Christmas in Melbourne

Friday the 22nd of December saw us leaving the comfort of our home to fly to Melbourne for a week long holiday of sun, drink, food and obligatory cricket watching. Of course Tinkerbell didn’t miss out on a holiday, as she was dropped off at a local ‘cat hotel’ for the week. She must have been looking forward to it as she certainly made a lot of noise on the journey!

As per usual, preparations were not completed until the last minute! Only a few hours before we were due to fly, Pete remembered that visas were needed for entry into Australia. Something we were aware of but had slipped our minds. Thanks to the wonder of the internet the forgotten official entry documents were quickly acquired and we were able to set off to the airport.

The flight to Melbourne was uneventful. Upon arrival in Melbourne, we met Fred (a friend of Chantal’s aunt) and spent the following two days with him and his girlfriend (Sue). Fred is a fantastic host, and we enjoyed the time we spent with him. On Sunday, he even drove us to St Kilda, where we had rented an apartment for the following week.

Christmas in St Kilda

On Sunday, we settled ourselves into the apartment and claimed the master bedroom, leaving the twin room for Jenny and Andy. As soon as the suitcase was unpacked and the mini Christmas Tree had been errected, we walked to the supermarket and liquor store, to stock up on some much needed essentials: beer!

That evening after Jenny and Andy arrived, we all went to the supermarket, to stock up on the ‘healthy’ foods needed for a Christmas Day gorgefest. The plan was to spend Christmas Day on the beach, enjoying a picnic and cooling down with dips in the sea. The trip to the supermarket was a comical affair, with all sorts of products (mini Battenberg anyone?) being thrown into the trolley! Once back in the apartment, we continued drinking and had a pleasant, if not slightly intoxicated Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day dawned but with great disappointment we soon discovered that the weather god had been unkind. It was a cold, damp, dreary, British style Christmas Day. In fact, it turned out to be Melbourne's coldest Christmas for 70 years. Not quite what we had expected!

Chantal was desperate to unwrap the pressies, which we had brought along with us but Pete was being mean and insisted on having breakfast first. A sausage and egg breakfast, accompanied with a bottle of Lindauer Fraise was devoured before permission to unwrap was granted. (Thanks Jenny and Andy for the Micronations book and chocolate.)

To work off some calories we went for a walk, through Acland St, and were amazed at how many shops were open. Honestly, who wants to buy shoes on Christmas Day? We continued walking and even went onto the beach (fully clothed). However, the cold, inclement weather did not deter Pete and Andy, who had to paddle in the water.

The beach really was not that pleasant and inviting; even a rat had turned his nose up to the weather.

We ended up at the 'Espy', where we sheltered from the horrible weather with jugs of beer and a few games of pool. Eventually, we felt we had to leave the Espy so, via the Acland St continental cake shops, we went back to the apartment and treated ourselves to some cream filled, sugary delicacies. The rest of the day was spent indulging in the feast that was meant to be our beach Christmas Picnic.