Back to Melbourne

At last my body clock has aligned its self to Western Australia time just as we’re about to fly back to Melbourne which is a further 3 hours in front of us! So, it’s an early morning start for all of us, with John and Jen kindly driving us to the airport through the rush hour traffic. I have a big lump in my throat saying goodbye to our lovely hosts, the time here has been a wonderful start to our Aussie adventure.

The flight back to Melbourne is very much wind assisted and only takes 3 hours, our transit through the airport is equally rapid and soon we’re in an “Uber” speeding towards “The Icon” our next stop on this adventure. Emmanuel, our driver really knows his way round Melbourne, avoiding the regular commuter routes and the area of Federation Square where the Formula 1 opening ceremony is taking place. The route through the older areas of Melbourne is fascinating with lots of small older houses dripping with verandas, ironwork, wooden sash style windows and old sprawling trees. 

The Icon

The Icon is in contrast a very modern, colourful building but entry seems to be a bit of a challenge as we must wait for our Chinese host to arrive with the electronic key. In a mix of sign language and broken English all the necessary instructions are finally clear, and we are left to explore our small but perfectly formed apartment. It has wonderful views over Albert Park, St Kilda and the sea in the distance. I can also say that the sunset view from here is wonderful.

Tonight, we don’t have the benefit of Jen’s wonderful cooking so after a short walk we find our nearest restaurant, Mahjong. It’s a modern Chinese and we enjoy a superb meal of special fried rice, chinese greens and kung foo chicken is much appreciated before we stroll back to enjoy the night view of the city from the balcony.