Amy and I headed down to Melbourne the week before Christmas, it was her birthday present. We had booked this trip before we ended up going down to Melbourne for all the Neurofeedback trips but at least this time we were flying and not driving.
Bill dropped us off at the Canberra airport on Friday. If you look at the snowflakes on the window you will see they are all made up of little aeroplanes!
We picked up our hire car and headed out to the South Melbourne markets, we hadn't been there before, so managed to find our way there and get a parking spot- no mean feat in Melbourne. We had an enjoyable couple of hours wandering through the stalls and checking out the food and tasting some cheeses and it wasn't too crowded as it wasn't the weekend.
From there we headed into the city and checked in at the Windsor where we were staying for the night. It was a lovely hotel, we really enjoyed our stay there and it was a good deal as well. We had a relax, I went for a wander around the city streets, then we went out to dinner at Cumulus Up a place Amy had found. We had the Chef's selection dinner which was a whole lot of tasting dishes-it was a lovely meal, nice place and finished of with two amazing deserts- this one below is the poached meringue with elder flower syrup and berries- it was yummy- like eating the inside of a pavlova!
Saturday morning I went for nice long walk around Melbourne while Amy slept- I just cannot sleep in. It was a nice way to see Melbourne without the crowds, all decorated up for Christmas and to see the Myer Christmas windows.
Got back and woke Amy up and we headed down to breakfast at the Windsor which was included in our deal. Was a very fancy breakfast and lovely service.
We did a little bit of shopping then checked out and headed out to the Dandenongs. We went to the Fern Tree Gully Market and stayed with my mum for a couple of hours and helped her pack up. Amy and I then headed up to our B&B in Belgrave where we stayed the night.It was a lovely spot. We went for a drive and a walk before having dinner back in our room. In the morning I went for a walk in the forest over the road, I had forgotten what a lovely part of the world the Dandenong's are.
There was a little window between my bedroom and the kitchen, Amy thought she was very clever when she would scare me when I was doing something in the kitchen-she would sneak up and 'boo" me!
The next day we headed out for a drive and some walking. We went to the Grant's Picnic Ground- we had been there briefly the night before and it was closed and quiet but the next morning there were tourists everywhere. We also went to Sherbrooke Forest just up the road and saw lots of lovely birds.
We explored the little town of Sassafras, then headed down to my mum's at Berwick. We drove over to my brother's place in Nunawading for a pre Christmas dinner and December birthdays gathering with some of the family. It was a lovely evening and a chance to catch up.
We stayed at mum's on Sunday night then helped her out in the garden on Monday morning before packing up and heading to the airport and flying home to Canberra. It was a lovely time away and a great way to celebrate Amy's birthday and also Amy getting her new job. She started work that week at the Inner South Vet at Narrabundah. She worked four days that week and went really well, so it was a very happy weekend!