Eat, Love, Pray with friends in Bali

An early start today with Breakfast at 7 as we were leaving for our big trip around with Diva our driver.

He met us on the first day and now we’ve adopted him and he’s going to drive us wherever we want.

We headed north to a Temple.

Our itinerary for the day.

Terta Empul temple was about 45 minutes north.

One of Bali’s most important temples because of its sacred waters ……said to be healing.

It’s quite a process.

We arrived at the entrance and paid our fee – about $15 Aus. We were given a sarong which had to be worn with the yellow band facing the top

Quite a sight in our multicoloured sarongs.

We made our way to the sacred water and were given a lesson by our guide on how to behave and what to do.

We made our way to the change rooms to get into our swim wear and to wrap ourselves in a different green sarong with a red sash. The change rooms were a mass of men and women waiting in turn to change in funny little cubicles most with a urinal inside. Not for storing clothes as you changed!

The guides helped wrap our sarongs carefully. Ours were done quickly. Some girls in their extremely brief g- string bikinis seemed to have extra help from the male guides! Not bvery respectful for visit to a temple.

We started with the offering at the alter.

In our now green sarongs

We then made our way to the pools.

It was slippery getting in and the bottom of the pool was rocky which made it hard for me!

A view of people waiting to enter the sacred pool.
Me attempting to stay in my feet to pray.

We all had a turn in the first pool where at the first fountain you put your hands together to pray and splash our face three times to cleanse and then accept the blessings of health before leaving that one and entering the second pool.

Lynne decided she would not enter the second pool as she had to pee!

Lynne is missing!
In our wet sarongs after the cleansing ceremony.

After changing back into our clothes and feeling fresh and cleansed we followed our guide around the temple ground. They are preparing for a special ceremony soon – hence the statues wrapped in sarongs.

Time for lunch so we walked the maze of stalls with everything from beads, fans, clothes, art, fruit and made it back into our van and headed off to lunch in a rice paddy field.

Lunch

We stopped again in about 10 minutes for a coffee & cacao plantation walk. We saw some civat cats. Apparently the civet cats eat ripe coffee cherries, and the beans pass through its digestive system before being collected and processed. Quite a story. We sat on the terrace and had a tasting of about 15 different coffees and teas. Coconut coffee was delicious and the rosella tea beautiful. I bought some lemongrass tea and turmeric. Hopefully they’ll give me vitality and bones that don’t ache!

Patsy roaring the coffee.

Back in with Diva we decided our old knees would not cope with 150 steep steps down to the river at the falls. So decided to look from the bridge. We got there and decided no! It was too expensive for a walk out on the bridge!

We opted for the monkey river sanctuary.

Mani befriends a monkey

Usually I don’t like monkeys but these ones are lovely and funny and don’t try and raid your bag for food.

Very sweet monkeys.

Heading back to our accommodation we felt like we’d had a great day. Prayer and cleansing, lunch and coffee and playful monkeys to finish the day.

Diva was a star ushering us around

Diva dressed in his Australian shirt and hat!

Fresh after lovely showers we enjoyed a few gins on the terrace before our lovely staff here at Gunung Merta brought dinner out.

Off to bed as we are up early to do a walk tomorrow.

Discovering Ubud

I started the day with a swim.

The pool is right outside my door and it was quiet and lovely in. Patsy was lolling with her cup of coffee and the other were yet to emerge from their rooms.

Breakfast on the terrace was delicious. A colourful mix of food chosen from such a big menu.

The meals arrived under a little woven coloured ‘hat’. Very festive.

Beautiful papaya.

We had planned our day around…..talking to the cushion lady , wandering into Ubud and massages.

The cushion lady is a friend of Lou’s from previous trips. Her fabrics look gorgeous and her prices are Bali low! I decided no cushions for me and set off with Lynne and Kirsty to discover ubud.

What we did discover pretty quickly is that the pavement-sidewalk is dangerous here. It is a rough arrangement of paving stones with cars parked over them, gaping holes, motor bikes getting out of traffic and it’s hard to take in the sights when you are looking down.

Watch out! You could disappear down that hole.

We made our way up the road past lines of traffic going who knows where and wondered if the shopping would be good.

First stop was Berkly. A little jewellery store. A few purchases later we were on our way along the cracked pavement. A book shop where the books are all wrapped and not much cheaper than in Australia. A blue batik clothes and cushion shop where I found a beautiful soft batik dress.

