Sunny Sunday Walks and Monday Hiding from the Rain....

Sunday was the day of the long walk and the big shopping expedition to get some presents for Claire and the boys.  However, a little unfinished business first - I said that I would find out about the wedding cake as I couldn't remember what it was, well I have.....

Orange and Poppy Seed

There, sorted that one out.....

Anyway, back to Sunday.  I started off from my apartment around about lunchtime - well I had been writing the wedding blog until about 3.30am!  I walked down York Street heading towards the Rocks area of Sydney on a hunt for a specific shop which we visited two and a half years ago when we were last here.  It was a fantastic shop which sold great baby clothes and other children's stuff that we couldn't buy from last time as we didn't have a baby, but now we do....

Trouble is I didn't know where the shop was or what it was called apart from it was in the Rocks somewhere.

Rocks Market

I got to the Rocks to discover it was Market Day and spent a good time browsing the stalls and looking for my elusive shop.  There were all sorts of things on sale, different crafts and hobbies on display and I managed to restrict myself to a purchase of 3 cards.  Still, I had spent over an hour and no sign of the shop....

A phone call from my sister who has lived in Sydney for 3 years now, who knew where the shop was last time we were here, was no help whatsoever.  She's not had baby clothes on her mind, just the wedding up to now.  While I was on the phone to Kay I looked down an alleyway and spotted what I had been looking for - well the little mall that I knew it was in.  The first thing that I saw down some stairs was a shop called Sticky, which is a shop that makes it's own random flavoured rock in front of the customer all day long.  Needless to say I bought some rock and moved on to Mini Me, the shop I had been searching for.  I spent a while choosing and then quite a bit of money on some clothes for Luke and Harry and then continued my wander.  The next store I came to was the jewellers that I bought Claire's opal from last time, should I buy her another - I certainly went into the jewellers but did I buy.......

I'm not telling, all I will say is that the next shop that I went into I found the perfect present for Claire, but I can't tell you what it is otherwise it won't be a surprise!!!  I was then at the corner of George Street, which goes all the way back up through the city to my apartment, past lots of boutiques and big name stores including the biggest Apple store that I have ever seen.

When I got back to my apartment I decide to go for a swim to soothe my aching legs mainly as I had been walking for six hours.  The swimming pool at the apartment building is great - firstly it is on the 9th floor and on one corner of the building the roof is cut away on this floor to allow sunlight in.  The second odd thing about this pool was only discovered when I got in - it is a salt water pool in the middle of a building.  Many pools are salt water in Australia as they build them adjoining beaches and around the coast but I didn't expect salt water on the 9th floor of an apartment in the city.....

I decided to go for a ferry ride in the evening, I had been invited over to Manly for a meal but managed to miss my ferry so ended up with Hungry Jacks (Burger King to you and me).  I still went over to Manly and met up with Kay, mum and dad for drinks before managing to catch the last ferry back to the city at 11.40pm.  The city lights are fantastic at night and my camera cannot really do the scene justice, however when up close I managed to get a couple of shots of it's most famous assets:

Sunday was spent and I got back to my apartment well after midnight, but I had to be up early in the morning, as I was going to visit Sydney Fish Market with mum and dad.  The market is fascinating, with fish from all over the world as well as locally caught.  I had never seen so many different types of crab all in one place but by far the most impressive sight was the swordfish that was being cut straight from the carcass which lay on a bed of ice.  The fish had it's head and tail removed but was still a good 6 feet long and about 18" in diameter, each steak had to be portioned into 3 or 4 to make them normal sized!!  The fish market was great and I'm glad we went, especially as it was pouring with rain - and our family friends had gone to climb the Harbour Bridge.....

Also at the Fish Market were various eateries and other shops, probably the most impressive was the immaculately stacked fresh produce in one store.  Being the sad person that I am I took lots of photos of displays of produce, I wonder if we can get Sainsbury's looking this good:

Anyway, that's it for now.  I have one full day left in Sydney and am really looking forward to being back at home and seeing my beautiful wife and boys - but first I'm off to the Koala Park.....

The Blue Room

The Blue Room

Mr & Mrs Shrimpton welcome you aboard the Blue Room......

