After a good night's sleep we set off and drove to Mercer and stopped for breakfast. This place is famous for pork and they do a really good bacon sandwich.
The rest of the journey was uneventful though it did start to rain as we got closer to home.
Jon dropped me at the airport to pick up my car and I went to pick up our x-rays from the doctor on the way home. Jon went to buy a DVD player to go downstairs for Heather.
I made a sandwich for Jon but all I wanted was a cuppa before going off to sell baubles for the Christmas Remembrance Trees for the hospice. I did it last year with Lions and thought it a lovely idea. People write such sad messages on the labels it is very moving. The two hours passed very quickly and then I was glad to get home and have a cuppa and a rest before going out to collect Totty who was very happy to see us.
We got ready for the Genera Christmas Dinner and Jon had booked a taxi so we could both have a drink. We went to Spuntions an Italian place that Jon and I have been to before and enjoyed and it proved to be just as good and soooo much better than the place we went to last year. We had a really good night with lots of laughs and very good food. They threw us out at midnight as they are only licensed till then. So a group of us went across the road to a pub with live music and lots of young people - I felt like the oldest swinger in town!! Before I knew it, it was 2.30 and so I thought we ought to go. We staggered out and fortunately got a taxi outside and were home by 3.00. Very late by Kiwi standards but really good.
WEATHER
Cloudy and drizzle to start and then steady rain
Friday
We went down to our favourite place on Darling Harbour for breakfast and it was so good, the best we have had and we should have done it every day. I had a lovely fruit salad with yogurt followed by the most delicious croissant. Jon had poached eggs and bacon.
After breakfast we went and finished packing and then left our cases with the concierge and set off to visit the Chinese Gardens which are right in the centre of the city just behind the harbour. It is like a little oasis in all the noise and traffic and we really enjoyed it. Lovely Bonsai trees, lots of water, birds, fish and lizards.
We decided to walk back through Chinatown and came across a celebration for the opening of a new Jewellers shop which was a huge event for such a small shop. They had a Chinese band with drums and things and then the boys who dress like a dragon(two men one top one tail). They also had a post set up with fire crackers on it and two iceberg lettuce which we thought very strange. After waiting for a long time they finally got things underway with the dragons dancing and then reaching up to uncover the signs. There were about 10 people in the line up of owners and assistants, from what we could gather as a lot of it was in Chinese. There were lots of floral displays outside, obviously sent by well wishers. The two dragons went into the shop, I don't know why and then they came out and stood up (one man on top of another's shoulders) and then they ate the lettuce, well the dragon head did and then they showered the crowd with it. I have no idea why some sort of good luck thing I think. They then set the crackers off and they made so much noise it was unbelievable. all very entertaining and not something we expected to see.
It was now time to go and get our cases and head off to the airport. We stood waiting outside the apartments for a taxi and some drivers wouldn't go out to the airport and others were busy. Eventually one stopped with a passenger in it. He was going to the Holiday Inn near the airport, he worked there, and said he would share with us, which was very kind especially as he paid the $25 to the hotel and we should only have had to pay the bit from there, about $10 but the driver charged us $25, too but it was still cheaper than if we had gone on our own. He was a nice young guy and very chatty until we started talking about the cricket!!!
We had no holdups checking in and got through into the Koro Lounge which was quite busy as there were two United Airways flights delayed and their business class passengers also have the use of the Air NZ lounge. I was still full of breakfast so didn't need to eat and just read my book as we had nearly three hours to wait. I did eventually have a few bits to pick and a glass of bubbles. I took an apple and a banana with me just in case the food was as bad as on the way out.
The flight was called 30 minutes late as they had a slow flight across from NZ and the cleaners took a long time to clean the plane. It was a better plane as it had two, three, two for the seating and we had a two so not fat lady next to us. It was a really good flight and I watched a nice Australian film and the food was OK. The pilot made up a lot of time with a tail wind and so we had a very smooth landing after a two and a half hour flight - pretty fast across the Tasman.
I had to make sure I threw the apple and banana into the quarantine bins as you are not allowed to take anything into NZ. A shame really as I could have eaten it then.
We got through immigration quickly and phoned the shuttle bus to come and get us to go back to the hotel which took about 10 minutes.
Bed was very welcome and we booked a call so we didn't oversleep like the last time when we came back from Thailand.
WEATHER
Cloudy to start then hot and sunny 28 degrees
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