Coffee was at a roastery with great coffee. Kirsty headed back to meet her son for lunch and Lynne and I made our way slowly to Ubud Palace.

Drumming noises from the side street had us following the crowds. It was a ceremony for a new temple. I love finding something local during our travels. Watching the people dressed for the ceremony was special.

Back to the grounds of the temple then across the road to the Art Market which is more a ‘ we have everything’ market. How much you want to pay us the catch cry!

We resisted and continued to walk along the back streets. past ceramic shop, book shops and lots of jewellery shops.

Down little lanes you can spy …..

We stopped for lunch at Mudra. Up stairs it was airy and welcoming and the fish taco was so good.

I finally found a hat!

We made it back to the hotel without dropping into a hole in the footpath!

A swim followed by a rest, a pink gin and then a massage. It was great though I know I should have a massage more often. Even if it hurts!

Then out to dinner at Tablespoon. A longer drive than we planned! But it was good and had a lovely guy singing songs we knew!

What a great day.

Therapy in Bali

Welcome to Bali

There are many forms of Therapy. Mine is meeting regularly with a group of women – friendships made when my boys started school.

We’ve been together for close to 40 years helping, supporting and making each other laugh. It’s the best form of therapy !

We always have a weekend away together usually in early December at Patsy’s beautiful beach house.

Last year we decided on a ‘getaway’. Somehow it ended up with Bali as the place that offered the most affordable holiday.

Today we left. Only 6 of the regular therapy girls and two honorary girls.

Meeting at the airport at 6.30am we wandered into duty free and ended up tasting gins! It must be 5pm somewhere!

Lynne, Patsy me and Chris.

Then it was coffee time.

Welcome Shelley, Kirsty and of course Lou and her sister Mani

And before we knew it we were onboard for the 5 hr flight up to Bali.

We were scattered around the plane with Lynne & I on each aisle in row 6.

Three of the girls, who shall remain nameless, were in row 15 ordering little bottles of bubbles.

We arrived at 2pm local time and got through immigration in record time except for Mani who had to see an official before being allowed in. We waved and waited …..then she was in.

Our driver picked us up outside for the 90 min drive up to Ubud. We decided we were thirsty so made a stop at the supermarket and bought a few cans of Bintang and bags of chips! The supermarket was big with many brands we know. But some great decorations!

We continued on chatting and getting into holiday mode – the Bintang helped as the traffic crawled into Ubud.

Seen from our bus. Two content pups.

From the outside our small hotel of 8 rooms didn’t look great. But the staff arrived to carry our bags and we walked into a very natural little oasis. really charming.

Lovely gardens and cobbled paths
Huge koi fish in the hotel fish pond.

We unpacked into our spacious rooms. Four upstairs. Four down.

Then met for dinner Cracking open the gin purchased at the airport.

We chatted over a late dinner making plans for the days to come.

High on list of ‘must do’ is a massage.

Tomorrow!

Heading back to our rooms ready for a good sleep.

Music in Cairns

We have always wanted to go to the Australian Chamber Music Festival – and for years it was held in Townsville. We didn’t get there and this year it’s in Cairns. 

We made it. Staying in an apartment opposite the lagoon so we could have a swim each day. Unfortunately it’s closed for renovation. 

I brought my summer clothes and for the first two days it’s been cool and rainy. Not what I planned. 

Today Monday it’s getting warmer. 

We are going to lots of concerts. What a program. 

The day starts at 10am with a conversation between festive organiser Jack Leibeck and 3 different musicians each day. It gives an insight into their background and their musical journey. They then perform together. Short pieces. Today we heard Karin Schaupp playing guitar. She’s wonderful. Go and hear her if you can. Then 2 horn players. One an  Australian the other a very experienced player from Berlin. Stefan Dohr. What a background he has. 

He’s now running a masterclass with a group of reed instrumentalists from Melbourne. It’s part of the Pathways project where 6 ensembles of young musicians are selected to attend the festival and get mentored and play in front of an audience.

So interesting to see and hear how an experienced musician can make something sound so much better – in an hour! Tough on the young musicians I suppose but you can see how it’s making them think about how they play ! 

Last night we heard the most amazing opera The Marriage of Figaro.   Actress Bethany Simons wrote and acted I. This adaptation. . No singing. And a group of 8 musicians playing. She acted out all the parts. Just by changing her voice, her body movements and told in a modern way. It is hard to describe how she did it – but was fabulous. 

