Back in Brizzy

 We arrived in Brisbane, the jet lag already setting in!

Our friends Jen and Brian (who you may remember from past OZ visits here and here) picked us up from the Airport and took us straight to our hotel; thankfully they appreciate jet lag more than most and didn’t expect a long catch up!

We were staying in the Brisbane Hilton (My TA review here). Oh my, it’s very posh! There's a beautiful marble clad foyer which is where their restaurant and bar were found too! Checking in was lovely and quick as Mike is a Diamond member of the Hilton Honours reward scheme.

Inside the Hilton

Our room was and 3x as big as our one back home, with city views, huge bathroom, a desk and cozy arm chairs.

Our Hotel view with Brisbane Town Hall in the centre :)

We were so pooped, we didn’t fancy going out so we ordered room service. This was my first time having room service, I was ridiculously excited (small minds!) and we ordered a classy selection of 

pizza, chips and milkshakes!

Room Service

With a very full belly and snuggled in my white fluffy hotel dressing gown we hit the sack.

On our first full day in Brisbane we decided to reacquaint ourselves with our favourite city. We had a wander through the city centre, over the river into the South Bank. After a couple of ours we headed back to the hotel with jet lag setting in and Mike (we later found) had a mild case of food poisoning.

After a nap, Mike’s phone lit up with a message “Pig and Whistle? Now-ish?”. How better to ease us back into the Brizzy life than dinner at an English pub – irony!

Our message was from Peter and Renee, who you may also remember for previous visits to Australia here and here. It had been two years since we’d visited so we had a lot to catch up on! We’d finished by 8pm and it was still 22 degrees – I could just feel my limbs thawing out already!

Finally by day two we were starting to move into the appropriate time zone! After a lovely complimentary breakfast at the Hilton, and another walk around town, we headed to Brisbanes’ Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) after hearing about a fascinating exhibition called Falling Back to Earth by Cai Guo-Qiang.

You all know by now, I’m no expert in art. But I really do not know how to explain Mr Guo-Qiang’s work other than with the word Epic! There was Heritage; made up of 99 animal replicas all drinking from the same lake. Then there were 99 wolf replicas all running/flying towards a glass screen called Head On. The symbolism of 99 suggests that the sequence is not complete leaving room for expectation and questions but you’re better off looking at my photos that taking my word for it!

Heritage

Head On

Head On

By late afternoon we were staving and decided on a “dinner” of pancakes at Brisbanes 24hr Pancake Manor! For the first time in about a decade, I left my camera AND my mobile at the hotel, so just imagine, three large pancakes, smothered in berrys, ice cream, marshmallows, chocolate sauce and cream all melting on top... diet? What diet?

L x

Third Time and Very Lucky

Hi,
Please excuse the lack of posts lately, I'm having a mini relapse (I think my body loved the warmth in Australia and the UK is bloody cold at the moment) so my limbs are all twisted and I'm on my full meds again! Plus there have been a few....erm... dramas? I don't know if that's the word, but there has been a lot going on and I've felt a tad overwhelmed!

Anyway... Australia

Yes, I am a jammy so and so! I went to Australia for the third time in 3 years. Please don't hate me! Mike had training with work... I say this limply because his course is 3 days long...we were there for 14!

Anyway, as always, I love to write about my travels, so here it goes....again!

The Journey

Picture the scene; It's Monday April 7th. After some mundane food shopping, I settled on the sofa to catch up on some TV. Mike is in our study, most likely doing Genealogy research - it's his guilty pleasure! He walks in to the living room and the conversation goes like this;

Mike: So, do you want to come to Australia then? (It had been discussed for weeks but I didn't see it happening)
Lynsey: Always, when?
M: Saturday
L: Which Saturday?
M: This Saturday.
L: *Looks confused*....as in 5 days time?
M: Yeah
L: It's a bit cheeky though.
M: Why? I have air miles and 6 free days in the Hilton Hotel there.
L: Shall I check the diary?
M: Really?
L: Hell no!!

So cue frantic car/flight/insurance booking, summer clothing shopping and major hair removal!

So, 4 days later we took an airport car to The Holiday Inn by Heathrow Airport. It's the same hotel we used for New York, clean, friendly staff and a huge disabled friendly room. You can find my review here (notice the comments below from their General Manager :)

With a 4:30am alarm set, I was asleep by 9:30pm!

The alarm went off, I was instantly angry, only made better when I realised what was happening! I positively leaped from the bed *may be a slight exaggeration, and physically impossible for me!* and into the huge shower. I chucked on comfy clothes, ignored my make up case but still had to straighten my hair much to Mike's confusion.  Girls, am I alone in this?

We arrived at the airport and within 20minutes I was asleep sat up in my wheelchair, so much for leaping eh?

As Mike travels so much for work, we get to use the Singapore Airlines lounge! This is still a complete novelty to me. Free magazines, booze, food and wifi - my simple mind was joyful! Unlike the first time Mike took me into a lounge, where I was too scared I would be chucked out or charged £20 for a single drink (this is London!) this time I had breakfast, several coffee's and nabbed copies of Marie Clare and Hello!

Singapore Airlines were as brilliant as ever. We had rung up to inform them of my special needs and informed them I was bringing the wheelchair on my travels. Throughout the checking in, boarding and both flights they were thoughtful, they didn't make me feel like a nuisance, they kept me informed of their plans too.

Singapore Airlines - Hotels in the sky!

Singapore Airlines are now my favourite airline, so far no other has come close.  They're service in economy feels like first class with menu's, cocktails, personal screens with 100's of films, TV shows and plenty of music to keep you amused for the 21hrs of flight time!

