A new state

Coffee
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Finally, we pack our bags and head to Sydney airport for our first sojourn out of New South Wales. After a shambolic departure - delayed flight, wrong gate - we finally landed in a sodden Melbourne, Victoria, and were thrilled to be met by Ed's brother Jim. And to finally meet his Aussie girlfriend Steph, who kindly picked us up and took us back to their gorgeous little house in Kipling Street in north Melbourne. After some wine, an introduction to Casha the fluffy dog, and a catch up, it was time for bed to rest up for our big explore the next day.

Um...cold!
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We had heard that it rained a lot in Melbourne but this was ridiculous. Saturday morning we woke to leaks and floods across the city. Even by Melbourne standards this was pretty wet, but determined not to let that put us off we donned our macs and opened our brollies and with Jim as our trusty guide set off to see the sights.

After nearly being blown into the Yarra, we decided to snuggle up in a pub to sink a few pints

We caught our first tram into town and had a slow meander around the colourful Queen Victoria market, before stopping for coffee in the lanes. We've both become addicted to coffee in Australia, and Melbourne is said to be the capital of the aromatic stuff. So perched on stools in a steamy Parisien-style cafe, we topped our caffeine levels and then braved the drizzle once more.

6 Kipling Street
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Melbourne came into its own during the gold rush in the late 1800s and early 1900s and as a result large parts of the city are grandly Victorian in design. This, along with the driving rain, made Ed and I feel right at home - we could've been in London.

And so, after passing the grand Flinders Street train station, peering up at the skyrise buildings and nearly being blown off a bridge straight into the mighty Yarra, we decided to resort to form and snuggle up in a pub on the quirky Brunswick street and sink a few pints. And yes, we mean pints, because in Melbourne, we were no longer in schooner territory.

Luna Park - St Kilda
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Later that day, we met a few of Jim and Steph's friends at a BBQ, then headed into town to sample some more bars. A definite highlight was the very last bar, where Steph broke it to Ed that his new favourite Bundaberg rum is actually the tipple favoured by the Aussie chavs, known as Bogans. Needless to say they didn't even serve it in this slick Melbourne establishment. Crikey mate!

The next morning dawned with enough blue sky to sew up a pair of sailor's trousers so we celebrated by having breakfast at a groovy local restaurant. Then, we drove down to kitsch and quirky St Kilda for a walk along the beach and the obligatory picture in front of Luna park. We even managed to get a little sunburned. Four seasons in a weekend, at least.

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After (more) coffee and some cake, and another Emsworth reunion in the shape of Katie Fanshawe, it was time to head back to Kipling Road for Steph's delicious Christmas lasagne and some early Christmas presents. We think the high-pitched squeaky rubber shark for Casha may have gone down like a lead balloon with Jim and Steph (Casha, however, thought Christmas had, well, come early).

All too soon it was time to go home, but with bellies full, and armed with Aussie themed Christmas pressies (thanks Jim and Steph) we vowed to return soon to Victoria - the place to be!