Commonwealth Games is it live there.

[Guest hallyscomet]

Hi,

 

Just wondering if it is live over there, the Opening Ceremony should be really good, apparently they have spent millions for this spectacular.

 

When is it on over there, just wondering

 

Signing off now to watch it. A lot of the ceremony is on the Yarra River.

 

Cheers

 

Hailey

[annie]

Hi Hailey,

 

It is on live here, starts at 9am our time.

 

I know when I'm watching it, I'm going to start feeling homesick .

 

Annie

x

[Guest hallyscomet]

Hi Annie,

 

Are you from Australia too.... or another country,......

 

I love the spirit of it all, gets you all motivated watching these sports. The Sydney Olympics blew me away.

 

This is bringing back memories.

 

Where is home Annie...

 

Love Hailey

[annie]

We lived in Melbourne for just over 7 years, we came back here 3 and 1/2 years ago. We were all born here (UK), but we've now got dual nationality.

 

Me and hubby get big pangs of wanting to be back in Melbourne every now and again. It's going to be worse with the games being on over the next couple of weeks.

 

When the Olympics were on in Sydney, we had a big Aussie flag in our front room window . I've still got all the Roy & HG programmes on video, do you remember they did a nightly programme?,they were hilarious. Memories

 

Annie

x

[Guest hallyscomet]

Hi Annie,

 

Its just starting finally, will come back soon

 

H.

[Guest hallyscomet]

We lived in Melbourne for just over 7 years, we came back here 3 and 1/2 years ago. We were all born here (UK), but we've now got dual nationality.

 

Me and hubby get big pangs of wanting to be back in Melbourne every now and again. It's going to be worse with the games being on over the next couple of weeks.

 

When the Olympics were on in Sydney, we had a big Aussie flag in our front room window . I've still got all the Roy & HG programmes on video, do you remember they did a nightly programme?,they were hilarious. Memories

 

Annie

x

 

Hi Annie,

Back again, ooohh I see what you mean, seven years is a long time. Melbourne does have that effect on people, I lived there on and off for 4 years and I still have a soft spot for the place.

 

All the activities at all the venue's will certainly take you back down memory lane. As I was born and raised in Sydney, thats where my heart is, but Melbourne does come a close second, to any of the other states as a place to live.

 

It is so pretty with so much to do. I guess you remember Melbourne being the place where you got 4 seasons in one day.

 

What I remember loving so much was how flat it is, and you could ride your bicycle anywhere for even up to 2 hours and never get tired as there were no hills. Very few. Very common to see people in their 60's and 70's riding around on bicycles.

 

Remember the Great Ocean Road, the Dandenongs (the Puffing Billy) shopping at Chapel St South Yarra,

Victorian Arts Centre, the pretty bridges over the Yarra. The footy at MCG and AFL Park a must if you want to be accepted into Melbourne. All the restaurants were BYO unlike Sydney, funny what you remember.

 

What did you love most about Melbourne, just wondering

 

Hailey

[annie]

Ooooo, The Great Ocean Road, the scenery as you go along is just beautiful .

 

Summer night-time picnics at Melbourne Zoo with live music in the background.

 

La Porchetta restaurants - 25-30 dollars to feed all 4 of us to the brim.

 

Southbank on a sunny Sunday afternoon, watching street artists.

 

Vic Market - fab fresh food and deli's to die for.

 

I could go on and on.

 

I've just realised that 3 out of the 5 involve food .

 

So much to do. I never got to a footy match even though we weren't far from Essendon. Come on you Bombers .

 

The games opening ceremony was brilliant . Saddo that I am, I even got a bit teary when the tram came into the stadium

 

Annie

xx

[Guest hallyscomet]

The trams,

 

Melbourne is the only city that uses them..... I used to love jumping on the tram near Flinders Street St, and travelling down gosh what was the name of the street that goes past the Victorian Art Centre and Botanical Gardens, anyway I loved the way the trees hang over the road from both sides and how they changed to gold in Autumn Plane trees?

 

Melbourne was the place for food, so many different cultures. Lygon St at Carlton little Italy looove it.

 

Did they host Moomba on the Yarra still.... used to be an annual event in the 80's.

