The Big City

Here we are back in ‘the big city’ of Melbourne, surrounded by family and friends. We have enjoyed many ‘catch ups’, and have experienced many culinary delights such as Moroccan, Italian, Vietnamese and Afghan food!

Uncle, cousins and partners at Moroccan Soup Kitchen

But, we have also discovered Melbourne’s best kept secret.............. The Mornington Peninsula (OK so maybe not such a secret).
Dave and I had never been down the peninsula before and were truly impressed. The picturesque Mornington Peninsula is only an hour from Melbourne, but you could easily think you had travelled to Europe when you see the coastal landscape and olive groves reminiscent of Italy. The area is not overly developed and is home to National Parks, ensuring it hopefully stays that way.
We enjoyed the warmer water temp and went for a dip at Dromana. As we floated in the still waters of the bay, we viewed the bathing shacks painted all the colours of the rainbow (I have always wanted to see them!!). After a refreshing swim, if was off to Sorrento and Portsea. This area has money. Serious money. Sorrento, with its many historic buildings, only sells organic and low fat food- even in the local supermarket! Choose any one of the many cafes and watch the passing parade of the rich and famous, or should I say ‘establishment’ dahhling.
Portsea- a place of inexpressible elegance, as described by John Murray in 1802. The 1927 landmark Portsea Hotel, is a must. We enjoyed a bevvie, sitting out on the verandah watching the boats gently bob up

Portsea Hotel
and down as the sun danced across the water, the scene all very Mediterranean.
We did take a short cliff top walk in the National Park to London Bridge (a rock formation I was to discover).

'London Bridge'

From here we could see out to Cheviot Beach- the scene of the Harold Holt disappearance.
Monday will see us checking out of our Melbourne Caravan Park, at Coburg. We are heading North West, but will ensure we don’t go anywhere near the bushfire affected areas. It is hard to know what to do for sure- there are pleas for tourists to bring in much needed money, but then there are pleas to not travel in Victoria at all. We will however, play it safe and listen to the emergency broadcast station- the ABC.