Grand Final excitement...

After my week on safari I went back to work on Monday wondering what this week would bring.  My first surprise was later that day when I received an email from Bill with my Grand Final ticket attached.  It was a real surprise as we knew there was the possibility that he would go but I never expected I would get to go again.  Wow!  Now all I had to do was too pick a team to cheer for on the day.

But first we had another outing to enjoy before the big day.  The Napoleon exhibition, Revolution to Empire, had been showing at the National Gallery of Victoria for the last few months and we decided that we had better visit before they packed up and left the week after the grand final.  We knew that it would get very busy during the last week so we went along to the 'Art after Dark' viewing on Wednesday night.

The gallery opens until 9.00pm each Wednesday and it was a great adventure.  Of course there were many people there to see Napoleon and it was such a wonderful exhibition with artifacts from every stage of his life making it such an interesting evening.  There were many personal items and trinkets along with furniture, clothes, paintings and of course the stories of each stage of his life.

I had obviously forgotten my history lessons and was quite surprised to find out how close we had come to being a French colony instead of a British one.  Even though the French did not colonise us they did record and collect a number of plants and animals and to see some of the original drawings done by the early explorers was quite a treat.  Also seeing the large hand drawn atlas' with the 'Australie' coastline not quite finished was most interesting.

Another interesting fact was that Josephine kept Kangaroos, Emus and Black Swans in the grounds of their residences for many years.  And the grounds were planted with many Australian plants, our gum trees doing very well indeed.

Our day at the Grand Final was wonderful.  Bill and I together with two other work colleagues hosted six guests in the Yarra Room where we had a lovely lunch before taking our seats in the stands to watch what was to be an excellent and very close game of football.  Very fitting for a Grand Final.  And the best part was that the rain stayed away and we did not get wet at all this year.  Without a team to cheer for I was able to sit back and enjoy the spectacle for the great game that it was, though I must say I was quite happy when Sydney Swans won as we still think of them as South Melbourne. 

Our Sunday was spent taking life easy as we prepared for another week at work.  It's a real shame that we have to spend time on housework and washing but I suppose someone has to do it.  We did take a walk up to the markets for lunch and I bought a new flan dish to try out a newly discovered  Leek and Asparagus Tart recipe for dinner.  Who knew I could transform into a such a domestic goddess!

Luckily I honed those skills in time for the next weekend when Lorraine and Hans were coming to visit us from Perth.  We had a great weekend with them and I even managed to impress them with my Salmon served with Mango and Avocado Salsa followed by an Apple and Blueberry sponge pudding.  All home made of course - how domestic was that!  Needless to say I didn't perform two nights in a row and we had a great night out on Saturday with dinner at Sale a Pepe in Lygon St. 

We said goodbye to them on Sunday afternoon and went back to the shop for more ingredients for Sunday nights dinner.  Pumpkin pizza with fetta, pine nuts and baby spinach.  Yes, I am getting a touch concerned about this cooking spree but we are both enjoying the adventure as we go and so far have had no ill effects from my efforts.

The following Saturday we drove down to Pakenham to pick up the camper trailer which was in for some cosmetic procedures.  We have added an extra gas bottle and some tent flys over the beds.  We are now really ready to go bush!  We stopped at Mordialloc for a late lunch at Seed Cafe.  And on Saturday night we went to the Princess Theatre to see South Pacific.  It was a great production and we loved it.  After the show we dropped into Pelligrini's for a very late supper and soon after were on the tram heading home.  A busy but fun day.

Back on the tram early Sunday morning, we headed down to South Melbourne beach to meet Bryce and Susie for brunch.  It was a beautiful morning after a miserable week weather wise and the Melbourne Marathon was in full swing so lots to watch while we sat and ate and caught up with each others news. 

After that we walked along the beach to Port Melbourne where we caught the tram to Docklands then Smith St Collingwood in search of some much needed walking shoes for me.  With mission accomplished we made it home around 4.00pm and there we stayed with the television keeping us amused for the rest of the evening.

So with a busy few weeks coming to an end we are now in the planning stages for next weekend in the bush.  Stay tuned and see where we end up.

until next time..............