Wow, another busy week - and I am glad for that - it's so boring here without Dad, so I am filling each day as much as I can. :-)
On Monday, I started a new class - tai chi - being held at the Over 50s Centre. They have tons of classes - both physical and intellectual - and they only cost $3. or $3.50. I have wanted to try tai chi for a while and we are having it for our next Homemaking activity and I have the time to do it, so it was the perfect time for it. A lady named Margaret taught the class and she is the lady who will come and teach it to us at Homemaking next month. The class was an hour and 20 minutes and I thought it would be too long, but it wasn't. It is such a relaxing exercise and I thoroughly enjoyed the class. After that relaxation, I also had a facial which was relaxing - a very nice day. :-) Tuesday and Thursday, I went back to Aquafit class and more really good workouts.
On Wednesday, I decided to try a mediation and relaxation class at the Over 50s Centre - I thought it might be good for learning how to relax if I felt stressed. Well.................the class started with a woman welcoming us and then telling us to close our eyes. She then proceeded to talk with us in a calming voice telling us to relax, let go of our worries, etc. for about five minutes or so. We then sat in silence for over half an hour. You can imagine how difficult that was for me - eek! After that, she asked each one of us how things had gone, what we had 'seen', where we had 'been', etc. I told her that it has been very difficult for me to just sit there. She said that it would come over time and that she hoped that I would come back again. I thought to myself 'there is no way I am ever coming back here' - way too stressful. :-) I am going to try yoga next week which is taught at the same time.
After that, I met up with some church friends (Elaine, Jan and Fiona) at lunch at a restaurant called 'Hogsbreath' - I keep forgetting to take my camera with me when I go out - I really need to remember it so that you can see who I am talking about. Elaine and her husband are moving from HB and she wanted to get together with us before they moved house. It is always sad when we lose people from our ward - we get to know them and they contribute to our ward and then they leave. We had a lovely lunch together talking and laughing - it's always nice to hang out with friends. :-) Speaking of hanging out with friends, I did the same on Thursday with my teacher friends (Bronwyn and Luise) and on Friday with my friend, Haidi. Friends, talking, laughing, hanging out - such good 'medicine' for me. :-)
Dad's work is going well - the guys had their first exam this week and they all passed - phew - although one of them only barely passed. Dad says it's hard cuz the men don't work on these kinds of planes much and also some of them are older and not really up to learning about a new airplane. Dad spends most of his time class at the hotel doing his preparation for the next day - he has only taught this course once before and so he has tons of prepping to do to make it acceptable for him. There are different exams compared to last time as well, so Dad has to make sure that he specifically mentions those areas - there is too much information in the course for Dad to cover completely and so he has to make sure he covers what might be in the exam plus what he feels is important to cover.
I want to share an amazing experience I had on yesterday - I am not sure that words will be able to really get my feelings across, but I will try. Last week, I mentioned that a friend of mine had really let me down and that I was really upset with her. I knew that I had to forgive her, but I really didn't feel like it last week and it was still hard this week when I thought of the situation. I have been doing a seminary course on the Book of Mormon and this week's lesson really hit me. I was reading about how Nephi had been bound in ropes by his brothers. He prayed to Heavenly Father to give him the strength to change his circumstances (as opposed to asking to have his circumstances changed). That hit me - maybe I should pray for help to change the way I felt about my disappointment with my friend's decision which let me down. Then, I read more about Nephi and how, after he had gotten out of the ropes, he forgave his brothers. It hit me again - if Nephi went through such a horrible experience and still forgave his brothers, then I should forgive my friend. I prayed again last night to help me to forgive my friend - this morning, when I was on my way to church, the negative feelings returned and I pushed them away. When I got to church and saw my friend, things were the same they used to be - all my negative feelings had disappeared and it was as if the Homemaking situation had never happened. WOW, I thought - how amazing! I loved it! I didn't like feeling that negatively, especially towards my friend. I pondered on this today and realized how similar it was to us when Heavenly Father forgives us - it's like the situation never happened. What a wonderful spiritual experience!
Sunday, 17 April, 2016
I have been a bit slack with getting back to my blog after being in Canada, but here I am again, back on track. It was nice to be able to pick up Dad from the airport on the 6th of April on his return from Canada. I really don't like being by myself - just too boring without Dad here. Dad only had a few days at home before setting off again, so it was a busy time fitting in appointments (haircuts and chiropractor) and two dinners with friends. Dad and I also found one geocache - he had one travel bug from Canada to put in here in HB. After that, we went for a walk on the beach - it was a perfect day and the beach was beautiful. Then, on the 10th, Dad was off again to Melbourne. He was only there for the week, so I was not able to go with him.
the geocache
a man paddleboarding in the ocean
Dad on the beach
Me with one of our local city councillors (Robert Garland) - he and another fellow were returning from a local activity which was held on the beach - they invited me to jump in and get a photo taken
Me at the beach (love walking in the water - ahhhhh!)
I filled up that week so that I was very busy: swimming with my friend, Diana; working on Homemaking stuff with my friend, Jan; baking bread with my friend, Denise; afternoon tea and a movie with my friend, Maureen; hanging out with my friend, Haidi, at her place; going to an aquafit class and a pilates class; and getting a lovely facial. PHEW!
bread rising (from my day at Denise's making the bread for Homemaking refreshments)
Buns rising - they were made with the same recipe as the bread, but I added a little mixed spice and sultanas
Yesterday, it was our homemaking meeting at church - baking bread from scratch. My friend, Denise, was supposed to teach it, but on Thursday, she told me that her husband was taking her away for the day and that I would have to teach the breadmaking class. I was very stressed and very anxious - I had had two lessons with Denise, but I didn't feel confident at all. My friend, Jan, and I set everything up on Friday, so we didn't have to do it on Saturday before the meeting. We had planned on having bread for the refreshments for Homemaking which I had started making at Denise's on Thursday and then finished at home - I wasn't positive that the bread and buns were good enough for refreshments, so I went out to a real bakery and bought two loaves of bread, just in case.
There were 15 sisters at Homemaking - I was really pleased with that turnout. We had set up the tables outside so that there wouldn't be a mess on the carpet in the classrooms. I gave the sisters the recipe for the bread and had the ingredients ready for them to use. I stood in front of the tables and instructed them on what to do. Fortunately for me, there was one sister at one of the tables who knew how to make bread, so I asked her to keep an eye on the sisters at her table while I assisted the sisters at the other table. Once the sisters got the dough ready and it was doing its first rise, we had the bread/buns for refreshments. Although the ones I had made were a little dense, the sisters said that they tasted good - I was so happy! Saying a prayer before the meeting started really helped me to calm down - I completely forgot about my anxiety - and the whole meeting went so well. One of the sisters even sent me a picture of what her bread looked like after she took it home and baked it. So far, we have had four really good Homemaking meetings this year - I hope the rest turn out as well as these four have.
Last Friday, Dad left Melbourne and flew to Brisbane. We were hoping that he would be able to come home for a day or two before he went off to his next teaching assignment, but it wasn't to be. He stayed overnight in Brisbane and flew to PNG (Papua New Guinea) yesterday - he will be teaching there for three weeks It is not our favourite place for him to go to as it's not a safe place in general - fortunately, Dad is staying in a really safe hotel which is heavily guarded and he also has a driver who drives him back and forth to work. He eats breakfast and dinner at the hotel and takes soup and snacks (which he buys at the grocery store - driven there by his driver) for lunch. We will both be happy when he comes home from there. So far, he says the course is going well and the 14 guys on the course seem to be taking all the info in and have been asking lots of questions which Dad likes.
