Christmas and the New Year - Part 1

Well Christmas has come and gone and I have been very lax with the blog, having said that I have been extremely busy looking after visitors. I had the in-laws coming into town for the holiday period and such we had a lot of impressing to be done. They arrived on the 23rd having taken a break on the way down in Bangkok, so they were not going to be a jet lagged as some visitors. Moira jhas spent the last year carefully planning the visit and had filled a spreadsheet with vital plans for the time they would be spending over here. We had booked cricket for boxing day, trips down the coast and were finishing in the new year with a three day trip to the Grampians.

Christmas eve was fairly low key, good food and wine and talks about the trip down. An opportunity to share the three million photo’s we had taken since landing. Presents were placed under our tree, a real one this year decorated with a variety of gaudy silver starts and baubles and a selection of Koala bears. The look spoke of tradition with a hint of Australia.

The first hurdle was the fact that we were four people living in a single room studio flat, one benefit is that it is large enough to pull a partition wall across that splits the room in half thus giving the parents an idea of privacy. The second biggest hurdle was going to be lunch.

For Christmas lunch we prepared a seafood starter, Melbourne having some of the best seafood in Australia. We perhaps made a slightly large amount but there would be no hungry people at our Christmas dinner table. The main course was a traditional turkey with all the trimmings, plus an additional selection of Emu meatballs. Everyone agreed that they were extremely dry but the experience was what was counted. Presents had been opened and we got down to the somewhat serious task of entertaining, this consisted of playing board games, cards and drinking an enormous amount of alcohol. Just like Christmas back home, except no TV. It’s very easy to go without TV when you have good company to pass the time with.

Boxing day and we all set out to the cricket, the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) is one of the jewels of the city and we had so far not been to this stadium, missing out on St Kilda’s trip during the AFL season. Australia against Pakistan was an exciting match, well it would be if you were a follow of the sport. I am not really but the experience of watching the two teams in one of the best grounds in the world. We managed to find ourselves sitting in the same area of the ground as two people from England who the in-laws knew and the day ended in a restaurant on the south bank. All in all a very nice experience.

The following day we tried to take a trip down the coast to Sorento, a coastal town renowned for good views and quaint restaraunts. We drove down the coast quite a way before Tom Tom instructed us to take the main highway down the peninsular. This was a big mistake as we found ourselves in train of traffic, pretty much everyone in Melbourne had decided that this would be a good idea. With the temperature in the 30’s it seemed everbody thought going to the seaside a great idea. We were a little panicked as we had booked the colonial tramcar that evening and we had to be at the stop for half eight or they would leave without us. Needless to say once we finally arrived we had enough time to call into a chippy, buy and eat some chips then pretty much set off again. We made good time on the way back and had plenty of time to get ready and meet the tram.

I have spoken about the colonial tramcar restaurant before but in essence this is a 1930’s tramcar that has been converted into a travelling restaurant. Food is simple and most of it is prepared in a restaurant and picked up on route, the steaks are cooked on the tram to your liking. Once on board the booze is free and as the tram makes its way round the city you are given a tour of Melbourne whilst you eat your meal. Moira went for chicken which was a mistake but everyone had a great time and we were surprisingly drunk by the time the three hour trip was over, the staff just do not stop filling your glass.

Next we took the parents on their Christmas present, a wine tour of the Yarra Valley region. This covers some fantastic wine and is a really must do experience when visiting Melbourne, a single day tour to four or five vineyards including Chandon (Moet & Chandon subsidiary). The parent s loved it, this was our second trip, and need-less to say that evening we enjoyed some of our best wine of the holiday, everyone is always buying souvenirs on these trips. At this point i’ll leave the story and save the trip to the Grampians for next week.