And so the week began.

The art gallery Bulmba-ja before the Masterclass.

We were so busy it was hard to fit in dinner. Tomorrow and for the rest of the week we’ll have to plan our day a little better.

Last day in Seattle.

The weather in Seattle has been great. A little light rain the first day but stunning blue skies and warm now.

I’ve always wanted to visit Bainbridge Is. an island about 30 mins ferry from Seattle. People live on the island and commute by the ferry – service is every 40 mins till midnight.

We caught the 7.55 ferry so we were there for breakfast. Crossing to the island was clear so we could see Mt Rainier where we spent the day yesterday.

Lisa and John are great to travel with. They research everything so we had no problem getting around and finding great places to visit & eat.

Breakfast was in an old carriage. A regular American diner with a waitress who was under 5’ and could have been straight out of a comedy tv series.

I had a beautiful omelette with vegetables. Delicious.

John loved the waffles!

We drove up to see Pia – a peace maker troll. Entirely made of wood she sits in a peaceful meadow and invites calmness.

Following up on the museum we saw at Gibson , Vancouver we went to I the Japanese memorial. It was so tastefully fine – telling the story of the Japanese who had lived and ran businesses on Bainbridge only to be rounded up during the war and sent to internment camps in a desert in Southern California. It’s heartbreaking to read their stories.

Many returned to nothing and had to start again.

Next stop was the museum. A little gem. Manned by a very friendly tanned man who spends winters in Palm Springs, he made us very welcome and told us the Pickle Ball mania was started right here in Bainbridge!

So many beautiful shop displays.
One of a few bookshops in Bainbridge.

There are quite a few local authors including Kristen Hannah a favourite of mine. This week they are hosting a book crawl through the town Wine and books. What would be better. So sorry we’re missing it.

One shelf of local authors. Anyone read Jonathon Evison?
I want to go

After several hours of wandering the lovely shopping street. Walking and driving around the picturesque parts of the island and visiting museums we caught the ferry back.

A great view of Mt Rainier

We arrived back to the busy waterfront and got ready for our Harbourside cruise. A one hour tour in perfect weather with a narration pointing out the buildings and local attractions. It was perfect.

View from our harbour tour
Interesting Seattle skyline

Seattle is getting ready for the World Cup soccer starting in July. It will be great. The city is clean , covered with flower boxes , friendly and lots of great eating and drinking spots.

Our last dinner was Oysters with margaritas!

Tomorrow we move up Vancouver for our Air NZ flight home.

Paradise at Mt Rainier

The 5th National Park in the US. Mt Rainier has 25 glaciers and is an active volcano. Eruptions of hot lava molded by glacier ice formed the mountain.

The first building in Paradise was in 1917. First national park to allow cars.

We were up in the snow again. Mt Rainier is 14,400 …….so very tall.

We had a Ranger chat and heard all about how the road was put in , who was the first to climb the mountain, when the lodge was built and how US troops used it up train for endurance during the war.

The lodge is lovely. A typical ski lodge. Lots of timber and open spaces.

A pianist was playing in the open area and the dining room was closed!

I gathered another Junior Park Ranger badge for Leo. The first Ranger ( with an unfortunate comb over ) wouldn’t give us one but later the Ranger who gave the park talk came on duty and he kindly gave me one for Leo.

Deciding to explore a little we drove down the mountain and stopped at two waterfalls. The forest is lush and green, the paths a little muddy with the rain from the morning. People might actually need the walking poles they were carrying.

It was too slippery for me so I waited at the top of the waterfall and took photos as the other climbed down.

The second one was not so far and definitely not muddy.

We stopped at the Longmire on the way down the mountain. Lunch was in the lodge dining room followed by a visit to the tiny museum.

Longmire. Reminds me of Binna Burra

Heading down the mountain we stopped at a sculpture park and then a general store with many versions of Big Foot.

One of my favourite sculptures
Big foot. Scary.

Such a day of contrast, people, weather and we finished with seafood and margaritas by the water.

Rail Journey. A Highlight

Excitement was mounting in our room this morning. Our big 8!hour rail journey to Denali was on today. Steve particularly likes train travel.

It seems there are a lot of rail enthusiasts with us! Particularly the men.

We left the hotel around 8.15 after our bags were picked up from inside our room at 6! We had ours ready so stayed in bed when the porter knocked and came in to get them.