I have been a bit slack with getting back to my blog after being in Canada, but here I am again, back on track. It was nice to be able to pick up Dad from the airport on the 6th of April on his return from Canada. I really don't like being by myself - just too boring without Dad here. Dad only had a few days at home before setting off again, so it was a busy time fitting in appointments (haircuts and chiropractor) and two dinners with friends. Dad and I also found one geocache - he had one travel bug from Canada to put in here in HB. After that, we went for a walk on the beach - it was a perfect day and the beach was beautiful. Then, on the 10th, Dad was off again to Melbourne. He was only there for the week, so I was not able to go with him.
I filled up that week so that I was very busy: swimming with my friend, Diana; working on Homemaking stuff with my friend, Jan; baking bread with my friend, Denise; afternoon tea and a movie with my friend, Maureen; hanging out with my friend, Haidi, at her place; going to an aquafit class and a pilates class; and getting a lovely facial. PHEW!
Yesterday, it was our homemaking meeting at church - baking bread from scratch. My friend, Denise, was supposed to teach it, but on Thursday, she told me that her husband was taking her away for the day and that I would have to teach the breadmaking class. I was very stressed and very anxious - I had had two lessons with Denise, but I didn't feel confident at all. My friend, Jan, and I set everything up on Friday, so we didn't have to do it on Saturday before the meeting. We had planned on having bread for the refreshments for Homemaking which I had started making at Denise's on Thursday and then finished at home - I wasn't positive that the bread and buns were good enough for refreshments, so I went out to a real bakery and bought two loaves of bread, just in case.
There were 15 sisters at Homemaking - I was really pleased with that turnout. We had set up the tables outside so that there wouldn't be a mess on the carpet in the classrooms. I gave the sisters the recipe for the bread and had the ingredients ready for them to use. I stood in front of the tables and instructed them on what to do. Fortunately for me, there was one sister at one of the tables who knew how to make bread, so I asked her to keep an eye on the sisters at her table while I assisted the sisters at the other table. Once the sisters got the dough ready and it was doing its first rise, we had the bread/buns for refreshments. Although the ones I had made were a little dense, the sisters said that they tasted good - I was so happy! Saying a prayer before the meeting started really helped me to calm down - I completely forgot about my anxiety - and the whole meeting went so well. One of the sisters even sent me a picture of what her bread looked like after she took it home and baked it. So far, we have had four really good Homemaking meetings this year - I hope the rest turn out as well as these four have.
Last Friday, Dad left Melbourne and flew to Brisbane. We were hoping that he would be able to come home for a day or two before he went off to his next teaching assignment, but it wasn't to be. He stayed overnight in Brisbane and flew to PNG (Papua New Guinea) yesterday - he will be teaching there for three weeks It is not our favourite place for him to go to as it's not a safe place in general - fortunately, Dad is staying in a really safe hotel which is heavily guarded and he also has a driver who drives him back and forth to work. He eats breakfast and dinner at the hotel and takes soup and snacks (which he buys at the grocery store - driven there by his driver) for lunch. We will both be happy when he comes home from there. So far, he says the course is going well and the 14 guys on the course seem to be taking all the info in and have been asking lots of questions which Dad likes.
Sunday, 21 February, 2016
Another busy week - it's a good thing that Dad and I don't have full-time jobs - we wouldn't have any time for them! :-)
Monday was 'chokkers' as they say here in Australia, which means it was a very full day. After having another lovely facial and a visit to the chiropractor, Dad and I went to Robyn's so that he could work on the 'to do' list which she had for him. :-) Two of the items were technology based - he had to help her renew her antivirus software and also help her with another computer related issue she was having. He also had a look at her kitchen tap which was leaking. Robyn really appreciates having Dad here to help her with things like that since Geoff is no longer here to help her.
After that, we went to visit with our Bishop - he was going in for a hip operation and it turned out he had to have a 3-artery bypass heart operation instead! A number of 'co-incidences' (which I don't believe in) occurred along the way - Heavenly Father sure was watching over him! The operation was a success and within a week, he was back home in HB (he went to Brisbane for the operation). He was looking tired and will have a long recuperation, but his wife is taking good care of him and I am sure he will get lots of visits and meals brought to him.
Tuesday was another visit to the doctor for me - these sunspots are getting to be annoying! I had the stitches on my arm taken out and had to have another sunspot removed from the left side of my right leg near the bottom. I did much better controlling my anxiety this time (which both the doctor and the nurse commented positively on), so I was really pleased with myself. I had thought about how I could use the 'self-talk' I used when I was going through the anxiety in university in this situation (I hadn't thought of that before and it was an answer to prayer) and it helped quite a bit. I still had some anxiety, but it was so small compared to what I had experienced last week. The doctor was very pleased with how my arm looked once the nurse took the stitches out.
On Tuesday, Robyn came over so that we could work on Relief Society stuff - I really wanted to get as much done, with regards to the activities we are having this year, as I could while I was in HB. Dad had to work on installing a new garage door opener while we were inside working. We had been having issues with our garage door opener with it sometimes not opening and/or closing. It was so expensive to buy it in town, so Dad ordered it over the internet. I am so grateful that he is so handy - it was stinkin' hot day, though, and so he was sweating something awful by the time he was done.
That evening, the missionaries came over for dinner again and Robyn stayed to eat with us as well. These missionaries seem to like to do object lessons and so this night, they used the visual where one shook pepper into a bowl of water and then put a squirt of dish soap into the water at which point, the pepper went to the sides and then sank to the bottom. They equated that to pepper being our sins and the dishsoap being Jesus Christ (so Jesus washed our sins away). Another wonderful message.
On Thursday night, we went to Robyn's to help her celebrate her 70th birthday with her daughter, Sandra and her family and another couple, Jan and Gil Townson (church friends). We all brought food and drinks and very much enjoyed eating and chatting together. Robyn's daughter, Sandra, bought a lemon meringue pie for dessert - since it's my favourite pie, I just had to have some (after all, it would have been impolite not to have some since we were celebrating Robyn's birthday).
On Friday, I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor so he could check out the stitches on my leg. He was very happy with how they looked and I will get them out in about ten days or so.
Yesterday, we had our February Relief Society Homemaking activity and I was very pleased at how well it went. There were 18 sisters in attendance and this month's activity was working on a quilt. Robyn and I had cut everything out, so all the sisters had to do was take two pieces of material and put a piece of batting in between them and then do a running stitch (with very thick thread) to make a pattern on the material. Robyn is going to take the squares and sew them all together to make a quilt which will then be donated. The sisters enjoyed learning the skill and chatting with each other, as well. Each month, we are having a treat after the activity which goes along with the theme of the month. This month, I asked a sister in the ward to make three cakes (with strawberry cream filling in the middle) and decorate them like patchwork quilts. She did a great job of them and they were delicious!
Robyn, Lyn and Efigenia working on the squares to make the quilt
Cake decorated as a patchwork quilt which a woman (Robyn Nixon) at church made
In the evening, while Dad was packing and getting his work stuff ready for his trip to Canada (he leaves shortly), I went to a birthday party for my friend, Fiona. She just had a few people over and it was nice to get to know some of them a bit better while we chatted and ate. One of the girls, Lisa, always seemed very quiet at church, but she is really a chatty person I found out from having some time to sit down with her and talk. That is why we really like having people over for dinner - we just don't have time at church to mix and mingle with everyone.
I said good-bye to Dad at the airport this afternoon - not a fan of staying at home by myself, but it will be nice for him and for Grandma Martin to have some time together;
Monday was 'chokkers' as they say here in Australia, which means it was a very full day. After having another lovely facial and a visit to the chiropractor, Dad and I went to Robyn's so that he could work on the 'to do' list which she had for him. :-) Two of the items were technology based - he had to help her renew her antivirus software and also help her with another computer related issue she was having. He also had a look at her kitchen tap which was leaking. Robyn really appreciates having Dad here to help her with things like that since Geoff is no longer here to help her.
