still in Melbourne

I must say, I am loving Melbourne despite the cold!! It helps to have wonderful hosts, thank you Peter and Andrew.

My first night here we went to Boxhill and ate at a great Chinese restaurant, then we went to St Kilda......and those of you that have been to St Kilda know what I am going to say next.....the cake shops!!!!!!!!! I could not choose one, so I had 2 cakes and a coffee! The only other place I have seen so many delicious cake shops lining the streets is in Europe. The little shops have rickety old floor boards and small wooden tables and chairs to add to the ambience, there are big glass display cases full of every imaginable cake.

Tuesday we went to Brunswick Street to all the neat shops and cafes the weather was a bit cool and it was nice to wrap up in a warm scarf and a beanie that my friend in Brisbane made for me before I left for my trip. We wandered around the shops, had lunch then headed off to Smith Street in Collingwood to look at some more shops. I'm not a great shopper but just to wander the streets among the amazing shops and admiring the work of little known artists is fun for me.

Last night we went to a great Vietnamese restaurant owned and run by a young vietnamese couple on Victoria St in Richmond, the wife does the cooking and the husband serves the meals, they have only had their business for 4 months and I wish them all the best...the food was superb and very reasonably priced. The name of the restaurant is Fiafi, so if you get the opportunity, go eat there, enjoy the delicious meals and give the young couple a go. The night didn't end after our meal, we then went on to Lygone Street in Carlton for some more coffee and cakes at Brunettis, the place was pumping it was just like being in a street in Italy. People sitting outside under the heaters enjoying coffee, the inside of the place was huge with beautifully tiled floors and big display cabinets displaying...yup, you guessed it...CAKES! The whole cafe was charged with an amazing energy that made you want to stay in there all night drinking coffee and eating cakes....thankfully Andrew had to go to work the next morning otherwise I would still be in there eating cakes!

Today we went into the city, walked through all the graffitied alleys and then on to the lanes full of cafes to eat lunch, we wandered around the city a bit more and then it was time to head to the airport.

It was a fleeting visit to Melbourne but it was enough to remind me of how wonderful that city is and how much I have missed that sort of culture and atmosphere.