Melbourne

The flight left on time, unheard of in our experience and even arrived half an hour early! Mark picked us up and took us back to his house, very nice all mod cons! In our room we have a bed each there's posh! After a quick freshen up we stroll to a nearby Italian for supper and to celebrate Peters birthday.The other huge plus at Marks is his broadband Wifi which enabled us to upload lots of our pictures.
Sat 31 Jan
First full day back in OZ and Mark seems to have the day mapped out for us. First on the agenda is trip to Queen Victoria Market which is enormous. It is very hot even at 9 30 in the morning,( the temp in Melbourne has been over 40 all week)but most of the market is under cover. It sells everything you could imagine and the fish and meat markets are very lively with men at each stall shouting their wares and offers. Pity we only have a small fridge in our van as there were some fantastic deals. We decide on Red snapper with kumara( sweet potato) salad, and some oven chips that need eating for our evening meal, as Mark goes back to the U K the next day. After a late lunch at Mornington( not crescent)at a cafe next to the yacht club , Mark decides that as he's come all this way he must have a dip in the sea. Photos to follow. Headlines in today's paper "Orca spotted in Mornington Bay". On then to Brighton Beach with it's colourful beach huts, but it's a little warmer than the U K Brighton but just as crowded. Then to St Kilda which is definitely warmer than the one in the Hebrides! There was a festival going on there that weekend , tho we didn't actually see any of it,and only found out later it was a Gay Pride festival.After dinner, the highlight was a conversation with Vanessa on Skype as Peters birthday present. Technology when it works is amazing! A few beers and a bottle of Cleanskins and off to bed.
Sunday morning sees Mark panic tanning in the yard. He's had a month of blistering sunshine and has left it until the last morning to get a tan! To be fair he has been working hard and long hours. Little point anyway as it's minus something and snowing in the U K.Mark drops us off at our mobile home on his way to the airport. We have really enjoyed our last 2 nights at Marks and are very gratrful for Marks' hospitality. Tomorrow we hit the road again another 12 months of being grey nomads