After that, we went to visit with our Bishop - he was going in for a hip operation and it turned out he had to have a 3-artery bypass heart operation instead! A number of 'co-incidences' (which I don't believe in) occurred along the way - Heavenly Father sure was watching over him! The operation was a success and within a week, he was back home in HB (he went to Brisbane for the operation). He was looking tired and will have a long recuperation, but his wife is taking good care of him and I am sure he will get lots of visits and meals brought to him.
Tuesday was another visit to the doctor for me - these sunspots are getting to be annoying! I had the stitches on my arm taken out and had to have another sunspot removed from the left side of my right leg near the bottom. I did much better controlling my anxiety this time (which both the doctor and the nurse commented positively on), so I was really pleased with myself. I had thought about how I could use the 'self-talk' I used when I was going through the anxiety in university in this situation (I hadn't thought of that before and it was an answer to prayer) and it helped quite a bit. I still had some anxiety, but it was so small compared to what I had experienced last week. The doctor was very pleased with how my arm looked once the nurse took the stitches out.
On Tuesday, Robyn came over so that we could work on Relief Society stuff - I really wanted to get as much done, with regards to the activities we are having this year, as I could while I was in HB. Dad had to work on installing a new garage door opener while we were inside working. We had been having issues with our garage door opener with it sometimes not opening and/or closing. It was so expensive to buy it in town, so Dad ordered it over the internet. I am so grateful that he is so handy - it was stinkin' hot day, though, and so he was sweating something awful by the time he was done.
That evening, the missionaries came over for dinner again and Robyn stayed to eat with us as well. These missionaries seem to like to do object lessons and so this night, they used the visual where one shook pepper into a bowl of water and then put a squirt of dish soap into the water at which point, the pepper went to the sides and then sank to the bottom. They equated that to pepper being our sins and the dishsoap being Jesus Christ (so Jesus washed our sins away). Another wonderful message.
On Thursday night, we went to Robyn's to help her celebrate her 70th birthday with her daughter, Sandra and her family and another couple, Jan and Gil Townson (church friends). We all brought food and drinks and very much enjoyed eating and chatting together. Robyn's daughter, Sandra, bought a lemon meringue pie for dessert - since it's my favourite pie, I just had to have some (after all, it would have been impolite not to have some since we were celebrating Robyn's birthday
Robyn and her yummy birthday lemon meringue pie (with a 7 candle and a 0 candle on it)
On Friday, I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor so he could check out the stitches on my leg. He was very happy with how they looked and I will get them out in about ten days or so.
Yesterday, we had our February Relief Society Homemaking activity and I was very pleased at how well it went. There were 18 sisters in attendance and this month's activity was working on a quilt. Robyn and I had cut everything out, so all the sisters had to do was take two pieces of material and put a piece of batting in between them and then do a running stitch (with very thick thread) to make a pattern on the material. Robyn is going to take the squares and sew them all together to make a quilt which will then be donated. The sisters enjoyed learning the skill and chatting with each other, as well. Each month, we are having a treat after the activity which goes along with the theme of the month. This month, I asked a sister in the ward to make three cakes (with strawberry cream filling in the middle) and decorate them like patchwork quilts. She did a great job of them and they were delicious!
In the evening, while Dad was packing and getting his work stuff ready for his trip to Canada (he leaves shortly), I went to a birthday party for my friend, Fiona. She just had a few people over and it was nice to get to know some of them a bit better while we chatted and ate. One of the girls, Lisa, always seemed very quiet at church, but she is really a chatty person I found out from having some time to sit down with her and talk. That is why we really like having people over for dinner - we just don't have time at church to mix and mingle with everyone.
I said good-bye to Dad at the airport this afternoon - not a fan of staying at home by myself, but it will be nice for him and for Grandma Martin to have some time together;
Dad at the airport (in front of the departure lounge)
Sunday, 14 February, 2016
What a busy week!
On Monday, Dad and I went to our friend, Denise's home, as she needed help with updating her anti-virus software onto her computer. She had received advice from other people about what to purchase and it wasn't working for her, so she asked me if Dad could tell her what to do. I told her that we would come over on Monday and Dad would do it for her. She balked at that at first saying that he would never accept payment for helping. I told her two things: Dad would be blessed for helping her out (so that was payment enough :-) and also that she was always doing service for others and that sometimes she had to let others do service for her. She finally agreed! :-)
On Tuesday, I had another facial from Helen - she is amazing - I love going there and relaxing while she works on my face (and my head and my feet). She massages my face for a bit, then puts on some goop and lets it do its thing while she massages my head. Then, she wipes that off, puts on some more goop and while that does its thing, she massages my feet. Well worth the money, she is!
After that, I met up with a friend (Sandy) I used to teach with at Kawungan. We talked about how things are going at the school compared to when I was doing my contract/supply teaching work there, and it looks like it's gone a bit downhill - especially when it comes to behaviour. It was nice to catch up with Sandy and to have another iced chocolate! :-)
Me (with my iced chocolate) and my friend, Sandy
While I was visiting with Sandy, Dad got a special visitor - a new foster cat, Jordie. He is a Blue Russian cat and he is lovely. He did jump onto the counters in the kitchen a few times, but we have sure cured him of that behaviour. He loves to be petted, but doesn't like to be held. He often follows us around the house and sleeps for part of the night on our bed. We are going to have him for a couple of weeks while we are here in the Bay. I love that we can have a cat whenever we are in HB, but then don't have to worry about them when we leave.
Our new foster cat, Jordie (he does have a really long tail which you can't see in this pic)
That evening, we had the missionaries and a couple from the ward - Elaine and Martin Cooper - over for dinner. We miss having the missionaries over - we used to have them every week when we were here in HB a lot. We have been to the Cooper's a couple of times for dinner and so we decided to have them for dinner this time. The missionaries gave us a spiritual message at the end of dinner - about love. They asked us to try and make a cross out of a piece of paper and to be able to use the leftover paper to spell 'love'. The catch was that we could fold the paper as much as we wanted, but we could only make one straight tear. I actually was the only one who figured out how to at least get a cross out of it (although one of the missionaries said it looked more like a plus sign. :-) They related the exercise to the love which Christ has for us - he died on the cross for us. I love hearing the messages they have for us each time they visit.
On Friday, I met up with my friend, Haidi, at - where else - the Coffee Club .............. for - what else - an iced chocolate. Mmm - they are so yummy! It was great catching up with Haidi - she and I get along so well, but since I am away so much from HB and she is homeschooling her children, it is hard to find the time to get together too often.
While I was socializing so much this week, Dad was kept busy around the house. Since we are not home so much, it seems like there is a list of things for Dad to work on when we are at home.
On Monday, Dad and I went to our friend, Denise's home, as she needed help with updating her anti-virus software onto her computer. She had received advice from other people about what to purchase and it wasn't working for her, so she asked me if Dad could tell her what to do. I told her that we would come over on Monday and Dad would do it for her. She balked at that at first saying that he would never accept payment for helping. I told her two things: Dad would be blessed for helping her out (so that was payment enough :-) and also that she was always doing service for others and that sometimes she had to let others do service for her. She finally agreed! :-)
On Tuesday, I had another facial from Helen - she is amazing - I love going there and relaxing while she works on my face (and my head and my feet). She massages my face for a bit, then puts on some goop and lets it do its thing while she massages my head. Then, she wipes that off, puts on some more goop and while that does its thing, she massages my feet. Well worth the money, she is!
