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Well, we're getting closer to being an actual real-time travelblog for the first time in a couple of months!
Our trip to Melbourne was always going to be primarily to visit family, so we weren't expecting to see too much of the surrounding area - and after 6 months of seeing all kinds of wonderful things I wanted to dedicate time to family. Roy and Carol very kindly picked us up from the airport - they waited an hour
extra for us due to Qantas's incompetence.
We stayed most of the time at Roy and Carol's but also stayed for a few days with Sammy and Dean and their two girls Stephie and Christie.
It was really fantastic to catch up with the family again 12 years after the first visit. We worked out that it was twelve years because Christie, who last time was showing very large in her mum but not yet born, is now 12. Roy showed us his skills on the piano (which are very impressive indeed) and Carol cooked several meals, making us feel extremely welcome in their home. I was soon introduced to cheeky Jacob, 1 year old son of Chris and Melanie,
and spent some time playing with him and generally winning his favour by watching Sesame Street and playing with his Bob the Builder toys.
We visited Chris and Melanie on the friday evening (Jacob was in bed most of the time!) to see their beautiful home and the great life they have built together. I was very eager to meet Chris because I remember him as one of the most welcoming people from our visit 12 years ago, and his sense of humour is still sharp as ever if a little more dry these days. It's a pity we couldn't reenact the days of playing Simcity and pitch and putt, but these days both our lives have changed a fair bit. Melanie was also wonderful and I reckon they'll be very happy together bringing up Jacob and who knows, maybe one or two more!
On Sunday after a bit of shopping we met Roy and Carol for some drinks and a meal in
the centre of Melbourne's culinary district, Lygon Street. Lygon Street is lined with hundreds of restaurants, predominantly Italian and Indian - all of varying quality of course. After a couple of pints in the pub we
found a very nice Italian eatery, and the conversation turned to various aspects of philosophy which I found very interesting. I find Roy a particularly interesting person; he's had a very varied life and his permanently gentle sense of humour and kind manner belie his compassion and sensitivity. The way he goes about what seems like everything in his life - with thoroughness and determination - show how much he cares about the world. I found his stories about the time he spent working in an office tending to the indoor plants particularly enthralling. Like we always say, it's the little things that really make the difference and Roy's one of those people who really has an eye for the things most people dismiss as insignificant. The world needs people like him!
That Monday we drove to Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula to meet Sammy and Dean (my cousin and cousin-in-law) who I'd not seen for 12 years - and also meet the gorgeous Christie and the equally gorgeous Stephanie (Stephie) - my second cousins. We hit it off straight away and got into talking about Tamagotchis and other stuff very quickly. Another topic of conversation was the
Round for dinner at John and Janine's
From left to right:- Dean, Sammy, Stephanie, Peter, Sarah, Christie and Carol fabulous trip to Europe that they are about to embark on (at time of writing) with their friends John and Janine and their children Brenan and Briannon (excuse the spellings!), who we went to see for dinner at their lovely home the following day. I also have to mention that the fabulously amazing paintings done by the two girls arrived safe and sound in England all wrapped up and ready to go on the walls of our new home - when we get it!
Later in the week we managed to pay a visit to Tom and Jaqui's for lunch (cousin-in-law and cousin) and although we didn't get a chance to meet Jodie we met up with both Michael and Becky who are now grown up (mostly), and also Tasha and a new addition to the family, Gerald who is now my second cousin-in-law. Families can get very big can't they? Michael and Becky were both kids when we were last in Melbourne (I after all was only 15) so it was great to meet up with them. Good luck with your photography and carpentry guys!
I have to say it will be really great to keep in
Lunch at Tom and Jacqui's
From left to right:- Michael, Becky, Peter, Sarah, Jacqui, Natasha and Tom touch with my family in Melbourne. They were so welcoming, nice and interesting that it felt brilliant to spend time with them - and I'm very glad we alloted a long enough time to actually get to know each other a bit more. Hopefully we'll be able to all meet up with each other on a regular basis, even if that means every two years or so; obviously it's not easy with us being on the other side of the world from each other.
There's always something special when meeting up with family - even ones you've never met before. There's a bond that isn't there with people on the street who equally you may not have met before - call it acceptance or whatever, but it's great when both parties feel it and you just get on straight away. Meeting up with all the guys in Melbourne this time was definitely something we'll have to repeat in the future - and we musn't regret that we can only see each other once in a while, we must celebrate that we can see each other at all.
Melbourne the place Melbourne lived up to its reputation as a
cultural and fashionable city. We took in the city centre shopping, the botanical gardens (we even got a guided tour) and the Andy Warhol 'Time Capsules' exhibition at the NGV. We really enjoyed our visit to Healesville Sanctuary outside of Melbourne. It had just Australian animals which I thought was a really good idea, who wants to see elephants in Australia? Also, we very rarely see Australian animals in zoos in Europe. My favourite animals were the koalas, cute and fluffy and (most unusual for them) awake when we arrived. It was their feeding time so there was loads of activity in their enclosure. We also saw kangeroos, wallabies, a tasmanian devil, emus and more.
Next stop Sydney..
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