Flashback... Melbourne Arrival

All photos copyright Robert May

Written 19th March 2011

The 18th was a travel day for us, we started early in Ayers Rock, after a short 25 minute flight to Alice Springs (cute airport, smelled of waterfalls), we transferred to the Melbourne flight and then caught a cab to the Radisson hotel, where we are in a lovely 9th floor room.  We were both saying how much we love this chain as they seem to have thought of everything (Rob marvels at the fact they provide an iPod docking station and an adapter, whilst I hunt for the dressing gown!!).  There was a knock at the door as they brought our luggage and then also handed us a lovely bottle of fizz and some delicious strawberries with a sweet card to say they hoped we enjoyed our honeymoon stay.

The Radisson Hotel room

Honeymoon goodies from the hotel

The man who checked us in also gave us a map and some quick pointers on where to go for food, so we found the lively chilled out bit not too far from the hotel and had some delicious food, while in the background some dude played the drums to backing tracks of well known songs.

The 19th we spent pottering around central Melbourne, mainly looking at the bars and deciding they were too busy. We stopped for a lovely brekkie in Spiga and then did some shopping. Rob seems to be doing much better than I so far, as my most exciting purchase was some shampoo from a brand I’ve heard of.

Cool photo from inside one of the shopping centres

We were both a bit bored of Italian food and in the mood for a change, so as we got a whiff of Indian food, we decided it would be nice for a bit of something different. Also, the name 'Shi Raaz' just made me giggle. It turned out to be very tasty indeed, a good choice. Sadly, the planned night out on the town was scuppered by me twisting my ankle and not really feeling up to it, so that might have to happen later in our trip instead.  We opted for coffees instead and an early night. I know, pathetic, aren’t we?

2 Happy Dances and a Giveaway!

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I've posted, I'm sorry!

I've had a long Easter break away by the coast and then a hen party so there hasn't been much free time for blogging.  I'll be back posting more about my Australia trip after this short stitching update.

I've been doing a fair bit of stitching, and I've completed the following:

Home Sweet Home
The World of Cross Stitching free kit from ages ago

Travel Memories
Dimensions Gold Collection, Petites

I loved the small Home Sweet Home one and mostly stitched it on the tube.  I really like the Travel Memories piece as well, but I HATED stitching it.  I'm not sure if it's because it's a petites kit and the needle was smaller than I'm used to but I found it hurt my hands a little to stitch this one and push the needle through.  It also seemed to take much longer than I expected it to.  And I was worried that with some of the colours I got right down to the last bit of thread, and some I had heaps left.  I don't think I unpicked much of it so I'm not quite sure what happened.  I have 2 more petites kits that I bought at the same time, which I'm not going to start until I've got over this one.

Now I'm finished I love how it looks.  But I never want to see the pattern or the threads again, so I'm giving away this chart and the spare threads so you can colour match. The majority of stitching is in half stitches and mine was stitched on 18 count ivory Aida.

If you'd like to win the pattern and spare threads, just leave a comment on this post and I will draw a winner in 2 weeks time on the 22nd April.  If you post about the competition on your blog, let me know and you'll get an extra entry.  If nobody wants it, I'm burning it :)

I Do

Have you ever watched a film or read a book, and when you get to the end of the story you feel like you must have been holding your breath since the beginning?

I think it's a pretty rare thing.  I have only ever read 2 books that made me feel this way*.  I come back to them year after year, because as much as they make me feel like a wreck, I can be sitting there for days after, still being affected by that story like I was living it myself.

This weekend I went to see a film.  I was in a theatre at a UK premiere with a few hundred people.  When the credits rolled, there were tears running down my cheeks and I wanted to be anywhere else but there because I didn't want to talk, I just wanted to be in a dark room by myself because I needed to catch my breath.  I'm not sure I've ever felt like this about a film.  I don't think so.

"I Do" (Written by and starring David W Ross) is set in New York, where British photographer's assistant Jack is based - close to his extended family. His work visa is denied after many years living legally in the US, so in order to stay in the country, Jack has to find a solution - the options being to leave the country and return as a visitor periodically, to stay illegally and risk deportation as soon as he is found out or to marry his best friend, Ali.  But things aren't that straightforward, as Jack is gay and when he meets a new love his relationships become more strained.

The main issue in the film is around DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act), the problem being that gay couples in love don't have the same rights as straight ones - in this case the right to sponsor someone's green card, even if you are in a state where gay marriage is legal.  (there are many more legal rights not available in a gay marriage beside this one).

