B.W Crystal Inn Bendigo

Can't believe it is already day 10 of our vacation! Three days until we leave Bendigo for our camping trip, and there is still a lot of work to do on Paddy's house. Today I painted more of the new baseboards, and Paul and Paddy worked on repairing the furnace, installing baseboards and building a new linen closet. All of the baseboards and door trims have been installed in ...

... left the gold fields and began stores and services for the miners. That was the beginning of a along and rich Chinese heritage in this area.

Beginning in the late 1800's, the good townsfolk of Bendigo began an annual fund raiser for the local hospital. It struggled along for a couple of years, until 1000 of the Chinese citizens signed up to help raise the funds. Thus began the Bendigo Easter Chinese Parade, which features hundreds ...

Bendigo is well known for its interesting and well-preserved architecture, especially the cast iron ornamentation found on so many of its commercial buildings and private residences.
Today we spent the afternoon exploring Bendigo on foot and delighting in its historical buildings and whimsical Christmas decorations.

The Sacred Heart Cathedral was a typical discovery. The cathedral was beautiful and of sufficient size to rival some ...

... all claustrophobic the tunnels were really tall and wide and i had to put on a hard hat hahahaha

and then i went on tram that went all around the town ... and that was my day! But it was loads of fun .. and then we drove back to Melbourne

c xxx

... and kilns. Bought an olive oil jug, but it looks like it should hold moonshine!

This evening Paddy hosted a BBQ with friends of his, Greg, Kevin and Liam (who we met in London last year. Yummy burgers and sausages served on home made bread rolls. And noone even mentioned throwing a shrimp on the barby.

... not really a pillow, more an OTTOMAN! - of puff pastry filled with steak, eggs, cheese and bacon. One of the reasons we came to Australia at this time is to help Paul's son Paddy with renovations on their 1940 bungalow. The house has definite possibilities, but at the moment it is a brick shell, with unfinished floors and walls, electrical wires protruding from the oddest places and half-finished projects awaiting completion. I decided my ...

... city nightclub" whatever happened to the word assaulted? "Avoid using freeway south as there has been a 6 car SMASH" whatever happened to the word accident? There also seems to be a great reluctance for anyone to actually open their mouths when speaking, producing a mumbled sound from the back of the throat. Some Australians seem to be able to have complete conversations without moving their lips, which makes me ...

... met zijn allen (het gezin, Lynn en Mark en ik) naar een Wildlife Park geweest. Erg gezellig, hoewel het eerst anderhalf uur met de auto was. Maar, zoals wel bekend over Australie, dat wordt niet als "ver weg" gezien, dat rij je zo even. William kreeg een koptelefoon op in de auto en zijn dvdspeler ging aan en voor we het wisten waren we er. We liepen het park door onder leiding van William (denk maar niet dat we de tijd hadden om even ergens bij stil te staan: this way mammie ...

... really been enjoying the CVA program because it's like a little family. Every night we cook our dinners together and if someone goes out, you always have someone to with. Gemma and I have gone to the Bendigo Market a few times this week which I absolutely love. This town is very charming and full of bakeries and a cute little shops for anything you could possibly want or need. Anyways, monday was our first day of work at Lockwood park. It's been mostly removing ...

... eine spannende Kulisse auf der Suche nach den tollen Museen. Das Melbourne Museum ist echt klasse, aber haelt natuerlich keinen Vergleich mit dem Te papa in Wellington stand. Um es kurz zu machen: wegen Kultur und Kunst faehrt man eh nicht nach Australien. Hier kommst Du her, um Anderes zu entdecken. Aber es ist schon nett mal nen guten Cafe zu trinken und lecker Essen zu sich zu nehmen ...