And On To Melbourne

And On To Melbourne

Friday November 3 - Saturday November 11, 2023

Friday November 3, 2023

 

We arrived in Melbourne at about 3:30 this afternoon. We had exactly 90 minutes to collect our luggage, rent a car, drive across town and find the restaurant where we were meeting friends at 5 pm. Fortunately, we know the city fairly well; we are accustomed to driving on the left hand side of the road; and, in spite of it being Friday late afternoon, the traffic was moving very smoothly. So off we went … we did pretty well. We arrived at the restaurant at 5:11 pm.

 

Seven friends were waiting for us. It is a group of friends who all have children approximately the same age. When we lived here the teenagers all gathered with a youth leader at the church for a Friday night activity. We initiated the idea that if the kids could go out to have some fun, maybe the parents should do the same. So we started to eat at a restaurant near the church every Friday. Usually we had Asian food and one of the dads was very good at selecting Asian dishes that made great meal. Now, of course, the kids are all adults with their own kids, but each time we come to Melbourne, this group still meets for a Friday night dinner. It was fun to be able to share conversation, laughter and food with them tonight

Saturday, November 4, 2023

We checked into our hotel, home for the next 3 days and collapsed into bed. Travelling is quite tiring … what happened to the days when we could go all day and all night. We knew we needed to be up and about early Saturday morning to meet another group of friends at “The Glen’, the community shopping centre. It is a weekly tradition to meet for morning coffee in the Food Court close to Muffin Break, where Jim and I get our coffee and muffin. The group had assembled before we arrived and once again we were warmly welcomed by this group of people who we have known for over 20 years now. The conversation and laughter was engaging. It took no time to traverse our five year absence and become immersed in the group.

 

After our coffee, we decided to explore the shops at the Glen. It has been totally renovated over the last several years. Some stores have moved; others have disappeared. The entire mall has expanded and, truly, there is nothing that you would want that is not available at the Glen. I have traditionally purchased shoes at a store called Mountfords. I was delighted to find that, although it had moved and reduced in floor space, the shop was alive and well and featured some beautiful and comfortable shoes. I bought two pair!!

 

Another shop that we had discovered 5 years ago is Robinsons Book Store. We located it again and browsed the shelves. There were certainly several titles that were appealing, especially in the children’s section. We refrained from buying anything … but we are still going to be around for 3 more weeks. Temptation!!!

 

During the afternoon, we returned to our hotel for a much needed nap. Somewhat later we headed out along The Kingsway. The Kingsway is a main street through the community of Springvale. As we had heard, it has transformed from a traditional shopping street to a major restaurant street. Gone is our beloved bakery (Muddings) along with the green grocer, the butcher shop, the hairdresser and barber, and the news agent (it sold newspapers and many other paper products). Even the post office is gone. All those shops have been replaced by restaurants, mostly Asian, including Thai, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and Vietnamese. The menus are broad and the aromas are enticing. But we had other plans …

 

We had been invited to David and Susan Morgan’s for dinner, joined by Barbara and John Hurst. These are the two couples we were with in Morocco when the world shut down due to COVID. One of the things we were looking forward to there was to celebrate the men’s 75^th birthdays. We have a tradition of meeting in a new place every 2 ½ years to celebrate the birthdays of the men or the women (the women are MUCH younger!). We had to leave Morocco in a hurry and we have not been together since then so we chose this occasion to celebrate the men’s 75^th birthdays … even though they are all truly 76 at this point. There is a hope that we once again meet somewhere else in the world to celebrate the women’s 75^th birthdays (still a couple of years off).

 

Sunday, November  5, 2023

Sunday morning, we were off to church, Glen Waverley Uniting Church, the church we attended for the four years we lived in Glen Waverley. After an absence of five years, we were not sure how well we might be remembered. We were humbled as we entered the church because of the number of people who approached us and remembered us by name. It was so much fun to pick up friendships where we left off.

