Dishcloths and Melbourne, Australia

I have sent e-mails to everyone who has signed up for the dishcloth swap. if you have not heard from me, please get in touch!


I'm back from a quick 3 day trip to Australia. We lived in Melbourne 2002-3 (and I still wish most days we never returned to NZ....) and it is still my most favourite city in the world. Every year, my best friend from Melbourne and I meet up somewhere in Australia or NZ to keep in touch. Last year it was Sydney, this year Bendigo and next year's destination will be Queenstown.


I arrived on the Friday - Kristy was going to have a 3 day weekend too, until her school changed a curriculum day... instead I met up with the husband's Aunt Judy who was a huge help when we moved to Melbourne. A lot of Stephen's family have lived in Australia for decades. We also have a family business in Melbourne, which has run for decades too.


Some cities have a vibrancy about them - Melbourne is one of them! I think the city has had a population growth spurt since we left! The place was humming... Judy is a member of the art gallery, so we met for tea and ANZAC biscuits at their member's lounge before heading off down Bourke Street to H & M. H & M has only been open a month - it was STUPID CRAZY! I have never seen anything like it in terms of volumes of people and volumes of goods. I grabbed items for the boys and totally gave up on anything for me, as it was too much with the queues for the changing rooms etc. Not my scene. In all of it, I lost Judy and never found her - fighting my way through people was not my idea of fun. The boys have a few things - me zilch. Oh well. I'll wait till the hype dies down before even venturing in there again. Instead I walked back up to Zara and picked up a jersey. And then to Target for gorgeous merino tops. Everyone goes to Melbourne to shop from NZ - I think I am quite over the shopping anywhere and just do not need things! I was underweight coming home too.  A good thing.


The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around the city - the weather was incredible! (much like today - in skirt and tee - winter? No.) I picked up a box of rubgy league books from The Little Bookroom (in Degraves Street just over the road from Flinders Street station - the BEST children's bookshop around!) and walked around the city enjoying a walking city and the buskers, the autumn air etc. And a tram ride - ahem - I didn't have a myki card and for the life of me, could not find anywhere selling them... Half the rest of the people looked they they didn't have one either...
A good day, loving all the laneways and sunny warm weather, a cupcake shop, and a few photos.
Kristy picked me up after school; we got lost in Coburg (soooo cute!), before heading north to Bendigo. Tomorrow.