Saturday 10 August 2019

One Daily Positive - Week 32 Melbourne

So our drive from Sydney, the Great Ocean Road and trip to the Grampians has ended in Melbourne till next Sunday when I fly home to Dubai.We've driven 2500 kms (1500 miles) and probably spent 4-6 hours a day in the car each day and apart from when we've gone to our own beds at night have been together 12-14 hours a day.

I'm visiting child 3 who has been living in Australia for 2 years now. Mainly in Sydney, but he's moving to Melbourne to work on a farm for 6 months, part of his visa conditions. He's been excellent company and is one of the few family members who doesn't need to make plans. We've stopped where we've wanted, eaten when we've felt hungry, booked accommodation as we've got near a town or said 'enough' driving for the day. He's unloaded and reloaded the car, shared the driving and the costs and I've allowed him to look after me and make sure I'm ok. We're in one place now for the week, he has friends here to visit and we'll be doing a lot of our own thing as well as exploring the city, beach and surrounding areas.

216 Sunday After yesterdays climb up a mountain, child 3 thought today he'd take me to a waterfall. There were 280 steps down and back up. I really didn't think I'd make it. However Child 3 slept on the way from Halls Gap to just outside Melbourne while I drove none stop for 3 hours. Guess It wasn't that bad for me, he was suffering though lol and he's 20 years younger than me. We arrived at our apartment in Melbourne with the most spectacular views. We had to call the company to send a cleaner round and considering it's Sunday, they obliged quickly. I caught up with blog comments and wrote several posts, paid bills and replied to emails.

217 Monday We had a lie in then I headed off on foot to the local coffee shop with Jamie meeting me an hour later, we walked around the city, he had some shopping to do, he's been after a new i phone. We walked Bourke Street and explored some of the alleys and graffiti art. Melbourne is a mix of old and new, much taller buildings here than Sydney. The weather is colder and raining but not hampering our activities. We went back out in the evening to a Vietnamese restaurant.
We're in an apartment on the 35th floor over looking the city.

218 Tuesday We visited Moonlit Conservation Sanctuary near Hastings. It's so funny seeing all these British place names, geographically out of order. It's opposite Brighton which is next to Cheltenham and not far from Sorrento. I got to pet a koala and stroke him. His name is Victor and he was 3, so soft and adorable, my new favourite animal. We also hand fed wallabies and kangaroos. After an hours drive back I went for a walk around the docklands and Jamie got ready for a night out. I whatsapped called the Things, Mum, Niece and Child 4 who is visiting, went for a swim in the buildings pool and waited up till midnight for Jamie to come in. There's only 1 key for the apartment and you need the fob to operate the lift.

219 Wednesday Coffee while Jamie got ready then we went to St Kilda for the morning, we walked along the pier and saw a penguin hiding under the rocks, had pizza for lunch and drove back into Melbourne. In the evening we went to the night market, it was really busy, we then had a Starbucks and I returned to the apartment and Jamie went out with a mate.

220 Thursday Caught the tram into the city for coffee and a walk, then collected the car and took myself off to Ramsey Street. It's a 35 minute drive out the city and is just a suburban street, Pin Oak Court, much shorter and narrower than it looks on TV and they definitely use a lot of props to spruce the gardens up. They only film there once a week. Late afternoon we visited the graffiti/street art areas of Melbourne, had dinner and spent the evening in the apartment.

221 Friday I went out at 9am and caught the tram to Flinders Street and walked 25 mins to the Botanical Gardens, then visited the Aquarium, spent the afternoon in the apartment and went out for dinner, our last night together.
Photo from yesterday as I wanted to share the street art/graffiti with you, it was just over the road from the aquarium.

222 Saturday A long drive (700kms return) to drop Jamie at the farm where he is working for the next 6 months. It was really weird saying goodbye to him with no knowledge of when I'll see him next, you just never know where he'll pop up or when I'll be able to travel back out here. Got back to the apartment at 6pm, having left at 8.30am.

On the blog this week:

As they say in Australia 'Hey Tosser, put it in the bin' Find out what a bin chicken is?
The road trip: A 2 night stay on Phillips Island.


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22 comments:

  1. It all looks lovely and the views from the apartment must have been amazing. How nice to be able to spend so much quality time together, just the two of you. Hope you have a safe journey home.

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    1. It really was a great trip on so many levels

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  2. It sounds like you've had a wonderful time with your son.
    The steps to the waterfall look so steep! I hope it was worth it.
    What a fab photo of you with the koala!
    I still think it's so cool you got to visit Ramsey Street. x

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    1. Visiting Ramsey Street felt really weird having watched it since it started in 1985. The climbing was worth it for the views

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  3. Sounds like you've seen some amazing places on your travels in Australia. Cute animals. Hope his working on the farm goes ok, and your journey home is fine.

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  4. Well you have had a great trip! I've been enjoying following your pictures and your travels online. You've seen so much.

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    1. We really crammed an awful lot in in our 3 weeks

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  5. Sounds like you had a fabulous time with your son, and have seen a lot (though I do not envy you all the time spent in cars). The koala looks adorable, and so is the penguin hiding in the rocks. Hope your flight today went well.

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    1. The flight(s) was/were good and passed quite quickly. The riving wasn't too bad either, better than I expected

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  6. The animals look so adorable, especially the koala. I just want to hug it forever!
    That's a long, fun and exciting trip in Melbourne with your son :D

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    1. I could have easily spent the 3 weeks with the koala

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  7. The views from that apartment did look amazing, and i love the koala, one animal I have never seen. Hope Jamie gets on well at the farm, what an adventure #365

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    1. I think i had a bit of vertigo up so high for a week, Jamie is loving the farm

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  8. I never realised they only film in Ramsey Street once a week!
    The whole trip sounds amazing and glad you had a good time

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    1. we had a really good time, so weird seeing Ramsey Street having watched it on TV for 34 years

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  9. Sounds like an amazing time together and nice that the two of you really get on well and are very comfortable together.
    That was a long drive in one day to get to the farm, I hope he enjoys the job there.
    That is a lot of steps and far to high a building for me to want to look out of the window.

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    1. Despite living in Dubai, I'm usually looking up rather than down and had a few wobbles when I drew the curtains forgetting how high up I actually was

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  10. Did you enjoy the cooler weather? I was surprised to see you in a coat! I'm not sure we would have coped well with steps especially as one of us would have to carry Zach and Matt doesn't cope well with steps #project365

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    1. I loved the winter in Melbourne, apparently it was a very cold one from the norm

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  11. It sounds like you've had a wonderful time with your son. How cool to visit ramsey street, that would be awesome. Love the koala too xx

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    1. need to go back asap to see more of the koala's.

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