 

I miss skiing, haven't done that in years.....literally..... Falls Creek is so Beautiful and Mt Hotham.

 

Sometimes we go there for a week and meet a group of friends and stay at the Winery my minds gone blank....near the Murray River getting late.

 

Great Ocean Road is spectacular - they had to close about 5 kms of it because of Rock Slides and its just been reopened with a stretch that skips around the hillside. Never quite made it to the Twelve Apostles from Melbourne was just a little bit too far for a weekend trip.

 

Oh could go on reminiscing here I guess theres a few more flashbacks for you

 

Speak with you soon,

 

Time to shutdown the computer and the household - to sleep.

 

Have a great day

 

Love

Hailey

<'>

[kirstie]

Sounds wonderful..............

Scotland are doing very well in the Games, the swimming has been great for us!

I saw something on the news today about Cyclone Larry is it? in Queensland, what's happening up there?

[Guest hallyscomet]

Sounds wonderful..............

Scotland are doing very well in the Games, the swimming has been great for us!

I saw something on the news today about Cyclone Larry is it? in Queensland, what's happening up there?

 

Hi Kirstie,

 

The games have been fab, even the EAD events bring a tear to your eyes.

 

Cyclone Larry was a Category 4-5 travelling at speeds of 290km per hour, a rather sickening feeling before it hit, because Darwin was totally wiped out by a cyclone travelling less speeds of 210km per hour. All we could do was pray. The area is 16 hours drive from me in Sydney but we have friends and family all around Queensland so we were a bit worried about them. Remember I was telling you about that friend of the family that lives in Maroochydore Queensland, well she heard rumours that Queensland was going to get a Tsunami in April 2006. Maybe this is it but early, the problem when these cyclones come in from the sea is that they bring in a tide rise of up to 2 metres I guess you could call that a mini tsunami. Lets hope this is the last of it and it came in March instead of April...... don't know where she got this information though.

 

Luckily the eye of the storm (which was 290Km winds) was travelling at 25km per hour so it moved in faster that Cyclone Tracy (wind speeds of 210) did more damage as it moved in slowly and stayed.......the crazy thing is this also happened on Christmas eve like Banda Aceh, I remember them putting a song on the radio "Santa never made it into Darwin, a big wind came and blew the town away), the damage is still in the 100 millions but thank god there was no loss of life.

 

As I said April can be the rainy season, but because of the drought we have experienced over the past years, our rainy seasons are nothing to worry about, especially with you coming over here for holidays around that time.

 

Other than that the weather has been absolutely georgeous, its Autumn and its sunny a little rain from time to time, but still warm enough in the surf for swimming usually till around June, however, there are many older people and surfers that swim year round, I stopped doing that when I was a teenager, however, in Queensland you can swim year round as the temps lowest in Winter is 20 degrees and mainly 25plus.

 

Sometimes Sydney is lucky to enjoy that too, but Melbourne and Tasmania get VERY cold. You don't get to dress for winter in Sydney like they have to in Melbourne. Perhaps once every 4years we have a cold snap and that is good for the Snowy Mountains as then they get to enjoy the snow from early June throught to October- which would normally be July to September.

 

You I imagine are coming into Spring, that must be lovely.

 

Cheers

Hailey

Edited March 21, 2006 by hallyscomet

[kirstie]

<'> Hi Hailey,

I love it when you describe Australia and the different places and sights..........

We are arriving there (Perth first) on 29th March and then travelling to Brisbane on the 4th April then onto Newcastle on the 10th for a fortnight. We are hoping to stay in Sydney for a week. I am soooo excited about it. I really hope the weather gets better and there is no Tsunami or tropical cyclones wether i'm there or not.

It must be a terrifying experience when winds that strong hit. Personally i don't mind a wee bit of rain everything seems so fresh and green afterwards.

We are teetering on the brink of Spring, it's still very cold. I love this time of year. I look out of my kitchen window every morning and as soon as i start to see the first buds on the trees i know the freezing weather is slowly leaving us. It always makes me feel good to know that!!

By the way i drempt i had won two Gold medals last night (swimming) ........ it's a worry !! all the talk of the Games..

I hope you are well and not staying up too late!