About time I posted here instead of just to Facebook.
So here's the recap of my trip:
Pre-trip: I booked this trip months ago, and thought it would be a great thing to do on my own. Then I started dating and thought he would come with me. Then I got my heart ripped out and stomped all over and I'm down here alone with my head spinning.
Day One - Ripponlea
This was a serious attempt at beating jet lag. ST and I arrived on separate flights from the UK and were just trying to stay awake long enough to adjust to the time difference. ST took me around her neighborhood, and we walked along the beach at Black Rock. Of course after yawning through the day, at 10pm I woke up and couldn't get to sleep!
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Day Two - Melbourne
ST was working in the office, so I met her for lunch downtown and wandered around. For some bizarre reason I ran into every rude shopkeeper in the city. Melbourne is known for its welcoming attitude, but I was completely ignored in ten of eleven places I went into. At one point, after waiting 30 mins for a coffee, I was challenged as I got up to leave "you haven't paid" she said loudly enough for everyone to turn and look. "You haven't served me, madam," I replied pointing to my empty table. She did have the decency to look embarrassed.
Day Three - Melbourne
ST flew out to Brisbane early in the morning so I had a lie in, then met with TH for lunch and then with DW for coffee. I then spent the afternoon hunting for a TomTom charger - guess who grabbed the old phone charger by mistake when packing?? In the evening I went with DW to watch his new ice hockey team practice. They were a typical rec team - wide range of ability and lots of enthusiasm.
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Day Four - BIKE!!!!
I picked up the bike with a vague plan of going to the Great Ocean Road and seeing how far I felt comfortable going. I ended up doing the WHOLE road. What a view!! 12 hours on the bike was a long day, but well worth it.
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Day Five - Around the harbour
Bit of a lie in for me in the morning, then I did the loop around the harbour - Melbourne to Geelong, down to Queenscliffe for brunch. Then across the mouth of the harbor on the ferry to Sorrento and back up the coast. Got home in time to do the 20 minute superman-change from biker b*tch to hot date and we went into town to meet some friends for dinner and drinks. Wandered along the riverbank after dinner and saw the Melbourne Flames. It is a series of 30 ft flame throwers that explode in sequence on the hour. The show lasts a few minutes and is quite spectacular.
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Day Six - Penguins
It started out lovely - an outdoor breakfast in the sun at a cafe with ST before she went to work, then I was to meet DW's boss for the ride down to Philips Island to scout out the track. Well, the boss got called into work, the clouds came over and the heavens opened. It was so wet by the time I got down to the island that I skipped the track altogether and found a bar to sit in until the penguins were due. Shame I couldn't drink any of the wine! Despite the horrible weather, the penguins were right on time. There must be several hundred of them living in the hills around the beach. They come out of the sea in groups (safety in numbers) and waddle up the hill to their burrows. These are Little Penguins, about 7in high, very cute and seemingly completely unfazed by all the people watching from grandstands and wooden boardwalks. Flash photography does mess them up though, so no photos were allowed. It is breeding season, so the penguins have paired off and have eggs in the burrows. This means one of the pair is in the burrow while the other is out fishing. Often they wait at the entrance of the burrow as the other comes up the hill, and they have a chat as they settle in. Walking back up the hill to the parking lot in the dark it sounds like the hillside is alive with chattering. They are underground so you can't see them, so it seems like the hill itself is chirping and squawking away.
Day Seven - Wineries, take one
ST wanted to show me her home, and she showed it off to perfection. Tea with her mum and dad, who are lovely, then a long lunch at Ten by Tractor, a winery in the Mornington Peninsula. The winery overlooks the sea, so we could look out over the vines to the ocean as we ate a four star lunch. After lunch, ST drove me to three other wineries where I could try some of the Mornington Peninsula's finest. All lovely, and I came home with two bottles of Pinot Noir (not one I usually drink, but these were lush!), and a Viongier. We stopped for dinner in Mornington itself, with a gorgeous sunset over the ocean and a great view of Melbourne in the distance as it appears to float on the bay.
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Day Eight - MotoGP
With the switch to daylight savings time, I got up at 6, but it felt like 5am. I was on the road for 7, and rode to Phillip Island in one of the coldest mornings in Melbourne memory. Despite the frostbite, I was at the track in time for the Australian Superbikes first race and had time to explore and pick a spot. I parked myself at Turn 11 with a couple of Kiwis. The races all had their dramas - the 125s seemed intent on knocking each other off the track and gave turn 4 it's new name of "Crash Corner", while the 250 race came down to the wire. Stoner ran away with the MotoGP race, but Rossi's comeback from 12th to second just proved once and for all what an amazing rider he is. Hayden stuck to Stoner until about halfway, and was only overtaken by Rossi on the last half of the last lap. Toseland started brilliantly, even re-taking Rossi before he sunk back to 6th. The word for the day was "surreal". DW's boss is a larger than life character, and conversations with him are a verbal snooker match, where everything bounces in a few directions before you get where it is really going. Riding home, I was riding in and out of large groups of bikers. Often as many as 50 or 60 of them, which took a lot of concentration, but was neat. People camped out with picnics on the side of the road to watch us go by, waving at us, flying the Aussie flag and yelling for wheelies. It was a very odd feeling - like being on parade. Shame I didn't have my funky little ER6n!
