Moi Blogs - Melbourne 37°48′S 144°57′E

---

Well now possums (hey!! I’ve not seen any of those yet!!) We are now over half way through our “round the globe” jaunt, so I guess it’s time I had a go at this blogging thing!! If you saw the last picture of Joe Blogs you will understand why he is unable to write until we have obtained the necessary medical assistance.

We step off the plane and arrive in Melbourne and……..it’s raining….and it’s not very warm. Hmmm this reminds me vaguely of something……ah, yes….. home!!!! Well I didn’t expect this!!! English weather!! We take the shuttle bus to our hotel “Ah, yes, that’s the cheapest of the three Crown hotels”, announces our driver, so it is with some relief and surprise when we arrive that far from a flea pit it is a chic city hotel and we have spectacular views from the 16th floor. I could just sit and watch the world go by for hours – the Yarra river with its boats, the trams gliding up the middle of the street, trains, skyscrapers disappearing in the clouds and mist. The hotel next door is a Vegas-style casino and as evening approaches you can see stretch limos arriving filled with elegantly dressed people – and we’ve not even left the hotel yet!! It’s a people watcher’s paradise.

On our first evening, we are both pretty tired and it’s raining so we stroll along the river, have dinner and off to bed. Our first impressions are of a chic but friendly place but after a week in Port Douglas I do feel a bit like a country mouse arriving in the city.

The next day is Sunday and we’re off to a barbecue in the suburbs with the Aussie branch of the Spillane clan (a real Aussie Barbie!!) We meet up with Cousin Lizzie and daughter Eve and all hop on one of the brilliant Melbourne trams which criss-cross the city. (an adventure in itself)

When we arrive, the scent of sizzling sausages wafts on the breeze and we are greeted by Henry who is already busy with tongs in one hand and beer in the other. Cousin Veronica hugs us and introduces us to everyone, pops the cork on the first bottle of champagne and the fun begins. We have a lovely afternoon sitting in the sunshine, drinking champagne and eating a delicious array of food including about six different desserts (you missed out there Fran). It’s a pretty posh Barbie!!!

There’s something lovely about being part of a big extended family, being able to trek round the world and find yourself surrounded by such warmth and welcome. To me, the knowledge that I have all these cousins (45 first cousins if I can’t both sides of the family) has always felt somehow comforting even though there are some I have never even met. Now that my lovey Dad and Uncle Eamon have died, it feels even more important to sit around this table sharing stories, food and chatter and maybe catching a familiar feature here or a mannerism there. A big thank you to Veronica and Henry for making it such a great day and to all three generations of Spillanes in attendance. We look forward to making Meg as welcome when she visits England next year.

Next day we get up far too early for a tour up the Great Ocean Road. This is the first time we have seen the Southern Ocean and is the most southerly point we have reached on the planet. Much of the journey is a drive in a coach with our driver Mark chirpily pointing out anything of interest along the way. Only trouble is, we are sat right behind him, and Joe spends much of the journey asleep, punctuating the driver’s informative speech with loud grunts and snores.

We see a mob (that is the collective noun) of kangaroos boinging along in a paddock (a field), we see two bright blue and red birds fly right in front of the bus. “Rosellas”, shouts the driver, “Zzzz”, grunts Joe. The wildlife here i n Australia is amazing, there always seems to be some new colourful bird, butterfly or animal everywhere you look. I even glimpse a koala hugging a tree as we drive through the rainforest (temperate this time).

Highlight of the journey were the Twelve Apostles which were huge limestone structures sculpted by the ocean waves and high winds which characterise this coastline, part of which is called “The Shipwreck Coast” with tales of boats and ships lost and damaged in storms gone by.

Tomorrow we leave Melbourne for our next adventure which involves hiring a car and spending a few days driving up the coast to Sydney. Not sure what Internet access will be like so may be a short intermission where you can go for a comfort break and refreshments at the kiosk (own expense).

“Zzzzz”, says Joe.

---

Comments

[sara]

How refreshing to have such an erudite and interesting perspective instead of all those made up words and (it has to be said) simple doggerel. Thanks Moi, but I think you should wake him up now x

[On The Blog]

Doggerel
Grrrr ! Doggerel? Woof! How could you? Enough!