U2 - at last

Hello again, another week has sped past again, only 1 month till the man in the red suit comes visiting. In the meantime life has continued for us pretty much as normal with an added touch of excitement last Saturday.

After buying our U2 tickets last Novemeber for a concert in March, it all finally came together on Saturday night. The original dates in March were cancelled as you are no doubt all aware and was it worth the wait you might ask. It sure was! The venue was the Telstra Dome and it was a mild night so the roof was open. The crowd was in excess of 60,000 so as you can imagine the Dome was rockin'.

The stage was a work of art/sculpture in itself with it's 30 metre wall of lights, which provided a light show which was just amazing. With a big screen either side there was really not a bad seat in the house. Which was just as well really given that we were 3 rows from the back, but right in front of the stage.

Tammy flew over to join us for the concert arriving on Wednesday night to freezing weather. It had snowed that day and most of the snowfields had more snow that week than they had all season. Winter didn't stay too long and we were back in T-shirts on Friday. Well, you know what they say about Melbourne weather - sometimes it's true. It was good to catch up with Tammy again and here all the news from the West Coast.

Sunday was a day of treks to the airport with Tammy leaving in the morning and Bill leaving in the afternoon for a week in SA, so a quiet night was had by me followed by a week of exercises on the bike and in the pool - thank goodness the sun is shining again.

Have no idea what this weekend will bring so will leave you all now while I check out the 'What's On'

Until next time........

Christmas is coming

The Christmas spirit is alive and well in the city as everyone gets ready for the big day once again. Last Saturday saw the arrival of Santa Clause to Myer & David Jones in the Bourke St Mall with Myer bringing back it's street parade as a prelude to the opening of their Christmas windows. No we didn't go as a mall full of kids might have been a bit of a challenge for a hobbling old girl with a crutch. We did however venture out late at night (after seeing the mighty Dragons win again) to view the windows. Once again they are magical and this year tell the story of the Nativity Play through the eyes of the Australian Bush Animals. Kids & Adults from everywhere will be captivated by this lovely story.

The Big Tree is in the City Square at Collins St this year and the lights will be turned on this Saturday. Decorations are up throughout the city malls & laneways. Santa's Mailbox is once again on the corner of Swanston & Collins St waiting for it's influx of mail to the South Pole.

So with all in readiness for the big day all that is left for us to do is get that shopping list ready and get amongst it.

Until next time.........

Weekend Wanderings

Hello again, as you all know Melbourne has been in the grip of the Spring Racing Carnival for the past few weeks. Cup Day this year was very different for us than it was last year. For those that didn't know we were there with BB and saw Makybe Diva create cup history. Also the weather was a lot different to this years return to wintry conditions. Even though my leg is well and truly on the mend we decided that the 'one bung knee' and the estimated crowd of up to 120,000 might not go too well together so we decided we will wait till next year to feel the buzz that a day at The Melbourne Cup brings. So what to do with ourselves instead?

Bill took the Monday off and so along with a lot of other people, created a long weekend. We headed off on Saturday morning to Heallesville where we joined Astrid & Hans for 2 days of wandering in & out of some of the great winerys they have up there. We had dinner that night at a nice Thai place and a great lunch the following day at Oakfords vineyard. (A few bottles of bubbles have managed to find their way home with us as well). We overnighted at a nice little motel right near the Sanctuary (must visit that one day).

After leaving on Sunday afternoon we continued up the Maroondah Hwy, over the Black Spur & through the beautiful Mountain Ash forests that make up the Mystic Mountains, and stopped overnight in Marysville. We had been there last year and it was so nice we decided we would have another look. The Jewel in the Crown at Marysville (for us) is a wonderful place called Bruno's Sculpture Garden. Bruno is an artist & sculptur who has made his garden into his own very unique gallery. His paintings & smaller pieces are inside but there are over 100 pieces (some almost hidden) throughout the wonderful natural bush garden. All the pieces have been inspired by people seen on his travels to many countries, others with a touch of pure whimsy. A truly unique experience well worth the drive for.

After spending Monday morning with the sculptures we then went on to Lake Mountain (no snow) to see what they had to offer. It is the closest skiing to Melbourne but is only for Cross Country skiing. Maybe I'll give that a try when I can get back to it. It certainly looks like a very different landscape to our mountains in NZ. From there we headed down the mountains to Warburton for lunch. The best homemade pies we have had for a long time. Maybe not as good as those at Kirrup, but I did say for a long time. From there it was only a hop skip & a jump back home as we had a basketball game to see that night. And what a night. At last we saw the South Dragons first win at home - Michelle Timms can't sing - let me tell you, but makes up for it with enthusiasm.

Cup Day dawned cold & damp, lucky we weren't going really, and stayed that way for the day. We saw some of the activities on TV but then decided we would go and see what was happening in town. Not much, other than a huge crowd at Fed Square, there to watch the 'Cup' on the big screen. It was all happening there but we decided we would come home to the warm. As you know history of a different kind was made again and it is all over for another year. Weather willing we will be there then.

So with another weekend upon us already I'll leave you now

until next time............