After that, I met up with a friend (Sandy) I used to teach with at Kawungan. We talked about how things are going at the school compared to when I was doing my contract/supply teaching work there, and it looks like it's gone a bit downhill - especially when it comes to behaviour. It was nice to catch up with Sandy and to have another iced chocolate! :-)
While I was visiting with Sandy, Dad got a special visitor - a new foster cat, Jordie. He is a Blue Russian cat and he is lovely. He did jump onto the counters in the kitchen a few times, but we have sure cured him of that behaviour. He loves to be petted, but doesn't like to be held. He often follows us around the house and sleeps for part of the night on our bed. We are going to have him for a couple of weeks while we are here in the Bay. I love that we can have a cat whenever we are in HB, but then don't have to worry about them when we leave.
That evening, we had the missionaries and a couple from the ward - Elaine and Martin Cooper - over for dinner. We miss having the missionaries over - we used to have them every week when we were here in HB a lot. We have been to the Cooper's a couple of times for dinner and so we decided to have them for dinner this time. The missionaries gave us a spiritual message at the end of dinner - about love. They asked us to try and make a cross out of a piece of paper and to be able to use the leftover paper to spell 'love'. The catch was that we could fold the paper as much as we wanted, but we could only make one straight tear. I actually was the only one who figured out how to at least get a cross out of it (although one of the missionaries said it looked more like a plus sign. :-) They related the exercise to the love which Christ has for us - he died on the cross for us. I love hearing the messages they have for us each time they visit.
Elaine Cooper, Elder T., Elder E., and Martin Cooper
Elder T showing us how it's done (the cross with the word 'love' out of one sheet of paper)
On Friday, I met up with my friend, Haidi, at - where else - the Coffee Club .............. for - what else - an iced chocolate. Mmm - they are so yummy! It was great catching up with Haidi - she and I get along so well, but since I am away so much from HB and she is homeschooling her children, it is hard to find the time to get together too often.
While I was socializing so much this week, Dad was kept busy around the house. Since we are not home so much, it seems like there is a list of things for Dad to work on when we are at home.
Sunday, 7 February, 2016
Our friend, Thea (from church) is moving to Adelaide and so we had her staying with us for a couple of days this week. She and her family have lived in HB for two years, but feel it is now time to move on. On Tuesday, Thea and I met up with some other friends from church at a local cafe as a send-off for Thea. We met at a tapas restaurant and had a great time chatting and laughing with each other. We will all be sad to see Thea go as she has become a good friend, but thanks to technology, we will be able to keep in touch regularly.
Left side, front to back: Elaine, me, Fiona, Lisa........Right side, front to back: Jan, Thea, Jessica
On Tuesday, I had another appointment with my doctor to get another excision of a sunspot (freckle) that he was concerned about - it looked a little funny under the magnifier he uses when doing a skin check. This time, for some reason, I was even more anxious about the needle and tears began welling up in my eyes when I was called by the nurse into the surgery. Fortunately, for me, both my doctor and the nurse are very understanding about my fear and calmed me down. The excision itself went fine and I got the results on Friday when I went back to the doctor for a check on the incision. The results were good news - yay! I can take off the waterproof bandage tomorrow and then I go back to him in two weeks for him to take out the stitches.
On Thursday, we drove to Brisbane with Thea. Dad had a meeting at work in Brisbane, I was meeting up with Dad's boss's wife, Dawn, and Thea was meeting up with her daughter. Dad's meeting was long, but was very informative. It was led by the quality manager of QAC who is a really on-the-ball kind of person and is trying to works out the kinks in the operation of the company. They provided lunch for those in attendance which dad enjoyed.
Dawn and her daughter, Kathryn, came to the QAC office to meet up with me. Dawn and I get along really well and so I asked her if she wanted to come in and hang out with me and have lunch. Dawn doesn't drive and I don't like to drive in Brisbane, so Kathryn was our driver for the day. We went to a quirky area of town called 'West End' and ate at a restaurant there which Dawn had been to previously. There wasn't a lot on the menu that sounded good to me, so I just chose a hamburger. Dawn was the one who turned me on to iced chocolates and so, when I saw it on the menu, I just had to order one. The waitress told me that they had no whipped cream and was that okay - I declined - I mean, what is an iced chocolate without whipped cream. :-) Dawn and I had a great time catching up and it was nice to meet Kathryn and to get to know her a little. She has travelled a lot around the world (she has been to 73 countries) and so it was interesting to hear about her journeys.
On Friday night, our friends, Faye and Bill (Bill is an instructor with QAC) came to dinner. Since both Bill and Dad teach so much, we are seldom in town at the same time. So, when we are, we meet up at either our house or their place (which is about half an hour from us). We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed chatting with them and catching up with what we have all been doing since we last got together about six months ago. Bill is retiring soon and so he won't be doing as much teaching, if any, for QAC, which means that we should be able to get together with them more often.
On Tuesday, I had another appointment with my doctor to get another excision of a sunspot (freckle) that he was concerned about - it looked a little funny under the magnifier he uses when doing a skin check. This time, for some reason, I was even more anxious about the needle and tears began welling up in my eyes when I was called by the nurse into the surgery. Fortunately, for me, both my doctor and the nurse are very understanding about my fear and calmed me down. The excision itself went fine and I got the results on Friday when I went back to the doctor for a check on the incision. The results were good news - yay! I can take off the waterproof bandage tomorrow and then I go back to him in two weeks for him to take out the stitches.
On Thursday, we drove to Brisbane with Thea. Dad had a meeting at work in Brisbane, I was meeting up with Dad's boss's wife, Dawn, and Thea was meeting up with her daughter. Dad's meeting was long, but was very informative. It was led by the quality manager of QAC who is a really on-the-ball kind of person and is trying to works out the kinks in the operation of the company. They provided lunch for those in attendance which dad enjoyed.
Dawn and her daughter, Kathryn, came to the QAC office to meet up with me. Dawn and I get along really well and so I asked her if she wanted to come in and hang out with me and have lunch. Dawn doesn't drive and I don't like to drive in Brisbane, so Kathryn was our driver for the day. We went to a quirky area of town called 'West End' and ate at a restaurant there which Dawn had been to previously. There wasn't a lot on the menu that sounded good to me, so I just chose a hamburger. Dawn was the one who turned me on to iced chocolates and so, when I saw it on the menu, I just had to order one. The waitress told me that they had no whipped cream and was that okay - I declined - I mean, what is an iced chocolate without whipped cream. :-) Dawn and I had a great time catching up and it was nice to meet Kathryn and to get to know her a little. She has travelled a lot around the world (she has been to 73 countries) and so it was interesting to hear about her journeys.
On Friday night, our friends, Faye and Bill (Bill is an instructor with QAC) came to dinner. Since both Bill and Dad teach so much, we are seldom in town at the same time. So, when we are, we meet up at either our house or their place (which is about half an hour from us). We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed chatting with them and catching up with what we have all been doing since we last got together about six months ago. Bill is retiring soon and so he won't be doing as much teaching, if any, for QAC, which means that we should be able to get together with them more often.
