Friday, November 16, 2007

Australia Holiday

A few weeks ago we took off for 10 days Down-under. Like all Samoans, we made full use of our relatives hospitality..LOL. We stayed with my brother, Peter McShane and his wife Debbie and young nephew, Daniel o yeah, and their little dog, Hercules. What a smart doggie.
Sightseeing was definitely out as we've been there done that with our boys many times before. We just wanted to see our family and long time friends, Heidi & Kay-Uve Voss and their children, Nicole, Marcus and Toby and of course the Werners, Frank, Kolotita, Jessica, the ballerina Teresia and the cute Michael (Shummi). This was also Christian's first trip off the rock after many years, not that he was dying to get off the rock.
Skita spent most of the time with us, doing the shopping scene. Great to have local guides to hang out with. Poor Christian was totally knackered from being dragged around. We made several attempts to hire him a mobility scooter but he would not have none of it. Stubborn is the word that comes to mind.
Shopping was aplenty but with the strong exchange rate, had to think twice and thrice about buying things. O what the heck!!!! Pete and Deb took us to several new eating spots, like the pub/hotel with the ten dollar steaks....and all you can eat salad bar. Wow, what a treat!!!! Those were real steaks, thick as they should be. On the day we left we decided to have some lunch and we were both craving seafood. I opted for a sword fish steak and salad and Christian, a fish burger. Needless to say, i got all worked up and eventually confronted the folks behind the counter as i got a slice of sashimi fish.... the steak was paper thin and the bloody cheek of these people to advertise with pictures a thick slice of fish. Salad was AUD1.00 and the paper thin "STEAK" (what a goddamn joke) was AUD7.90 . Anyone going to eat at this place beware. And they have the nerve to have a humongous banner in front boasting to be the best at Bondi Beach. Hello folks - get a bloody grip and stop ripping people off. In retrospect, no wonder it was very quiet in this place. Everywhere else was buzzing with business and these 3 Chinese ladies were relaxing and stressing themselves over their fingernail polish.
Whilst in Aussie, i thoroughly enjoyed the simple domestic chores, like washing up, cleaning the swimming pool of the thousands of leaves. The weather was fantastic with only a few half days of shitty weather, otherwise, it was hot, hot, hot. I even enjoyed long sessions of swimming in the cold pool. Rather refreshing if I may say so myself.
Our last night was spent at the Werners place with a BBQ and plenty to drink. Before all that, we inspected Frank's beautiful car collection. Island music set the tone for the afternoon and late evening, with Skita, Pete and I reminiscing about Samoa in the kitchen. Heidi called up the Wageners in Brissy and what a scream!!! I hate to think how big that phone bill is. Much discussion ensued as to next year's (2008) reunion in Samoa. The last reunion was in 2003.
One of the beautiful memories i will never forget from this trip is the vision of Christian & Kay having digs at Frank who was cooking the bbq and laughing themselves silly. It brought back so many wonderful memories of when we were a lot younger and living in Samoa together. Here are friends that are more than friends. Family is how we see and think of them.
The 10 days went by so quickly-it always does when one is having far too much fun!!!