Although this is the major point running through the film, it is much more than that - it is a story about relationships and family and love and the complications of life.  Having never really watched anything with gay scenes before and unsure what to expect, I felt that it was well done, only what was important and relevant to the story.

The film has a twisty turny plot, and up until the very end, I found I was unsure about how things would turn out.  There seemed to be little suggestions placed along the way which left me wondering 'oh, is this going to happen?'.  Some very intense emotional scenes, a few things in there which made the audience laugh and the most incredible cast made this one of the best things I've seen for a long, long time.  Coupled with well placed music, a really involving story and beautiful production, I found that my attention was grabbed and held from the first second and it didn't let go until the last word.

In a world which is continuously changing, it is rubbish that some people still have to pretend to be someone they are not in order to have the rights that many people take for granted.  The film has come at an important time for the US as the debate continues over DOMA and the Senate is due to vote on changes to gay marriage laws.

If you get a chance, please go and watch the film and then spread the word. At the very least, watch the I Do the Movie trailer.  (If you'll be seeing the film, my advice is not to look at the 'About the Film' page too much as it does have a lot of the story details on there).  I hope it gets a general release in the UK.  It deserves to.

This film will break your heart, but it is worth it being broken for a little while.



* Paullina Simons' books "Tully" and "The Bronze Horseman"

Flashback...Uluru Sunrise Tour

All photos copyright Robert May

Written 17th March 2011

Uluru as the sun came up
(Kata Tjuta in the distance)

Today was a very early start, and I set 5 alarms just to make sure that we did get up at 4.30am.  All was fine and we sprang out of bed and were at the front of the hotel for our pickup at 5.30.  We headed out in the 4WD minibus towards the sunrise viewpoint and were the first group there. Rob managed to get a great spot and we watched the colours changing on the huge rock as the sun came up – really very beautiful, and we were lucky with clear skies after rain for the last couple of days.  

The same view a short time after -
Amazing how the colours change

The tour took us to a number of other stops with different views, including the point where you can climb the rock, although it is strongly suggested that you don’t do this any more for a number of reasons - the aboriginal owners ask you to respect their culture and prefer you not to climb, but also the weather conditions and the fact that it is a strenuous climb make it risky.  It looked too steep and scary to me anyway.  The tour guide told us some great stories and bits of information as we went round, and we saw some artwork on the walls and also a beautiful watering hole.  We also spent a little time in the cultural centre and saw some of the artwork made by the local people and got to know more about the culture and community.

For more information about Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, please see the website here.

Beautiful Aboriginal rock art
These used to be used for telling stories and teaching

Spot the heart in the rock

Because of the early start, we were back at the hotel by 11am, although by that point it felt more like 5pm. Rob went for another dip in the pool, whilst I sat in the shade watching the dragonflies and butterflies darting around the gardens. Then we had some poolside drinks and a bite to eat – thank you to Sarah King for our rather delicious refreshments!

Back to the room for an afternoon nap for me and some photo processing for Rob, followed by dinner at Gecko’s cafe again.  Now we are just packing (well, Rob is packing while I play with his iPad) as we head to Melbourne tomorrow!

Flashback... Ayers Rock Resort

All photos copyright Robert May.

Written 16th March 2011


Today we had a nice free day, so we had some time to just relax from all the rushing around.  We didn’t really see much of the resort in daylight yesterday, so after a much needed lie in, we went for a wander.  One of the few things we noticed was people wearing nets over their heads.  We laughed at them to start with, but then we realised that the fat little flies were really very irritating, probably the main downside of this part of the trip.  Everything would be fine and then one would come a buzz really loudly in your ear.  If you're planning to do a trip here, I'd be taking something to cover my head, because they were a real annoyance in the outside spaces (not a problem at all indoors).

The view from our Rock View room
(with a little bit of zoom)

We found the pool in our hotel, which was nice, but we decided to have a peek at the one in the 5 star hotel too, which was better.  Apart from that, there is a wide range of opportunity for shopping here – clothing, crafts, hairdressers, post office and a remarkably well stocked newsagent and supermarket, we were really pleasantly surprised given that we thought being somewhere like this would mean there really wasn't much to do.

The nice pool

We had a quick sandwich in the deli, and then Rob went for a long swim in the fancy pool while I read my book in the comfort of the air conditioned bar while enjoying a pot of tea.  Afterwards, Rob did some MORE shopping and bought me back a present (for organising such a wonderful honeymoon) … a lovely purple necklace.