This fantastic vessel was the venue for the reception, a five hour cruise around Sydney Harbour including a three course meal.  We boarded the Blue Room at 6pm from the private wharf at the Opera House to be greeted with two decks of the finest hospitality.  Downstairs were tables set out for the meal and an area set aside as a dance floor, upstairs was a bar and informal seating area, half of which was covered to offer some protection from the sun:

We were encouraged to go upstairs to the bar area for welcoming drinks where we could study the table plan.  The tables were all named after the bays surrounding the harbour and were covered with scattered pink and white crystals.

After setting sail out into the harbour we followed the shoreline in and out of various bays at a leisurely pace until we arrived at a sheltered cove which is home to the Taronga Zoo.  It was in this sheltered cove that we stayed for the delicious three course meal and speeches.  The meal was wonderful, with a way of serving that is unfamiliar to anyone from the UK.  There are always two choices, that is two starters, two mains - one of these is fish based and the other is meat based.  The plates are put down alternately around the table and guests swap plates with a neighbour if both are agreed.  Sounds strange but in practice works really well. 

The starters were:

Glazed Pork Belly with Honey, Five Spice, Soy and Queen Scallop

Symphony of Sydney Seafood which includes Steamed Ocean Trout, Carpaccio of Smoked Salmon, King Prawn and Mesculin Salad

Both starters were excellent and followed by the first round of speeches.  Announcements were made by our MC for the evening, a close friend of Tim's who goes by the extremely trustworthy name of Lee, however this Lee was also taking bets on the length of the best man's speech!  First to speak was the father of the groom, whose story of a young Tim suitably embarrassed but cannot be repeated here.  For details please see a guest....

Second speech was from a very proud father of the bride, who I know had been thinking about his speech for many weeks.  He had it all prepared, written out and practised - no doubt under the watchful eye of an equally proud mother of the bride.  When it came to standing in front of people the speech was put back into pocket and a truly heartfelt tribute to his beautiful daughter followed - interrupted only by the fuse blowing on the PA system.....despite this setback the speech was delivered with confidence and feeling and I'm sure that I saw tears in a few places......

Next came Tim's speech, kind responses to the words of wisdom offered by both fathers, thanks for everyone involved especially the bridesmaids and complimentary words of love for his wife.

By now the sun was setting on a fabulous day, the main course was served in the fading light and was delicious:

Beef Fillet, Asparagus and Kumera with Irish Whiskey and Pepper Cream

Barramundi Fillet with Prawn and Avocado Salsa Infused Dressing

Mixed Leaf Salad and Chat Potatoes

After the main course it was the turn of the best man to speak.  John had not been allowed to bet on the length of his own speech for obvious reasons but the air of anticipation was rising as he stood up and everyone looked longingly at the pot of over $300......

John's speech was legendary, stories of Tim's antics throughout their years of friendship both entertained us and also disappointed each of us as our time passed with no sense of John drawing to a close.  The final time was a little over seven minutes and the pot was won by Kay's one-time house mate Alex who very kindly donated the winnings to Kay and Tim for their honeymoon at the end of the month.

It was time for Kay and Tim to cut the cake, and I apologise that I cannot remember what the cake was although I will find out and add to this blog.  What I can tell you is that it was not the fruit cake with sponge layer that is traditional in the UK.



Once the cake was cut the Blue Room set sail into the harbour once more and continued to follow the shoreline in and out of secluded bays and coves, under the Harbour Bridge, through Darling Harbour on it's way back towards the Opera House wharf.  Cake consumed along with a selection of Australian Cheese with Lavosh it was time to get to the dance floor.  As is traditional the bride and groom took to the floor for their first dance and the usual scrum for photographs followed......

The rest of the evening was spent by many on the dance floor and a great time was had by all involved.

The Blue Room docked at the Opera House just after 11pm and it was time to leave this wonderful vessel behind.  Most descended on the Opera Bar to keep the party going, a great place to experience on the lower concourse of the Opera House.  It was well past midnight when I left and there are rumours of some not getting in until 6.30am - they shall remain nameless.....

The night was over, but for Kay her life as Mrs Shrimpton has begun.  Another chapter in her wonderful life has opened....

I'd like to thank Kay and Tim for the great memories that the 12th November 2010 has brought to so many people.  I'm sure that whether you were here or not you will join me in wishing them a long, happy and healthy life together and I hope that my ramblings have helped to describe Kay and Tim's special day.

