When it comes to overnight guests, they don't come any better than my cousins Paul and Linda. We should know with all of the opportunitites we have had to play the role of hosts and tour guides during the past two and a half years. Enthusiasm, gratitude, a sense of humor, and the curiosity to learn about a new culture and country are just a few of the qualities that we have come to appreciate in our guests, and Paul and Linda displayed all of them in abundance.
After for traveling close to thirty hours in cramped conditions, they could have been forgiven for wanting to rest in seclusion shortly after their arrival but instead Linda jumped into lunch preparations and Paul made quick work of becoming acquainted with the children. He won them all over in short order what with his willingness to listen to a long exposition of cricket and his enthusiasm for constructing various shapes from magnets with the youngest member of the family.
The afternoon was a hot one, and there were no complaints over the plans to sit by the neighbors' pool and watch the kids swim.
All that swimming made for hungry children. I had the feeling that Paul and Linda would have been just as happy to sit around talking over crackers, cheese, and fruit rather than have me figure out how to get everyone fed. We had lots of catching up to do as I was only five when Linda got married and moved out to Iowa. However we agreed that the kids needed something more substantial, and so we headed to a local Greek restaurant for their specialty, lamb and chicken off the spit. It went down very well.
I thought for sure Paul and Linda would crash after dinner, but instead our they were up for a walk to one of our favorite places, Trampoline. I am pretty sure we have taken all of our overseas visitors there for gelato on their first day down under. I don't have photos of this particular trip for ice cream, but you can see some from our very first visit here, On the way we strolled past our local lawn bowls club. I have always thought lawn bowling was little more than an excuse to socialize over drinks and some food, but this particular round seemed to be fairly intense. Linda paused to take a photo or two.
Friday morning started the way every morning should start: with a cup of good strong joe. I remarked to Paul that my memories of Iowa coffee are of a light brown liquid that carries with it the faintest aroma of coffee. Paul assented to the validity of this memory, but fortunately he and Linda like it strong so we got along just fine.
Paul had plans to meet up with a colleague in the city for lunch, so after breakfast we hopped on a tram. The remaining photos in this post come courtesy of Linda's camera.
We walked around Federation Square and the Flinders St. Railway Station before heading across the Yarra River to Freshwater Place. Fortunately Paul's colleague works in the building next to Ross's building so I had no trouble finding the spot.
Once we had Paul dropped off, Linda, Sophie, James and I headed back across the Yarra to wander around Melbourne's popular laneways and shopping arcades. We finished our exploration with an al fresco lunch on Degraves St.
The sun made its appearance during lunch, but unfortunately it disappeared again as we made our way to the Eureka Tower. Named in honor of the Victorian Gold Rush, the Eureka Tower is currently Melbourne's tallest building, and a popular tourist attraction. I do believe James already considered Paul one of his best buddies, but a trip up the Eureka Tower cemented the deal. This was something James had been waiting many long months to do. His siblings all ascended more than a year ago. It can be very hard at times to be the youngest in the family, and this is something Paul understands all too well.
We payed particular attention to the blue areas shown below as they were the site of the Australian Open that was in progress at the time.
I really like the following shot of the Flinders St. Railway Station:
By the time we finished at the Eureka Tower, it was late afternoon, but Paul had one more place he wanted to see, Melbourne's tall ship. He and I both discovered that we shared an interest in ships from the 19th Century, and Linda, Sophie, James were happy to accompany us. It was just as well that James did not realize how much walking would be involved. For a boy that complains at times over walking a few blocks to school, he did pretty well considering that we ended up logging about seven miles that day all told. There were times, however, when he sat down on the pavement and refused to go further, and he made sure that we all knew the exact level of his discomfort at any given time.
We were all assigned roles before we boarded the ship, from the ship's cat to the captain's wife. Our tour guide was quite talented, and soon had the full attention of our group. He had James fooled several times in fact, and by the end James was worried that he had actually been enlisted and would be required to show up the next morning at 5am as ship's boy, a role he had learned by then was not all that desirable.
Our tour ended with some of the adults being required to run back and forth across the ship to make it rock. Linda was a good sport and did her part. I was exempt as I had been given the prize role of captain's wife, so I took the camera. After the ship was successfully rocking, the children had to scrub the deck clean, a job some took more seriously than others.
We decided to take the train back, arriving home about dinnertime. Somewhat to my shame, I confess to serving leftovers from the night before, but what can you do when your guests insist. Our day was not quite done as we still had to pick Cameron up from his cricket match. We made it for the last ten or fifteen minutes, and I did my best to explain what I could to my fellow Americans about what was happening out on the field. Cameron was happy to see us, and his coach came over to assure us that he had done well bowling earlier in the evening. Since our team's best two bowlers were away, Cameron had the opportunity to play more than he usually does, making for a nice ending to our day.
Stay tuned for more about Paul and Linda's first few days down under!
What amazing sights, Christie! So glad you are having another fun visit!
Posted by: Shanda | 01/30/2013 at 12:50 AM
Sounds like they were having a wonderful time! Looks like you got their trip off to a great start!
Posted by: Suzanne | 01/30/2013 at 12:51 AM
I enjoyed sharing your day with you so much! Some of the pictures brought back wonderful memories and the new places were so interesting! Thanks again for this blog..all of the different ones.. I think I am in love with Australia!
Posted by: Aunt Marion | 01/30/2013 at 01:16 AM
Another great post. I especially liked your description of "Iowa" coffee. That was so accurate and probably one of the reasons I never learned to enjoy coffee!
Posted by: Shirley | 01/30/2013 at 08:04 AM
Well written article especially I like the pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Ella rich | 02/02/2013 at 08:17 PM
What a full and fun day, and it sure is nice to see Paul and Linda.
Posted by: whits end mom | 02/07/2013 at 03:18 PM