Victoria, Melbourne

Flight QF 648 departs at 23.55 on Friday 2nd March bound for Melbourne. I'm on it. I'm also flying business class :) Yep I thought bugger it use all your point up and get some sleep. I did go to friends in the avro after work and to get 3 hours rest... I did manage to sleep on the flight - you can in business class the seat folds out not totally flat but good enough you also have a very wide seat and there is just no way the person next too you is going to be sleeping on your side...

So I land bright eyed and bushy tailed (one day I'll know where that saying came from) Denice and I find each other via mobile phones and a few happy tears latter, a Melways, the car and a need for food we heard out of the airport in a northwest direction towards Sunbury. I didn't want to drive through the heart of the city to start of adventure... we were both keen to get out to the towns of outer Melbourne to see some 'country and bush'.

Some of you may remember the photo of me and a girl in a hotpot in Iceland - this is Denise she has imigrated to Victoria for 12-months or so.

I had no idea how hilly Victoria is - no wonder people like the place... and the towns so Australian... Unlike towns in WA the buildings are still turn of the centry and well kept... You can see that Victoria was a sheep and grain growing area... I just loved the feel of the sun rise as we made our way due east - we turned east at Lancefield and started to look for food at Kilmore. This is where it helps haaving an accent... Denise justs fronts up to a closed bakery and asked them to feed us bread... they do... they are so surprised that two girls from from Denmark and the other from Perth have arrived in their bakery at 7.30am - so excited by the way we met that they fire up the coffee machine and make us coffee whilst we eat our bread and jam. It was a lot of fun and from my perspective so nice that the happy conversations and affection I recieved in Europe is also found all over the place - travel make us realise people are kind and friendly.

From here we meander our way east ish with the aim of getting to Healesville... We stop some where and go for a short walk to look at some dry falls (foss) due to the drought... but its here that i get to see my st lyier bird - of course its the girl from Denmark that tells me what they are! Typical... Denise thinks this is funny, I have to explain that they are only found in the East coast... They are also big! about the size of a small chook... This is quite a shock when you have spent your whole life using the 10 cents coin and having no idea that they were big...

We move on - we find the best market on the side of the road... we wander around here I buy a dress and we drink Chia tea... I gould move to this bit of Victoria - not sure what I would do for work and i suspect when its cold I would hate it... but in the middle of a summer thunder storm it was just magic.. We are somewhere around Whittlesea and Yarra Glen. We have lunch at a cafe I fair dunkum pie! overlooking the Yarra... this is a bit of a trickly at this part of Victoria - I guess this far out of town (100kms) its lucky to be flowing I know the Swan isn't..

We never make it too Healesville... its time to get to the Patch or Dandenong's to catch up with Peter, Ana and family. Now with me driving again and Denice navigating we make it. We both get very excited when we have to drive through Ferntree Gully. I'm moving here! what a place - again the cold & snow would kill me...

We have a great time with our hosts - playing basketball with the boys was a hoot... We chat for some time about travel, lives, work and the world. Its fun. We start this again in the morning and its very late b4 Denice and I manage to take off sightseeing again. Again we try for Healesville - again we don't make it. We are having too much fun just enjoying the road from Warburton to Marysville... We drive up into Yarra Range National Park - its here when I realise I can't live in Victoria - its gets a bit of Snow here and I swear it was going to snow this day - I was freezing! Denice thought I was a dork i'm sure.

We stay a second night and make our way back to Melbourne the next day. We dumpt he car have a minor issue over a dent but it is cleared up and then head to the train statio to meet Cathy. finally Denice and I have that coffee i promised her in Iceland in Melbourn... this was so cool. We all have lunch down at Dockland which is reat - then its time for Denice to head home big hugs and a promise to see each other again soon... lucky for us we have sms

Cathy and I return to the Western suburbs to Melton. We spend most of the night night catching up on our lives and reliving our past together... this is fun... The next day we take off into Melbourne to go to the Victoria Markets... I still have fond memories of Cathy and I stomping around the Freo Markets buying my 1st leather motor bike jacket... here I buy Napal pants and wool jumpers - but just as much fun. We have lunch and get some food to make dinner.

Back in Melton - Cathy has to work for a bit so I take off to the pool to do a few laps. Upon my return we cook dinner - chat and talk about the our futures... all good fun.

Next day we are up early and both go to the pool its good fun I do a few more laaps and after her gym workout Cathy joins me in the pool... Its soon time to hit the road to Williamstown.

Williamstown is loverly - we haave a wonderful lunch at this harour side cafe after spending a few hours window shopping... then I have this bright idea to drive around the whole of Port Phillip Bay - Cathy had no idear we could catch a ferry from Portsea to Queencliff... This is such a great drive. I'm trying to convince Cathy that when I next visit we do it on a bike - some how I just didn't win her over - I know I'll be back to do this ride on a bike... soon hopefully... I've nto seen Cathy so excited when she gets to drive her car on to aa car ferry - we don't have them in WA and yes anyone in Europe would be very used to them - here in Oz this is one of the best i've been on. Thought I do like the punts in NSW - but thats another story...

We stop in Geelong and they have a fairswheel - big one so we catch a ride - this is a hoot... I feel like we were 18 again and being dag's like we sued to be and at time still are... I like tGeelong - we tried to find somewhere to eat but it was late and everthing was expensive so we make our way back to Melton via the Bacchus Marsh road... It was a hoot of a day and so good to spend time with a friend of my youth - such a special think to have mates that know you and still put up with your behaviour.

Next day Cathy leaves me at the ariport early to catch my flight to Adelaide for WOMAD - I write a few postcards and have a coffee. More on WOMAD next blog