The Chaps Visit

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The Good Guys pay a visit

Georgia and Byron couldn’t believe their good luck when William, James and Timmy came to stay for a few days. Only Harrison was missing, but we had had the pleasure of his company a few days earlier, when he came for the big footy match. This time, Melbourne turned on some good weather for the happy occasion.

For G & B, just the company of their cousins was great, but even better, there were some adventures in store. One day, we all ventured down through the city to the Melbourne Aquarium. It is such a fun place. The first thing you see is the penguin exhibit, with those delightfully formally dressed birds strutting around snow, and diving for fish in the water. Too much fun. Then there’s the wonderful array of weird fish and other sea creatures that you’d think were actually the creation of Walt Disney. Perhaps the favourite of all, especially for Byron, was the main tanks with the sharks and the sting rays. Sharks just don’t look friendly.

In the evening we raided the local pizza shop. It is a cool place with great pizza. It is also a bar as well, but we thought we’d wait another 15 years or so before ordering pre-dinner cocktails. Simone is the pizza guru and knew what everyone liked. There was no spinach to be seen. Sometimes Byron’s mouth looks like the entrance to a magical cave that’s surrounded by pizza toppings. Yum!

No visit is complete without a boot-camp workout, and William, James and Timmy showed they’re made of pretty tough stuff. All three are good at football. We made some handy trees the goals and suddenly everyone thought they were Jack Riewoldt. Goals came thick and fast, even from a decent angle. And there were plenty of big grabs. The boys realised that an important skill for Aussie rules football is boxing. Each of them showed they were a better looking version of a young Mike Tyson. I was lucky to get out of the way of a few of their big rights and lefts.

As every sportsperson knows, vigorous training should be followed by a luxurious spa and swim, so we went to the pool. It soon became apparent that some of them thought there should be room service to provide drinks in the spa. Perhaps next time!

Back at Trouble Headquarters, G & B loved lounging around with the chaps, either watching TV or reading. It was too much fun, and the time went too quickly. The good thing is that we’re all in Melbourne now, and can have many more weekends of adventures like that.

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Photos

Byron wants an Aussie