Fijian Cruise

My fifth cruise will be remembered for a whole lot of reasons, but mostly for the fun we got out of the little memories we created. I boarded the Sea Princess with my 91 year young Aunt Dympna, my eldest sister Gemma, and youngest sister Ret. It was an 11 day cruise that departed from Brisbane (but not before we had a welcome champagne on Deck 12) and we sailed out under the Gateway Bridge.

Gem and I shared a balcony cabin on the 11th deck, which was next door to Dympna and Ret's. We had the balcony door between our two cabins removed, and each morning our day started with the 4 of us having a cup of tea or coffee, our feet up on the rails, and planning the day ahead.

Our first port was Vila (Vanuatu). We were having our morning coffee on the balcony as we neared the island, and we were welcomed with the beautiful rainbow you can see below. 

In Vila (the best shopping of all the ports) we caught a taxi from the Wharf into town, and on advice from other previous travellers, we headed straight to the yellow duty free shop right at the end of town. We picked up some great bargains, especially duty-free alcohol, and then headed next door to sit at a seaside cafe to have morning tea and enjoy the 'aura'. We could see our ship in the background, which was reassuring! The locals were lovely people and all understood English. 

Sights of Suva (that is our white ship in the back, top right corner of the cafe photo with Gem, Dympna and Ret)

It was hot and humid at all four port stops, so we were always keen to get back to the mother ship and relax in the airconditioning or the pool. We wore our bathers into Suva expecting to be able to swim in the sea, but the beaches were far away from the town centre. So as soon as we returned to the ship we headed to the pool area. This hot (warm) tub was nice, but we ended up in the cooler larger pool to refresh ourselves. 

Every day Dympna, Ret and I played rummicub while Gemma caught up on her book reading. Given all the food and wine we enjoyed on board, we should have paid many visits to the gym and walked around the promenade deck regularly. However, we took some photos just for fun...we kept our weight down by taking the stairs rather than the lifts. We were on the 11th floor and our main dining room was on the 6th floor. 

At Port Denarau (Fiji) we caught the tender to the dock, and walked around the shops - most items were overpriced and nothing much took my fancy. We did see this unusual set of mens jeans attached to a pot plant on this bench, so couldn't resist taking the photo on the left. I thought Ret was a little too 'fresh' with her 'man'.

We had dinner in the formal dining room most nights. Our table was just for the 4 of us, and our waiters Enrique and Felix were from the Philippines. They were very attentive and spoilt us rotten. The photo at the right is us at our usual table. Sometimes we also dined in the formal dining room for breakfast or lunch, and usually got a window seat to enjoy the view. 

On the second last night we had a delicious lobster dinner, and on the last night one of the menu choices was black shell mussels. Ret ordered those, and instead of just bringing one plate full, he bought a second plate of them. We all shared them, and they were delicious.

One morning I woke around 5am and noticed a pretty gold colour outside - this was the scene from the balcony - the funny shaped clouds were on the horizon, and the gold/pink colours were beautiful. My iPhone photo does not do the scene justice. I would have got out my proper camera, but it was in my drawer and I would have woken Gemma with my actions. 

 Our days were very lazy which was just what the doctor ordered. Some days after lunch we retired to our cabins to read a book and have a nap, or watch a movie on TV. Then we went somewhere for afternoon tea and played rummicub. We saw a few enjoyable movies - our favourite was the movie 'The Grand Seduction' - a story set in Canada about a remote seaside village needing to entice a doctor to come and live in the community. The actors were nobodies, but if you get a chance to see the movie, you won't regret it. Very entertaining. We also enjoyed seeing Nicole Kidman in Princess Grace of Monaco - we had no idea of all the politics involved in her position as Princess. We also saw Colin Firth in 2 movies: The Girl with a Pearl Earring (Gemma and I had read the book) with Scarlett Johansson, and Magic in the Moonlight with Emma Stone. Colin Firth played a good role in both movies. We also saw a few night shows which were fantastic. They have top class entertainment on cruise ships, and we were not disappointed on this one.

Ret and I cooling off - Isle of Pines

Our last port was Isle of Pines (New Caledonia) and this cruise was the first one that Princess provided tours to. We didn't do a tour, however we all caught the tender over and spent an hour or so walking around the village. Ret and I couldn't resist a swim in the ocean.

The beach in the background is where Ret and I swam 

Panorama taken on Isle of Pines - Dympna, Ret and Gemma are on the right - walking away

Collection of photos from onboard - top right photo is of the outdoor cinema

A few days before we were due to return to Brisbane, we heard about the nasty cyclone Marcia that was heading to cross our path. On Friday the Captain made an announcement with his decision to try and reach the shelter of Brisbane early on Saturday, before the worst of the cyclone hit, otherwise we would have had to loiter at sea until it was safe to proceed. At lunchtime Friday the Captain gave the orders for full steam ahead, and we reached the safe haven of Brisbane 3 hours ahead of schedule (around 4am Saturday). We had no rough seas as a result of the cyclone, although I heard there was a P&O ship out there with a lot of seasick passengers aboard - they weren't so lucky. Mind you it was pouring with rain when we disembarked, and our umbrellas turned inside out as we headed to our car, but we were so relieved to make it back safely that we were in high spirits. Having my niece Claire (one of Gemma's 5 daughters) meet us with her umbrella, big smile and strong arms to help with the suitcases (until we linked up with our husbands around the corner) was an unexpected and most welcome bonus! She put a big smile on all of our faces. Bless you Clairie!

