Catching our Breath?

Melbourne is a fantastic city; vibrant, pretty, multicultural, energizing. In fact, my cousin-in-law tells me that it is the “second most livable city in the world” after Vancouver.

That’s nice.

I was hearing none of it, because my energies were consumed by this lovely child:


She is AWESOME. Check that smile:


This was our third visit to Melbourne, and we saw it proper on the first two; this trip was really just about catching up with family and friends. We had great times with the Melbourne Gerrards and I had the chance to meet Ben’s uncle Mark and his wife Gwynn. We caught up with ABC chums Jude (and her lovely little boys) and Belinda, all of whom are fun and warm…the best kinds of people. For these and lots of other reasons, it is difficult to ignore the siren’s song that is Melbourne.

Plus, they had this cute café in an old tram station (Mart, which is Tram backwards) where we had brunch with Ben’s Aunt and Uncle. If I have a design aesthetic (doubtful, very doubtful), they achieved it. Bonus: The corn fritters rocked my socks off.

Our trip home was uneventful, and we even scored a bulkhead seat with lots of leg room and exit rows on our two domestic flights, so clearly the travel fairy was on our side. I also, finally, got to watch much of the new season of Flight of the Conchords and was not afraid to laugh out loud. I couldn’t help it.

I must be getting older, if not maturing, as this was the first time I can remember my tailbone hurting from sitting so long.

I asked Ben if he still liked me after three weeks in constant company and he said yes. I think he meant it, but maybe it is because I had a Violet Crumble candy bar in my possession and he knew it.

My folks were at home to greet us, having been at a wedding in Kansas City; they had pizza and lots of good stories from their Alaskan cruise for us, and it was great to see them. It’s so great to have parents who will meet you at the door, dinner ready, after 24+ hours in airplanes and airports.

Sunday was devoted to laundry, thank-you-notes, bills, and an awesome surprise birthday dinner with Dyngus, David and Ben—well played Dyngus, well-played. Andrea cooked the meal from our “Everyday French” cooking class and Autumn scored a DQ ice-cream cake, and it was great to see them.

Ben and I hit work on Monday and Tuesday—we are not accustomed anymore to things like “work” but it was good to get caught up a bit, and to check in with clients and students. I love my job. And speaking of work, I’m toiling away in the Newark airport just now, guiding a group of 11 students, most of who are flying internationally for the first time, on a study abroad program to Scotland.

Oh, the drudgery.

In a few hours we wing our way to Edinburgh. I’ll try to write a bit about Edinburgh soon. She’s like going to see an old, very dear friend (in fact, there are dear friends living there) but flying into Edinburgh is still, always a bit magical for me.

We’ll post when we can.
Love,
Robyn and Ben