When they arrive they will be pretty emotional and tired, so try not to put too much pressure on them. Their time-keeping might not be what it was, so it is best to probably take them out for a meal rather than plan some extravagant feast at home. As they will be overjoyed just at having arrived, it can be any old cheap foreign muck. Just try and get a corner table as they are likely to smell a bit and some of your friends might be in the restaurant at the same time.
The next day break it to them. They will have slept and should be able to take the comments about personal hygiene. Just make sure that the washing line or airing cupboard is clear as there might be a lot of washing to do. Taking them out for a coffee is a good place to break the news. Don't ask too much of them the first day, perhaps a trip round the local hobby shops. Show a bit of interest in their hobbies, hinting that if you had the money you might want to partake too. Try and choose a hobby shop with a fab cafe as that way they will also buy you lunch. As you went out the evening they arrived it's OK to eat in the following day and let them go to bed early, but let them buy the wine.
Really need to start working on them now and a photo trip round the City is a must. Give them a good breakfast and they can last the day until they take you out to a decent restaurant at night. You can start introducing some of your friends at this stage, but keep the body pierced and all over tattoo-ed at bay for the time being. It's also a good idea to start introducing them to your local area. That way they can do the shopping, but also realise what an absolutely wonderful place it is that you live in.
Living by the sea you have to take them on the sublime coastal walk from where you live to the next set of beaches. Make sure there are coffee and cake stops along the way and start making a routine out of this. They really enjoy the picnic lunches, especially looking over the surf from the cliffs so you can do that again. They might need to do some personal shopping, as they will be underprepared for all the different types of weather they are likely to encounter when they continue their travels. Having gone for sunrise the day before, go for sunset over the City now before introducing them to a wonderful fish restaurant. Don't argue too much if they want to pay.
They will still be up for the outdoors, so you can take them a bit further and test their health with some steep ascents. It's important you find out how close any inheritance might be and remember that the longer they keep traveling around, the more of it they are spending. As they are getting used to the place now, let them start picking up on some of the domestic chores and cooking.
They will be getting a bit tired now, so you are going to have to slow down a bit. A few sights in the City is a good counterpoint to the previous days walks. Make sure that there are appropriate coffee, cake and lunch spots, preferably with good views. An evening drink is appropriate after having had an easy day, but let them take you out at night as long as they can get to bed relatively early.
Give them a lie in the following morning and take them out to a good breakfast cafe. Prepare them for your blockbuster event and get them preparing some food for it. Also get them to tidy up on their personal grooming, as they can look a bit bedraggled occasionally. It always helps to have friends who know how to skipper large motor yachts that can get their hands on one and take them on an evening tour of the harbour, where you can also eat the food they have prepared. A good opportunity to introduce other friends. Dropping them off the boat in front of lots of opera-goers leaving the Opera will also gain lots of brownie points.
They are almost gone, so a wind down on the last day with some more local sightseeing. If you can line it up right, tie the visit in with one of their birthdays or anniversaries. That way they can celebrate it in an expensive restaurant and invite you a long too.
Sydney has been brilliant. We stayed with Xavier in Bondi Beach and we were incredibly lucky to be able to do so. We are not sure why Bondi is so famous, but it really is a fabulous place and not at all as we thought it would be. It's not the big commercial resort we had imagined, but a wonderfully eclectic little village. We are very chuffed indeed that Xavier has decided to live here; so many cool places to discover that the tourists like us would not have otherwise found.
We would have liked to stay longer but that would have been imposing too much on Xavier. Anyway the trip is calling. The bike is also waiting in Los Angeles, albeit without its top box, which developed some structural cracks whilst we were posing in Sydney. It was bobbing around like a demented kangaroo at the back of the bike whilst we were trying to be cool. It's something that we will have to try and put right in America, otherwise we will have to jettison half our luggage. Whose half?
Paul & Francoise
Bonza
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