The train is beautiful. All seats are upstairs and very comfortable with big dome windows and ceiling.

The dining cars are downstairs.

The biggest excitement was seeing a bear just before we left the station! It was the only one we saw all day.

There is seat service for drinks snacks & cocktail’s! They love their cocktails here in Alaska. With names like Blue Caboose, Clumsy Conductor, Rail Runner, moose Kiss….. oh what to choose.

Example of the food available

The staff are young and lots of fun pointing out things of interest as we travel along.

There are many gravel pits along the way. Gravel is used extensively on paths and roads as it is crushed and manages the snow run off from glaciers. They don’t use salt on their paths and roads because moose love salt and would be on the roads and paths licking it away. And moose cause lots of road accidents. They don’t get out of the way.

Another story involves duct tape. In Wassilla they use a lot of it In fact 325 miles a year and have duct tape events such as a duct tape prom! Imagine that! These are small places and need to invent their own fun.

Our seats in the dome.

Funny things our guide told us:

Turkey bowling. They use a turkey as a ball on the frozen lake.

……Alaskan saying. There are many more men in Alaska. So for the women……The odds are good but the goods are odd.

……Black spruce is like a Charlie Brown type of Xmas tree. White spruce is bigger more traditional. Aspen tree has black eyes in trunk. The white birch white bark. If it’s peeling it’s paper bark.

…….Moose eat willow. Asprin from willow bark.

……Braided rivers. Messy. Snow is melting spread on an open plain.

……Talkeetna a small town ( inspiration for the tv series ‘Northern Exposure’ ) a place where 3 rivers meet.

…….The mayor here has issues. Mayor is a cat called Aurora but now Winston the Alaskan dog is in the running.

The scenery along the way

……All mountaineers who want to climb Mt McKinley arrive at Talkeetna. May – Aug is the climbing season. This is base camp. Denali or Mt McKinley as it was called is one of the tallest mountains in the world. It is the tallest on the American continent and is one of the ‘seven summits’ of the world.

The scenery is amazing

…….we saw a beaver diving in the river. Can be big. Beaver pelts are very soft. Warm and sticky. Top layer coarse. So waterproof. Next layer is soft and cosy.

The journey was 8 hours and just wonderful the whole way. We had lunch in the dining car with a lovely couple from the Blue Mts in Sydney.

Our knowledgeable conductor.

We arrived into the Holland American lodge at around 5pm. It’s a big resort spread out over a large area. Half high up and the rest down below with a shuttle running the whole time to transport you to the different areas.

Our room is a good size – a bit dated! but the bed is comfy.

Rooms are cabin style.

Our wilderness tour starts at 6.30! So we intended to be in bed early. But as it’s still light here at 10pm we ended up staying around the fire with the new Aussie friends we have made here.

Alyeska: rest day or hiking?

We had a great night sleep. This hotel resort is very quiet – ski season is over. The tram up the slopes isn’t running so everyone sleeps in!

We made it to the fitness centre and gym. The pool is quite big. Enough for laps. The hot tub is big. I’ll bet it gets crowded in season! it wasn’t today.

Breakfast didn’t happen this morning so after the swim we got ready to go to town.

Girdwood is the tiny town nearby the resort. There’s a shuttle but we decided to walk to it. Around 3.5km

The path meanders away from the road and for a moment or two I worried that a bear would come out of the woods!

Another couple had asked at the desk about seeing bears on the 3km walk to Girdwood. They asked should they take anti bear spray. “Yes” he said. Could we get some here. “No” he replied. “We don’t have any here. You can get it in the town!”

Needless to say we made it to town. During the walk we came across a few seats to rest and see the views. It was too cold to sit so we admired and moved on.

We spotted a memorial to a former Miss Alaska , a local who loved dance and gardens. Later saw a plaque dedicated to a young girl who died at 12. We hoped she didn’t meet a bear.

Girdwood is tiny. Big wide street with an eclectic collection of buildings. All timber: we saw a general store ( super expensive) , a PO, medical centre , a few restaurants- all in log houses and Grind a coffee shop.

We went in a found a little treasure run by Nicole. It smelled great. Had lots of interesting things on the walls and all types of milk.

Grind coffee

Nicole asked where we were from. When we replied Australia she said she hoped her coffee was up to standard. She’d heard Australia had the best coffee around. She’s not wrong. We haven’t had too many good coffees. She did well. It was great. and we had a great chat about living in Girdwood. There isn’t much here. You have to love skiing and the quiet. Nicole loves it. She moved from Idaho and eventually most of her family have followed her.

