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It's seldom that a Michael Bolton gig is responsible for anything other than misery, but, for what's got to be the first time in history, good came from one of them as his show at the St Kilda Palais led to us getting invited down to Melbourne by our mate Rowena. Quite why a mostly sane 26 year old girl loves him is beyond me, but she does and God bless her for it, because it resulted in one hell of a holiday at exactly the time we needed one. Had a few dramas after her place was torn apart by a plumber looking for a leak (only 4 swimming pools worth), a few days before we left, but we managed to get a late hotel, so all was pretty peachy in the end. We tried one of those mystery deal things, and it paid off - got a place on the St Kilda road not a million miles out of town and pretty near her apartment. Great to see Rowena again and to meet her boyfriend, Dan, who drove us around most of the state even though it was supposed to be a break for him too. And they laid
food and wine on for us as soon as we hit the hotel.
Friday we spent south of Melbourne, first off at Queenscliff, the sort of place the old dears would love - nice and quiet with water and boats and a chippie which cooked as you waited. The girls rooted out a chocolate shop or two and the road back had a vineyard just off it, so everyone went home happy and with a bit of a sugar rush. A wrong turn in Geelong did mean we missed out on mini golf though.
After that we headed towards the Great Ocean Road, rocking up in Torquay just as the sun went down. Don't tell anyone, but I rested my eyes on the way home. It did mean I was a little perkier by the time we got back to Melbourne for a great Thai meal at a place just outside the airbase Rowena was stationed at for a while. It was heaving and they only let us in after we promised to be finished by 7pm. Had a fantastic curry and then went onto the base for the Friday night movie they were showing. Clash Of The
Titans, which, in a mindless sort of a way, wasn't as terrible as people had said.
Weird going onto an airbase again. Felt just like Coltishall used to. Pretty grotty in the officers mess, so don't join the Aussie air force if you like luxury. Must have come as a shock to Dan who's over on an exchange program from the US navy. Interesting to have a nose around and see just what things are like. Hopefully Rowena's place will be sorted out so she doesn't have to go back there. Be a bit of a come down after having lived just behind Vic Barracks right in the centre of town.
Started Saturday with a Big Breakfast in a cafe in South Melbourne before heading off for a day of wine tasting in the Yarra Valley. Rowena had been up there helping out after the bush fires and had some terrible stories of what went on. I hadn't realised just how close to Melbourne it all happened. For some reason I thought it occurred much further inland. It's such a beautiful spot it's hard to imagine anything so devastating sweeping through. Just got to hope it's something I
Fancied a pie.
Wasn't bad for the record. never have to deal with.
Driving around from one vineyard to the next, via the odd chocolate shop, is about as good a way to spend a Saturday as possible, even if you do end up eating in a restaurant where the chef seem to have lost his senses and made most of the foods solely out of salt. Got back about 6ish, which gave us enough time to drink as much of a bottle of whisky as you can in half an hour before heading off in our different directions: the girls to the one we won't mention again, the lads to the MCG for Essendon V Richmond.
Met up with our mate Dave at Flinders Street a tad late after a balls up with the trams, but got to the ground bang on time for the first bounce. 64,000 plus were there - the sort of crowd Sydney teams just can't get. What a place. It holds about 110,000 but you feel right on top of the action. I'd gone down to the SCG the Sunday before to watch the Tigers get thrashed by the Bunnies and the view there was nothing like as good even
though the place is less than half the size. And it was $21 to get in!!! Would cost double that to watch City and we all know how much fun that is. Brilliant night: pies and beer and I think cider towards then end. The Bombers ran away with it like everyone thought they would, but it was a high scoring game, so there was plenty going on. Can't wait to go back to be honest. Cricket next time.
Sunday was all about wondering around the city. Had a good meal in Fed Square, then went on for chocolate fondue before having to head for the airport and back to more track works in Sydney. Hopefully we'll get back again soon, because it really is one of those places you just want to keep visiting. It made the Monday morning trek into work pretty bloody miserable though.
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Kylie
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Very cool!
Awesome entry Stu, wish I could have been there that weekend! Glad you guys had such a great weekend. Hope to see you down here in the lovely city of Melbourne soon :-)