Here comes the bride - by water taxi.......

Wow, what a day....where to start my account of the wedding of Mr Tim Shrimpton and Miss Kay Annals.  I can only give you my account so here goes......

The day started fairly leisurely for myself (although I'm sure not for others involved), the wedding was to take place at 4pm in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney and afterwards on the Blue Room, more of that later.  So, from a brother's point of view, all I had to do was to get to Kay's house in Kirribilli for 3pm and photos.  Not wanting to be late I left my apartment at 1pm, knowing that the journey should only take half an hour anyway.  I was dressed in my hired suit, shirt and tie and the temperature was 28 degrees - so I headed underground for the train and to escape the heat.  The train took me through the city to Circular Quay to catch the ferry across the harbour to Milsons Point, a short 10 minute trip.  I was there in plenty of time and grabbed a quick takeaway lunch while waiting for the ferry.  Once on the other side of the harbour I could see the view that Kay has every day.  She lives in Kirribilli which is directly opposite the Opera House and her building is on the waterfront so has uninterrupted views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from both a bedroom and the living room - truly breathtaking.

I arrived at Kay's nice and early - as a brother should - to find that she wasn't in.  The hairdresser had taken longer than expected (4 hours) and they were on their way back.  After a frantic few moments the dress was on.....

The bride looked stunning and there were parental tears, as there should be when a daughter gets married.  A few photos later and it was time for an emotional mother and proud brother to leave for the ceremony.  Our journey was by road, across the bridge to the Royal Botanical Gardens.  The journey of the bridesmaids, father of the bride and glowing bride was justifiably far more grand but first a couple of photos of proud parents:

The Royal Botanical Gardens are adjacent to the Sydney Opera House, just a short walk from the front steps of this famous landmark.  The site of the wedding was about 200 yards inside the gates on a flat grassy area that looks directly back at the Opera House.  Being a public place there were quite a few onlookers at all the funny wedding guests in full regalia, all slowly melting in the sun!!  The location of the ceremony was very special indeed:

Such a beautiful setting deserves a stunning entrance by the bride and that was provided by a white water taxi which docked (albeit over15 minutes late) at a private dock at the foot of the Opera House steps:

The bride walked up through the park to a symphony of applause from everyone in the gardens, complete strangers who added greatly to a very special day.  I had spoken to Tim prior to Kay's arrival to check with him that it was okay for me to be everywhere armed with both video camera and still camera in an effort to capture as much as possible for those who could not be there with us due to the distances involved.  Sadly this was a great number of people who were dearly missed but in everyone's thoughts.  Tim had agreed to my camera antics and I think I managed to get photos from pretty much every angle imaginable - it must have looked very strange to the amassed crowds for this restless person to be constantly wandering throughout the ceremony - and I sure I must have annoyed some of the assembled guests......

The ceremony contained two readings, the formalities expected as well as a sand ceremony performed by the bride, groom and their mothers.  This was an Australian tradition which involves the pouring of two different coloured sands alternately into a heart shaped vase, creating a unique and permanent memento of the occasion for the bride and groom.

Following a wonderful ceremony, delivered perfectly by Sue, a very close friend of Tim's family, pink champagne was served to the guests before the photos took place.  The photographer, Michael, was fantastic and there will be some very special memories captured through that lens...

Mr and Mrs Shrimpton invite you all to attend the Blue Room.............

Handbags and Gladrags....

I can't believe it.  I've come all the way to Sydney and ended up the day today shopping for handbags with my reluctant dad and panic stricken mum....but more of that later.

I spent Wednesday wandering and waiting.  My sister had told me that she needed to come into the city to get a few things and that she would give me a call when she was on her way about 9am.  So there I was, up early and ready (this was the waiting bit).  Kay rang just after 11am to say that she was just leaving home and that I should walk down to Myer, the department store where I could hire this elusive suit.  I got there, looked around all 6 floors and organised the hire of my suit before Kay arrived.......

