Camp # 66, Days 296 – 303, Seville/Melbourne VIC

Staying with the delightful Carol again, giving her time, joy and netball knowledge

Having not been successful in seeing any health professional during our last visit to Melbourne, we’d lined it up this time. GP, Pathology, Dietician, Peadiatric Gastroenterologist. Georgia took it all in her placid, easy going stride and doesn’t fuss much, but she was well and truely over being poked, prodded and the source of much talk and attention. 

But the good news was we we‘re doing all the right things and the advice from all the health professionals was to continue our travels, continue our management, plus a few added supports and lets review all the test results when we return from Tassie. I felt much better about things and we had a better understanding of Coeliac Disease now. 

At this point Georgia was doing much better and we were really coming to grips with the fact we just cant really eat out anymore. There are very few places that we can really be sure the food and preparation of the food is safe for her. That said old habits die hard and we keep finding ourselves looking for places to eat and don’t always get it right. I have to keep reminding myself not to be complacent, we are finally making progress and she seems to be healing.

Delicious gourmet breakfast made by Charlotte. We are so lucky the girls love great food.

It wasn’t all appointments, we visited Chadstone the fashion capital and caught up with Uncle Geoff for lunch. Ken, Geoff and the older girls went on to LEGO land while Lulu and I went for a cuppa with Aunty Corry. We had a lovely evening with Carol and Sean Michael and a catch up with Stef and Nic. Dinner in town at Georgias favorite Ceoliac safe restaurant and a impromptu Alpha Alignment and catch up with Robert. (I had done Roberts course and training in 2015/2016 and still hope to become a Alpha Alignment practitioner when I get home). And of course, school, blogging and trip planning / research is a constant of each week.

As with each week it just flew by and it was time to pack the van and ready ourselves for getting on the Spirit of Tasmania. A little nervous about the crossing but super excited. Tassie is one place I have been really looking forward to visiting and everyone says is a highlight of a lap of OZ. Pumped!

Federation Square, we’d just being doing triangles in Maths ….. cool!

Camp #65, Days 293 – 296, Port Fairy, VIC

Ken and I have fond memories of Port Fairy, visiting here with Mum and Dad Hall in 2005. Life these days always feels hectic but with all the happenings with the Tour Down Under, visitors and family catch ups it is nice for a bit of a change of pace. We need to get schooling back on track, get ourselves ready for appointments in Melbourne and planning Tassie and beyond.

The caravan park is verily empty and the kind owners popped us right next to the playground. Which for us is a total bonus. The kids can play and we can still get a few chores and jobs done around the van.

On our first full day, following breakfast, school and chores, we got the bikes down to go and explore the town. Perfect for riding bikes, the streets are quiet and wide. Port Fairy is full of character with beautifully restored historic buildings and homes.

Being coastal and the harsh southern coast line of Australia the building are solid and very much remind me of Scottish Croft’s, might be why I love them so much. Port Fairy has had a couple of name changes, Port Fairy to Belfast and back to Port Fairy. The Fairy was the first ship/boat to sail into the port and establish it as a whaling and sealing hub.

We found out delicious cafe with safe eating option, pottered and paroosed in some shops and found the library. The girls love a library and here we spent the remainder of the afternoon only leaving with the promise to return the next morning. Being a Friday it was pizza and movie night. We are still trying to find a pizza base option that works for everyone and people enjoy but the real killer is no dairy. No cheese on a pizza! It just isn’t the same, so it looks like the Friday pizza tradition is going to be no more.

Saturday morning saw to the local markets on. Us girls love a market so we left Ken at home for a bit of peace and quiet and rode the bikes into town. Small, quaint and cute. We enjoyed the markets and as promised made our way to the library. In the afternoon Ken took the kids across to Griffiths Island on the bikes and they rode around the island visiting the lighthouse along the way.

Always on the hunt for Coeliac safe eating out option I’d discovered a fish n’ chips shop in Warrnambool the next town over. As we would be driving through Warrnambool on our way back to Melbourne we couldn’t pass up the chance for Georgia to get to eat fish n’ chips and for the rest of us to have it without feeling guilty about eating it in front of her.

Thanks Port Fairy for a lovely and thanks to North Point Fish n’ Chips, Warrnambool for making on Coeliac family very happy! Melbourne here we come …….. again.

Cats of Australia # 7, BY Georgia Hall

The next cat I saw was in Paris. We we’re having a morning stroll when I saw a cat coming along. It was hanging around a restaurant, I bent down and stroked it and it came and brushed up against me and we called it Paris cat.

It was ages before we saw another cat and this time it was a kitten. It was Stef’s kitten she got it for Christmas. We went to her house for dinner I played with her the whole time, by the way she is called Mini. Dinner was delicious and we had dessert and Stef has a big toy tiger!

Till next time Georgia out. Meow! 🐈 🐈 🐈 😻