Australia Days 1 & 2 - Ain't Life Civilised

Monday 20th September Aus Day 1


After a good night’s sleep, in a proper bed, I rose at 06.30 and unpacked my cases, putting clothes into drawers as appropriate. Showered in the en-suite facilities and went down to breakfast at 07.45 to find that Valerie had transported Nick to the airport at 05.00 to catch his flight to (eventually) Papua New Guinea and arrived back at07.40.

Following a leisurely breakfast, I spent most of the morning updating my accounts and the Blog and bringing various other computer programmes up to date. This is probably the last opportunity I will have to ensure that all is in order before I set off on my travels.

After a delightful Skype conversation it was time for tea at about 6.30pm. Valerie had prepared a lovely meal and we had the company of Nick’s brother Michael and his wife Lawrence (pronounced Laurenz) which led to a very pleasant evening.

Once the visitors had departed, Valerie and I watched TV for a short while before retiring for the night.

Tuesday 21st September Aus Day 2

I have to confess that I was a late riser this morning, the sleep gremlins got me and I didn’t surface until 07.45 so, by the time I had showered and dressed, it was 08.30 before I got downstairs for breakfast.

Valerie had arranged to meet a long time friend for lunch so, at about 10.30 we set off for Port Elliot, a small seaside town on the Fleurieu Peninsula near to Victor Harbor (sic). Valerie met her friend, who teaches English in Japan, and we went for a fish & chip lunch in the ‘Flying Fish Cafe’ right in the bay.

Horseshoe Bay - Port Elliot

Horseshoe Bay - Port Elliot

Valerie & Shirley outside the 'Flying Fish Cafe'

This establishment serves very good fish & chips but does not provide any cutlery so, fingers were the order of the day.

Following a leisurely lunch where Valerie and Shirley spent time catching up with events since they had last met, some 12 months ago, Valerie and I headed back towards Willunga calling in the the Kay Brothers Vineyard on the way to try and get some of their Rare Muscat. This is a very palatable fortified wine which I had first sampled on my previous visit to SA in 2009.

Unfortunately, they had none available at the moment, nor would they be able to ship any to the UK for me. A different strategy is obviously called for so, we departed, empty handed, to re-think the situation.

Arriving back at Willunga, spent some time before tea drafting this Blog entry before attacking an enormous home made pizza.

Valerie and I then spent most of the evening dredging up 1001 childhood memories. It's amazing the things you can remember from up to 60 years ago (or at least you think you can remember)

At 10.30 I made a successful Skype call to Eileen, following which I happily complied with Zebedee's instructions and went to bed.