We then looked at children's books and toys before Kay announced that one of her jobs was to get her eyebrows done - not very exciting, so I arranged to meet her for lunch after this.  Lunch was in a food court underneath the department store where we ate from Hokka Hokka, a great Chinese food place.  Kay's next job was to find some nail varnish (this was the wandering bit), so I left her to it and walked down through the city to Circular Quay, the ferry port, cruise terminal and home of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.  I mooched around the quayside for almost 2 hours, taking photos of the sights and trying to be artistic:

After a couple of hours I decide to go and have a play on the ferries, for those that haven't been to Sydney, the ferries are a fantastic way of getting around and I could spend most of the day moving between ferries and returning back to Circular Quay.......There was a serious side to the ferry adventure, I needed to go round to Darling Harbour and find the restaurant for Wednesday night and also to find the way to walk back to my apartment from there after the meal.  The restaurant was found with considerable ease, mainly because when you get off the ferry George's Mediterranean is the first place that you come to.  Restaurant found I headed for my apartment, a short walk of about 10 minutes.  Restaurant found I headed there for the meeting time of 7pm, to find that I was the first there,,,,The meal was nice but the company was better, there were 23 of us in total including both sets of parents, bridesmaids, ushers, best man, bride and groom and the rest were just odd friends and hangers-on (myself included)!



Both sets of proud parents

Thursday came and will now be known as handbag day.  My mum and dad had arranged to come to my apartment, from where we could go and find mum a new handbag and also pick up my suit.  The story of the handbag goes like this.  Mum brought her handbag and shoes, carefully chosen from home and when she got to Kay's house she realised that in the picture of my brother's wedding (hanging on sister's wall), the same shoes and handbag were in situ......

Apparently to wear the same shoes and handbag is somehow worse than committing genocide so new ones had to be bought immediately.  Luckily enough they stopped off in a shoe shop just outside the train station on their way to me and found the perfect pair of shoes - which created handbag hell for the next few hours trying to find a matching handbag.  I lost count after the 789,145th handbag shop but eventually one was found that was of a decent match and price.  We also went back to the department store where we found this creature made from Lego:

After handbags at dawn, and all afternoon we headed across to Manly (where mum and dad are staying) on the ferry for a barbecue on their balcony.  However on the way we got slightly distracted by a bar called The Four Pines, where I was ordered to sit down as my drink was coming.....I was presented with a wooden rack containing 5 different glasses of 5 different beers.  This was the taster rack and as the bar brewed it's own beers they did this so that the customer could choose the beer that they liked best.  A great idea for micro breweries to take on and cheap enough too as each glass was only a small sampler glass....



Taster racks at The Four Pines

 The barbecue was great, excellent steak and sausages with salad and couscous and after a very pleasant evening I headed back to the city via ferry and train to my apartment.  I tried to take some nighttime photos and a video of the city from the water, some of which worked, most of which didn't.  One day I will learn how to take proper photos and maybe even invest in a proper camera that you have to think about before just pressing a button!

Anyway, I have stayed up late in order to speak to Luke, Harry and Claire after school and it's now approaching 3am as I've also been writing this for you.  I have a wedding to go to in about 12 hours, where I must simultaneously shoot video and take still photos so I had better get some sleep.  I'll leave you with a couple of the night time shots of the Opera House.  Next time I write will be to tell you about a wedding......




John Utzon's finest





Sydney, hello again

Sydney, hello again

Well, I've arrived in Australia. Flight was a little bit delayed last night due to the fact that the fuel gauge wasn't working......

Arrived at about 9pm here to be met by my sister, mum and dad at Sydney airport. A short drive into town brought us to my home for the next 9 days, the Medina Grand on Kent Street. It is a large building and I am on the 12th floor in my one bedroomed apartment which is really nice. I have a fully fitted kitchen, lounge area, seperate bedroom and bathroom with washing machine and tumble dryer. The picture is taken from my front door looking across towards the balcony.

I spent my time last night leisurely unpacking and generally getting sorted, before going out just after midnight to find a shop, surprisingly easy as there's one on the next corner which is open 24hours. Stocked up my cupboards with what is basically breakfast and snacky food.

I spoke to my wife on Skype and decided that I would stay up late and speak to my Luke and Harry as well, so at 2.30am I saw them all. Missing them loads but it was good to see and speak to them all. Harry seemed to still recognise me and was babbling away to the screen, Luke was more interested in what was on television behind him and my wife was as gorgeous as ever.