First Post of 2015

Here we are almost two weeks into the New Year - 2015. Christmas has come and gone for another year. This year instead of hosting Christmas lunch here in Ballina, we drove up to the Gold Coast where my sister Ret hosted for about 13 adults and 3 children. We took my Aunt Dympna up with us and we checked into an apartment for 3 nights. It was a lovely 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment overlooking the water. Between us and the water was a huge green parkland where we could walk our Christmas lunch off. Worked a treat. 

The night before Christmas my sister Rose, drove down from Brisbane to stay the night in a nearby motel. She came to our apartment to join us in a pre-arranged Skype with Kim over in Copenhagen. In Denmark they celebrate Christmas on 24th December, so we shared in Kim's Christmas while she opened gifts from home!

Christmas Day was a hot day as usual, so the pool got a workout by the little kids (Jethro, Noah and Jackson) with the big kids (Peter and Peter!). Murray sat on the edge of the pool so that Jackson could kick his feet in the water. As a joke on my older brother Tony, a stuffed toy pink piglet had been placed on the rotisserisie (not turned on). When Tony arrived, he was asked to check and see if the pork was cooking - he is the master of roast pork. He roared laughing. It was quite a sight. My niece put the photo on Facebook and had to put the caveat that it was not a real pig!

Ret, Tony and Peter Gibbs check out the 'pork'

Always a good opportunity to catch up with those who live in other states or others that we don't see often. 

Peter Gibbs, Rose (holding Jackson) and Jethro

My brothers Tracy (holding Jackson) and Tony, with Jethro

Noah (left) and Jackson

Jackson and Noah are only a few weeks apart in age, and they were checking each other out. It will be nice when they are a bit older and can play safely in the pool together. When you look at this selection of photos you can see someone is either holding Jackson or playing with him. The 3 boys kept us entertained and were so well behaved. 

Ret & I with gift from Chris & Mandy

End of the day - Murray holding a tired Jackson

On Boxing Day we caught up with another aunt who lives in the Gold Coast area. Ret and I had a delightful morning tea with two of our aunts - Dympna and Kath. Also joining us was Caren, a friend from our nursing days. Her family were neighbours of Kath's family for years. Caren's mum Shirl and Kath were best mates. Thanks for taking the photo Caren. 

Dympna, Ret, Kath and me at the rear

Less than two weeks after Christmas we returned to the Gold Coast to catch up with Daina's family who were up visiting from Adelaide. Daina's mum Angela, dad Fred, two sisters (Alissa and Lydia), brother in law Rhys and niece Emelia, joined my son Benn, my sister Ret, brother Tony and his wife Yudian, and Murray and I. We had lunch together at the fabulous revolving restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Surfers Paradise. They don't call the restaurant Four Winds 360° for nothing. From our table, as the floor revolved (very slowly), we had a 360° view of the Gold Coast. The food was a mix of seafood and Asian cuisine. Delicious. 

The grey circular bit up the top of this pink building (under the name Crowne Plaza)  is the revolving restaurant. Photo taken looking south. Photo courtesy web jet.com.au

Stunning Views

Daina's two sisters (Alissa (forefront) and Lydia), brother in law Rhys, and cute little Emelia

L-R: Murray, Ret, Angela, Fred, Benn, Daina, Tony and Yudian

Murray chatting to Daina's mum Angela and Rhys

Angela with Alissa, Rhys and Emelia

Merry Christmas 2014

We have now been home for 2.5 months and have used the time to catch up with family and friends. At the end of September Murray's son Adrian and his wife Danielle had another beautiful young boy,  Max, and so now Murray is the proud grandfather of FOUR grandsons. Blayke, Heath and Dane are lovely healthy looking lads, and I am sure it won't seem too long before Max will be running with the pack. 

Murray with new grandson Max

L-R: Ret, Jen, Leonie, me

After a few days catching up with family and some friends in Melbourne, I left Murray there to spend more time with the family, and I flew back home. My sister Ret and girlfriends Jenny & Leonie joined me for a weekend of iPhones, Mac computers and Thermomixing! What a fun weekend. It was actually the Prawn Festival weekend in Ballina that weekend, and so we took this photo to show that we embraced the spirit of the Prawn! 