The houses are not really in the township. They are scattered in the surrounding streets and in the woods nearby.

There are. Lot of big red two cab trucks here. You need a big car to battle the conditions. It must cost a fortune. Gas here is around $5.60 US a gallon for diesel !. Because of its remote location everything here is expensive. And our exchange rate is still terrible. We are only getting 63 c for every American dollar.

Lunch was at the Chair 5 bar restaurant. A lot of wooden tables & chairs, tvs blaring ice hockey , groups of locals and tourists, and a waitress who was as colourful as she was friendly. Let me describe the outfit. Gum Boots, odd colourful long socks , black shorts , black t shirt with words advertising on the front , arms ran with coloured ink pictures, curly black hair, several piercings and a beanie. And oh so friendly. We ordered a salad $28 and a pizza $25. They were both giant sized.

We walked another 10 mins up to the nearby brewery and sat outside around a warm brazier and had a beer while chatting to another Australian couple from Sydney.

Where in the world.

A bus delivered us back to our Resort for a short rest and read.

Though not very hungry we decided to walk to another ski lift at the ‘Olympic Village’ for a drink and bite.

Another 25 min walk. The two pub bistros were closed. It’s Monday night ! Back to the hotel through the bear forest (at least it’s not dark at 7pm) and into the hotel bar restaurant for a bite, a chat to more Australians and then to bed. We certainly got our steps up today.

Arriving back from our no dinner walk

The hotel room is very comfortable there are heated towel rails which is great for drying our clothes overnight!

I hear there is a lot of rain in Brisbane it’s drizzling here and snow predicted tomorrow. A late cold burst. Stay dry everyone.

Last Day at Sea

We weren’t sure what to expect from a cruise. But this has been lovely. Good stops along the way . Good shore experiences. Great hospitality on board and of course the scenery.

Today is another quiet on board day. I didn’t think I’d like whole days at sea but there is as much or as little to do you want.

We met our friends Patty and Tom for the Alaskan brunch. Really lovely relaxing by the big windows looking as you cruise along. The mimosas were good as well.

Then a 5 km walk around the deck. It’s getting cooler as we move north. So a hat and gloves were helpful. Because I had time I went to the gym to keep my exercise program going. It’s great looking out at the front of the boat while doing leg curls!

We went to the information session with Ian the British man with lots of information for us on a variety of topics. Today it was the Iditarod race. In its 54th year it is a race for huskies, and their musher on a sled for around 1,000 miles. Each day is around 100 miles. 160km !

It is gruelling ! The dogs look adorable. They are well trained and strong. They do wear little booties to protect their paws.

It starts in Anchorage on the first Saturday in March then progresses west. There are two routes – alternating each year.

The gorgeous huskies and Ian being enthusiastic
We met some of the dogs a few days ago on their holiday.

Now decision time. Calligraphy lesson? Cards, Coffee in Crows Nest? Reading in the lounge. Always something to do.

They had a carnival on the pool deck. Complete with carnival games line hoops la, knock em downs etc. with fairy floss , popcorn, fancy cocktails and lots of uniformed ship staff it looked fun.

Later we started the evening with a chat session with Sergio the guitarist and Kelly the pianist. She’s from Perth and went to WAPA the musical university there. It was a good chat session about their life as a musician on board. we have a bit of an insight to that. We have two nieces who have worked on board as musicians. Bertie married the ships engineer so is still cruising the world when not in Italy when her girls are at school.

Our last session at the piano bar. The trivia today was songs from Movies. We sat with Patty and Tom and had a good score. Tom was a surprise! He knew lots and my love of movies came in handy. Though I often can’t ’name the song’ I can usually sing it though.

With Patty and Tom from Nth Carolina

Last dinner in the dining room was fun. They brought out the chef and all the behind the scenes restaurant staff and with waiters paraded around the restaurant while everyone cheered and waved serviettes in the air.

The final show was called Timeless and all the cast sang and danced with infectious energy.

They finished with Time to Say Goodbye the Andre Boccelli song. It was appropriate to finish with as we made our way to our Cabin to pack. We have to have our bag outside the door at 11pm. Tomorrow all the groups have a disembarking time. We’re not until 12.10 so later than some…. Some left at 7.30!

