GrannySmith

G'Day,

See I'm not going to be left in the dust when I come to the land of Auz! I am working on my Auzzy language.

My name is Connie Smith, that's where the grand children got the name for me, Granny Smith.

My daughter has now claimed your beautiful country as her own and is a successful businesswoman in Melbourne.

Our trip begins with my husband by my side. We arrive in Melbourne on Sept 4th and are met at the airport by my daughter Maria, her husband Darren and three little ones (or unless they decide to leave the children at home with Grampa Roy until we get back there). Off we will go to Campbells Creek, the home of the Archer-Angeloni family. I understand it is about two hours north of "M", but I am sure that time will go by very fast and we will be wide awake, as it would be 7 hours later in the Pacific Northwest of the US where we live.

Then we will kick the shoes off and I will start diving into Maria's cupboards to see what food I can use to cook dinner. Oh, why would I want to do that you might ask? Well I am a gourmet cook and have a passion for the edibles!

I really look forward to gathering new tastes upon my tongue in your wonderful country. I have received recipes from Maria's mother in law Carol and find that putting pastry on the top of everything is certainly different from our naked stews and meat dishes!

I will be sewing some for my grandchildren, using Carol's machine, but this will come after my husband Carl Sindlinger and I have had one month to scout around the Southeastern states of SA, VIC and NSW.

I understand that taking the bus from Adelaide to Uluru is a very interesting 2 day trip, with stops in the former gold and opal mine cities. Has anyone got some information on this??

Also, has does anyone know how I go about getting and International driving license? We will be purchasing a caravan to use while there.

Then we are off to the Melbourne area so that Carl can get in some scuba diving and I will do some fishing. The two of us will be traveling the first month pretty much wherever Carl wants to go as I will be staying on for two more months.

After delivering him back to the airport at the end of the month, I will be off in the caravan to find adventure throughout the SE states. This will include heading for Sidney to see the beautiful opera house live and in person. There are a few restaurants that I want to sample and also do some fishing. The wineries are another stop to be made. I really enjoy the reds that are coming out of Victoria and NSW. I buy them more than US wines. (Don't tell anyone!) All of this will be done while camping in a tent. Yup, that's the way I love to travel, bugs, snakes and all.

Mostly I want to meet people. I am a very active member of Toastmasters International and it is my intention to visit many Toastmaster clubs.

On the other hand, if you and your mate enjoy cooking and want another mate to join in on a meal, let me know and I will stop in and share with you what I know. You buy the food and I cook. I cook Chinese, Japanese, German, Italian, Mexican, Jewish and, sure, American, but that's pretty much a mish-mash of world foods!

Again, my name is Connie Smith. I am 63 years young, a bundle of energy and always looking for fun and loads of laughter!!

Thank you for reading all that I have written!

I am sincerely yours, Connie