Anyway, it's Wednesday now and my current plans involve going to hunt down a suit for the wedding which is on Friday, going for a meal tonight with the rest of the wedding party at somewhere called George's Mediterranean in Darling Harbour. Other than that my days are my own, will be doing a lot of wandering about exploring Sydney.

At the top of this post is a picture taken from my balcony of the Sydney Tower in the low cloud and I will leave you with another view taken from the same balcony.....

Off I go again

It's been a while - 2 and a half years I think. I'm going to try and write about my travels again. This time it's a bit different, no big family adventure to the other side of the world with a wife and child. Regrettably I have had to leave them behind this time due to financial, school and new addition to the family pressure. Our family is now four strong, my long suffering wife Claire, our now 6 year old Luke, our newest addition Harry who is now 8 months old and myself.

The call has come to return to Australia, this time for my sister's wedding in 5 days time. We decided when we found out that we would not take eldest out of school and we did not want to fly to Australia with an 8 month old. So here I am, sat in a hotel at Heathrow, alone and waiting for a flight in the morning that will take me to the other side of the world.

Do I want to go? Yes....
Do I wish that my wife and two boys were coming along? Yes....

But common sense prevails and I am heading off on my own. I hope that they miss me as much as I will miss them.

I will return in 11 days time and although I have some good times to look forward to in the next couple of weeks, the part I most look forward to is being reunited with my family.

I will try to keep this blog going although Claire will be the first to tell you that I'm fairly useless when it comes to being organised. I will try to keep it factual and share the experience for those that cannot be there.

Write again on the other side of the world....


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thomasland

Since just before March the trailers have been on children's TV - 'come to Thomasland at Drayton Manor park'. Originally they said 'for Easter' which led to Luke saying 'we need to go to Thomasland' everytime Easter was mentioned 'because it said so' (I've also been urged to buy CillitBang in the supermarket for the same reason).



We discovered that children under 4 are free and then bought a 2 for the price of 1 token on eBay so when we finally succumbed in mid-June we got in as cheaply as we possibly could (it still cost us nearly £30).



When the day dawned it was very rainy and we packed up waterproofs as well as the suncream. The high entry price made me think it would be as slick and commercial as Alton Towers but we were pleasantly suprised to find that it wasn't on such a grand and imposing scale. Thomasland lived up to all of Luke's expectations but he initially refused to go on any rides - we had an inkling that this would be the case after our Disneyland trip in February and had streesed that rides would have to be at least attempted. So we boarded Clarabel, being pulled by Thomas, and travelled to the other end of the park where we found the Zoo and the best outdoor play area I've ever seen. There were wooden huts, bridges, cars and slides of all descriptions a sand play area and musical instruments to bash - we could have stayed there all day but it was threatening to rain again. We opted for a walk back to the rides through the zoo - with Lee and I bigging up the Thomas rides as we went. One thing I noted was that all the 'feed the animals' and 'meet the keeper' events seemed to be in the afternoon. Luke soon got bored with looking at the animals and got more excited as we headed back to the park. We persuaded him to go on the ferris wheel so that we could 'see Thomas' and get our bearings - he had no qualms about this as he'd been on one before 'when auntie Kay was scared and nanny looked really small on the ground'. We were then finally ready to tackle the rides of Thomasland.



Our first worry was that for most of the rides children had to be a metre tall - we needn't have worried as when we measured him he was 110cm! No wonder he's grown out of all his age 3-4 clothes. The first thing he wanted to go on was Trevor the Traction Engine - parents weren't allowed on. His concentration as he went round corners was a picture and the men running the ride were amazed that he wasn't yet 4. I'm not sure how we managed it but the next ride was the troublesome trucks - a rollercoaster! - we hadn't watched it beforehand so we didn't realise that it went around twice. I pity the people in the queue as he screamed 'no, no not again! I want to get off!'. We struggled to find somewhere for lunch - tough we didn't know about the self-serve resturant up the hill. The first we came accross advertised pizza slices and jacket potatoes on the outside menu but only sold burgers inside, we then found one that only sold pizza (which is what Luke wanted) - this scared Luke as the seating area was done out as a rainforest and all the 'animals' made loud noises but it was raining outside so we had to stay.