Unfortunately it’s rainy and windy out. We’re heading to Alyeska resort which is primarily a ski resort with cable cars, thermal pool, walking trails etc. it should be good if the rain goes.

Others are heading to a variation of our 7 night program. Patty and Tom left at 8.30 and go to Anchorage before Denali. They leave Denali National Park on the day we arrive.

Farewell to this part of the trip.

Keep following for the land part.

Friday at Sea.

The weather is beautiful. We went to the Margerie Glacier and the boat did a 360 so we could view it well. The sun was out.

Margerie Glacier
Margaret Glacier. North of Juneau.

Today is another sea day. And it’s amazing how quickly the day will pass.

We did our exercises then went for breakfast to the Lido. Thats the food hall with different offerings- all behind glass and served by the staff.

It’s great for people watching that’s for sure. Some people pile their plates high others take little offerings. It’s on the same level as the outdoor area around the pool. So you can carry your plate outdoors. Or go to the burger – hot dog stall outdoors.

There’s lots of options. We certainly haven’t overdone it. For breakfast I’ve tried the poached eggs with mushrooms and spinach. Or with salmon. Steve’s enjoying the eggs Benny. Or sometimes just Greek yoghurt and fruit.

The coffee is just ok. You can have filtered coffee. Or barista coffee. I’m looking forward to good coffee back home.

Lunch is usually a -made up on the spot, salad. You just name everything you want and it’s put together in a lovely bowl. Suits me. Steve has a baguette or a burger. Usually with a beer for him and tea for me!

There’s an app where you can search all the available entertainment for the day. Ranging from information talks to gym sessions, to prayer sessions! Art auctions, pickle ball, jigsaws, cards, to games ( I played mahjong) to watercolour painting.

This is what I chose this morning. I got there early but all the seats were taken. But saw two ladies I now know. Roxie from mahjong and Patty who we’ve spent time with as couples.

Patty made a space for me and we tried our hand at painting jellyfish. 🪼

I’m a bit rusty. But it was fun

From there we made our way to the Park Ranger session. There was one for kids. And one for everyone else.

There aren’t many kids on this cruise so I was able to call into that and get a few park ranger badges. Leo our grandson wants to be a park ranger. He has the hat, T-shirt and vest from Yellowstone National Park and is very keen to become one when he grows up. It’s so lovely to see how dedicated he is. He wants to volunteer at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary near where he lives. He’s 6! So has a few years to wait until they take juniors to help in the holidays.

We went to the adult session and it was so interesting to hear about the glaciers in the Glacier National Park. I must say the US has magnificent parks that they look after so very well. Our ranger explained the criteria for becoming a National Park and it’s quite rigorous.

The junior Park Ranger.

I did a few laps of deck 3. It’s a mile around. So about 1.65 km. I got my steps up doing 5km, visited the library to change my book and found a quiet area to read. Steve and I like the Crows Nest. Right at the front of the boat with big picture windows. It is hard to get a front row seat !

The Crows Nest.

Notice the person at the bar with the striped top. She is always there in that spot. Doesn’t matter when you get to this area. She’s there drinking beer – out of a can. Never takes a glass. oh my. She might explode soon. Good for her. I’m sure she’s relaxing well.

There is also lots of games – you name it. It’s here. So there are a lot of people playing cards, Scrabble and some I don’t know. It seems Bridge is not as popular anymore. No Bridge being played anywhere. But mahjong is very popular.

If our friends the Wilsons were here we’d be playing cards! Five Crowns.

While I’m sitting here writing this there is a calligraphy class going on next door in the art area.

Another round of the deck for me before a retreat to our cabin.

We are meeting Tom and Patty for a drink and to play Music Trivia. We’re been to a few sessions and tonight it is ……. The Beatles. I’m a bit of a tragic when it comes to the Beatles. So along we went.

We did very well. Got them all and the pianist Kelly from Perth Australia was impressed with how many got a perfect score. Well, we are the right demographic!

The tie breaking question was not a ‘name that song’ it was ……. Who was the youngest Beatle and how old was he when they disbanded. Di you know ? I’ll leave the answer to the end.

From the music we went to dinner. This time at Canaletto. The Italian restaurant. It was lovely. We scored a table by the window. And it doesn’t get dark here until around 9 so the views were great. Including seeing a whale.

We were going to the magician. A show at the World Stage. But we were late and decided on another two laps of deck 3!

A beautiful night for walk around.

Answer yo the question……

George Harrison was 25. Who got it right?