PORT DOUGLAS, AU - -Yep, I did it. I flew back up to Cairns and shuttled back to PD. I couldn't help it. Here I was in Sydney, one of my favorite cities in the world, but I was absolutely miserable. Granted, it could have been the weather (chilly, windy, rainy) or it could have been the traffic (I wasn't driving, but I couldn't sleep for the car noise).
It was raining when I flew out of Sydney and raining when I landed at Cairns, but in Mother Nature's wonderful way of agreeing with my choice, the rain in Queensland provided about a half a dozen waterfalls for me to enjoy on the ride up to Port Douglas. And it stopped raining just as we pulled into the Archipelago (my hotel). Take THAT! Sydney!
While it has rained a few brief times since I've been here, the temperature is averaging about 10-12 degrees C warmer than Sydney so I don't really care about precip! Today, it's crazy hot with a scalding blue sky so I'm quite happy. I may even book another trip out to the Great Barrier Reef or maybe up to the Daintree Rainforest, I can't decide.
As for TG, I considered going back to Darwin, but decided against it because 1) it's terribly expensive and 2) it could be considered stalking since we only knew each other a short time. BUT, he did invite me to be a friend on Facebook (so I've got that going for me!)
The Central Hotel (tavern and hotel) had a free screening of "Fool's Gold" last night in its backyard garden patio. The movie was filmed in Port Douglas last year when I was here (but I sure as hell didn't see any movie stars ;-((. I almost cheered when Matthew McConaughey's(sp?) character walked into the front door of the Central Hotel to get a drink. Later on, he was on a speed boat that shot past the waterfront restaurant Soul N' Pepper and it really made me proud to be here. Guess I'll have to buy the DVD so I can look for more locations.
Too beautiful outside to be indoors on a computer, so I'm outta here!!!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tour guide
SYDNEY,AU- - I'm writing this from Sydney, but my mind is still in Darwin (even my cell phone refuses to change timezones).
When I called Tour Guide, I got his cell phone voicemail so I told him that I'd love to have drinks with him and he should call me. After I hung up, I realized that he might have trouble calling me internationally and he might not remember what hotel I am staying in and he might not know my last name! Yeesh!
This guy is smart. Not only did he keep the tour manifest from my trip (so he had my last name and my hotel), but he saved money by just calling me at the hotel!
We met at my hotel (he said if he met me at a bar, there would definitely be 'some other bloke' already sitting with me) and walked about a block in the hot Darwin night.
Great conversation filled the evening with talk of the Cubs (yes, he'd LOVE to see a professional game as he's played softball in Australia); travel (he's only been to the US one time and that was as a camp counselor in upstate NY); rugby (he told me the basic rules and the difference between rugby union and rugby league...can't remember now, though); and how much he loves his job.
What made the evening so wonderful (for me, at least) was the amazing fact that this was finally a guy who ENJOYED CONVERSATION with a woman! I didn't have to ramble on like an idiot just to fill the void. TG was very attentive, keeping eye contact with me all evening. (Of course, I found out later that he didn't want to let me see him checking me out!) This was by far the most comfortable evening I'd spent with a man in...I don't know how long!
Since we traded turns buying a round of drinks, I wasn't sure if this was, in fact, a date. I guess I'm old-fashioned in American ways where the man pays for everything. But when he walked me back to my hotel (after both of us admitted we didn't want the evening to end) and asked if I didn't mind getting 'picked up' by a bus driver, I knew there was definitely interest beyond casual conversation.
Since I consider this a 'family' blog, I won't tell you how the date ended (or when), but I got an email from TG and it definitely made me smile. Did I mention that TG is 28 years old?!?!?!
Oh, one more thing: I've been in Sydney for less than 24 hours and I've heard the name of an Australian town that TG mentioned (new to me), heard an old song from the Blues Brothers movie (exact song that TG and I talked about) and the Jetstar customer support person who helped me book my flight to Port Douglas had the same name as TG.
Strange, huh?
When I called Tour Guide, I got his cell phone voicemail so I told him that I'd love to have drinks with him and he should call me. After I hung up, I realized that he might have trouble calling me internationally and he might not remember what hotel I am staying in and he might not know my last name! Yeesh!
This guy is smart. Not only did he keep the tour manifest from my trip (so he had my last name and my hotel), but he saved money by just calling me at the hotel!
We met at my hotel (he said if he met me at a bar, there would definitely be 'some other bloke' already sitting with me) and walked about a block in the hot Darwin night.
Great conversation filled the evening with talk of the Cubs (yes, he'd LOVE to see a professional game as he's played softball in Australia); travel (he's only been to the US one time and that was as a camp counselor in upstate NY); rugby (he told me the basic rules and the difference between rugby union and rugby league...can't remember now, though); and how much he loves his job.
What made the evening so wonderful (for me, at least) was the amazing fact that this was finally a guy who ENJOYED CONVERSATION with a woman! I didn't have to ramble on like an idiot just to fill the void. TG was very attentive, keeping eye contact with me all evening. (Of course, I found out later that he didn't want to let me see him checking me out!) This was by far the most comfortable evening I'd spent with a man in...I don't know how long!
Since we traded turns buying a round of drinks, I wasn't sure if this was, in fact, a date. I guess I'm old-fashioned in American ways where the man pays for everything. But when he walked me back to my hotel (after both of us admitted we didn't want the evening to end) and asked if I didn't mind getting 'picked up' by a bus driver, I knew there was definitely interest beyond casual conversation.
Since I consider this a 'family' blog, I won't tell you how the date ended (or when), but I got an email from TG and it definitely made me smile. Did I mention that TG is 28 years old?!?!?!
Oh, one more thing: I've been in Sydney for less than 24 hours and I've heard the name of an Australian town that TG mentioned (new to me), heard an old song from the Blues Brothers movie (exact song that TG and I talked about) and the Jetstar customer support person who helped me book my flight to Port Douglas had the same name as TG.
Strange, huh?
Small world
SYDNEY, AU - - Here I am in one of my favorite cities in the world and I'm depressed. Okay, it could be because it's overcast, cool and windy here. But I know that's not it. I feel like there's a great party going on somewhere nearby but I can't go. Or at least I thought I couldn't.
I've just booked my return flight to Port Douglas TOMORROW! I didn't bring enough springlike attire to stay in Sydney with this definitely-not-beach weather, so I'm outta here. Also, I have friends there (and also in Darwin, which I'll get to later), so I'd rather be there.
As I walked into this internet cafe to download my flight confirmation, I saw a work colleague from our home office in Frankfurt! Small damned world! He said another colleague will be here next week so we made tentative plans for the three of us to meet for dinner the evening before I leave for Chicago. Nice to see him, but I really didn't want to think about work yet.
I've just booked my return flight to Port Douglas TOMORROW! I didn't bring enough springlike attire to stay in Sydney with this definitely-not-beach weather, so I'm outta here. Also, I have friends there (and also in Darwin, which I'll get to later), so I'd rather be there.
As I walked into this internet cafe to download my flight confirmation, I saw a work colleague from our home office in Frankfurt! Small damned world! He said another colleague will be here next week so we made tentative plans for the three of us to meet for dinner the evening before I leave for Chicago. Nice to see him, but I really didn't want to think about work yet.
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