We’re in Melbourne for a few days whilst Steve works and I ‘support’.

We started with dinner on Monday night with our friends Valda and Guy. A short stroll down Toorak Rd from St Kilda road, past Faulkner Park and into Memories – a little Chinese restaurant. Lovely staff included 3 young Chinese girls who reminded us of the song ‘Three little maids from school are we….’  They moved around serving together and made a very sweet picture. Our braised pork and seafood plate were very good and the green beans delicious.

Australia Day: Tuesday morning we were up early and in a taxi for the short ride to Parliament House for the annual Australian Unity Australia Day Breakfast. Rob and Jordan scored an invitation so we met them there looking very smart and lowering the average age of the assembled crowd.

The breakfast guest speaker – Prof Ian Harper – spoke very well about the economic picture of Australia since settlement. Very succinct. The singer this year was Deborah Cheetham, an Indigenous Opera singer who composed and performed a wonderful piece for the opening of the Sydney Olympics.

From there we went back to the hotel for a change of clothes, then out to St Kilda to meet my school friend Petrina, husband Lynwood daughter in law Emily and cute Grandson Henry.

Republica restaurant was perfect for an Australia Day lunch. Right on the beach. Loads of families,  young people, hipsters and  passers by of all shape, size and ethnicity. Lunch was lamb of course. We had a great time eating,  drinking then walking along the boardwalk in an effort to walk off the food and drinks and observe Melbourneians at play.

A really great fun lunch and as luck would have it, I’m now in possession of a few free tickets to the tennis in Thursday. Emily has a friend who gave her 2 tickets for the 11am session Thursday. Up in the Gods but hey they are free so I’m in!

  
Back to hotel for recovery before a drink with one of Steve’s fellow board members.

Crashed into bed!

Victoria’s Art Gallery NGV

Wednesday – kissed Steve good bye at 7.30 and planned my day.

A tram ride to NGV to see their latest big exhibition  – Andy Warhol and Ai Wei Wei. On the way in I ran into friend Cathy Campbell and her husband.

The exhibition is great. If you are coming to Melb try and see it.

  

Wonderful parallel shows.

From here I went next door and booked a ticket to Pennsylvania a one women show by Betnadette Robinson    For tonight , when Steve goes to a fancy restaurant for his board dinner.

From the arts precinct – into the city to browse and visit the Manchester Unity building on the corner of Collins and Swanston St. It’s a beautiful Art Deco building slowly being restored by a Chinese man who owns Smile dentists  and has bought the whole building. It’s looking very beautiful and will be great when more public areas are incorporated.

  
Further wandering concluded with an ice cream in a deck chair at Federation square watching Murray play Ferrer.

Now it’s risotto for dinner watching the rain pour down before leaving for the theatre. It should stop before I leave I hope.

Tomorrow – the tennis.

Just got in from the theatre. What a performance by Bernadette Robinson. She had a one woman show a few years ago where she played a girl in the dressing room and sang lots of songs impersonating other performers. This was similar but she was an assistant to several Presidents of the USA. She told their story and her own and sang songs by performers such as Marilyn Munro, Barbra Striesand, Tammy Wynette, Diana Ross …….. Great show.

Now waiting for Steve. I wonder what he had for dinner.