Steve's Blog Blogging since 2004, about the significant people, places, sights and sounds of my world. Now dabbling with retirement!

A very lazy day today – our last full day here before flying home tomorrow. What better way to spend it than doing nothing around the hotel pool. Temperature was just right – an occasional cool breeze and 27 degrees! In the afternoon, we got packed for our return (always a depressing task!), especially as …
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After the 14 hour flight courtesy of Emirates, after a short taxi-drive, we’re now at the Dubai Shangri-La hotel. It’s 6.45 in the morning here and the city is just coming to life. The view from  Room 3613 A good start to our stay was spotting the cake the hotel had put in our room! …
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We checked-out around 11am and then took the short walk to Darling Harbour, where spent most of the day. The weather was glorious – not a cloud in the sky. It was also the day that I added to my weird-ciders-of-the-world quest! Today, it was Strawberry and Lime – sounds terrible, looks awful… but tastes …
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Here we are then – new year’s eve..and we’ll be one of the first to see it in as we’re 11 hours ahead of home : ) According to the local news, ove3r 1 million people are going to be heading for the immediate area to see the firework display – and there are signs …
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Another day in paradise! We woke late and headed for a leisurely breakfast on our floor. Our Butler had already told us that breakfast time would be especially busy today on our floor, but as it turned out, it wasn’t! So, another very relaxed breakfast came our way! After brekky, Ann and Karen went shopping …
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All together now: “We’re going to the zoo.. zoo… zoo… Would you like to come too… too… too…” After breakfast we decided to each do our own thing. Ralph and Karen headed for the Botanic Gardens for a revisit, whilst we did some quick shopping for essentials and then took the short ferry-journey to Taronga …
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Today was the day for wearing out shoe leather – we must have walked miles! After breakfast, we took the short walk to The Rocks tour office. This was an organised walking tour for around two-hours around the OLD parts of Sydney. Our tour-guide Sally, knew her stuff and we were shown the origins of …
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After an almost trouble-free drive back to Melbourne Airport to drop off the hire car.  I say almost, because for a moment – just a moment – we thought we might not make it. It all started when we realised we were running low on fuel. The orange light came on and we thought ‘time …
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We woke to crappy weather – cold, and slightly raining. The plan is to drive away from the local area for some scenic photographs of the coast. This proved to be a smart move, as the weather deteriorated. First stop was Castle Cove, the first of many stopping points with views of the stunning coastline …
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Christmas Day! We had breakfast around 9.30 as we’re leaving Melbourne today, and it’s a long drive today down to our next stop Apollo Bay – we estimate around 3 hours without a break. We’ve already determined that there won’t be any facilities for an evening meal when we get there (because it’s Christmas Day), …
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Ann and I did our own thing today and it was another day of local exploring! First stop, a five-minute walk down the road to ACMI (The Australian Centre for the Moving Image) where we visited the Star Voyager Exhibition (all about man’s exploration into space). It was a combination of historical stuff and fictional …
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A small correction to yesterday’s post – we’re only 11 hours in front, not 12. After a reasonable night’s sleep, we woke around 8.15 to a very grey morning. We unpacked the essentials and all headed down to breakfast for around 10am. Last servings were at 10.30 and it was a little obvious that we …
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We’re on the move today. We leave Seashells Yallingup and head back to the Airport. We’ll drop off the car and then catch the three hour Virgin Blue domestic flight to Melbourne. Taking into account the time difference, there won’t be much left of the day, as we don’t get there until around 11pm local time. …
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After breakfast round at ours, we set-off on our day of discovery. First stop was the Ngilgi Cave, a short drive away. Discovered around 100 years ago, they were a unique experience in all sorts of ways. The temperature underground was a (relatively) cool and constant 20 degrees, which was very pleasant considering it was …
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Today we planned to explore the local area and hopefully to take in the views of the coast and discover some wine-cellars too. We set off in the car after a late breakfast in the direction of Margaret River and the views, as expected were stunning. There was plenty of surfing going on and the …
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So, it’s good-bye the Perth and the Pan Pacific hotel, as we jumped in the hire car and headed south to Yallingup. In Australian travel terms, it’s ‘just down the road’.   We set off immediately after brekky, once Ralph and I had picked up the car from Avis, located a short walk from the …
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Today, we’re off to Kings Park and Botanic Gardens. Luckily, Ann’s friend Jane (who we met yesterday) and who lives over here, had told us about the free bus service that would get us close to it. We had brekky on the Club Floor again- perfect – and then walked the short distance up the …
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It’s a beautifully hot, sunny day here today, so we’re going to make the most of it and take a look around Perth Harbour area and then take a boat trip to Fremantle. Scenes of Perth It was good to hear the sound of a brass band, but strange to see the Salvation Army playing …
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Just arrived in Perth. A great flight courtesy of Emirates. Weather here is a healthy 25 degrees. A quick change of clothes at our Hotel – The Pan Pacific and then out for a pint at the local – The Grosvenor.