Melbourne-bound

At long last I can finally announce that the boy and I are crossing the straight for the second time in 2010 for The Fish Do Melbourne Mk II! The flights were booked weeks ago, but my boss had been sitting on my leave application, making non-committal noises every time I asked about it. Today, after additional prodding, it's finally approved and I'm not going to spend the week working in our Melbourne office - hooray!

This will also be the longest Melbourne visit I've made so far, with 9 complete days in the Big City and/or surrounds. Dates are:

Arrive: Friday, August 27, quite late at night

Depart: Monday, September 6, early enough for me to make it to work (erk)

And as if that wasn't awesome enough, our friend Webby, from back home in Queensland, is flying down to join us. It's a Queensland-via-Tasmania invasion of excellence! Webby gets in on Sept 1st, so for the first weekend it'll just be the two of us. We're not sure what we'll get up to on the week-days we're there, but we've promised to give our hosts (L&K) a break for a few days, so we're contemplating a trip down along the Great Ocean Road, or out to Daylesford. Suggestions of somewhere to lose oneself for a few days would be most welcome (bearing in mind that there's a surfeit of small, quiet, quaint little seaside town here, but a distinct lack of cultural diversity and good coffee).

As for the two weekends, at present they're both completely free and waiting to be filled with the company of beautiful Melbourne peoples (see reference image on left). Awesomest friends, we want to see you! What should we do to ensure we do?

Ah, and here I must insert a small note: organising things around food is best avoided if possible. My "special needs" digestive system is rather broken^[1], making food a challenging subject at times. The boy and I are, however, blissfully happy to cook for other people. We can invade kitchens and prepare such culinary delights you (hopefully) won't notice the limited ingredients list. The good news is I can still drink wine, so long as it's red, and eat cheese, in moderation. =o) I know the boy is keen for a party or event, if one would graciously make itself available. Me, I just want to kick back, relax and absorb the warm glow of friendship and good company. Oh, and to be the biggest cuddle-slut I can possibly be - yay!

So, wonderful Melbourne peoples, please come see us, if for nothing more than to share a drink to drown our post-electoral sorrows (for truly there will be no winners amongst us this time).

We love you,

A & T
xoxo

[1] A visit to the gastroenterologist provided a tentative diagnosis of fructose malabsorption, with an endoscopy and breath tests still to come to make sure of it. In the meantime, anything high in fructose is off the menu, which means no onions, leeks, tomato, red capsicum or coconut milk (making eating out a challenge), as well as no white wine, apple, pear, mango, lychee, papaya, melon, grapes, honey or dried fruit, and only a little bit of garlic. Insert massive sad face.