 

We finished off the day with one of our favourite Aussie meals … charcoal chicken and chips. The chicken is not are off the precooked chickens we can get in grocery stores at home, accompanied by some excellent French fries and a container of delicious cole slaw. It provided enough food for two meals ….

 

Monday, November 6, 2023

On Monday morning , several friends meet for coffee at Jell’s park. About 10 years ago, men friends began to enjoy a walk around the lake in this large and beautiful park followed by a coffee.

The group of men became known as the GOMERS … Grumpy Old Men and Early Retirees. The coffee was always at Madeleine’s, a café in the park. It was not long before spouses and other women friends decided the walk and coffee was a good idea and began to join the men or walk as a group of women. For coffee, the men sat at along table by themselves and the women (fewer of them) sat at another table across the café. Now, ten+ years later, the group has diminished in size but there are still stalwart walkers and others who join for coffee. The men and women still sit separately.

 

Something as mundane as laundry occupied the afternoon as well as a rest. Monday evening we set out to explore the Kingsway and enjoyed a delicious dinner at L’Elephant, a Thai restaurant. We sat outside and experienced day transform into evening. The Kingsway was crowded with people … dining, strolling, enjoying the evening. We ordered some favourite Thai dishes and enjoyed the ambience as we ate. One of the overriding sounds on the street apart from car engines and talking people, was the sound of birds gathering in the trees for the night. It was so loud that anyone sitting near the trees would have had difficulty carrying on a conversation. It was a great end to a great day.

 

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

 

Tuesday was moving day. We have been invited by a good friend, Heather Bailey, to come a stay at her home. It is a spacious home with glorious gardens a short distance from Glen Waverley, always our base of activity. Our trusty rental vehicle will reliably get us to and from the places we want to go.

 

So, once again, we packed our bags and headed to our new home. Heather was very welcoming and had prepared very comfortable spaces for us to sleep. We enjoyed the evening

catching up on news of family and travel as we settled into our ‘new home’.

 

Tuesday was an exciting day in Melbourne, known as Cup Day. Cup Day, a  is dedicated to horse racing at a beautiful track, adorned by roses, and featuring some of the best known horses in Australia in a variety of races. Although the races carry on for a whole week, the main race is always on Tuesday afternoon. The crowd gathers, many outfitted in formal clothes and festive hats; some bring elaborate lawn furniture to sit on; a party atmosphere embraces to venue. Precisely at three o’clock, the main event gets underway. It seems as though the whole city pauses to watch or listen to this race. In less than 3 minutes it is over but  it is significant enough that the day has become a state holiday. Of course, there is an exciting presentation of the ‘cup’ to the jockey and the owner of the horse, all in a short ceremony. After the presentation ends, the track gets busy again as the races resume. This goes on for five full days and on each day, the roses are switched from one colour to another. I wonder how many rose bushes are required to meet the demands of the racetrack.

 

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

 

Wednesday morning began with yet another tradition. A different group of women from the church meet for coffee at Crossroads, a large community facility on nearby Springvale Road. Over time, the husbands have also begun to gather, always sitting at a separate table some distance from the women. Jim and I are always invited to join these groups and we do so with pleasure. It is yet another way for us to catch up on their lives and activities.  Today,  one of the ladies brought me a beautiful bouquet of roses from her own garden. It was a thoughtful and much appreciated gesture.

 

During the afternoon, I had a lovely nap while Jim chatted with Heather and, as always, did some research about future travel.

 

Dinner was the highlight of the day. We were invited to the home of a young woman who had been a friend of Iain’s when we lived here in the early 2000’s. Lydia Chin is now married and has two little children, Hugo and Sylvie. Lydia works in the public health sector and her husband, Adam, is an elementary school teacher, specializing in media and technology. Onn Chin, Lydia’s dad, and Heather, our host, were also invited to the dinner. It was pure delight from beginning to end. So much catching up to do!!  I had a wonderful chat with Adam and feel like I know him much better now. The entire evening was filled with fun. Laughter and great food.

