Down Under

By Andrea McVeigh

Well, I did it, I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Not by myself, of course, and not without a fully-trained BridgeClimb leader, in the shape of the highly personable Bernie. But I did it. I made it to the top, 134 metres above Sydney harbour, with only a few wobbles along the way (the lower bits are actually the worst, I found. Once you get onto the bridge itself, it’s so secure, so wide and the arch is so gradual, it’s not at all scary). Just to be totally corny about it, I have to say it was the ‘high point’, in more ways than one, of my trip to Australia.
 
From our fabulous room in the Shangri-La hotel, in Sydney’s historic Rocks district, I could look out and see the bridge every day (our fabulous view also included the Sydney Opera House, for good measure, so I’d thoroughly recommend the hotel if you ever make it to Sydney). It was a few days after we arrived before I got to climb the bridge, so the anticipation made it even more worthwhile.
 
BridgeClimb, Sydney, has been running for ten years and so far, more than 2 million have done the climb. And it got me thinking - why can’t we do something like that in Northern Ireland? We’ve got the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which is an amazing - and truly terrifying for some - tourist attraction. But how about climbs or official tourist trips up Samson and Goliath, the shipyard cranes in Belfast? Just a thought - but you never know, in 10 or 20 years time it could be the hottest tourist attraction around!
 
My Australian holiday is almost over, which is a shame, as I’ll miss the easy-going lifestyle, the beaches, the super-friendly people and the weather. We arrived in Sydney to temperatures of 20C a couple of weeks ago, only to be told by some of the locals that they considered this cold! It’s currently their Autumn, but to us, after barely surviving the Belfast winter, it felt like a heatwave!
 
On the way back we stopped off in Singapore’s island resort of Sentosa (again staying in a Shangri-La hotel and again highly recommended) where I enjoyed the most unusual spa treatment I’ve ever had. It was at the Fish Reflexology spa, next door to the hotel, where hundreds of tiny Turkish fish nibble the dead skin off your feet. Once I stopped shrieking and laughing (it tickled a lot!), it turned out to be the best spa experience I’ve ever had.
 
Still, my return to Belfast is well timed, as I’ll make it home in time for the launch of the hotly-anticipated Sex And The City movie. My thoughtful hubby bought me the DVD box set of the TV series for Christmas, so I’ve been re-watching the entire show and reacquainting myself with Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte, and their assorted men friends.
 
The film is set to be the movie highlight of the year - if not the decade - for a generation of women who saw in their Twenties and Thirties in the company of the four New York sassy lassies. From Manolos to Cosmopolitan cocktails, the TV show has shaped popular culture - for women at least. I can’t see too many boyfriends and husbands pouring into the cinema to see it - unless they’re there under duress!
 
And on the subject of Manolos, Northern Ireland has its own shoe designer to the stars, Anita Flavin. I’ll be going to her Minette shoe party next week, which is being held the night before the SATC preview - talk about perfect timing! - at the FASHIONWEEK offices in Belfast. All the fashionistas will be out in force to celebrate the work of this fabulous designer. Who needs New York when you’ve got events like this in Belfast! Move over Carrie!