Love Those Italians!

Boy, does it pay to be generous to others. When I volunteered to fix a necklace for my friend, Franca, she retaliated with a dinner invitation. And what a dinner! We were introduced to a fabulous feast that rivaled any gourmet restaurant I've ever frequented.

The meal began with a smorgasbord of appetizers, plump olives, savory breadsticks and oranges stuck with skewers of pungent cheeses and Italian salami. It was very Martha Stewart. Then Franca served something I thought I'd never like but tasted to be polite, octopus ceviche. I was glad I braved it - it was light, lemony and not at all chewy. The ceviche was followed by mussels on the half shell broiled with garlic and breadcrumbs - yum! I thought the pasta dish was our last but I was mistaken. We ate a fish pasta with a light garlic sauce, the latest rage in Rome, followed by a whole roasted fish with roasted potatoes and vegetables. Dessert was homemade tiramisu and roasted chestnuts. I'm glad the tiramisu didn't tempt me because I hate coffee and was so stuffed.

George looks like he had a bit too much of Alessandro's

wonderful Italian wine but I'm the one

who broke two of her lovely wine glasses.

When we invited them back to dinner at our house, I had no idea what to make. Since I knew I couldn't compete, we made it easy. Cheese and crackers and barbeque chicken wings for starters, Pistou (similar to minestrone) soup, roast lamb with cranberry sauce, roasted garlic potatoes and green bean bundles with bacon and chocolate brownies completed the menu. We ended up with brownies for dessert after two of my Easy Chocolate Cakes failed. I've been making that cake since I was ten years old and never had a problem before Oz. It gives me lots of empathy for those Master Chef contestants on TV. Thank goodness I made brownies for the American Women's Bake Sale.

The group didn't seem to mind the informal atmosphere at the Casa.

At least no one had to worry about breaking the crystal.

Thanks to Rose, we even had heat.

No, I'm not pregnant, just extremely full!

Finally Got My Scrabble Fix

I've been desperate for a game a Scrabble ever since Luba moved and finally got one with my buddies, Jenny, Veronica, Pat and Sophie. We talked more than we played and had a wonderful time.

I introduced them to the Scrabble Word Building book so I don't expect to win next time! I am willing my game and books to Veronica when we go back home so they can continue having fun without me.

Graced by Turnip Royalty

Our Irish friend, Mary, and I bonded immediately over our dislike of the summer heat and our low tolerance for the same. She is extremely funny and told me a story about when her husband, Gordon, left her without the car to swelter on foot. She said she looked like she'd been boiling turnips all day so I nicknamed her Turnip Queen.

Mary's niece, Marie, is now known as the Turnip Princess. She
won a trip to Oz by selling the most in Ireland and UK for her company.

You can see the sun doesn't always shine in Oz in this photo taken on a rainy winter's day. We made the best of it by enjoying a seaside tea break.

Overconfidence Has Its Price

This happy group enjoyed a nice coffee at Linda's home in East Perth. Since Sherri just had eye surgery, I braved driving in our new loaner car, Rose's son's Holden Astra City. It's much newer and in better condition than our old Sheila but doesn't have near as much personality.

I was proud of myself for arriving in one piece, even driving through downtown Perth on the way. I even drove on the proper side of the road!

Never get too cocky though! On the way home, I was looking at a landmark instead of watching where I was going on the narrow street and hit the curb. I only grazed the side but it was enough to cause a flat tire. Sherri, a flat tire veteran, told me to pull over immediately. I was all ready to call RAC, the Australian equivalent of AAA, but Sherri said she could fix it much faster.

Of course, nothing is easy here. She had trouble mounting the spare on the axle because the wheel didn't fit right. She tightened it up as best she could but it felt really wobbly. I drove very slowly, much to the consternation of my fellow motorists, who were surprisingly patient. Finally, we saw a gas station and pulled in.

Alan, from Liverpool, was friendly and helpful and only charged $10 to remount the tire and didn't snicker too much. It turns out the spare is much bigger than the sporty tire and that's why it didn't fit. There was an insert that we didn't know about that prevented Sherri from mounting the spare. He warned me not to drive far as it's illegal here to drive with different sized tires here.

I was tempted to make up a good story for George since I was so embarrassed but, being a terribly unconvincing liar, I confessed. He was very sweet and said at least no one was hurt. Lucky for him since our neighbor, Spud, told me to tell George he would rip off his arm and beat him with it if he wasn't understanding about the situation. However, when George found out it cost $200 for a new tire, he did pale visibly.

