Sometimes I'm not sure that Australia is actually one country.
This year Monday June 5th was a public holiday in Western Australia (Foundation Day), but not anywhere else. The following Monday, the 12th, was the Queen's Birthday in the Eastern States (and yes, my UK friends, do not write to me to say that the Queen does not have her birthday in June, we know that, and neither does she have her birthday in October which is when WA celebrates her birthday - confused?).
At any rate, Amanda and I kind of have a tradition of visiting David and Harriet in Melbourne during our June long weekend, and we had missed this last year, so this year we booked and went.
It was a little hectic. The financial year had not been smooth for us - we had some serious staffing issues in the middle of the financial year, as was common in the whole accounting profession in WA - so had been seriously catching up on work. Also the week before I had to go to Fitzroy Crossing and was expecting to return home on the Thursday, the day before we flew to Melbourne. The challenge of going from a 30+ celcius climate to a below 10 city was a challenge and meant that I had to pack two bags before I left for Fitzroy Crossing.
As it turned out, I came home early!
So leaving for Melbourne was a time for us to catch our breaths, stay with people we love, and simply get some balance in life, enjoy good food and wine and simply relax in a different atmosphere.
David and Harriet were the best hosts, as usual. It was not a particularly hectic weekend but nevertheless we were active!
They picked us up from the airport at nearly midnight Melbourne time (2 hours ahead of us) and we went to their home, put our feet up and just talked until about 2am.
The next morning while Harriet and Amanda were still asleep David and I went shopping. I am always amazed (they live in Collingwood) that the middle of the city can be so quiet at 9am - it always seems as if the city wakes up elegantly and stretches before the hustle starts.
On our return, we had breakfast with the now awoken Harriet and Amanda and then went out to do some extra shopping at Simon Johnson's and others. I love shopping with David and Harriet - they go to the best food places in Melbourne and you are always given an enhanced experience by the smells and colours of the shops they go to.
We spent that day walking in Melbourne. Harriet's mum has a flat in, I think, East Melbourne, and David parked his car there and we walked back into the city towards Federation Square.
I love Melbourne - it is a Queen of a city, elegant, old-world, yet in touch with the modern and speaking to today. Controversial Federation Square is typical, to me, of Melbourne. It is cutting edge in design, uses Kimberley pink sandstone luxuriously, yet reflects in it's glass all the old buildings surrounding it.
We had lunch at Federation Square, pissing about with my camera to get self-timed shots but at least one turned out alright!
We had decided to have a light lunch because we were going out to dinner that night so we shared a tasting plate with some WA wine.
That night we went to an Italian restaurant (Daeroi, 95 Toorak Road, South Yarra) for the best dining experience we have had in a long time. The restaurant was small and narrow and all the tables were squeezed together. The menu was "open" and it was suggested that you let the wait staff decide what to bring to you, so we did. Our waitress asked us what we did not eat and after that "suggested" dishes and just brought them out with the best timing. David ordered superb wines that went with everything, up to and including the sticky and the digestifs. Oh wow did we eat. Have I told you how David is just the best to be with, wherever you are in the world, because he knows the best places to eat?
We went home via tram and taxi that night (including a near miss in the cab which is a different story and one requiring a change of underpants).
The next day was a touring day for me and Amanda. David and Harriet took us to Geelong and the surrounds of the Bellarine Peninsular. It was a cold, overcast and blowy day in Geelong where the water looked grey.
I can't say I actually enjoyed being in Geelong. It may have been because it was a Sunday and mostthings were shut, or the weather was simply too grey. Geelong is a regional centre much like Bunbury in WA, with a maritime and industrial history so, like Bunbury, though the waterside is beautified, the bones are still almost Industrial Revolution.
However when we drove around the rest of the Peninsular, the sun came out and the green countryside was much more welcoming and pretty. We stopped for lunch at an excellent restaurant and had a great meal with some excellent local wine at the Old Duke. 
After lunch we drove to the furthest tip of the peninsular - nothing in front of us but a ferry ride into Bass Strait.
By late afternoon, with an hour's drive ahead of us to get back home, David drove us back with the setting sun behind us, By the way that's a strange thing for Amanda and me, to watch the sun set over land instead of the ocean, coming from the west). At home David cooked a sensational meal, and we were SATISFIED with our most relaxing weekend!
There was nothing left for it on the Monday when Dave and Harriet had to work but for Amanda and I to hit the shops. Although the shops are the same as in Perth, the variety is far more extensive in Malbourne so we spent the day wandering around Collins Street before meeting Dave and Harriet for a quick meal and then a drop off at the airport.
We loved the weekend - no wonder it's a tradition - but we really look forward to returning the hospitality and having Dave and Harriet come out west, hopefully next year, for a round trip including Broome and the Kimberley.
Love you D & H - plan your trip here!
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