The big drive

Wow, what an awesome day we have had. In this one day, we have seen more of Victoria than we have in the whole time we have been here!

We started this morning when the Veltri's picked us up at 0800 and we headed off into the city. On Saturday night we had mentioned to them that we really missed the cool cafes that we had in NZ - Truganina is a brand new area so there are no cafes in old brick buildings with wooden floors etc. So they said that the new the perfect part of the city for us: Fitzroy.

As we turned into one of the main streets of Fitzroy, it became obvious that they were right on the money. The area is an older part of Melbourne, and the old buildings have been preserved with their rustic charm and filling the shops are quirky fashion boutiques, groovy cafes and bookshops. In other words, heaven for Mrs B and I.

We went to Cafe Retro and sat down on torn vinyl chairs at our chrome edged pink and white flecked table. We ordered a 'Sleazy Bowl Latte' and 'Big Breakfast' each and then spent the next two hours just chatting and laughing and having a hilarious time. The food was magnificent, the atmosphere was magic and the coffee was perfect.

When we finally dragged ourselves away from there, we hit the highway and headed for the Dandenong Ranges. It was the perfect day to get up into the mountains as it was a beautiful clear blue sky kinda Melbourne day with the temperature around 30 degrees. We stopped at the National Park entrance where we were treated to a view right across the plains to Melbourne and the coast. A truly amazing view. Where we were was only 633 meters above sea level, but since it rises up from the plains, you can see for miles. Here is the view with a hot chickie in it to spice it up a little:

Then we pretty much carried on down the highway with no particular plan, just seeing where the road would take us. We ended up at a German chocolate house / cafe in the middle of nowhere. They made the most decadent cakes and choclates that were just to die for. Our hot chocolates had Bavarian chocolate flakes sprinkled on and through them, which made them heaven to drink.

After leaving there and finding civilisation again, we realised we had ended up close to where some friends from Hoppers Crossing congo had recently moved to. So we went and dropped in on them to have a bit of a catch up. They were stoked to see us and, coincidentally some other friends from Hoppers had also dropped in to say hello, so it was nice addition to our day. We filled up on coffee again there and then made our way home. It turns out we were only an hour from home so it was a pretty cruisy drive back.

Of course the best way to finish the day was to have pizza, so we gorged ourselves on that. Yum yum.

A huge big long day, but by far the most fun we have had since arriving here. We have lots of new places to explore further, and lots of places that we can take you all when you come and visit.

Off to bed with a full belly and satisfied tiredness.

*sigh*