The night after my Yankee Doodle Dandy party was a short one. I had to be up and on my way to the Radtke's farewell party in East Malvern. There were a few repeat offenders from the night before including Mike, Patrick, Ria, and Jasper. We were moving a little slow but happy to have cause for another party. Also in this picture we have Jane Campbell, Sasha, Richard and his wife, and Brian. We are actually standing on turf which is not an uncommon solution for low-maintenance and drought resistant grass in Melbourne.
Terra and Mike are headed back to Ft Worth, Texas!
Sasha and Marta will stay in Melbourne and possibly return to Poland someday (her home).
My last couple weeks in Melbourne were jam packed with lunches, dinners, coffees, and catch ups with lots of friends. Despite my photo obsession, I failed to capture them all but here are a few I did. Jamie Comley and I went to a great, well reviewed (we learned while eating) hole in the wall italian restaurant Bar Idda just up Lygon St from my house, followed by gelato from the famous Gelobar on the way back to my house. Jamie and his mate Rich came to Texas while I was working on Hurricane Ike, I showed them around, brought them tailgaiting and to all the great bars and bbq joints. He wore his 'Keep Austin Weird' longhorn shirt just for me.
I met Mhairi and Ian for lunch at Ti Amo 2 on their last day in Melbourne (before returning to Scotland, then to England).
me and Mhairi.
The Texes Exes did a last minute Thirsty Thursday happy hour for me at Bimbo's in Fitzroy. We had $4 pizza with a great selection of beer and good dance music.
I met Kristel and Adrian for a quick lunch at Blufish in the middle of Adrian's work day.
I went out for dinner to a Thai restaurant with the biggest menus ever with Joey, Caz, and Sam.
Then we went to the International Cake Shop for cocoa and baklava.
me, Caz, Joey, and Sam having a low key girls night out.
Mike came up to Brunswick and we headed to The Retreat.
Mike and me at The Retreat.
Somewhere in the midst of all the social engagments, I did manage to pack a few boxes. I ended up repacking them all at FedEx to fit into fixed cost boxes which cost less of a fortune. Of course, I didn't quite have enough time to finish the packing and paperwork-intensive preparation of boxes, so I left all my stuff at FedEx for several hours while I went to meet friends for tea. Good thing Australia is a safe, trusting kind of place.
I treated Narelle and Dan to high tea at Langham hotel to say thanks for all they did to help with the party. It was fancy schmancy good fun. Cheerio.
me and Dan. We all got the Chocolate Indulgence high tea, which came with little sandwiches, scones, and a bazillion gourmet rich chocolate desserts. It was delicious and entirely too much.
Jade had a tragic burn incident the day before so was unable to join us as planned. We brought high tea to her in bed from Brunetti's, along with a gift certificate for her and Holger to go to high tea at Langham another time.
Jade is the walking wounded. A hot pan of oil spilled all over her feet and leg. She ended up with really awful burns.
Charlotte and Sammy treated me to an amazing dinner at Kuna's. We have a tradition of eating cheap dumplings on Little Bourke St, but Sammy picked a really upscale place up the road from our normal dining locations. We had super gourmet chinese food (like beef wrapped asparagus) with sake, beer, wine, port, plum wine, etc.
Charlotte, Sammy, and me. Red cheeks, oh how I will miss taking the metro home after a night out.
On my very last day in Melbourne, I drove out to Mel's house to see her and Archer one last time. I also saw all my bedroom furniture in her guest room. I am happy a part of me (well my stuff) will stay with her.
me and Archer. I can only imagine how different he'll look next time I see him.
My last supper in Melbourne was dumplings, dumplings, and more dumplings at Shanghai Village with Brendan and Dan in Chinatown.
Chinatown in Melbourne CBD.
Dan, Brendan, and me.
We followed up dinner with churros and chocolate fondue from Chocolateria San Churro on Lygon St. They had the most divine hot chocolate I have ever tasted. It was like drinking hot liquid superior quality chocolate. I flew out the next morning so early that I did not sleep that night.
Over and out. That about does it on my time in Australia. Happy to have shared this amazing time in my life with all of you. Looking forward to the next great adventure in DC!
