Hideous flight to Melbourne!! I don’t know much about flying (Henners, help me out with this one…) but the pilot said the First Mate would be flying us; judging by the subsequent horrors I can only assume this is akin to letting the work experience kid ‘have a go’!!!! Nose dived the tarmac which you could see out the window and dramatically pull up back into the air for ‘another attempt’…I’d rather go on the Waltzers 10 times in a row (Lenny!!) than do that flight again!

Arrived to a very warm welcome at Chez Thomas! Champagne popping and much needed catching up much appreciated, all the more after near death shocker en route.

Monsieur Thomas did a selfless designated driver stint out to the Mornington Peninsular for vineyard tours on Saturday! Was lovely. Had a delicious lunch and afternoon getting tanked up on free wine tastings!

Woman conducting it seemed to have taken advantage of the tipples herself…she was actually “bat shit mental”, tasting notes and detailed understanding diluted sightly by the excessive samples. She was employee of the month for being permanently drunk – a perk of the job! Herb you would be so good at it!!

Best way to spend a Saturday though, finished off with a wander down the beach.

Got up at 4.30am Sunday to support Alex in I’m his Melbourne triathlon. Serious wifey points for Rachel as we were the only 2 supporters not competing there at the start! Coffee and pitch black did little to ease the disorientation. Neither did far too many Aussies in Spandex…some things you really don’t need to see at 5am! #keepthejunkinthetrunkthanks. Alex did great and made really good time, the rest of the day bought glorious sunshine and 36 degrees! Scorchio!

Had the perfect lunchtime catching up with one of the Thurlow’s oldest and dearest friends. Debbie, it was an absolute treat! Like I saw you only yesterday (and there hadn’t been like 6 years in between). So so glad I got to see her and catch up on all the news over bubbles, no better way to do it!

Left Debbie to the precise task of finding a good remix of Pony by Genuwine to put on her Spinning instructor playlist and did what any sane person does on a Sunday afternoon, spontaneously jump out a plane!!

Was wandering past Skydive Beach and Beyond on our walk to St Kilda beach, popped in to investigate and hour later I’m on a light aircraft with me’ legs dangling over the side! What a awesome experience. So glad I did it (in a controlled manner and wasn’t forced to on that flight here!!!) Some epic underside of chin and jiggly face footage to treasure forever…Thanks to instructor Chris for making sure I did not die! And Mama and Papa Thurlow for their very generous contribution to my trip which I hope they think I have partially spent wisely!!

Had a chilled day of exploring Melbourne and met Rachel after work for rooftop bar drinks, dinner at a cool place Debs recommended called ‘Welcome to Thornbury’ (bit like street feast) and made a new friend called Dexter…

Home via the world’s most amazing gelato cafe! Was beyond delicious. We’d had a few too many wines so stumbled back home..

Spent the next few days exploring what Melbourne has to offer, pottering in cool cafes and independent shops, soaking up the sun #bronzedgoddessobvs. Lovely evening exploring bars of Melbourne with Steve, who was totally underwhelmed with the “tan”! Nice to touch base with so many ex pat compadres since I’ve been here.

Continued my personal Woman vs. Brunch tour of Melbourne at every opportunity. Reading the menus alone here is enough to give you Type 2 Diabetes! Hands down winner (after entirely necessary extensive research) *drum roll* is ‘Fitzrovia’ on Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. Creme Brûlée French toast with bacon, banana, mascarpone and candied pecans…..if I could choose a last meal! Haven’t actually been able to finish a single plate as portions are clearly designed for 18 people to share!!

Went to The National Gallery of Victoria to “get my culture on” innit. Went to see their brilliant Andy Warhol / Ai WeiWei exhibition (great recommendation Rach), all about the cross overs in their careers and similarities in work, shared themes of capitalism and consumerism #highbrow. So went to the gift shop, had an “ironic” coke in the cafe and took silly pics on their photo booth #designedforkids

Got to see lovely Debs again and meet beyond charming boyfriend Shane in the evening. Treated me to an amazing dinner, lots of laughs, so lucky again to have great company!

21 solid days of busyness and drinking wine finally caught up with me on Thursday, just in time for Rachel to have a well earned day off! Knackered doesn’t even cover it, wandered the streets like something out of 28 days later in search of brunch and thanks to Griffiths indulged a bit more in OCNAD (obsessive compulsive nail art disorder).

Excessive amounts of napping and movie night was the perfect end to a really great week in Melbourne. Thanks so much to everyone here who made it such a winner.

And so ends leg one of the ‘diary’. Oz it’s been emotional. Key lessons i’ve learned:

 

Losers

Aussies are not capable of eating a meal without Avocado

Buses are beyond shit

Vegemite is the spawn of the devil

Winners

Brunch is beyond amazing

‘Winter’ has been 39 degrees

I have some of the greatest friends ever even if they are 10,560 miles away!!

 

All packed and beyond excited to start the next leg in Asia with my most favourite chef in the world. SEE YOU in a few hours Claire, #chefsonSinga-tour xx