Flight to Melbourne departed at a civilised hour, on time, with the two of us given an upgrade to business class – a great start to the holiday! On arrival, we were collected by Nick from the airport, who, in a rush to get there, was caught on police camera driving at speed through a red light...not a great start to his holiday! After quaffing several bottles of expensive red wine (full bodied, with notes of apricot dangling tantalizingly from the nose....Blah, Blah, Blah), we staggered into bed. However we suffered severe sleep deprivation at the hands of Crispin, N&N’s 1-yr old B&W cat.
Following morning we watched N&N purchase and prepare food for the 3-day feast planned over Xmas – with quantities involved leading me to wonder whether General Slim and his 14th Army were invited guests also. In order to work up appetite needed to ingest the ‘mega fauna’ slaughtered for this occasion Astrid and I cycled along the Yarra river into Melbourne and back – a scenic 59km route that took us past the famous MCG to Federation Square. The 3-day
feast feast commenced that evening, with a sumptuous seafood BBQ, washed down with the best wines that Oz has to offer, and grudgingly shared with Nick’s boys plus partners. The shovelling session was only briefly interrupted by squadrons of giant flesh-eating mosquitos at dusk, after which we beat a hasty retreat indoors to open mystery Stocking Fillers.
Xmas Day got off to a good start – a 10km run along the Yarra river to burn off the excesses of the night before, and to work up further appetite for the next feast – a Turkey lunch with more side dishes than an IHOP breakfast. The afternoon was spent exchanging Xmas gifts, while simultaneously groaning over bloated stomachs. As partial penance, Astrid & I went for a pleasant late-afternoon stroll through Egelmont, with the evening spent watching a very bizarre (and disturbing) movie.
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