Sunday, 31 January, 2016
Our cruise blog - on the Dawn Princess from January 16 - 29, 2016 - to Vanuatu and New Caledonia
Friday, 15 January, 2016
We flew to Sydney today via Brisbane and took a shuttle to the Mercure Sydney Hotel (downtown). It was close to the Cruise Terminal (White Bay). The woman at the front desk gave us an upgrade to a room with a view - she also gave us a coupon for two drinks from the bar. After we dropped our suitcases in the room, we walked to Pizza Hut and got a pizza for dinner. After dinner, we went to the bar to use our drinks coupons. We told the bartender we wanted non-alcoholic drinks and he said he would surprise us. He put in a variety of fruit juices and they were so yummy.
view from the hotel room when we arrived
complimentary drinks from the bar
Dad and I with our complimentary drinks at the hotel
view from the hotel room at night
Dad at the stateroom door (our queen-sized bed)
Me on the balcony
Sydney
Dad sitting on his balcony chair
Me sitting on my balcony chair toasting our sail-away from Sydney
Dad's appetizer the first evening (terrine)
Dad looking at the ocean from our balcony
Creme Brulee - dessert I chose for dinner tonight
Dad dressed up for our first formal night onboard
Getting ready for the chocolate demonstration
Me holding the rope at the Blue Hole
How beautiful is the water at the Blue Hole
Tender going into the port of Lifou, New Caledonia (tenders had to be used in 5 out of the 7 ports)
View of the Notre Dame de Lourdes church from the ship - in Lifou, New Caledonia
View of the Church of Easo from the ship - in Lifou, New Caledonia
View of the ship from the shore in Lifou, New Caledonia
Dad at the bottom of the hill to walk up to the Notre Dame de Lourdes church
Me at the bottom of the hill
Plant planted in an old tire - there were tons of them on the way up to the church
View of Santal Bay where our ship anchored on Lifou, New Caledonia
Flowers on the way up to the church
Close-up of the ship from the church
Entrance to the Notre Dame de Lourdes church
View from the church
Inside the church
Front of the church
View of the ship from the church
View of Santal Bay
View from the other side of the walk down from the church
Vegetation on our walk down from the church
Coconuts for sale at the bottom of the hill from the church
Friday, 15 January, 2016
We flew to Sydney today via Brisbane and took a shuttle to the Mercure Sydney Hotel (downtown). It was close to the Cruise Terminal (White Bay). The woman at the front desk gave us an upgrade to a room with a view - she also gave us a coupon for two drinks from the bar. After we dropped our suitcases in the room, we walked to Pizza Hut and got a pizza for dinner. After dinner, we went to the bar to use our drinks coupons. We told the bartender we wanted non-alcoholic drinks and he said he would surprise us. He put in a variety of fruit juices and they were so yummy.
Saturday, 16 January, 2016
We arrived at the ship by taxi at about 1pm. Our
embarkation time was 2:30pm, but we decided to go earlier since we had
already checked out of the hotel we stayed in last night. There
were a number of people there at the White Bay Terminal, but we were able to
get through the lines really quickly and were on the ship in no time. Our
cabin is on deck 11 (Aloha) and is number A333. It's the first time
we have had a balcony cabin on a cruise, so we are looking forward to seeing how
much we like it and how much we use the balcony.
After unpacking our carry-on suitcases, we went upstairs and downstairs
to check out where everything was on the ship. It seems like the
main areas we will be going to on the ship are very similar to the two previous
Princess ships we have been on. We were supposed to sail away at
approximately 4pm, so we sat out on our balcony to watch the Sydney
skyline disappear. However, there was an issue with the ship and so
we ended up missing the sail away as we had to go to dinner. Our
dinner is an early one (5:30pm) each night (a set time - we prefer 'anytime
dining', but this ship doesn't have that option.
We prefer sitting at a dinner table of six passengers as the conversation seems to stay
within the whole group, whereas with eight people, the conversations seem to
fragment into smaller groups. Our table group consists of a couple
(Lyn and Michael) from Newcastle, another couple (Val and Ray) from Manly and a
mother and daughter (Mary and Jacinta) from Bendigo. We enjoyed our
dinner conversations with them tonight and think we are really going to enjoy their
company each evening.
After dinner, our steward, Tony (Antonino), had put our two large suitcases in the
room. After unpacking them and asking Tony to find us some more
hangars for all my tops, we went to see the first show of the trip. It
began with the Princess singers and dancers performing for us followed by a
comedian (Rikki Jay from England) which sometimes can be a bit iffy. However,
there are 430 children on the ship under the age of 16 and so maybe that's why
he kept things clean. We thought he was really funny and enjoyed the
show.
Sunday, 17 January, 2016
After breakfast, we started off our day with trivia. We
hooked up with Lyn and Michael from our dinner table and another couple (Susan
and Bob) who are from Port Macquarie. We were really pleased at how
well we did on this first trivia quiz. Our team scored 19/20, but we
still did not win. We had a lot of fun chatting and laughing, though. :-) After
trivia, we found two deck chairs and sat in them and read. We put on
sunscreen, but not all over ourselves and so we now have a bit of a sunburn
each. We will be sure to lather ourselves up next time or just stay
out of the sun.
After lunch, we headed off to line dancing. One of the crew
led the dancing - Ian from Delta, B.C. He taught us four songs and
we danced up a storm. Val from our dinner table was there and she
was amazing - she is 79 and didn't even break a sweat!
After line dancing, we came back to our cabin for a nap before heading
out for afternoon trivia. We didn't fare as well this second trivia
game, but we had a lot of fun laughing and chatting with our group.
After dinner, we went to the Princess Theatre to listen to Kaitlyn Carr
who is a Scottish lass - she plays a variety of flute-like instruments. She
did some singing, too, which wasn't really great, but her talent playing the
instruments made up for that. Her fingers moved so fast (like the
wind) on the flutes - it was amazing to watch.
Kaitlyn Carr
After her show, we hurried to the other end of the ship to take part in
the Rock N' Roll Trivia. Our regulars did not show up for this one,
so we joined another group. None of us knew that much about Rock and
Roll and so we didn't do very well.
Monday, 18 January, 2016
This day was pretty much like yesterday - trivia in the morning,
relaxing on the deck (in the shade this time), lunch time, relaxing on the
balcony while reading our books, line dancing, afternoon trivia (still not
winning) and tonight was a formal night at dinner, so Dad and I both dressed up
for that. We are really enjoying our table mates at dinner - it has
been nice getting to know everyone. Michael is the funny one and
keeps us laughing.
Me dressed up for our first formal night onboard
We went to two shows tonight: 'Piano Man' featuring the Princess singers
and dancers - the band played songs from Billy Joel, Barry Manilow and Elton
John. The main female singer has a fabulous voice and the main male
singer is okay. The choreography for the dancers was a bit lame, but
they did a good job of what they were given to do. After that show,
we headed off to the other end of the ship to see another show of Rikki Jay. He
is hilarious - he had us laughing so hard that tears were running down our
faces.
Tuesday, 19 January, 2016
Today was very much like the past days at sea - breakfast, trivia,
swimming (yes, we actually went in the water [pool] today and the hot tub as
well). Due to our sunburns from the first day (put some sunscreen
on, but not everywhere - lesson learned), we stayed in the shade today as well. Lunch
was next, followed by some time in the cabin, then line dancing, watching a chocolatier
make chocolate chunk cookies and truffles (had a taste test as well - yum),
more trivia and then dinner. By the time we were done with dinner,
we were quite tired and ready for a relaxing evening in the cabin. We
have our first shore day tomorrow - Port Vila (Vanuatu). According
to people we have talked with who have been there before, there's not much to
see there, so we will likely just go ashore, have a quick look around and then
come back to the ship and enjoy some quiet time at the pool.
The chocolatier making chocolate chunk cookies
Wednesday, 20 January, 2016
Today was our first port day - Port Vila, Vanuatu. We had
spoken to some people who had been there and they had told us that there wasn't
really anything to see in the city of Port Vila other than shops, especially duty
free shops. We decided to play things by ear. When we
first got off the ship, there were a number of men there all trying to get us
to take a taxi (van) or water taxi (small boat without life jackets) with them
to town. After we got through them, there were a number of huts set
up selling all kinds of souvenirs. Most of the stuff we weren't
interested in, but I did find some cute grass-like skirts with bracelets and a
necklace that we bought for Sienna, Kendall and Juliette. After
we looked at all the huts, we decided to take the skirts back to the cabin
before heading out to Port Vila. Once we got back on the ship, however,
we decided that it was just too hot to go into town when there really wasn't
anything that we would be interested in buying.
