No Use of Catapults. No Sign of Lance Murdock
2018 . Australia . LauncestonWe spent a big chunk of the day walking/hiking at the Launceston Gorge. The Gorge is to Launceston what Stanley Park is to Vancouver, not just spectacularly beautiful but right in the heart of the city. In the late 1800s the British took what was essentially a swamp and glorified it into a local
Pelicans, Penguins & a Links Course
2018 . Australia . DESTINATIONS . LauncestonThere is a wine route, a mere two-and-a-half-hour loop drive from Launceston, but once you factor in all the stops and deviations it’s a full day. We started out early, in the clouds; it went 39 degrees Sunday, 31 degrees Monday, then in the teens this morning hitting a high of 24. Needless to say
Jetsetting on Jetstar
2018 . Australia . DESTINATIONS . Launceston . TasmaniaYesterday when I was at the tennis SS went to the National Gallery of Victoria which had a free evening at the current show titled Triennial Extra. There was art, DJs, bars, food, ideas, dance, design. He saw a lot of cool stuff. But none of what he saw was better than
I Got What I Came For
2018 . Australia . MelbourneIn 2017 Nadal was up a break on Federer in the AO Final. It looked like he would close the gap to one slam apart. A year later it’s a done deal; Nadal will never close that gap and it will take someone very special to get to 20 slams. Our last full day
The Dane in Three
2018 . Australia . MelbourneI was going to call this post Hot Pants and a Unique Sweet but then Caroline Wozniacki made history and it seemed flip. We dropped off laundry first thing. You know how vacation plus humidity plus staying in a hotel goes. I remember when Brad Gilbert was Andy Murray’s coach and on ESPN he
Happy Australia Day 2018: Protest in Peace
2018 . Australia . MelbourneSo said the tabloids; the movement to reject Australia Day as a testament to European presence was dominating social media. Happy Invasion Day some were calling it. Celebrating Australia Day. Celebrating Australia Day. Flowers laid at State Parliament to celebrate Australia Day. Or protest Australia Day. It’s open to interpretation. The parade passes by.
In Search of Real Bread
2018 . Australia . MelbourneThe food at the Australian Open is an affront: to taste, the senses, nutrition and satiety. All the fried stuff of an exhibition midway, $14 sandwiches made with white foam and coloured paste, more fried items, stand alone chip kiosks, and more offers of salt than you can shake a stick at. There is
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
2018 . MelbourneThere’s so much to like about Melbourne. So much. But I guess not the traffic. So I walked for a while. Spent the morning getting exercise by walking Fitzroy; it’s a mish mash of heritage buildings, gentrification, lovingly restored terrace homes, terrace homes much in need of restoration, cool shops and quaint streets and
I Don’t Just Adore a Penthouse View
2018 . Australia . DESTINATIONS . MelbourneCaught an Uber to the airport. It took a mere 17 minutes at the speed limit. Central business district to the suburban airport. There is a tunnel that virtually skirts the city, the traffic, but is also a vortex in its never ending arc to nowhere. First time ever flying Qantas. Extravagant, I know,
Snaps Means Sausages
2018 . Australia . Brisbane . DESTINATIONSStarted with a four lap swim in The Johnson’s 50 meter fifth floor swimming pool. Nearly died! Hot and alternately cloudy and sunny and overall wonderful in Brisbane (which, to be fair, I expected to be more crass, flash and glitz than it was. Architecturally it was actually more interesting than YVR). Re-connected with