Backcountry Taster

Everyone was content with yesterday’s skiing achievements so it was suggested to do a backcountry taster (for those who had never been on a backcountry trip) and refresher (for those who have) trip! The plan involved catching the Pleasant Valley lift then to ski off towards the black run double trouble, climb the Paralyser and finally ski down the spur ending up at the old flying fox bridge ont Farm Creek.

The group included first timers - Emily and Ian, plus rookies Tom, Al and myself plus the experts Rob and Andy. By 10.30am we were at the base of the climb and putting on our skins! After much fussing we were off, heading upwards. An hour later we arrived at the trig and to a 360 vista of the main range and surrounds in all its glory!

The trip down to the flying fox was not as enjoyable. If we headed too far right we would end up on the super steep slopes or in Farm Creek and too far left meant we’d end up in the dense snow gums emerging on the Illawong track which would result in putting skins on to negotiated the spur next to Farm Creek. It was a fine balance and we found ourselves more initially encountering the dense forest of snow gums which meant good controlled skiing (something I'm not great at) and so we detoured more right into a few section of clear and skiable snow! Getting the height into the flying fox was tricky and the final pinch was difficult (for me). The loop took about 3.5 hrs and was deemed a success. I think Ian has been converted and Emily enjoyed her first foray despite being not well.

 

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Longest Day Ever

While all the boys did the "All Lift Challenge", I skied with Cath before she left to make her way back to Canberra due to work commitments. Then before I could return to the lodge, Al and the little girls came out. I tagged along thinking I'd just do a few runs before turning back. However the few runs became skiing the whole day and being one of my longest ski days ever! The weather was variable but the snow was lovely. Meanwhile the boys caught all the lifts (minus three lifts on hold and the magic carpets) covering a little more distance than us and had fun on their day out.

Snow Time

It was a sad drive in with lots of bare bitumen and beautiful blue skies although I'm very glad to not have to fit chains and drive at 40km/hr! Unpacking the car took a few loads - especially as we were only a family of 3. Ella remained at home for the first part of the week as she had a test she couldn't miss on Monday.

Post unpacking and lunch, we made our way onto the slopes. For me it was the first ski of the season. With skis recently waxed, I felt all over the place and uncoordinated! Despite this I managed to keep upright and enjoyed the late afternoon exercise. The light over the main range was just beautiful.

Watch Out!

Ella is excited and proud to no longer need her parents to be in the car with her!! Life has become easier in someway. Andy has seemed to have lost his car key and more time is now spent on negotiating who is using the car and when!

Around the Home

 Little things are constantly happening...

Ella participated in the ACT School Cross Country 6km at Stromlo. Sadly Katy couldn't compete due to injury.

Bekele and Bolt came to stay for 3 weeks while their family was exploring Japan. Indi was exhausted by the end!

Saturday morning O has returned and Katy is back enjoying getting back into it. Ryan has been dragged along too!

Great to have nice coffee again and spend time in the garden!

Katy scored a comfy lounge chair for her room as a result of the grandparents moving into their new abode and downsizing.

And there were a couple of day trips to the snowfields during the school holidays.

The Loooong Trip Home

Arrival at the airport was smooth and we were there well before the check in counters opened! Going through security and immigration was interesting with long lines that were quick to dissipate! Managing to spend the last of our euros we settled into our boarding gate waiting for our departure. And we waited, and waited....then announcement of a delay of our flight...waited more...and then meal vouchers were issued but only to a handful before the dreaded announcement - due to technical / mechanical issues with the plane the flight has been cancelled!! I should point out that this occurred at midnight! Oh well these things happen and I do want to be on a plane that is working.

More announcements instructed us to make our way to the baggage carousel, pick up our bags then find the Emirates staff. We obliged then found ourselves standing by the baggage carousel for over an hour before our luggage arrived. It was the most frustrating situation where by the bags came up a central conveyor belt and paused waiting for a space to drop into on the looped conveyor belt. The problem was that the conveyor belt was full with bags (they weren't being taken off quick enough) so no new bags could drop on!!

Eventually ours arrived and we found the Emirates staff who informed us to meet next to the cafe downstairs. Obviously behind the scenes, the Emirates staff were trying to find accomodation for 300+ passengers in the wee hours of the morning. Not an easy task. First Class and Business were sorted quickly, then it was the families followed by the elderly. Next people with medical issues, couples and finally us the singles!

We boarded a coach just before 4am and arrived at our new accomodation at 4.30am which was located at Estoril nearly 40km west of Lisbon! Check in took a bit of time too and we were glad to climb into bed for some sleep! What a drama!

Waking at 8am, we met for breakfast to find out that we had a midday check out; lunch at the restaurant was provided and a taxi would pick us up at 3pm for the return trip to the airport. Post breakfast to keep ourselves awake, we went exploring on foot. Turns out the hotel we were staying in was adjacent to the Casino Estoril one of the biggest casinos in Europe and also the inspiration for the James Bond 007 novel Casino Royale!