Port Vila, Vanuatu - it was such a funny sight to see all the vans lined up there - they were all the same kind of van, but in different colours
The stalls near the end of the dock - we bought some cute skirts for the granddaughters there
Our ship, the Dawn Princess, docked in Port Vila
So, we stayed aboard and had a wonderful, relaxing time. We
easily found lounge chairs by the pool and stayed there until late afternoon. Dipping
in the pool and laying on the chairs with the amazing view of the water was fabulous. It was so nice to just be lazy for the
afternoon without a lot of people around - nice and quiet. We did
the usual trivia in the afternoon and then, after dinner, watched the Country
and Western show 'Country Jam' put on by the Princess singers and dancers. We are really looking forward to
the kayak trip we have booked for tomorrow in Champagne Bay.
Thursday, 21 January, 2016
What a fabulous day we had today in Champagne Bay, Vanuatu. We
had to wake up early so that we could catch the first tender (lifeboat) into
shore as this is the one trip which we had booked ahead of time from home. We
actually went ashore earlier than planned which gave us some time to look
at the items for sale which the islander people set up in huts along the shore. We
didn't see anything we wanted to buy, but we did see a parrot, a kingfisher, a
number of lizards, a dog, three snakes, a few turtles and a pig. Most
of those animals were owned by the vendors and they charged a fee if you wanted
to have a picture taken with them.
Sailing into Champagne Bay, Vanuatu
Lifeboats (tenders) being lowered into the water for passengers to take them into the Bay
Amazing colour of the water - such a beautiful turquoise colour
View from where we anchored near Champagne Bay, Vanuatu
At 8:30am, we met up with Kim and Russell from Island Time Kayaks which is the company we had booked with for a kayak trip. We had arranged for them to meet us at the ship and drop us off there so that we didn't have to worry about finding our own transportation back and forth from/to the ship. We drove for about 20 minutes or so and then came to a "resort" (I put that in brackets because it was not what we would call a resort - they were huts with thatched roofs and no air con or fans - and it's very hot in Champagne Bay) called 'Reef Resort'. At the resort, we met Kim and Russell's employee, Thomas, who was our guide for the tour. He was fabulous - they are very lucky to have him!
At 8:30am, we met up with Kim and Russell from Island Time Kayaks which is the company we had booked with for a kayak trip. We had arranged for them to meet us at the ship and drop us off there so that we didn't have to worry about finding our own transportation back and forth from/to the ship. We drove for about 20 minutes or so and then came to a "resort" (I put that in brackets because it was not what we would call a resort - they were huts with thatched roofs and no air con or fans - and it's very hot in Champagne Bay) called 'Reef Resort'. At the resort, we met Kim and Russell's employee, Thomas, who was our guide for the tour. He was fabulous - they are very lucky to have him!
After a quick talk about how to steer, etc. the kayak (they have rudders
on them), we were off for what was supposed to be a one hour trip (one way)
which actually took us 1 1/2 hours due to our lack of muscles and staying power
paddling the kayaks. Fortunately, Thomas did not mind being able to
be 'lazy' on the way there - he just kept stopping and waiting for us to catch
up. :-) First, we had to cross a large inlet bay called 'Turtle Bay' which led to the mouth of the Matava River (that took us 45 minutes) and then we took another 45 minutes to get to
the Matevulu Blue Hole. The scenery was spectacular - green and
luscious - and it was so quiet and peaceful - we really enjoyed the trip.
Our launching point
Dad getting ready to start paddling
Me, Dad and Thomas (our guide) starting our kayaking tour
Pics of us paddling along the way
When we got to the Blue Hole, the fresh spring water was an amazing colour blue - kind of like a sky/royal blue colour - I have never seen water this colour before. The water was quite cool, but it felt lovely to swim in it. Dad stayed pretty close to the edge of the water as it got deep quite quickly. Thomas swam to the other side (maybe 25 metres) and got hold of a rope tied to a tree - he then climbed a ladder on the tree, swung on the rope and dropped into the water. I decided not to do that, but I did swim to the rope and hung on to it. :-) Thomas took some pictures along the way which Kim said she will email to us later. We only stayed at the Hole for about half an hour as we knew that we would take longer than an hour to get back to the ship and the last tender left at 2pm.
When we got to the Blue Hole, the fresh spring water was an amazing colour blue - kind of like a sky/royal blue colour - I have never seen water this colour before. The water was quite cool, but it felt lovely to swim in it. Dad stayed pretty close to the edge of the water as it got deep quite quickly. Thomas swam to the other side (maybe 25 metres) and got hold of a rope tied to a tree - he then climbed a ladder on the tree, swung on the rope and dropped into the water. I decided not to do that, but I did swim to the rope and hung on to it. :-) Thomas took some pictures along the way which Kim said she will email to us later. We only stayed at the Hole for about half an hour as we knew that we would take longer than an hour to get back to the ship and the last tender left at 2pm.
On the way back in the kayaks, we had to paddle against the wind and the
incoming tide. Dad said he couldn't stop paddling or he would find himself
going backwards. I held out as long as I could, but it eventually
became too difficult for me to paddle as fast as we needed to, to get back to
shore in time. So Thomas hooked me to his kayak and he paddled us both for
most of the rest of the way back. I told him to untether me before
we turned the corner where Kim and Russell were waiting, so I could paddle in
myself and make it look like I had paddled the whole way. :-)
Kim and Russell were waiting for us when we get back to the launch point. They then offered us refreshments (lemonade and fresh island fruit) which was delicious and very much appreciated. After a short rest, they drove us back to the tender point. Oh, and while we were on the tour and on the way back, Kim and Thomas took more photos of us and the scenery and Kim told us she would upload the pics onto the internet where we can download them once we get home. We are so happy that we did this tour - Kim, Russell and Thomas were wonderful hosts.
Our ship (taken on the way back to the ship after the kayak tour)
Paddling on the way back
Dad, me and Thomas at the end of our kayak tour (and we are all still smiling :-)
Kim and Russell were waiting for us when we get back to the launch point. They then offered us refreshments (lemonade and fresh island fruit) which was delicious and very much appreciated. After a short rest, they drove us back to the tender point. Oh, and while we were on the tour and on the way back, Kim and Thomas took more photos of us and the scenery and Kim told us she would upload the pics onto the internet where we can download them once we get home. We are so happy that we did this tour - Kim, Russell and Thomas were wonderful hosts.
This afternoon, we played trivia again (and we're still not in contention for any
prizes) and, after dinner, decided we were too tired from our kayaking
trip to take in any night time shows and fell asleep around 9pm.
Sailing away from Champagne Bay, Vanuatu
Beautiful sunset on the water - sailing between Champagne Bay and Mystery Island, Vanuatu
Friday, 22 January, 2016
Today's tender port was Mystery Island - we decided to get off and check
out what was there, although we had been told that it was mostly for swimming at
the beach. There were market stalls there, but nothing we were
interested in buying. I wasn't feeling too well - it turned out that
there had been big waves during the night and I guess they affected me while I
slept. So, although we did go swimming in the water at the island,
we decided not to stay in too long, but rather to return to the ship. Since
we live so close to the beach, going to a beach is not a special treat. The
water was a beautiful turquoise colour, but it was still just water and the
beach wasn't as nice as ours is in HB.
Mystery Island, Vanuatu
Tenders had to be taken in and this is where they docked - Mystery Island, Vanuatu
Beach at Mystery Island, Vanuatu
Once back on board, we had lunch and then spent the rest of the
afternoon laying on the lounge chairs on the deck in the shade. That
was heaven. When it's a port/tender day, there are plenty of deck
chairs available. We took our reading and puzzle books and that kept
us entertained along with a little nap for me. I took a sea sickness
pill just before we went to afternoon trivia and I felt much better.
