Gold Coast
Trip Start
Nov 15, 2006
1
23
228
Trip End
Jul 15, 2008
Nerang,
Australia
Saturday, December 23, 2006
One of the couples we had met at the house party in Syd (Aussies contract every name over two syllables) told us about some friends of theirs in Nerang on the Gold Coast and put us in touch with them. So after Nimbin we are off to meet our new friends Jeff and Shane. We pulled in to their driveway in the afternoon. [GPS coordinates: 28 01.326S 153 20.977E] We thought we might just spend the night with them and then move on so we wouldn't be in the way of their family Christmas plans. But they would not hear of it, and we had such a good time with them the first night we were happy to extend our stay. Jeff is originally from Wisconsin but has been here long enough to be an Aussie. Shane is a beautiful blond native Australian and simply charming.
The Gold Coast is a series of cities famed for their long stretches of squeaky white silicon beaches running in front of high rise buildings which reminds you of smaller versions of Miami, Florida, only better
Jeff and Shane at Di's Xmas dinner
. So after checking in with Jeff and Shane we headed off to the nearest one, Board Beach [28 01.512S 153 26.108E] whilst (they never say 'while' here) our hosts did some last minute Xmas shopping. Jeff is in the construction business as a project manager and later that day took us to see his latest building project, which was one of those tall high rise apartment complexes. Since we've been building a house ourselves we were keen to see how construction techniques differed from ours at home. Irina was impressed to learn that they do not solder their copper pipes here, but rather weld the joints directly together without solder or flux. Jeff and Shane are also remodeling their house as well, so we had lots to talk about.
Dec. 24, 2006
Christmas Eve day we went with Shane to seafood shops hunting for the perfect Xmas oysters and Irina found a fresh turkey to bake for tomorrow's dinner. In the afternoon we took off to the beach again. This time it was Currumbin Beach [28 07.669S 153 29.077E] When we returned Shane's son and daughter had arrived later and we all had a great evening together. Some really great kids and we learned a lot about the Aussie youth culture from them
Dec. 25, 2006
We won't forget this Christmas. Irina had roasted the turkey the night before so the oven would be free for Jeff to cook the traditional Xmas ham. It had to be done to perfection because we are having dinner at Jeff's wife's house. Okay, the lovely Shane is not Jeff's wife, Di is, and we (the four of us) are going to Di's house where we'll have dinner with her and their son, Mick, who lives with his mother. We'll also meet Di's new boyfriend who has just moved in with her. And, Di's brother, Bob, who is also living at Di's rather large (and immaculate) house. Bob is bringing his girl friend, Irine, rather than his wife. Irine is divorced, but her ex still lives with her (he's not coming). To add a measure of conventionality old family friends, Ken and Christine, who are married to each other and actually live together will be there. You would think that with this mix of people there would be some drama, or worse. But it seemed, to us at least, that there was never an awkward moment. Well maybe brother Bob did go on a bit about his ungrateful wife and kids. But these are sophisticated, beautiful people. It seemed like something out of a Fitzgerald novel: witty conversations, good food and drink. Having two strange foreigners join them was nothing at all out of the ordinary.
Jeff is an excellent cook and Di would call on him to make various appetizers as he had when they lived together. The one we'll never forget was his Oysters Kilpatrick; made with oysters on the half shell, a dash of Worchester sauce, sprinkled with crumbs of bacon and cheddar cheese then broiled until the cheese began to melt. Delicious! We soon could see why Jeff and Di were not living together; they both have strong personalities. Before the dinner was served Di noticed that the place settings were not quite right. The silverware settings had been reversed and Di guessed that a left handed person had set the table. Turned out that she was right, Christine had set the table and was left handed. So we all had to change our silverware settings left to right, except Christine of course.
