Australia 24/25 Hobart and the Tasman peninsula

Joanne had an early start for a 6.15am circuit class with Jane, overlooking the bay,  followed by a coffee for a treat before we went home for breakfast.  

Then 4 Grimms and 4 Simpsons all piled into the 8 seater for a trip to see more of Tasmania, including the tesellated pavement and blow hole on the Tasman peninsula. Grimm Tours took in some amazing views and a fabulous cafe stop.

It was windy but mostly warm in the sunshine and the kids enjoyed the rope swing.  

Australia 24/25 16 December to Hobart

4 of us took an internal flight to Hobart,, with a coffee in Melbourne before heading to the airport.  

Peter and Amelia flew to Brisbane instead.  

It was

lovely to be greeted by Jane and Maria on arrival,  and go for an ice cream on the way to their house.  

After a tasty barbecue with Thomas cooking and Toby making the greek salad, Carsten drive us to the top of Mount Wellington to see the views.  

We managed not to be blown away and enjoyed the views over the city. 

Australia 2024/25 15 December. Melbourne.

Woke up to sun warming the apartment (31st floor) and a wall of heat as we opened the balcony door. Peter and Amelia saw hot air balloons early morning.  Something to thank jetlag for!

After breakfast we headed over to Brooklyn by bus to drop off some things at Peter's place and then we headed to Williamstown beach, via the botanic gardens and the cricket pitch,  of course.  Fish and chips and am hour or so in the sun was enough in the 30c heat,  so we travelled by train back into the city. 

Getting off at Flinders station, we enjoyed a coffee and photos of the Christmas decorations in Federation Square before walking along the Yarra to the tennis courts thar are used for the Aissie open.  

Back near the apartment we took the opportunity to visit one of the many curry houses and enjoyed a meal before an early night.  More flying tomorrow!

Australia 2024/25 13 and 14 December. Travel

With Peter in Melbourne playing and coaching cricket for 6 months it would be rude not to visit him for Christmas. 

This time it's a family of 5 plus one, as his girlfriend Amelia joined us. 

After an early start from Manchester on Friday 13th Dec we made it to Melbourne with a quick dash through Abu Dhabi on the way.  

We definitely enjoyed the quiet flight from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne as we all had space to stretch out and get more rest.  

In the evening of our arrival we went down to the Yarra river to watch the Christmas lights, eating takeaway food whilst we watched.  

Egypt 2023. hotel towels

Egypt 2023. Homeward Bound

Egypt 2023. Homeward bound

Last day.  Sad times. 

We spent most of the day by the pool,  Toby joining in pool Olympics and all of us saying goodbye to our holiday friends,  and the fab staff who made our stay so enjoyable. 

As our fight was not until 21.25, we waited in the bar for our transfer and the lovely barman Kiro kept us stocked up with drinks. 

A final farewell to our holiday friends and we were off to the airport..

Sharm El Sheikh Airport has the strictest security I've ever experienced. We had to show passports to enter,  scan all our bags to get into the bag drop area,  and then scan our hands to get our exit stamp in the passport.  Then someone checked passports for the exit stamp,  all before regular airport security. 

Made it through that and a couple of random bag checks in time to eat before our flight.  

An expensive Burger King meal was disappointing,  as was the flight delay of 2 hours,  but we carried home some fond memories of this foray into Africa/ Middle East.  

Egypt 2023. Final full day

On our final full day we made the most of the hotel, sunshine and snorkeling. 

In the evening we took the hotel transfer out to Soho Square to do some last minute shopping and to experience the Ice Bar, something Jon and I had not done in Iceland!

Through security we headed straight to the Ice Bar and paid to get in,  which included a drink in the price.  

One thing about the holiday that is unlike anywhere else we've been is the payment in any currency. We took USD$ and a few Egyptian pounds (exchange rates about 40 of them to 1 GBP).

At every point of payment they would ask which currency you want to pay in, often with pricing in Euros, and you'd have to choose. We worked out that the cheapest option was always Egyptian pounds but on more than one occasion we got the maths wrong and paid more than we thought. 

Back to the Ice bar,  we paid in USD as that's what cash we had left,  and after being served our drinks and provided with a coat (more like a dressing gown) we entered into the icy world.  

Strange to be in an ice bar in the desert, especially as the ice sculptures were of Egyptian Kings,  with bobble hats on top!

After about 15 mins we left and I'd actually forgotten it was so hot outside.  Hit by the wall of 38c heat with a breeze,  we looked round the shops and saw the fountain display again before heading back to the hotel.