It’s Saturday afternoon and I’ve just a little lie down on the couch, having spent a couple of hours this morning at work, and then going out for a yum-cha lunch at my new favourite little Chinese restaurant, Hingara. I’ve gotta say though, that although the food is terrific, the service can be a little scatty, especially when you have to remind them about most things.
I spent a couple of days in Melbourne this week. Thursday was officially a “work day” and I was going to have Friday off, but I ended up going in for a meeting on Friday morning as well.
While sitting at a terminal and checking my email, a voice boomed from behind, “I thought I recognised that voice”. It was Monty from Perth who’d recently moved to Melbourne. We had a couple of beers at a bar overlooking the Yarra and he told me ALL of the gossip from Perth, so if there are any Perth readers to this blog, your have no secrets! No seriously, it was a real delight to see him.
From there I spent an hour or so boozing at the Xchange Hotel, located on Commercial Road. It was actually the first time I’ve been to a “bar” in Melbourne in several years and it was pretty good fun. Quite relaxed, informal etc.
My friend Sue picked me up from there on Thursday night, we went back to her place and chatted for a while before hitting the sack. On the Friday we had lunch at a nice little cafe at Williamstown overlooking the water. The weather was absolutely spectacular, which was encouraging, since most times I’ve visited Melbourne it’s been in winter when it’s cold and wet. Monty commented that he loves Melbourne, but compared with Perth, “the beaches are shit”.
And aside from that, there’s nothing else to report. Paul has been in Cairns and Brisbane all week, so I’ve been a bit of a homebody. I also guess today is a bit of a “rest day” in anticipation of tomorrow.
The day starts off with a visit to the National Maritime Museum for a day of Scandinavian entertainment to celebrate the Vikings exhibition – Swedish folk dancing, an instrumental and choral Norwegian Ensemble and a Norwegian church service. Includes Scandinavian products for sale, food and craft stalls, films shown throughout the day with activities for children.
And from there, it’s off to Mardi Gras Fair Day, which will be Stuffed with great international icons and national heroes such as Sophie B Hawkins, Pinky Tuscadero, Madison McKoy, Reel Sessions, the vocal sounds of Sassin and the all-girl, all-out Violent Minx, this year’s entertainment program won’t let you stay on the ground for long.