We had a lovely time catching up with our dinner table mates about what
everyone had been doing during the day. We really like our table
mates and feel very fortunate that we get along with all six of them. Our
waiters, Smith and Dexter, are friendly and entertaining (and very efficient,
as well). So, we look forward to our dinner time each evening.
Right after dinner, Lyn and Michael (from our dinner table and our
trivia group) and us went to play the evening trivia game which was soundtracks
from tv shows. Dad and I knew many of the American shows from the
70's to the 90's, but when it came to the more recent shows or British
shows, we were lost. But, as usual, we had a lot of fun with our
group.
After trivia, it was off to the night time show in the Princess Theatre
- tonight's entertainment was a woman named Jo Little from the UK. She
was a singer/comedian and was pretty entertaining. We were a bit
worried about how her humour would be after having seen the previous comic who
was hilarious, but it turned out she had a good sense of humour and also had an
amazing voice.
Saturday, 23 January, 2016
Today's tender port was Isle of Pines, New Caledonia. Dad and
I decided not to get off the ship today. After doing a bit or research
online and talking to other passengers on the ship, it didn't seem like there was
much to do ashore other than more swimming and snorkelling. So, we
decided to make the morning a laundry time and then, after lunch, found two
deck chairs in the shade and enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing.
Isle of Pines, New Caledonia
Views from the ship when we were anchored near Isle of Pines, New Caledonia
After trivia (got 10/20 again) and dinner, we went to the Princess Theatre for the nightly entertainment - tonight it was Nik Page who is from the UK. He performs on London's West End - one of the plays he was starring in over there was 'Les Miserables'. He sang a variety of songs from the Lion King to Les Mis to Pavarotti. You could definitely tell he was a music theatre performer - they just sing differently from regular singers.
After trivia (got 10/20 again) and dinner, we went to the Princess Theatre for the nightly entertainment - tonight it was Nik Page who is from the UK. He performs on London's West End - one of the plays he was starring in over there was 'Les Miserables'. He sang a variety of songs from the Lion King to Les Mis to Pavarotti. You could definitely tell he was a music theatre performer - they just sing differently from regular singers.
Sunday, 24 January, 2016
Today's tender port was Lifou, New Caledonia. We decided to
get off and walk to a couple of churches which are on the island. We
didn't worry about swimming or shopping because we had heard that the water was
murky and the shopping was expensive. We first walked up to the
church on the hill and got some pics of the beautiful views from there. The
church was old and small and had very little inside it other than an altar and
a couple of benches.
Then, we walked back to where we started and continued on that road as
we wanted to look for a geocache which Dad had found out about. The
gps took us straight to a building, but we couldn't see where they could
possibly have hidden anything at that spot. So, Dad checked the
description of the cache and discovered that the gps led us to a building where
you had to pay to enter a cave beyond the house. Upon further
reading, Dad found out that this was an 'earth cache' which means it takes you
to a location which someone thought was interesting. We talked with
a couple who had already been to the caves and they said that it was difficult
to climb down to it and that it was pretty disappointing. So, we
decided to give it a miss.
The interesting thing about Lifou people is that they seem to live in
either grass huts or very basic makeshift houses (eg: shipping containers), but
they all seem to have cars as well. The temperature
was about 30C which usually isn't too bad for us, but the humidity was really
high. This meant that by the time we were done with our walking, we
were sweating so much that our shirts were quite wet along with my hair. It
started to rain just as we were setting back for the ship, although it was more
like a mist and very welcome after our hot walk.
house and car of one of the local villagers
Traditional hut we saw along the way to the Church of Easo - Lifou, New Caledonia
Community Centre near the Church of Easo - Lifou, New Caledonia
Inside the Church of Easo
Examples of stained glass windows in the Church of Easo
The Church of Easo
The cemetery of Easo with the Church of Easo in the background
Me showing how hot and humid it was in Lifou (notice the sweat on my top and the sweaty hair)
fruit on a tree we saw on our way back from the Church of Easo
Inside a traditional hut - fire pit where they cooked their meals
Inside a traditional hut - where they slept
Dad outside a traditional hut
Once we got back on the ship, we stripped off our wet clothes and
changed into our bathing suits. A dip in the pool was very much
needed (after lunch) and we were happy to spend the rest of the afternoon
sitting on loungers on the deck and back in our room.
After trivia (16/20) this time) and dinner, we went to see the nightly
entertainment which was the Princess singers and dancers putting on a show called
'Shimmy'. It was a show featuring songs from early rock and roll up
days (50s/60s). They did a good job of singing and dancing and I
would say that this one (choreography) had to be the best so far.
Monday, 25 January, 2016
Today's port was Noumea, New Caledonia - the ship was able to dock at a container port
so we didn't have to take a tender in. There was a band on the
dock to welcome us into the city. There were buses waiting for us on
the dock to take us to the cruise ship terminal. When we got there,
we were met by people selling tours. We decided to take the country
tour on an air conditioned bus - it was so hot and taking an open-air train
just wasn't very inviting.
Band playing for us on the pier in Noumea, New Caledonia
Views of Noumea from the ship
View of the Tchou Tchou train which does sightseeing tours around Noumea
We had to wait for about an hour to begin our tour, so we decided to do
some geocaching. Dad had found a few of them before we left HB. The
first one was near a supermarket behind the trolleys. At first, we
couldn't find it until Dad put his hand up under an overhanging metal bar. It
was a very narrow opening and the container was magnetic and small. The
second one was near the cruise terminal. It was underneath a piece
of metal artwork which looked like a sailboat. Inside that one was a
travel bug - we were excited to find it and look forward to taking it to HB and
putting it into a geocache there. By the time we were done, it was so hot that
we decided to go back to the terminal building and wait there for our tour.
Cute four-wheeled mopeds
Interesting looking tree
We found a geocache under this metal artwork
Noumea is a sister city to the Gold Coast which is just south of Brisbane
We were able to get the first seat in the bus behind the driver which
was the best view on the bus. A German man, Gunter, was our guide
and he was quite funny as well as being very informative. He shared
with us the history of Noumea as we drove through the city.
Gunter, our tour guide on the bus tour around Noumea
pictures of our bus trip around Noumea, New Caledonia
A male tree on one side of the entrance to the Centre (can you see why it is male? ;-)
A female tree on the other side of the entrance to the Centre (can you see why it is female :-)
At the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre
A Shell gas station in Noumea
On our way to our next stop
Our second stop on the tour was at the Church of Miracles. It is a Catholic church and is the oldest church in Noumea. It was built by french convicts around 1870 and is still in use today.
The Church of Miracles
stain glass windows in the Church of Miracles
woman preparing the altar at the church
stain glass window at the entrance to the church
More bus trip photos of Noumea
Small plane airport in Noumea
view from the top of Ouen Toro hill
open-air train at the lookout
view from Ouen Toro hill
Dad in front of a rock on Ouen Toro hill
more views from Ouen Toro hill
Dad beside one of the cannons on Ouen Toro hill
Cute little car we saw in Noumea
more photos from our bus trip - on our way back to the cruise terminal
Gunter said to keep an eye out for the 'American Embassy' on our right (can you see it?)
selfie on the bus
After driving for a bit, we stopped at the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre.
The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre celebrates the vernacular Kanak culture, the indigenous culture of New Caledonia, amidst much political controversy over the independent status sought by some Kanaks from French rule. It opened in June 1998 and was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and named after Jean-Marie Tjibaou, the leader of the independence movement who was assassinated in 1989 and who had a vision of establishing a cultural centre which blended the linguistic and artistic heritage of the Kanak people. (Wikipedia)
Gunter gave us a private tour of the Centre as it was closed to the public today. We enjoyed learning about the Kanak culture.
