Phew! Psychotic super storm cells, the strongest storm in the world this year, etc. etc. are mercifully behind us now, and although we're firmly ensconced back in Taipei and with a week of work under our belt, we feel the long holiday drifting into the ether of another mind. I will, however, endeavour to dredge up a few memories from what was a very relaxing, and slightly different break.
We quickly regained our Newcastle composure after a hectic exit from Taiwan with house pack-ups, jobs to be done and other sundry issues. The apartment was a shining gem to enter, as Chris and Val had done a beautiful job cleaning and preparing the unit before they embarked on their amazing round-the-world cruise.
Easily falling into the pattern of decadent sleep-ins, lazy breakfasts and occasional surfs before our daily 6 km walk on the Bather's Way and new (magnificent!) Memorial Walkway, it was slipping on a comfortable pair of slippers.
Memorable family get-togethers, like the gathering of the clan for Mum's 80th birthday were highlights. It was a sparkling affair held over the water at Scratchleys restaurant on one of Newcastle's impressive "winter" days. The bustle of the harbour added to the delight of catching up with the extended family, some of whom we hadn't seen for about ten years! Mum really enjoyed the show, so it was definitely worth the planning by all the siblings.
We had various other catch-ups with both family and friends alike and managed to get together with Ross and Ains in FNQ during their winter semester break. We hadn't been to Cairns before and, apart from catching up with our lovely friends, we were able to join them on trips to Port Douglas and then an all day excursion out to the incomparable Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately, Cass succumbed to seasickness on the way out which ruined her day somewhat, but as the intrepid pair scuba dived, Cass rallied herself to go snorkelling on one of the stops to get the whole experience. Despite this minor setback, we managed to eat, drink and chat away a good few days in the tropical north!
Jen and Vince are going off on a fabulous sounding jaunt to Europe later in the year so Cass was able to help them with their plans for the French leg over lunch one Sunday. We visited Mum a fair bit and took her on a couple of mini excursions to the Memorial Walk and to the Art Gallery and had a couple of lunches out and about. Various couples invited us over for lunch, which we appreciated and enjoyed immensely yet we were unable to take up Neil's offer of attending "shed night" due to time constraints near the end of our trip. It was a shame as it has been a real highlight of previous trips!
Our bike trip route was dictated to us by the weather, which precluded a return to Victoria, which was our vague initial destination. Despite having journeyed north west on a number of occasions we managed to seek out various unseen (and fantastic!) attractions, interest points and blissful , country roads. We eventually meandered our way up to Queensland and the town of Warwick, and after riding on the hot heels of the bushranger, Thunderbolt, as well as visiting gigantic, rocky outcrops and spectacular waterfalls, we eventually crossed the high country's icy ranges to motor on home stopping on the way to visit Kristin, Cassy's sister. Cassy, subsequently, was able to visit and lunch with her on another couple of occasions and they had a grand old time of it.
The trip home this "summer" was idyllic and decadent and peaceful and just the fillip we needed to re-charge for another full-on year over here. We did miss Cassy's parents a lot, as they have always been such a large part of our trips back in June and July. Cass had pre-empted this absence by making trips to Singapore last year and Australia earlier this year to visit them, but it didn't quite work. Nonetheless, we still managed to have a pretty good time!
Our Taipei weekend was relaxing...eating out, continuing to stock up after the typhoon and catching a movie. I've actually just finished "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt...what a tour-de-force...I'm breathless just thinking about the plot!