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Day Nine - Dandnenog Mountains
Perhaps today wasn't the day I should have been testing my non-existant cornering ability against some of the finest mountain roads in the area. The roads are maintained beautifully, reminding me of the roads around the track at Nurburing. Unfortunately, today saw vicious thunderstorms with sudden downpours, gusting winds and hail. I stopped off at Olinda to warm up and calm down. My fingers were still hurting from the frostbite the day before and this wasn't helping. The mountain towns specialize for some reason in Devonshire Cream Teas. It doesn't look anything like Devon, I didn't see any cows to produce the cream, so I have no idea why, but they do. I stuck to hot coffee to thaw out and waited out a couple downpours in the local shops. I did manage to do all of the mountain highways, albeit at slower speed than I would have liked. What little I could see of the view in between squalls was lovely, but far too wet to stop and take out the camera.
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Day Ten - You Yang Mountains
My last day with the bike, and it was a sad moment when I turned in the keys. I spent the morning heading out to the You Yang mountains. Not long after I'd turned off the highway, it started to rain so I pulled over to put on my waterproofs. As I got on my gear, I noticed that there was a group of kangaroos in the field opposite. I took some photos, figuring they were farmed as they were inside the fence with some horses. When I headed back home and passed the field again, I realised the fence was for the horses - the kangaroos were wild! My plan was to go to the top of Flinders Mountain, then complete the Great Circle Drive before heading back to the city. The trip to the top of the mountain was fine, if wet, then I headed back down and picked up the "Great Circle Drive". The "Drive" rapidly disintegrated into a sand/gravel track that shifted under the bike. Luckily there was no one behind me, so I took it at my own pace and got around without incident. After returning the bike, I stopped at the Victoria Market and chatted with the guy in charge of ReWine, which allows people to bring back bottles for refill. The wine was cheap, but drinkable, so I brought some back for ST.
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Day Eleven - City with MB
I spent the morning doing housework - I felt a little like a teenager whose parents are returning with ST coming back tomorrow. Met met AEL's friend MB for lunch and he spent the afternoon showing me his Melbourne - and turning me on to absinthe! It was a fantastic look into some of the hidden delights of the city, and lots of great lessons on life and photography. I also picked up most of the gifts I needed to get, including some fantastic opals for Mom and HW. I also picked up a dress for the Winter Ball. It was more than I really wanted to spend, but I really like it. Just doing my bit to revive the economy!
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Day Twelve - Wineries, take two
I booked a minibus tour out to the Yarra Valley. It was good fun, we went to Domain Chandon (owned and operated by Moet), Sticks (a beautique winery owned by a former footballer whose long legs earned him the nickname "Sticks"), De Bertoli and Graeme Miller (where we were served by Graeme himself). Very different wines between the four wineries. Chandon was clinical as expected, and even they admit that their local sparkling isn't going to make France lose any sleep. I quite enjoyed Sticks - they are a local processing plant for a few of the local wineries, and as part of their fee they take 10% of the grapes for their own label. They take the best 10% and it shows!! De Bertoli was a medium sized winery and the highlight for me was a 21 year old port that is divine. Graeme Miller makes wine for kicks and really reminded me of Horton. Great guy, who takes pride in his wines and although you only can get them at the winery, they're worth the trip. He also makes a sweet port that beat by far the award winning dessert wines we'd had earlier. The only trick will be getting it all home!!
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Day Thirteen - Errands
Today has been laundry, packing, shopping, and some farewell drinking. I managed to find a local florist who will deliver to ST next week when she's home, but it took some doing! I've also picked up a book for the plane and a few other bits and pieces. Need to get everything packed tonight so the boxes can be shipped tomorrow morning and the cases loaded to Qantas with minimum fuss. ST and I went to two of those out of the way places you'd never see just walking by. We met a few friends at Madame Brussels, which I'd been taken to on Wednesday, then ST took me to the Supper Club, which was amazing!!! Really wished we'd had more time there, but ST'd had a long week and was nodding off. I need to finish packing tonight, but I'm procrastinating as I really don't want to!
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Day Fourteen - Leaving
What a sad day today, but it was a fun one too. ST and I hunted around until we found a post office that was open on Saturdays (the downside to living in a heavily Jewish neighborhood!). We shipped back my wine and a box of summer clothes I wouldn't need. Fingers crossed it arrives before Christmas as I also included a few of the gifts I'd picked up for my nephews. It cost about the same as the excess baggage I'd been charged on the way down, so I figure I got a box of wine back for free given I didn't get charged on the way out. ST and I wandered around in the sun and had a lovely lunch at a cafe before she took me to the airport. I was starting to worry about making it on time as we got stuck in traffic, but when I arrived I discovered my flight was delayed by 2 hours. The flights themselves were uneventful, and I got a bit of sleep. I managed to stay awake all day on returning to London, even if I was a space cadet. Fingers crossed I can re-adapt as quickly as ST did when she returned to work!
Post Trip:
What an amazing two weeks! It gave me the head space I needed to start that slow process of rebuilding my life and determining where I want to go. My life is all mine again and I'm going to live it. I know I've got a long way to go, but I'm in a better position now than I have been in probably the past year. I've learned from my mistakes and I'm ready to take the next step.
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