Lucy loves Australia

Babies can also be useful as entertainment when you’ve seen all the films.

Now, I realise this isn’t a topic for everyone, but it’s a question I get asked quite often (although usually more along the lines of a comment like “You took a baby all the way to Australia? Are you mad!”).

So, how do you manage a long-haul flight to Australia with a baby?

Now, I am only qualified to comment for a 4-5 month old here, as that is how old our daughter Alex was when we last went to Australia, BUT there are some tips that will apply no matter what age your baby I think (although once onto proper food, it’s going to a little bit different — not to mention messy!).

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Am thinking not so secret now that I, and quite a few other people, have read about it in the Sunday Times over the weekend!

Nonetheless, given that it can only be reached by kayak, I reckon it will still be pretty tranquil when you get there — read about Store Beach here.

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For once I am ahead of the news… well, sort of!

My recent post — Upgrading to Business Class – is it worth it? suggested that a way to compromise the expense vs. legroom conundrum was to go for a ‘Premium Economy’ seat for all or some of your journey.

And as if I had planned it — Qantas have just announced flight sales for their new Premium Economy section of their planes — and rather good it looks too.

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[UPDATE 30 March 2010: The ETA is now FREE!]

Do it online!

You can get your 3-month tourist visa (known as an ETA — Electronic Travel Authority) online with instant confirmation (if your application is all OK) for just £9 for FREE(!) direct with the Australian government — so don’t let your travel agent con you into that ‘added service’ for their ‘small admin fee’ (sometimes £20!)…

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Now, this is something that I talk myself round and round in circles about…

On the one hand to have a really comfortable journey to Australia, and arrive actually having had some sleep, and be relatively refreshed, is obviously going to start your holiday off a lot better than how we normally arrive — rather bleary eyed, and still unfolding ourselves from ‘economy hunch’!

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Melbourne Cup Day is the highlight of the racing calendar in Australia (and for a lot of people a great day off!).

Today was the Melbourne Cup.

This is the Aussie equivalent to the Grand National and Ascot and every other horse race on the calendar put together!

It’s such an important event on the sporting calendar that in the state of Victoria, Melbourne Cup day is actually a public holiday (and has been since 1877!). In fact, they don’t really just stop at the one day, and all of this week is the ‘Melbourne Cup Carnival’.

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Our little slice of Melbourne – WestBeach restaurant

“WestBeach is a simple, bright, airy room that looks as if it has been dropped in from Melbourne” AA Gill recently reported in the Sunday Times (read the review here).

As the sun was shining yet again yesterday, we decided to have lunch on the seafront, at our very own little slice of Melbourne here on the South Coast. I am guessing Mr Gill was thinking of somewhere like the Stokehouse in St.Kilda when he wrote this (although give me the Stokehouse any day!), but it’s about as antipodean as it gets round here, and a damn fine place for a spot of lunch, nonetheless www.west-beach.co.uk.

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