Feb. 20, 2018
On our first full day in Melbourne we took it easy. It was warm and sunny, so different to the weather we’d left behind!
Ingrid needed more time than me to sleep off her jet-lag. I sat in the sunshine and read the book I’d ignored on the plane. An easy read, it drew me into its characters. I’ll post a review later, perhaps after I have read the sequel.
Later we took a tram ride to meet Ingrid’s friend. Tess is a hairdresser so Ingrid and I each got haircuts. I can recommend it as a good way to freshen up for your holiday. The last time I had my hair cut by someone else was for the wedding. It was nice to be neat and tidy ahead of meeting the rel’os. Tess gave me some tips on what to do when I cut my hair with clippers.
Ingrid and Tess both got married in the three and a half years since Ingrid left Australia. Both had never expected to do so. I can add myself as a third member of that club. We exchanged our mutual incredulity that we had. A bond between new friends and old.
As we left the salon, Ingrid dragged me across the road into a wine warehouse (“This is a small one!”) just to show me the difference between the UK and Australia. Even though we’d only covered a small amount of ground on our first day, I began to realise that Melbourne is massive.
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Puckle street and the rest of Moonee Ponds. About halfway through a walk around the park we both felt beat so we headed back to base for a nap. Well I say nap, it was a more an extended session of chase the puppy and mop up after him until his owners got home.
That evening we had our first barbecue, a nice bit of kangaroo!