We stayed in the Brunswick area of Melbourne, a nice mix of suburban housing with a trendy, graffitied vibe. Our first night we went for a meal at Naked for Satan with Amelia Kerr and her boyfriend, the daughter of two of my father’s good friends from Glasgow which was lovely and the Basque food was also very good.

 

The following day Carrie had her hair done by her former manager at the Stress exchange in London Bridge, Donna, who now owns an Aveda salon called Rare Earth in Melbourne. I met up with one of my father’s old friends Mike, who has lived out in Melbourne for the last 18 years. It was great to see him after so long and as well as showing me the city it was great to talk with him about TV, film, books, music and life in general, a little like seeing a part of my dad for a few hours, with his lovely soft Scottish accent.

 

Melbourne is a bustling city influenced by its waves of immigration, firstly being British, then Greek and Italian, and now Chinese. You get a very European vibe with an obsession with cafés, places to eat and plenty of culture. In the evening, we went to Donna and Soren’s home for dinner which was lovely. The following day we explored some more of the city and met a friend Ash who we’d met in Whistler for lunch and then in the evening Carrie attended a Yoga class in Richmond and we went for dinner with three of her friends for teacher training Kate, Clint and Carla.

 

On our penultimate day we bumped into Mike in Brunswick after having a lovely breakfast at Choukette, a French patisserie. Then we sent to the centre of city and visited Victoria Art gallery and the lanes of Melbourne. In the evening we met old friends Peter and Phalan for dinner at the Marquis of Lorne which was lovely, great to see them after so many years. Our final day we visited Abbotsford Convent (now an arts and community centre) before walking the botanical gardens in the rain and then flying to Bali.