The Ides of July

Hello Strangers!!  How are you all?

We have just come back from a long weekend "holiday" in the BIG SMOKE.

I SHOULD have got in contact with about a dozen friends to try to catch up, but the visit hinged on a specialist appointment, school holidays, catching up with an elusive aunt and  seeing family - all else was to be tucked in around the sides.

When elusive aunt finally advised what plan would work best in HER MIND, logistics to fill those sides with others fell away unfortunately.

So if I missed out on seeing you (everybody else) - sorry!

The first day involved driving (driving driving) and seeing the one friend who I could "drop in at a moments notice" on - mainly because she lives near the highway I was travelling on, and also because she wasn't on one of her her usual far-flung adventures to all corners of this land for work due to a cracked rib.

Sunday I (half) attempted to entice Paris to see sights or do anything outside of the unit in the morning.  Turns out holiday Paris is very similar to everyday Paris, who require a lot of downtime to every endeavour out of the front door.  I can relate.  That, and I knew that the upcoming endeavours would be people-y enough.

At lunch, we went to my "out-law" family - 'Salina's father's family, who have been part of my extended family for nearly a quarter of a century.  His sister (who was the only girl of 5) has been my honorary sister for a long time now, and we both had two "only" children, so Paris is the closest cousin to her younger daughter and they do love their time together - every time that they are together they are always happy - one chattering away vociferously and the other not.

A groaning table of barbecue meats, vegetables and delicious salad was laid for us and a few other guests. And then there was cake.

Then we went to meet with my Aunt.  The original plan had this on our Monday and would have had trains in the itinerary, but she deemed that it would be too much train for us to come to her, so she came and met with us in the City.

Aunt was a public figure in her day - a short, blonde dynamo of a politician.  When looking out for her at the station, I saw someone who was the spit of my grandmother in the distance - the dynamo is now in her 80s but isn't letting that slow her down too much.

We spent several hours together - she recounted a few stories and Paris paid occasional attention.  She hadn't had the years of training that I got at Grandma's table!  (I must admit, I did allow her unfettered phone time for most of this encounter)

Grandma and her siblings were brought up by spinster aunts, and I remember when children her and her sister and my mother and her sister (this aunt) all regaling tales around the table, nary a breath taken lest another get a word in edgeways - and my Aunt  oft had the word count at the end of the day.

I am still unlearning interjection that was a requirement to be heard on that side of my family!  My sister and I together, however, can colour the air quite well with sound when we are together.

Monday we had three jobs - to fix something at my bank, to move rooms and to collect V from the plane.

Now, the City is a place constantly being rebuilt, and I am VERY thankful for the words of the Google Maps navigator as we found the shopping centre closest that had a real person bank for me to work with, because this is no longer the City that I went to University in, nor the one that I lived in years later when 'Salina was a child. 

It is a conveyor belt of cars and trucks all cloistered by hoardings, roadworks and cranes funneling all into spirals and one ways and split roads before spitting the unwitting out at megalithic shopping centres - we were definitely not in Kansas (or rather, Paradise) any more.

When we got back from our first job and had completed our second (to a penthouse corner, baby - check the views!!), I did again offer tourist options to fill the few hours before our venture to the airport to collect V, but again Paris was adament that staying in was the preferred method of time fill.

The airport, we found, is much like the roads of this town, with indistinct signs and deviations - but also friendly people willing to wave us in the right general direction.

There was only one glitch on the way back, and that was because I relied on a historical memory of the way home and ended up on the WRONG SIDE of the river, but we finally got to an eating establishment everyone was okay with (and yes, we could have got EXACTLY the same thing in Paradise, but I was over trying to push new experiences by this point) and back to the unit before we all turned into werewolves, so a win?

The final day, we had to be out of the holiday unit by 10 but not at the specialist appointment until 1.30.

Packed up as efficiently as possible. V did have the excuses of toothache, lack of sleep (did I hear how noisy it was down here?), backache and anticipated stress of the appointment, but he was entering preternaturally grumpy territory when I added to his grumps by not opening boot enough when the first load went down to the car and therefore his expletive deleted head whacked into the expletive deleted expletive deleted expletive deleted boot.

Second (& final) load and he was chafing to go while Paris was oblivious to (or perhaps enjoying) the power that comes from putting the shoes on (without socks because she only packed one pair - and then SHE eyerolled US) v.e.r.y. s.l.o.w.l.y. so I gave him the keys to take stuff and said that I would meet him in the carpark.

I did notice that he has left his phone and charger (which he hadn't switched on) and so got them and put snacks (& medications and the last of the bits and bobs) in a bag and went down to the car.

No V. And no V with car keys. I stacked the snack bag, phone and charger AND my coffees (because I have a habit) beside the car and was starting to formulate search plans (there were very few options) before I heard him (well before I saw him) WALKING down the carpark ramps swearing furiously.

Apparently two staff told him that he couldn't take the lift down to the carpark and I can only guess as to what possible conversation could have led to that outcome - but anyway we had the keys to unlock the car and apparently invective laden incentive to leave this expletive deleted place. Packed phone and coffees and remaining suitcases and took car up to check out.

The Receptionist agreed that the tale of two staff advice on car park trek indeed strange and previously unheard of behaviour by staff, but she would investigate.

We then set our (or Google Maps) sights on finding another of the elusive peopled bank branches to fix an issue with my other bank, so we set to traipse around more traffic laden northern suburbs of Brisbane to GM's dulcet tones.

On our trek through  this shopping centre, the phone rang.  The specialist's rooms wanted to know if Vs appointment can move to tomorrow. I told her that this was impossible, as we had travelled over 350km for the appointment.  She was fine with that. It was, however, an additional layer of grump for poor V.

Next option (after a lovely Tamika solved our other issues and we found socks for the teenager) was finding V sunshine, but although we found several potential options, the first had no parking and the second no soul so finding fuel was the next alternative.

With luck the service station found had not one but TWO op shops in the little attached shopping strip - and bonus points sunshine in the carpark. That used up a little time.

Then Google maps took us some crazy ways to find others until we decided finding food options before the appointment should be the priority - which was in itself a comedy of errors. Apparently Google maps doesn't know when car park entries are on the wrong side of the road or indeed on a side road and can get quite snide when you can't follow simple instruction.

We would have been at the hospital in good time - if many other people were not already at the hospital at the same good time, forcing gridlock. I ejected V from the car to go see the specialist while I was still in the car park queue, as the car park policy when full is only to let 1 in as another went out.  

By the time I joined V he was being given a good report on his 8yo knees and told they should be good for at least another 7 - it was actually a really good appointment.

We are now home after about 5 hours of driving.

The snack bag is still where I left it beside the car in Brisbane.