Socialising in Melbourne

Sun - Fri 14th May
The drive from Canberra to Melbourne was a bit tedious but we managed to find our way to Simon (my cousin) and Lisa's house in Malvern by around 6pm. Their house is gorgeous, they have just extended at the back (designed by Rob Howden, Simon's dad (stepdad)). The floors are polished wood and tile, the kitchen is to die for with one of those new electric magnetic hobs and fabulous worktops; there is underfloor heating and huge windows that let in loads of light. Upstairs the kids (Max and Tam, twins 8) have a playroom, a bathroom and each has a bedroom. They had kindly agreed to share Max's room whilst we stayed in Tam's.
We spent the week visiting my old haunts from when I lived here in the early 90's; we worked out that I left about 17 years ago, in fact the last thing I did in Aus before I left was go to Simon and Lisa's wedding. We went to Chestnut Street in Richmond to visit my old house (a worker's cottage with outside loo), and attempted to do the walk that Piggy (my dog) and I used to do every morning at around 5am; the place is so built up now that the path we used to take down onto the Yarra river is blocked. We went for a walk along the Yarra at Yarra bend instead and to wonder at the parrots and pigeons. We went out to Vietnamese and Italian restaurants; caught up with Ric Dakin and his new (not really - but new for me) partner Kym and their two kids; met up with Liz Burman and Chris (now married with 3 kids) for lunch; and spent lunch and then an afternoon with Rob and Marg (Simon's mum and dad) at their beautiful home right next to the Yarra; we walked along the river after lunch, such fabulous greenery in the heart of the city. From Rob and Marg's house you can't even believe you are in the city; in front is the river and then there is a huge cliff on the far side that means that, looking out of the windows, you can't see any other buildings at all.
It was a fabulous 5 days, relaxing. So nice to have a break from the road. We managed to visit the doctor and get our malaria tablets for Africa and we sent home loads of stuff so that we went from 3 bags back to the 2 we started out with. We feel recharged for the rest of our trip.