I had one day to pack after the girls left, and then flew to Darwin with my brother Tony for 3 days. He spent time with his daughter Anna, and I spent time with my son Mark. I even caught up with two friends that I went to school with in Alice Springs. I last saw Kathy in 1968 and Angela in 1964. We had a great time reminiscing about old school friends and what they are up to now. The photo on the right I took from the front of our beachfront hotel. What a fantastic sunset photo. Thankfully although I was talking to Murray at the time, I was using a bluetooth headset in my ear and had left the iPhone in my pocket. I was able to remove the iPhone from my pocket and quickly take the photo and still keep on talking to Murray and telling him what a beautiful sunset I was witnessing. The Darwin visit also gave me time to catch up with 3 of my lovely nieces. Overall a great 3 day trip.

Top photo is of my son Mark in the centre, with my brother Tony to his right. The lower left photo is me with Kathy (on left) & Angela (centre). Tony & I are bottom right

L-R: Niece Rosie holding her daughter Erin, brother Tony, Me, son Mark standing behind me, nieces Bridgette and  Anna. Our dinner location.

On November 29th we celebrated my nephew Jackson's first birthday with 17 family members. It was such an enjoyable party, made even better by the fact that Jackson was in fine form - smiling and happy to be with whoever picked him up or played with him at the time. His sister Kate made his special cake, and his other sister Anna surprised us all by flying down from Darwin. We missed you Nicholas! To top it off for me, despite numerous odds against them, Benn and Daina flew in and made it to the party in time to cut the cake and catch up with the family.

Then Benn & Daina returned to Ballina with us for a few days R&R. I think they enjoyed their low-key activities. After all, cycling, bowling, and snorkelling are a bit tame compared to their usual edgy pursuits of snowboarding in Canada, chasing snow drifts in Iceland, getting a boat captain's sailing licence in Spain etc. You get my drift. Ballina was very low on their adventure Richter scale, but I daresay it enabled them to recharge their batteries.

It is now time to get seriously into the Christmas spirit. Next week I will be manning a stall with my girlfriends to do Christmas gift wrapping in the local mall. Then we have the first of the Christmas parties kicking off - my Book Club I believe. Looking forward to all of the festivities. We hosted Christmas lunch at our home for the past 2 years, so this year my younger sister is having a turn. Aunt Dympna, Murray and I have reserved an apartment on the Gold Coast for 3 nights, and it will be a nice change. I was grateful for Daina's help to set up our Christmas tree. Thanks Daina. Hard to believe that it is 3 years since Kim and Sarah set our tree up. 

Wishing all our family and friends a Christmas to be thankful for. We hope that 2015 is a wonderful year for you, and that we get to see many of you during the course of the year. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Return to Ballina - September 2014

Yes, I know I haven't finished writing up our UK trip, yet here I am about to tell you about our first two weeks back home in Australia! Time is of the essence…I will backtrack to the UK in due course! I've been a bit discombobulated since we got home. Don't you love that word - thanks Jan Brubaker. 

Following our special time up in Lake Tahoe with Marie and Eric, we were very spoilt to have Eric drive us from Sacramento to the San Francisco airport - it enabled us to use the high occupancy lane on the freeway, and I think we might still be lined up in the horrific traffic if we had needed to use the regular traffic lanes. A 2 hour drive there and back! Thanks Eric. Sterling effort. 

After our usual 14 hour flight and then 2.5 hour drive from Brisbane airport to our front door, we were very happy to walk into our Ballina home. It looked sparkling clean, and very, very welcoming! The garden was nice and green thanks to recent rains, and the lawns had been mowed by one neighbour and the edges trimmed by another neighbour. 

A week after arriving home we had a delightful overnight visit from my nephew Matthew, his wife Carolyn, their son Marcus and his girlfriend Nina. They left after breakfast on the back patio the next morning - Aunty Dympna, Gemma and Bill dropped in and had a coffee with them before they left. 

The next night we had my eldest sister Gemma, husband Bill, Aunty Dympna and her friend Barbara over to dinner. We had lots of laughs, especially with them wearing the Jimmy hats Murray bought back from Scotland and Ireland. Crazy family - love them all to bits!

Then the next day it was time to get my combat gear on to tackle a 3 day visit from my dear little 10 month old nephew Jackson. We set up safety rails to keep him safe as he is now crawling everywhere. The rails had little gates which made it so easy for the adults to access all areas. Poor little fellow was teething, but there were lots of happy moments we enjoyed with him. Thankfully once he went down in his cot at around 7.30 - 8pm each night, he slept right through until 5.30am . Very grateful. 

Sadly, within a few days of us returning home, our friend Bob Mulholland died of cancer. We were so glad we got home in time to say our goodbyes. RIP Bob. Last night we had a riverside dinner with his wife Anne, and four of their daughters - two of them we had caught up with in London at the end of our UK tour just a few weeks earlier. It was a great night last night with them. Gorgeous people. Safe flight home tomorrow Jen and Mish! See you in London and the Cotswolds in 2016 - God willing.

Clockwise from left: Anne, Mem, Jen, Murray, Kathie, me and Michelle