A bit later after more reading in the room and a quick change, we had an early meal in Geckos Cafe and a couple of drinks in our hotel bar.  Now it’s time for an early night as we are off on the 4WD sunrise tour tomorrow morning and it’s a 5.30am pickup! Night Night!!

Flashback... Uluru / Ayers Rock

All photos copyright Robert May

First posted 15th March 2011

We packed up and left Perth early, heading to the next stop of our trip, the Ayers Rock Resort.  We landed shortly after lunch, blimey they don’t half feed you a lot on these Qantas flights – we were quite happy with just a bag of pretzels and then they brought out trays of lunch. My waistline is growing by the day.  We didn't have this stop on our itinerary until a few days before we booked the flights and thought it would be a bit different to all the city stops we were doing so we added it in.

A quick transfer to the hotel and we were all checked into our Rock-view room, looking out onto Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park.  What strikes you immediately is the amazing red colour of the ground all around you and the contrast of the green vegetation.  I had never seen anything like it, it was beautiful.  

We couldn't quite stretch to the 5 star hotel, and so we opted instead for the Desert Gardens Hotel, which was a short walk away and had a better view.  Rob made us a lovely cup of tea… with some little chocolates, to celebrate our arrival.

Lovely cup of tea.  Just realised one cup is bigger.
That must have been mine.

Unfortunately, the weather had been bad the day before, and so the Dinner Under The Stars wasn’t able to go ahead – instead we booked a table at the nicest restaurant in the resort and ate up some delicious Wagyu Beef, accompanied by a tasty bottle of Red wine. 

Posh beef in the posh restaurant.
Delicious!

The rest of the evening was spent listening to the torrential rain – I did start to wonder if it had been worth booking the Rock View room as it completely vanished from sight, and we had to navigate so many pools of water in the dark on the way back to our room!!!  We were told that it hardly ever rains, and so it would be just our luck of course!

Flashback... Perth's Famous Wine Cruise

All photos copyright Robert May.

First written 14th March 2011

Today was all about Wines, Cheese and scorching Sun!   

We had a tour booked on Captain Cook Cruises to take us to the beautiful Sandalford Estate in Swan Valley about 30 minutes outside Perth by car, or over 2 hours (!) by boat.  The boat set off quite early from the Barrack Street Jetty and we were only about an hour into the trip until the first four wines appeared.  Before we could get drinking, the crew decided it would be fun to get a few of the other passengers to model the wine for the rest of us… to some dodgy music!  During the tastings, we really liked the Sauvignon and the Cabernet Merlot from the Jane Brook Estate, but weren’t that keen on the other two.

Just lazing around on the river...

The trip was good and we landed at the Sandalford Estate to a lovely view of grape vines and other flowers (apparently planted near the vines as they act as an early warning system for diseases and similar).  At Sandalford, we tried another 7 wines (and really liked about 4 of them) and 2 ports.  We bought a bottle of the rather special Sandalera Port as a anniversary present to ourselves.  We’ll open it at our first Christmas together as a married couple and share it with the friends & family that we see.

The beautiful Sandalford Estate

After quite a few more tastings of the nicer wines, we headed back onto the boat (just about walking in a straight line) to go to the Waters Edge Winery for a 3 course lunch and even more wine tasting – this time for another 3-4 wines that we could pick from a big selection, including a sparkling.  The tasting was in the the oldest underground wine cellar in Western Australia and it was fantastically rustic, although also a bit musty smelling… in a reassuring way.  We had another walk back to the boat and were hit with a wall of intense heat as soon as we got outside, which made the the wine go to our heads even faster.  On the boat, we were greeted by the friendly crew and even more wine.  

Swan River at Sunset

Once back in Perth, we visited the Lucky Shag Bar on the riverside for some water (!) and contemplated what else to do on our last night.  After finishing off the drinks, we had a wander down the rest of the jetty and then made our way over to Northbridge again for some food in one of the local restaurants.

Perth city at Sunset

It was a really lovely last day in Perth and we both agreed that we would come back again – lots of exploring around the city and suburbs to still be done.  I'd definitely recommend the wine cruise and Captain Cook Cruises in general, they were excellent.  Onwards to Ayers Rock tomorrow… apparently, the weather isn’t so good… oh dear, I can see a large bill from the Spa coming my way!!