Christmas time fun....

We spent Christmas Eve at home this year and thought we might wander over to the Myer Music Bowl to listen to the Carols. It was a sellout, but a nice warm night was just the encouragement we needed to go for a walk and check it out. We had dinner beside the Yarra and then walked back across the bridge to the Music Bowl. We were able to sit on the hill right outside the fence and while we couldn't really see the stage we could see it on the big screen. Thousands of people had gathered in the balmy night and it really looked quite festive with all the candles waving in the night. Soon after we heard rumbles of thunder and decided it might be time to head for home before the rain hit. We did so and watched the rest on TV. And missed the rain too.

And so before we knew it we were waking up on Christmas morning. Very quiet this year without the kids here but in retrospect a good start to what would become a fabulous fun day. We exchanged our gifts after breakfast, and were both very happy with 'our loot', before getting ready to head off to Faye & Rem's place where the family was gathering for the big day. The festivities began in earnest with the exchanging of gifts all handed out by a very enthusiastic Ethan who was enjoying his first family Christmas for 4 years. Everyone was happy again and Ethan was just itching to get out and try out his new Boogie board.

A little later we were joined by Rem's Aunties, cousins and friends and before long we were summoned to the table, set for 20, to start our Christmas dinner. What a feast it was with bar-b-que prawns and antipasto to start, followed by the traditional roast dinner. The pulling of crackers was pretty random but finally all were done, trinkets collected, jokes told and silly hats donned, glasses filled and refilled as a the group relaxed into party mode. One little moment of panic as the burnt carrots set off the smoke alarm but Rem came to the rescue waving the tea towel to disperse the smoke. Offending carrots discarded and plenty more in the pan to replace those few. All the plates looked like they had been licked clean & dinner was rated 5*. A platter of fresh fruit after the mains kept us full as we waited for the Christmas Pudding which Mum had made this year. It was worth the wait and was truly yummy.

The boys headed outside to play Bocce but soon after the storm that was threatening all day finally arrived and hail and heavy rain brought everyone back inside where the game changed to Uno and kept the masses entertained some more. Late afternoon saw Rem's family leave and not long after Jarrod & Aaron arrived for what would become another food fest and Super Uno Challenge. Christmas tea was just a picking affair with most of us opting for a second go at the Christmas pudding and custard. And mince pies & shortbread of course. Would we ever need to eat again. Thank you so much Faye & Rem for a fabulous day and a wonderful Christmas. So good to have you home again.

Boxing Day started slowly and we had a quiet morning at home before leaving early afternoon for our drive to Healesville. We were off to join Astrid, Hans & Bianca for their traditional 'leftover lunch' with the neighbors. We have been adopted as honorary neighbors and once again we had a great afternoon and evening with all the friends and relations gathered at Chum Creek. There was one surprise guest with Santa making an appearance after being blown off course on his way back to the North Pole. He did the rounds of the table trying to find out who had been naughty or nice but there seemed to be quite the attraction to the lady in the Santa hat of her own. Yep, Santa was definitely flirting with Astrid. Hope Hans doesn't find out, never did figure out where he had gone too while Santa was visiting. Christmas dinner, complete with Pudding & custard, for the second day in a row probably did not do the waistline any good but it's only once a year, what harm can it do and it all tasted so good. It would have been criminal to waste it. What else are neighbors for.

A Public Holiday on Tuesday made for a 4 day weekend and we joined Pat, Russell, Blake & Mitchell, from Perth, for a days sightseeing in the city. They were visiting Melbourne for Christmas with Pat's Sister and we were stealing them for the day. We had had dinner with them in Lygon St the previous Friday night and our mission today was to visit the Edge in Eureka Tower and have a Sausage and Sauerkraut at Riverland Bar at Federation Wharf. With mission accomplished, after our lunch beside the Yarra, we decided that the boys had to see Chloe so went across to Young & Jacksons where we had a drink in Chloe's Bar, right beside the famous painting.

From there we went in search of another of Melbourne's quirky bars and found our self on the rooftops in Bourke St having a drink at the famous Madame Brussels. A rather fancy terrace and a fun place to have a drink the history of the place is as interesting as some of the patrons. Previously a sweetheart of the Duke of Edinburgh in the 1867 the lady married a remittance man and ran brothels in and around the city. It is obviously a favourite place to meet and have a drink judging by the number of people enjoying the sunshine. A quick drink there and we moved over the road to another Melbourne Institution, Pelligrini's Expresso Bar. The 1950s-style espresso bar hasn’t changed in years. The gleaming coffee machine (allegedly the first in Melbourne) still makes great coffee and mama's cakes are very tempting. The home made baked cheesecake was just perfect and in winter the pasta and minestrone are so good too. We called it a day after this and took the tram home saying goodbye to our friends as they were off to help finish Christmas leftovers at Tracey's place. it was good to see you all again and we hope that you enjoyed your day out as much as we did.

It was back to work the next day for Bill and me but only two days to go and we were off on our final adventure of the year.

until then........