Sunday, September 21, 2014

Melbourne reflection....

In the air – flying home – reflecting on the MAGICAL Melbourne adventure

Woohoo, what a MAGICAL holiday that was.  I can hardly believe how perfect everything was and what a wonderful time we had!  I thought it would be fun to reflect on some of the highlights:
·      Spending 8 days on holiday with my girl.  What an incredible privilege to celebrate Katie’s birthday with a trip to Melbourne.  What a delight to find that your little baby girl has grown into such a wonderful young lady and your best friend.  The adventures, laughs, shopping expeditions, sore feet, and sightseeing were all part of the MAGIC of the holiday with my girl!  Memories forever!
·      The weather was an incredible surprise!  I had been expecting days slightly warmer than NZ, but when friends posted from a cold, wet, windy Melbourne weeks before, I packed some warmer clothes.  The good news is that they were the only clothes that never made it out of the suitcase.  The coldest day was 21 and the warmest 23.  We had a couple of hours of rain on the Saturday morning but apart from that it was clear skies and stunning sun!
·      Ticking the 12 Apostles off my bucket list.  For the longest time I have longed to see them but I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to see them so up close and personal, nor believed I would helicopter over them.  WOW!  They are amazing.  The entire Great Southern Road Trip was an amazing experience.
·      The show Wicked had always appealed to me so I was delighted to get us tickets.  When I was about 8, Mum took my brother and sister and I to my first ever movie screening at the Green Island Picture Theatre.  The movie was the Wizard of Oz and I loved it.  How surreal then, to see Wicked.  I loved the sets, the costumes, the storyline, the singing, I loved the whole show!
·      Mother’s day in Melbourne!  What an unexpected bonus this turned out to be added into our adventure.  The day was action packed full of my favourite things and I think it will go down in history as one of the best Mother’s Day ever!
·      The AFL game.  I had been to an AFL game five years ago at the MCG and spent most of the time crowd-gazing as we were seated at the top of the stand in a sell out crowd.  I didn’t understand the game and can’t say I really enjoyed it.  This time I was captured by Katie’s enthusiasm for the game and the adventure.  We had superb seats near the ground.  We wore our pink ponchos and really experienced the Breast Cancer Awareness at the event. We were sitting in front of a group of passionate, enthusiastic supporters who were very entertaining.  We decided to make up our view of the rules which I have blogged about.  Apart from the fact that ‘our team’ didn’t win, it was a perfect night.
·      Shopping, shopping, shopping!  Melbourne is the dream shopping spot.  I had two things on my dream list: purple boots and a purple laptop bag!  No problems with either of those, in fact I ended up buying purple, soft grey and orange boots!  I also bought a stunning purple laptop bag which is small and will avoid the problem I have, carrying half of the world with me in my laptop bag!  I bought a number of winter clothes and a heap more.  Loads of gifts completed the shopathon, and added to a very heavy suitcase.
·      Swimming in the very warm pool on the rooftop was a real treat.  A couple of early morning swims when it was so chilly out that you could see our breath, but so warm in the water were a lot of fun.  But the highlight had to be the late night swim with the stunning views around Melbourne!  The rooftop pool on the 17th floor allowed for stunning views up and down.
·      Total relaxation – well almost.  Sore feet aside, this was a stunning relaxing break.  I don’t think I have ever had such sore feet from pounding the pavements, or walking so many kilometres in one day such as around the levels at Chadstone Mall.  Sore feet aside – a very relaxing holiday. 


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