Junket in Noumea 24 September 2017

As a teacher I rarely, infrequently never go to conferences of this calibre. However for 5 days I get to accompany my husband Lance on a conference in sunny and luxurious Noumea. 

We are fortunate to be attending with two other other couples, Garry and Sherron, and Marius and Magda. But hey, already I am friends with many other Master Electrician officianados.

Arriving in Noumea we were whisked onto a bus, with a bottle of cold water and told about the country's history and customs on the 50 minutes drive to Le Meridian Hotel. When we have travelled to other tropical islands we have been greeted with a glass of watery juice, at Le Meridian it tasted like fresh juice (there were even lumpy bits) and decorated like a special cocktail.
Check in was seamless and our room is quite luxurious and spacious. We have a peep of the azure blue sea, but mainly look out onto the garden.

Alas we have had the maintanence crew in twice though.  Once to replace a broken safe and then again because one of the sliding glass doors had no lock on it, in fact no handle at all.  I found this out after popping onto the balcony to rest on the day bed in the shade. Aahhhhhh.
My first cocktail of the trip was my obligatory piña colada, one of my favourites. It was rich and creamy, in fact maybe even a little too rich and creamy, but I'm not complaining. We had a quick drink and then wandered over to the beachside restaurant. It seems that everything here is quite pricy; over thirty four dollars for a burger and chips. So I had the tuna tartar and chips for the same price and a local beer.

With a need to walk off the consumption Garry, Sherron and I wandered down the beach and into the local shopping area.  This looked good and we may get back down there for a meal and definitely for a little shopping, although once again, things look expensive.
The conference was officially opened at 5:30 with beach side drinks and some roast pork and salad (is there such a thing as too much crackle). There was a cool breeze and I was a bit chilly, but managed to chat to a few people before we headed into the bar (and warmth) for a couple of mojitos before bed.
I am thinking that there will be a regime of diet and exercise when we get home.