 

Thursday, November 9, 2023

 

After a busy start to the week, it was relaxing to spend a morning at ‘home’. Although my goal was to work on this blog, Heather and I chatted the morning away. It was a lovely morning. Jim went out for lunch with John Baines, a friendship that formed within days of our arrival in Glen Waverley in early 2000. They traditionally go to Wheeler Hill Hotel which has traditional Australian food and a wonderful hilltop view of the Dandenongs, a local and

beautiful mountain range.

 

We enjoyed a quiet afternoon at home and then went to Geraldine and Robert Fleming’s home for an evening of dinner and bridge. When we are in Canada, we play online bridge with Geraldine and Robert as a way of enjoying the game as well as catching up on news from across the oceans. It was fun to play with real cards across a real table. As usual, we did not keep score and enjoyed the conversation and the laughter as we played.

 

Friday, November 10, 2023

 

Today was a low key day. We spent the morning at home, puttering and chatting with Heather. Just before noon, Onn Chin picked us up and we headed out or lunch. Onn always takes us to a Vietnamese restaurant in the suburb of Springvale for pho. We made a stop along the way to visit Cynthia, Onn’s wife and a dear friend in her final resting place a nearby cemetery. Onn had brought flowers to leave at her grave. Cynthia passed away about 2 years ago, leaving a wonderful family and an amazing group of friends. We miss her presence very much.

 

We then continued to the restaurant, Pho 2018, in Springvale. Onn helped us navigate the menu and we all had beef pho. Onn had the restaurant special including tripe and tendons. Jim and I were a little less adventurous and passed on the tripe and tendons. The broth and beef were both delicious and Onn demonstrated how to add chilis, basil, lime and hoisin sauce to flavour the pho to our taste. We did our best to eat the slippery noodles with our chopsticks. Overall it was a delicious meal, topped off with mango ice cream.

 

Onn dropped us off mid-afternoon and we spent the rest of the day at ‘home’ … Heather’s home. We laughed together as we all joined in eating leftovers from the fridge for dinner … including some servings of pho leftover from our lunch. There was more than enough food to meet our appetites.

 

Saturday, November 11, 2023

 

Once again, we gathered a the Glen for coffee. We did that last week; we did it again today … and we will do it next week as well. The conversation was lively … men at one end of the table and women at the other. As unusual as this is, it will always be thus in Australia.

 

At precisely 11:00 AM an announcement was made that there would be a moment of silence to honour those who fought and died in wars the involved Australians. It was remarkable that the entire mall went silent for full minute.

 

We found our car in the enormous car park and headed to a favourite sanctuary called Serendip where there is plenty of wildlife.

Today there were several emus but nothing else. We enjoyed a lovely drive back to Melbourne by avoiding the main highways. We travelled through small towns and villages, along country roads, through the neighbourhoods in western suburbs and finally into the heart of the city. What chaos!!! Construction every which way!!! Through no fault of our own, we ended up on  the freeway and missed our mark by several exits. Finally we got on the right road and found our way to our friends’ home.

 

We had dinner with Jacques and Brigitta Boulet. We met Jacques and Brigitta in 1982 in Ann Arbor, Michigan when we were all graduate students at the University of Michigan. We all lived in the same student housing complex and became part of the same babysitting coop. We used punched computer cards (remember those?)  as currency in the coop and became friends along with others in the complex.  We instantly clicked with Jacques and Brigitta and have stayed in touch for all of the intervening years. After graduating, we returned to Waterloo and they moved to Melbourne, Australia. Christmas cards were exchanged each year but we did not meet face to face again until we moved to Canberra in 1996. It was a wonderful reunion; we picked up where we had left off more than a decade previously. We have spent time with them each time we have come to Australia and carried on as if we had been together a week ago. What wonderful friends they are!!

 

And, so another week has passed and each day we are grateful to be a part of this community and to be so warmly welcomed each time we come. Who knows what next week will bring!?!