We wandered more and soon found ourselves on the coastal promenade that connects Estoril to Cascais. The grey skies were attempting to rain but it mostly held off. There were lots of people out walking dogs, running and riding. After a bit we looped back past the Forte da Cruz, a 17th century castle that was built to provide security to the wealth while enjoying their beach vacation and is now a popular wedding venue.

Back at the hotel, we packed our belonging before enjoying a relaxing big lunch. With a bit of time left before the taxi arrived, we lounged around in the hotel foyer, struggling to keep awake! The taxis arrived and we were keen to get going again. The drive to the airport was interesting as one of the other delayed travellers joined us. It turned out that she was a songorapher from Melbourne who had attended the same conference!

Inside the airport, we trudged to the all too familiar check in desk and were greeted with a massive queue. With two Emirates flights departing for Dubai within an hour of each other it was chaos. So glad to finally reach the front of the line after two hours of standing and shuffling. No one seemed to be in any hurry. On check in we were given a meal voucher and told that our flight may not be ready! He also told us that he couldn't check us in for the Melbourne - Canberra leg as we'd missed the connection. A bit concerning really.

The plane did leave on time and the flight was uneventful. In Dubai with several hours to wait, we were keen to sort out the Melbourne - Canberra leg but couldn't find an Emirates service desk so we gave up. Again the flight to Melbourne was fine. I slept as much as possible in an attempt to get back into the Canberra time zone.

As we disembarked from the plane in Melbourne, the air stewardess was holding a Canberra sign. We had 40 mins to get the Canberra flight so along with 11 others we were quickly ushered through the throngs of people at immigration and customs and were instructed that we didn't have time to collect our baggage. Of course when we checked in at the departure gate to obtain a boarding pass, we were told we weren't on the flight! The good news was there were spare seats! The bad news was the flight was delayed for 15 mins and then worse news it was cancelled due to a cracked windscreen. 

Gosh we were desperate to get home but resigned ourselves to having no control of the situation. Thankfully it was a short  delay as a bigger replacement plane was acquired and we were soon up in the sky for the last time. Landing in Canberra, we headed straight to the lost baggage desk and filed a missing baggage report. The staff member informed us our luggage should be with us in the morning!

Of course it wasn't that simple! Three days later with no luggage in sight, the link to my missing luggage still was in 'luggage waiting to be found mode'! Contacting the airline, they informed me that it could take up to 21 days! In my mind, my backpack only had the sticker to Melbourne (not Canberra) and therefore was in the Melbourne International Airport waiting to be reunited. I also found it frustrating that it had a personal bag tag on the outside with my name and phone number....

A week later I called Emirates but they palmed my situation back to Qantas! Again I called Qantas in which I explained (once again) the dramas of the flight home (delayed flight, no boarding pass to Canberra) and finally my request to locating my luggage was escalated. By that afternoon I received a call back informing me they had found a backpack matching my description however it had another persons bag label on it! Turns out the dude who checked us in at Lisbon airport had switched the bag labels on my friends and my luggage!!

I was glad to be finally reunited with my bag a week after arriving home. My fiend's bag took another week to find her!

Last Day in Lisbon

It was a relatively slow morning beginning with a walk / run north along the Tagus River. Breakfast and packing up were next on our agenda for a mid morning check out. We had one more day of exploring left before heading to the airport later in the afternoon to catch our 9pm flight.

Leaving our luggage in a the conveniently almost next-door baggage locker, we started with the last minute shopping to complete before we went walking! With the remnants of our food and picking up a few items on the way for a picnic lunch, we traversed Lisbon before climbing up to the most famous viewpoint, Miradouro da Graça. This balcony provides panoramic views north over the historic city centre, to Såo Jorge Castle, out to the Tagus river and the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge. Behind this balcony is the Igreja da Graça and the Graça Convent which both are prominent buildings when looking south across the city as we had often done.

Continuing west through Graça, we again climbed to the highest central point of Lisbon, the Miradouro de Senhora do Monte.  Miradouro da Graça might be the most famous but Miradouro de Senhora do Monte is the most popular with waves of tourists arriving and departing by tuk tuk! Securing a bench, we enjoyed our picnic lunch here while tourist watching. We picked up many pointers as how to pose for the perfect photo. Our favourite was the casual no smiling looking into the distance pose...we are yet to master this!

 

With lots of time still to kill, we decided to pay a visit to Såo Jorge Castle. Another viewpoint - Miradouro do Castelo de Såo Jorge where we stood and admired the views again! We wandered around the castle ruined walls for the next hour dodging the sprinkles of rain.

 

By now we had well and truly exhausted all the things to do and see in Lisbon! Traipsing back across Lisbon for the last time to retrieve our luggage was straightforward as we'd grown accustomed to the layout of the city so no map required. It was then a short metro ride out to the airport.