Our midway point was at Singapore, where we headed straight for the lounge again to keep loved ones informed and annoy our Facebook friends with hideously annoying holiday status'! 

The only bad bit of the whole trip was the aisle seats they use to get disabled/elderly people to their seats on the plane. I'm not thin, but I'm only a UK size 14 yet these chairs gave me almighty bruises on my thighs and bottom, sadly this can't be rectified as airplane aisles are all small and compact but be prepared if you're any bigger than a size 14! The first time I went to Australia a just about fit....last time we came I had inches either side, this time I just about fit...wonder whether I'll fit on the way back?? eek!

L x

Be:Fit Review

I’ve been a bit of a coward! I wrote the preview to the Be:Fit show here. As you could tell, I was very excited and full of praise. Sadly, this was all very unnecessary.

Since I went to Be:Fit, I didn’t want to be mean a write a bad review, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I must be honest with my readers, even when my opinion isn’t good, how else are you guys meant to trust me?

BeFit

On March 28^th my Mother in Law Andrea, came to pick me up from Southend to go to Sussex, so that we could leave for Be:Fit bright and early on Saturday. Saturday was also my Mike’s home coming date (he’d been in California for work for two months). I was very excited for the weekend ahead!

By 7am Saturday morning, Andrea and I were on our way to my Sister in Law Emma’s house in Henfield. We had a few minutes to play with my nieces; Bethany and Abigail, before my Brother in Law Andrew was on Daddy Duty taking the girls to Ballet class.

We were meeting three of Emma’s close friends; Prue, Laura and Becky and we all headed to Horsham Train station, none of us were daft enough to even contemplating driving through London on a Saturday!

Laura had hired cars to take us to lunch (posh eh?!) at Wagamama’s (not so posh!) we had a glass of wine, some great fresh food and a big catch up, as we only see each other for the kids Birthdays. All of us, apart from me, were Mummy’s so they were relishing in faster eating/walking speeds and the joys of pressing the buttons at traffic lights and in lifts!!

When we got to Old Billingsgate, there were lots of people sat outside, we saw the hussle and bussle as a good sign of things to come.

Oh how disappointed we all were. For the last 4 years Be:Fit was called the Vitality Show and as you’ll have read in my preview, they were great, fun day’s out with lots to do and see and it was held in Earls Court.

Old Billingsgate, although an iconic and exquisite building, is half the size of Earls Court and as we walked in we saw a lot of SOLD OUT signs, not a great start. The stalls were tightly packed together and there was not enough room between them for people to comfortably move past each other. I spend the entire time saying “excuse me please”, “Sorry can I just get passed”, “Hello, Hello, HELLO!!” this was incredibly tiring and frustrating.

The stalls that were not already sold out, were very low on stock and because it was so crowded we didn’t feel we could stop and fully check out what was on show.

We did find a few lovely companies; Yurbud earphones, these are made with exercise in mind, Yurbud come in lots of colours and sizes for a perfect fit.

Little Miracles Tea's were giving out free bottles of their drinks, they've converted my views on Green Tea. For years, everyone has said how green tea helps with dieting, cleansing the body and lighting up the mind. What people never tell you is that green tea is vile! Little Miracles green tea with ginseng, pomegranate, acai and agave are refreshing and delicious!

Last year at the Vitality show I had a facial by the Neal Yard Team, since then I've been an avid fan and they had a stall a Be:Fit. I spent 10 minutes trying on all their gorgeous lotions and creams, they never disappoint but there were no facials available this year - boo!!

Half way through Be:Fit a lady practically jumped out at us holding clear and orange tubs of what looked like frog spawn and it included a spoon?!? We added the pots to our bag with Mike announcing that he would not be trying it at all.

We all know I'm a greedy bugger, up for anything, a real foodie who is always on a diet but I tried the frog spawn and it was so tasty! The company was called The Chia Company and Chia seeds are a flowering plant which is part of the mint family. The pots we were given were chia seeds, coconut milk and banana - simple but very yummy despite it's appearance, would highly recommend these as breakfast pots or dessert instead of calorific rice pudding.

Not frog spawn, yummy chia seed and banana pudding!

After getting around the ground floor in 30 minutes, we decide that we’d have a look upstairs. 

We went to a lift, we were told they had been turned off to stop people crowding them (bad excuse, the press office knew I was coming and that I was in a wheelchair). We stood for 15 minutes waiting for them to be put on. 

We eventually got upstairs, not via the customer lift but the dirty, foul smelling service lift, which we couldn’t even get in until they’d cleared half a dozen black sacks in the doorway.

Upstairs was as dire as the lower floor, too packed, empty stools and very uninspiring.

After 50 minutes we gave up. Deflated, disappointed and annoyed we decided to leave. The only two highlights of the show were when Athlete Denise Lewis walked passed and said Hello and when half way through, my boy Mike arrived with a huge beard, looking very jetlagged and completely out of his depth at a women's exhibition!

Andrea, Emma, Prue, Laura and Becky made my day; laughing, joking and gossiping, especially as I was suffering and in a lot of pain, but sadly, my party and I were not impressed at all by Be:Fit, I will remain on their mailing list for next year, but whether I go next year or not is debatable, it's such a shame they had a great show and have ruined it.

L x

P.S My next blog will be from Australia! Mike has a work commitment there and we had just enough time and money to go to Oz a few days earlier to catch up with family and friends. It's very last minute, we booked it 4 days ago, we leave in 2 days - I cannot wait!