At home with the Chapman's...

Thanks to the great hospitality of Kath and her family we were able to spend some time on the Central Coast just north of Sydney. Kath's parents’ house is up in the tress and has the most stunning views across the water. From the moment we arrived we were treated warmly and after spending a couple of weeks in a Sydney hostel this was like a home from home! We even had little chocolates on our pillow when we arrived...5 star paradise! Tony and Liz were fabulous hosts and looked after us very, very well. Kath was an excellent tour guide and knows so much about the area in which she lives it is very impressive. When we arrived back from the tennis we were treated to a tour of Tascott and the lookout point where Kath used to come and run and paint when she was at school and also, Gosford and sat and relaxed in a bar on the water front....it was a beautiful day and the water was sparkling! Nigel got some excellent shots...very arty indeed! I think he was most impressed with the soccer stadium that over looked the water, which he will be going to in 2 weeks with Chris to see how the Aussies play the game over here! After that we headed around the coast to some of the most beautiful beaches and with the weather reaching over 40 degrees it was a beautiful day to get some pictures. There were lots of fisherman by the beach gutting the fish they had just caught and lots of sun worshippers soaking up the sun. In the evening we had a seafood baarbie which was mouth wateringly good!! I don't think I will ever eat prawns as good as the ones we had here, great job Tony! The next day we headed to the Japanese Gardens in Gosford to see the travelling art exhibition that Kath had been told about. It was a national portrait exhibition and the standard was really impressive. What was more impressive though were the gardens.... a little unexpected oasis of peace and calm...that is until the boys decided...when in a Japanese garden do as the Japanese do and.... KungFu fight! Oh, yes the pictures do not lie...unfortunately Kath missed the picture of Nigel falling flat on his back after trying to scissor kick Chris! Not quite an expert but very funny to watch.... don't worry he has since made a full recovery! After that was a look around Gosford and the shops were bargains were to be had... back to the Chapman's for ribs! and Liz's famous coleslaw which did not disappoint! Nigel chipped in with his delicious garlic bread and we had our final supper. We have also discovered an amazingly funny TV show called Kath and Kim which I now fear I am addicted to! When it was time to leave Nigel couldn't face it and "pretended" to leave his iPod so we had to come back and stay for an extra hour...I think it was just a ploy so that he could finish his virtual scrabble game with Chris!!! When we got back to our hostel in Sydney we found that the room we had checked into had a drunken guy passed out onto the bed...who actually turned out to be the barman! and he had gone to the toilet on the floor in his drunken state! ...nice...what a burst of reality! It turned out well though as we ended up with a pretty nice room on our own, free internet, free drinks, free dinner and we are staying in this room all week...all's well that ends well I guess. Lots of pictures this week so we have just posted a selection below for you to have a look at.....


























It wasn't very long despite all the photos we have taken but it has definately left us will a lasting impression. I am really glad I came because the experience has given me a different insight into Australia, away from the tourist spots and shown us how people actually live in this fantastic country. There is definately more exploring of this region to be done in our time here and we are lucky that we have some amzing friends to help guide us around. Our verdict on the central coast....it is stunning, it is beautiful, and we had a great time...our verdict on the Chapmans.....WE LOVE THEM....!!!!


Tomorrow is Australia day so we are very excited and looking forward to all that Sydney has to offer...look out for the blog in a couple of days....!