Catching up in Melbourne

Melbourne is a cool city. Fact. Apparently it's mid-winter here, but for those of us who've just arrived from North Wales, it seemed pretty fine in the mid-morning sunshine!

One of the great things about the city is how small it actually is. You can pretty much walk across the entire place within twenty minutes. 

After a good long sleep, we tried to get a ride on the free tram into the centre. Instead of waiting for the next one though, we decided to carry on and walked down to the Town Hall where we'd arranged to meet Scott for morning coffee. Clare and Scott had last seen each other sixteen years ago when they both worked on an outdoor education camp near here, so there was a decent amount of catching up to do! He took us to a cool coffee shop in the 'laneways' where there was a busy hipster vibe; busy narrow streets with beard wearing, banjo and double bass buskers.

As is often the way with good friends with a shared background or experience, it's easy to pick up the conversation even after so many years. After a fun reunion, (where Clare was reminded of the story of where she accidentally nearly burnt his house down!), we left him to return to his office investment group and meandered off to see some sights.

Our next appointment was in the Federation Square, where we met our friend Ian, who moved out here some years ago. We had met during our time training to be Mountaineering Instructors when I'd first moved to North Wales, (and his dad had been one of my lecturers at University!). It was great to see him again and we were soon whisked off for lunch on the South Bank of the Yarra River to catch up on each other's lives...

After a delicious lunch and non-stop chat, we left Ian to get back to work and wandered back to Fed Square, where we  chanced upon our first festival of the trip! A crowd was gathered around a big stage that was celebrating National Aborigional & Islanders Day! We sat in the sunshine and enjoyed the music, while marvelling at the surrounding buildings.

We stopped off at a few more sights along the river as we began to make our way home. Just for completeness, we jumped on the free tram that went past the Docklands and towards our house.

Before tiredness grabbed us by both hands, we nipped around the corner into Brunswick Street, for our first 'pot' (local lingo for a half pint!) of the trip on a very comfy sofa in a very funky bar.. 

It's dark early here (keep forgetting its winter!), so it was properly dark by the time we walked home at about 7pm. This is the Royal Exhibition Centre that's basically opposite our appartment. 

What a fantastic intro to Australia!