Our second stop on the tour was at the Church of Miracles. It is a Catholic church and is the oldest church in Noumea. It was built by french convicts around 1870 and is still in use today.
Our third stop was at a lookout point on Ouen Toro hill which is 128 metres high. At the lookout point, there are two large cannons which were installed by the Australian Army in 1940.
When we got back to the ship, we played our usual trivia game, had
dinner, watched the nightly entertainment show (Donna Campbell in the 'Dolly
Parton Story') and joined our trivia team for a special trivia game 'I'll take trivia for 100' - it was based on the tv game show 'Jeopardy'. We
didn't win, but we still had lots of fun.
Tuesday, 26 January, 2016
Today is 'Australia Day'. It was also a stop at the tiny
island of Mare, New Caledonia. We had talked to some people who had
been there before and there wasn't much to do other than to take a bus to a
beach ($18.50) and so we decided to give it a miss.
Australian Day cakes display in the Atrium
Koala cake
Australian flag cake
Kangaroo cake
Green and gold balloons put up for Australia Day
Views of Mare, New Caledonia from the ship
After our morning trivia game, we spent the rest of the day on lounge chairs on the deck. Every now and then we got in the pool to cool off
and then go back to our chairs and read or do puzzles or just relax.
After afternoon trivia and dinner, we went to an evening trivia game
with our team which was all about Australia. The funny thing was
that many of the questions at this trivia were the same as this afternoon's trivia. Our team managed to get 20/21 and we were so excited. It
turned out that we had tied with three other groups and the tie breaker was
decided by who the audience thought could do the chicken dance the best. Neither
Dad nor I wanted to do it and one of the other couples in our group didn't even
know what it was. So, we didn't win, but that was okay cuz the prize
was a bottle of champagne.
Wednesday, 27 January, 2016
Today was our first sea day after all our island stops and it was a very
relaxing day for us. After our morning trivia game, we staked out
our lounge chairs by the pool and spent the rest of the day there relaxing, reading
and doing puzzles. It has been so nice to have these easy days.
After our trivia game this morning, we went up on deck to check out the
ice carving demonstration. Dad took some pictures, but we still weren't
sure what it was even when it was done. We asked someone later what
they thought it was (most people thought it was some kind of bird) - turned out
it was a koala with tree leaves behind it.
Ice carver
It's hard to make out, but it's a koala on the left with a leafy tree to the right
The rest of the day was spent on the deck on
lounge chairs again - and what a restful day it was. After afternoon
trivia, we got ready for the formal night in the dining room for dinner.
Our dinner table group: back L to R: Dad, me, Jacinta and her mom, Mary
front L to R: Lyn, Michael, Val and Ray
Our fabulous waiters: L to R: Dexter (Junior Waiter) and Smith (Waiter)
front L to R: Lyn, Michael, Val and Ray
After dinner, we headed off to the nightly
entertainment show 'British Invasion' with the Princess singers and dancers. It
was a show full of songs made famous by British singers (eg: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Queen, etc.). After that, we decided to go and take part in
the 'Passenger Feud' game which was like 'Family Feud'. The crew
member asked the teams the questions and we were awarded points for correctly guessing the most popular answers (with more points being awarded for answering the question with
the number one answer, etc.). Dad and I
were by ourselves for this game and we scored 175. The winners
scored 195, so we were pretty pleased with our score.
Thursday, 28 January, 2016
Today was our second day at sea - hard to believe we are going to be back in Sydney tomorrow. There was no trivia this morning as there was a culinary demonstration and galley tour of the kitchen of the ship. The Executive Chef and the Maitre D' hosted the demonstration where they showed us how they cook a few of their signature dishes. Then, they took us on a single file tour of the kitchen where we saw sparkling clean stainless steel preparation and cooking areas as well as a few enthusiastic cooks.
After lunch, we went for afternoon tea in one of the dining rooms - we have been trying to get there before this, but we were either too busy, too lazy or too full to go. We ended up just getting one scone with jam and cream each - they didn't have any hot chocolate for us to drink with it, so we just got water - the scones were yummy, though. After that, it was time for our last afternoon trivia game - we did pretty bad on this one as it was titled 'Bizarre Trivia' and it sure was. The assistant cruise director, David, led the trivia and he even made it a multiple choice trivia - we still did very poorly achieving a score of only 8/20. But we had a great time with our trivia buddies.
Dad and me at afternoon tea
Our trivia group: L to R: Lyn, Michael, me, Dad, Susan and Bob
After our last dinner for this cruise, we went to the Princess Theatre for the Showtime show which tonight was David DiMuzio - he was a juggler/singer and was quite good in both talents.
Friday, 29 January, 2016
We arrived back in Sydney today and were already docked by the time we woke up. After saying good-bye to our fabulous stateroom attendant, Tony (Antonino), we had breakfast and then waited in one of the lounges until our disembarkation time. Since we had a late flight back to HB, our disembarkation time was listed as 10am. We were called earlier, though, as the process had been going faster than they expected. It was very easy and quick to find our luggage and to go through customs. We had booked a bus to the airport through Princess Cruises and so, after going through customs, we got on the bus. The weather was awful today - there were thunderstorms around the Sydney airport which caused a number of delays as they will not allow staff out on the ramp to arrive and depart the planes when lightning is in the area. So, many plane departure times were delayed for two hours. Since our flight was not until 5pm, we only had a half an hour delay. When we got to Brisbane, the storms were affecting the HB area and so our flight from there was late coming in to Brisbane. We finally got home around 9:15pm and our friend, Thea, who had been using our car while we were away, was there to pick us up.
View from our balcony of Sydney - gee, it looks the same as we left it two weeks ago :-)
Except that, when we left it two weeks ago, it was nice and sunny, not stormy
We have decided that since we love cruising so much, we are going to plan on going once a year from now on. We are looking at some cruises for next year, but we're not sure where we will be going to at this point.
Today was our second day at sea - hard to believe we are going to be back in Sydney tomorrow. There was no trivia this morning as there was a culinary demonstration and galley tour of the kitchen of the ship. The Executive Chef and the Maitre D' hosted the demonstration where they showed us how they cook a few of their signature dishes. Then, they took us on a single file tour of the kitchen where we saw sparkling clean stainless steel preparation and cooking areas as well as a few enthusiastic cooks.
After our last dinner for this cruise, we went to the Princess Theatre for the Showtime show which tonight was David DiMuzio - he was a juggler/singer and was quite good in both talents.
Friday, 29 January, 2016
We arrived back in Sydney today and were already docked by the time we woke up. After saying good-bye to our fabulous stateroom attendant, Tony (Antonino), we had breakfast and then waited in one of the lounges until our disembarkation time. Since we had a late flight back to HB, our disembarkation time was listed as 10am. We were called earlier, though, as the process had been going faster than they expected. It was very easy and quick to find our luggage and to go through customs. We had booked a bus to the airport through Princess Cruises and so, after going through customs, we got on the bus. The weather was awful today - there were thunderstorms around the Sydney airport which caused a number of delays as they will not allow staff out on the ramp to arrive and depart the planes when lightning is in the area. So, many plane departure times were delayed for two hours. Since our flight was not until 5pm, we only had a half an hour delay. When we got to Brisbane, the storms were affecting the HB area and so our flight from there was late coming in to Brisbane. We finally got home around 9:15pm and our friend, Thea, who had been using our car while we were away, was there to pick us up.
We have decided that since we love cruising so much, we are going to plan on going once a year from now on. We are looking at some cruises for next year, but we're not sure where we will be going to at this point.
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