Sherri comes to the rescue again. What will I do without that woman?

Sherri's hands were filthy so we went into the nearby church and met a really nice sympathetic lady who knows our friend, Lisa. Since then, friends have been trying to make me feel better with confessions of curb-hitting when on the other side of the road. People are so kind.

George Finally Discovers Kings Park!

After nine months of living near Perth, George finally visited Kings Park, a strange phenomena for one who likes to hoof as much as he. It's been so long since we went on this outing that I've forgotten the name of these cool trees. I'll have to ask Sherri - she's still young enough to remember things like this. In fact, we met this Australian couple on our walk who thought Sherri was our daughter.

There are so many paths to explore in this park.

We walked on this treetop walk, even George who's afraid of heights.

Several of the sidewalks have art like this embedded in them. Between the sidewalk drawings and the gorgeous scenery, I don't know where to look!

Elephant Rock & Green Pools

The short but steep hikes to see these sights were well worth the energy. Here the group is resting on the way down to the green pools.

Elephant Rock's surrounding water looks almost too perfect to be real.

On our way to the bottom of the rocks, we met Tina and Milton again.

Seeing Big George on top of the rock gives perspective on the size of the formation.

George returned the favor, catching us on the beach below. What a scenic spot for a family picnic!

It was so nice not to see any trash in the area.

The town names are so unusual. Manjimup is one of my favorites - I just like the sound of it so had to take a photo of this sign.

Where Two Oceans Meet

Geography has never been my best subject and the only time I get geography questions correct in Trivial Pursuit is when I've actually been to the place about which they are asking. Now I know where the Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean meet in case it ever comes up.

Speaking of Trivial Pursuit, we were extremely challenged playing the Australian version at our condo in Denmark (Denmark, Western Australia, not the one in Scandinavia). I was all ready to answer any footy questions. No matter what, I was going to say Ben Cousins , the Aussie football star who is in their news on a nightly basis, figuring I'd have at least a 75% chance of being right. However, we were all hopeless when it came to cricket questions but the ultimate stumbler had to do with cycling. What famous Australian placed 17th in the Tour de France in 1928? Now there's a difficult one. Paul and Sherri missed a pie on that one. Anyway, as usual, I'm off topic!

Guided tours of the lighthouse were available but we didn't want to spend an hour or $17 on it so we just walked around the grounds.

Paul and Sherri pose at the junction of the two oceans.
I guess I should have said Sherri and Paul but I bet
you figured out who's who!

Lest They Be Forgotten

The primary reason for this little jaunt was a business trip for Paul, who was the featured speaker at the annual US Submarine Memorial Service in Albany. We are impressed that Australians are still actively honoring the American servicemen who died protecting Australia during World War II.

I was not familiar with the history of the American submarines based out of Fremantle and Albany during this conflict and was saddened to learn that 51 submarines were destroyed and 374 officers and 3131 men were lost. The ceremony was extremely moving with a bell tolled for each boat that disappeared. Representatives from many organizations placed wreaths on the memorial to honor these heroes.

It was fun to see Paul in his official capacity. We overlooked a sea of umbrellas to watch the ceremony and felt sorry for him getting drenched is his dress blues. At least he doesn't have to worry about his hair!

Paul has a commanding presence. Must be why they just promoted him to Commander!

Three American sailors, some Australian navy personnel and a few retired submariners pose after the ceremony and tea. After we took these photos, we ran into a friend from American Women's Club and her husband, who continued to stalk us over the next few days. It was like having our own paraparizzi. : )

Sights Along the Road

With the Varnadores and their new Jackeroo, you can count on seeing the roads less traveled. No super highways for us!

Groups of kangaroos graze peacefully in daylight while we drive by even though they are normally nocturnal.

The tingle forest is something I never expected in Oz. Almost as big as the redwoods of California, the majesty of these trees is not captured in this photo. They stretched across the landscape for miles.

You can tell Fall is in the air. I was also surprised by autumn leaves. It doesn't seem like it gets cold enough here for that!

We hugged the coastline on our way south, with frequent views like this.

I will miss the ocean when we return to landlocked Colorado!

Loving Leeuwin Estates Winery

The grounds of this winery, like many, are well-kempt and make you want to stay and relax awhile. This is a large winery and is used as a venue for weddings, parties and even a yearly concert with international big name acts. Such diverse entertainers as kd lang, Sting, James Taylor, Ray Charles, Tom Jones, Diana Ross, Julio Inglesias and the London Philharmonic Orchestra have played on the lawns of this picturesque estate.

