I still call Australia home...

Well finally I have got around to writing about my fantastic trip back home...

I arrived in Brisbane after a very long flight from LA where I subsequently crossed the international date line and lost 1st August 2006 from my life forever. I was lucky enough to have Seamus (nicole's football coach from back in oz) to pick me up from the airport and he was kind enough to let me stay at his place. It was a perfect location as I was a 15 minute walk away from Jorgi (my pup) and about 10 mins from public transport (it is such a pain not having a licence in australia).


I spent the majority of my time in Brisbane drinking and catching up with friends and family including Nik, Fi, Vix (above), Jess (who had only just arrived back in oz and pic below) and my brother Richard and his family. Apart from drinking I spent the rest of my time eating chicken kebabs and putting back on all the weight I had lost walking around San Fran.



I was however very impressed with the amount of development that Brisbane had undergone - it seems to becoming more of a 'city' without losing it's laid back and relaxed feel. I have always wanted to settle back in Brisbane when I return from the UK but I've had concerns that I would find the city (not i hope this doesn't make me sound like a twat) incredibly boring! However I think those worries have diminished slightly - I mean the scene is still rubbish but one thing at a time I guess...



However the development of Brisbane paled in comparison to the goings on in Airlie Beach. On the car trip home from the airport I was shocked to discover a) a new shopping centre complete with Woolworths and Big W and b) Traffic Lights! Traffic lights in airlie beach? Now I've seen everything! However they weren't without controversy - many residents weren't happy and the whole issue made the front page of the Whitsunday Times that week... I'm lost for words...

I spent the first few days catching up with my folks, sister and nephew David (who is still such a little terror but he's a fantastic little story teller!). Like any other trip home - mum cleaned up after me, dad cooked and Sandi and I went out and got drunk! On such a night her friend (who shall remain nameless) attempted to lure me back to the straight side by flashing her assets at me (mind you she was quite intoxicated) and we ended it all by having a Clancy's pie which is a local institution - i had a bacon and egg pie (my mouth is watering thinking of it now).



A few days later Cookie arrived and we had a few hits of tennis using what ever equipment and clothing we could (i think we nearly broke our ankles). Then Jason arrived and I think I was drunk for the rest of the week with the highlight being the bucks day/night. We began drinking sometime mid morning and made our way into Proserpine to play a round of golf. Considering there was a bunch of guys, golf buggies and lots of drinks we were relatively well behaved (only one complaint) and my game improved considerably from the start of the day when i drove my first ball of the day into the club house (alcohol can have a good affect sometimes!). Poker was then played (with the loss of all my money) and then out to Airlie and to the clubs and a very late night...


(groomsmen - cookie, dan, jason and myself)

The actual wedding day was absolutely fantastic ( I have already posted a short blog about it previously with a couple of pix - no news ones yet). It took place in an amazing location at Coral Sea Resort right by the water and the actual ceremony was a good (short) length of time. Poor Jason looked as though he was going to faint in the lead up to it but once he saw Caressa and the ceremony was over he relaxed considerably. The canopes between the ceremony and dinner were fantastic - they even had big cutlets of lamb on the bone - fantastic! They also had the free champers... so by the time the lengthy photos were over and dinner began i was feeling more than a little merry. The reception took place on the jetty restaurant (a restaurant on a jetty over the water) and it was a really special night and a good time was had by all.

My trip back to London ran a little less smoothly. The security for the flight into LA was very throrough - were delayed nearly 2 hours as they individualy searched each and every person very intimately and of course no liquids could be taken on (no toothpaste, deodorant and worst yet... hair gel!) so by the time I arrived in london nearly 30 hours later (thanks to my lovely 7 hour transit in the luxurious - yes that is sarcasm - LAX Airport) I was a disgusting mess but in a strange way very happy to be back 'home' in London.

If you're going to San Francisco...

Make sure you wear a decent pair of shoes! I managed to injure my foot after my first adventurous day of walking around the city and up and down those incredibly steep hills. But despite my disability I still managed to have a fantastic time.

The first thing that struck me was the amount of homeless people – and not only were there numbers incredibly high they were everywhere and not just confined to a few different areas (Except up those hills where I imagine it’s quite hard to push a shopping trolley). It was really quite saddening – apparently it has the same homeless population of New York despite being one tenth it’s size. While we’re on statistics apparently 1 in every 5 men over the age of 15 is gay – hmmm I guess that is less of a surprise…

On that subject the scene there for the size of the city was immense. I found the gay community was so ingrained in the population that you would see openly gay couples everywhere with not even a batter of an eyelid. I also had some very enjoyable nights out thanks mainly to the incredibly large measure of spirits they do there – twas like a jack daniels with a splash of coke.



Other than looking in loads of fantastic book shops and drinking excellent coffee I also saw the sites – the painted ladies of Alamo Square (Victorian house and for all you TV junkies – where the family of ‘Full House’ lived – see pic above), Alcatraz (from the shore as all the tours were booked up days in advance), a few sites from ‘Tales of the City’, Golden Gate Park and of course the bridge. I had to wait until the last day to see the bridge as San Francisco’s infamous fog was covering it for the first 4 days. I originally intended to walk across the bridge however with my foot injury it was going to be too difficult… Ok that’s a lie – I walked a few hundred metres and freaked out because of how high up I was AND the fact I was only being protected from the drop by a waist high railing.



Oh and the Titanic exhibition had also rolled into town so checked that out. It was a good exhibition but I was blown away with the giant piece of the Titanic’s hull they had on show. It was massive and it was actually from the hull – you could see the cabin windows and everything. I was slightly obsessed with the Titanic as a boy so this was all very exciting :)

So all in all a great stop over for my impending return to Australia

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do....

Just a very quick post to show you a quick snap from Jason and Caressa's big day. It was a fantastic wedding in a wonderful location - unfortunately I didn't take any photos but this is one hot off the press I managed to get because my mum and sister 'gate crashed' the wedding (it was at a local resort so everyone by the bar and pool can watch!) So yes I'm the groomsman at the end (cookie is hidden) looking a little like a security guard... Closer pix will follow later...




I'm flying out of Airlie Beach tomorrow and Brisbane on wednesday. I will be stuck with the hand luggage restrictions which will be a disaster for my 7 hour wait for the connection to London in LA. It is the worst airport ever - and I will be without my mp3 player and reading material. Though on a plus side there is a bar....

Some Technical Difficulties...

Sorry folks I intended to have a few posts up here about San Francisco and Brisbane however I have run into some difficulties. These being that I left the cord for my digital camera back in London - so without the pix I thought I would leave it. I will buy a cord as soon as I find a shop that sells one here! To keep you occupied (as I know you're all just sitting by the computer in anticipation to my next post) here is a pic of my sister and I on a night out in Airlie Beach (you will notice the suburn I received in San Fran)