being poured, which I think I have see at Sovereign Hill. It was still interesting to see, although the guided walk before hand was dull. Got back to the hotel to pick up our bags before taking a taxi to the East Perth station to board the Indian Pacific train for Adelaide. Just made the check in time, although neither of us realised there was one. The cabin allocated to us had changed, but since they are all identical there was little point getting upset. I almost forgot to take out my Epc and books before the baggage was taken away, thankfully Graham remembered. The cabins are smaller than I expected, especially the bathroom, which has a fold away toilet and wash basin. There is little room for storage and when the beds are put down the...

The day was taken over with the wine trip out to Swan Valley. Started off with a cruise and unfortunately Graham got volunteered into modeling a bottle of wine, much to the amusement of the rest of our fellow traveler. The cruise was on a different boat to the one that I had travelled on previously to the Sandelford Winery, this one was more of just a ferry. The day was incredibly hot and several bush fires were raging around Perth, throwing up clouds of smoke. Thankfully the trip was on a air conditioned coach, although it did struggle with the heat. The wine tour turned out to be little more than a shopping tour, it filled the day but lacked the information that I got from the other wine tours that I have been on. There was little need for the stop at the brewery (or more precisely a bar) and the nougat shop. The best part of the trip was the lunch stop and the intro to the making of gold infused sparkling wine, plus the lunch was great. By the end of the day both Graham and I were f...

Training - Jacob's Ladder in Perth Originally uploaded by PD Blog Pics

Training - jacob's Ladder Perth Originally uploaded by PD Blog Pics

Woke up twice during the night, which is unusual for me. Again we were both early raises and were ready to meet Graham's other friend in time for 9 am. Unfortunately he wasn't so ready and it was nearly 9.30 am before he turned up. First task of the day was to find somewhere for breakfast and we choose a simple cafe inside a shopping centre, turned out to be a simple and workable breakfast. Then took the long-ish walk to King's Park and the highlight for me had to be the guys we meet on the steps of Jacob's Ladder up to the park. Very impressive specimens of manhood. The park itself was also very impressive and included an astonishing number of memorials, including the one to the Bali Bombing tragedy. On a lighter note, I certainly enjoyed the tree top walk and the views of the city from the various look out locations and towers in the park. When it all had got too hot for all of us, we returned to the city and I returned to the hotel room, via picking up a trimer and m...

Woke up early, although not as early as Graham. Breakfast was delayed until we reached the centre of the city and once in the mall, we sat down for something to eat. Next thing on the agenda was to find the tourist information centre and organise the wine tour for Friday. Didn't take long to locate the information centre and I recognised the central post office building in Perth. We settled on a combined wine cruise and bus tour, that took in more wineries than just the cruise option. Walked around the city and went down to the quay, where there is currently a large observation wheel. Not quite in the league of London or Melbourne's, but it was an enjoyable want to send 15 minutes going round on the ferris wheel. Had a short stop at the hotel room to drop off the paperwork for the wine trip and then we sent off to local Perth's gay centre. Wasn't hard to find the main bar, the Court although is wasn't open when we reached it and we went across the road to the WA Mus...

Tuesday 13 January 2009 Spent the day re-arranging some of my items between the two bags, since it was going to be a hot day in Melbourne, I didn't want to have to wear the long trouser. Craig thankfully took me to the airport and dropped me off just before 3pm when the checkin for my flight was due to open. I joined the small queue that was already formed and was pleased to see our scales were as accurate as the airlines – I was well within my luggage limit.Worried that I had packed a aerosol in my luggage, turned out I had left that at home and had a couple of hours to fill. Managed to avoid the temptation of doughnuts but not muffin and coffee.After a long stroll to the airplane, the emergency alleys were full, but looking at the rest of the seating on the plane, I'm glad that I got the extra leg room and my fellow travellers kept to themselves. I entertained myself once we were up in the air with my Epc and the video files that I had brought along. I enjoyed the Doctor epis...

Already started packing for my next trip, this time around three state capitals in Australia - Perth, Adelaide and Sydney. Will be taking my Epc so I can update this blog on the fly and will also add a few pictures, On the leg from Perth to Adelaide, I will be traveling on the Indian- Pacific rail system, which is something that I have wanted to do for a very long time. I am looking forward to this trip.

31/12 Monday Got up early to meet the coach for the day trip, we were the second people on the coach. Unfortunately the ferry part of the trip had been cancelled due to the new year celebrations and they were supposed to have informed us of this. It was a full day with animal sanctuary and walks in the rain forest. I think the highlights for me were the views of the Three Sisters, the cable car ride down to the rain forest and the railway journey back up from the rainforest. We got back around 7pm and after changing, made our way to Pyrmont Park for the first fireworks display. The place was busy but not packed and we had a good view. Wandered away from there after the first set and found a nice restaurant behind Star City for dinner. Graham indulged and bought a bottle of sparkling wine. We finished dinner just about 11pm and wandered back to the park. It was busier for the main set of fireworks, but again we had an excellent view of the fireworks over the water and on t...