The basement holds an art gallery with handmade furniture that I wish I could afford to bring home. It's solid so the freight alone would be exhorbitant but I love the Jarrah and other indigineous Australian woods.

George and Paul bellied up to the bar to taste the
wines, coming back with a couple of cases.

We saw a wedding party at our condo that also ended up here. The Bentley in the background is the wedding coach, a bit different than our 1973 VW bug.

Wining in Margaret River

I loved this sign even though I'm not much of a wino. However, I always enjoy stopping at the wineries and sampling the non-wine items like honey, jams, marinades, and chutneys. Besides, they are usually picturesque and it's good to get out of the car periodically.  

There are over 150 wineries in Western Australia and Margaret River is near many of them; it reminds us of Estes Park in the wine country. The area is also a huge surfing mecca and boasts over 40 famous surfing locations.

I like this romantic shot of Paul and Sherri

with the sunset in the background.

The sky almost looks fake in this shot.

George and Alex stayed in the condo so my 

romantic photo is with Sherri instead!

Moseying Down to Margaret River

Wow! This is the view from our picnic lunch site on the way to Margaret River. I can't remember if we were outside Bunbury or Bustleton but it was all gorgeous. One of the best things about Australia is their parks. They have done a great job of not overdeveloping beach areas.  Of course, with only 22 million people in a country the size of the U.S., it's a bit easier to keep natural areas pristine.

Sherri fixed us homemade chicken salad sandwiches and guacamole. Does it get any better than this? Yes - we also had Anzac biscuits (oatmeal coconut cookies) and brownies.

This is an emu in the distance.  There was one running right beside the car on my side on one of our little detours but I wasn't fast enough to catch a shot of it up close.  Darn!

Paul and Sherri bought a new Holden Jackeroo, an Australian brand SUV, so they can go 4-wheeling safely so we went off-road occasionally. No more Britz rentals! It has a device on it called a Roo-Shoo that's supposed emit a high-pitched sound to keep kangaroos away. They're common road kill here.

Paul is standing next to the 10-foot dam as we call it. We were looking for a 10-kilometer dam but took the wrong route. We had a lovely hike anyway so it was all good.

Here is the sign by the car park entrance with an arrow saying Walk to the Dam. We're just too busy gawking at the scenery to be bothered with such petty details.

A sweet photo of Sherri and Paul - they are just way too cute together!

Better Excuse than The Dog Ate My Homework

This was the end to the last Varnadore vacation so people were questioning our decision to tour southern WA with them! Traveling to Exmouth to dive the Ningaloo Reef, they had lots of fun on the way absailing (repelling down a cliff), sandboarding in the dunes, visiting the seahorse stud farm (never realized that was a viable business!) and just exploring along the way. Unfortunately, they never made it to the reef.

After wasting five and half hours of their holiday along the way waiting around a garage after discovering a fuel leak, they were about 50 kilometers from their destination when the van suddenly stalled after passing a truck pulling a horse trailer.  Paul pulled over to investigate and discovered fire coming out the bottom of the van. He yelled at Sherri and Alex to get out while they helplessly watched it burn.  A semi, or road train as they call them here, stopped with a fire extinguisher and Paul thought he'd stopped the fire but as he was getting out the cooler (Eskie) to grab the bag with the laptop in it, it started up again.  (George was impressed that Paul managed to save the beer.) We are so grateful they weren't hurt!  Sherri was worried about the library books and the book she borrowed from me but they lost a lot more than that including everything in Sherri's purse and her prescription glasses. The other good news is that they made new friends with the people pulling the horse trailer who stopped to help.

A frightening video was also shot where you can hear food cans, the tires and the propane tank exploding.  Good thing Sherri had the camera in her hand when the van stalled to document it.

Britz, the rental car company, refunded their rental fees, put them up for a night at a hotel, fed them and flew them home.  However, they refuse to pay for everything they lost, including Alex's new wardrobe, the electronic security keys for their apartment garage, their IPods, etc. After a month, they're still discovering missing items.  Britz is lucky they aren't litigious and should be offering them an all-expense paid holiday to Exmouth in addition to reimbursing them for their lost belongings. I would certainly never rent from this company! 

Alex looks so happy at the beginning of the trip.  His backpack with his schoolbooks and homework also disappeared in the fire.  Sherri sent photos of the fire so his Italian teacher would believe why he didn't turn in his homework.