Some unexpected happenings...

Our week passed quickly and soon it was Saturday again and with our expected visitors unable to make it due to illness we were left to our own devices again.  With the Festival finishing this weekend we popped into town to check out the two newest buildings near Fed Square.  The Festival Hub across the Yarra was a very colourful addition to the riverside for the 3 weeks it has been there.  I'm sure the rowers are going to miss it when it's gone next week.

The other structure was a sculpture called 'Stickwork' made from Willow branches.  An interesting building that has entertained people young and old for the last few weeks.  Why - who knows but its bound to have been a talking point somewhere.

Leaving Fed Square we called in to Chocolait for a Mocha, Teds and JB Hi Fi for Bill to spend his birthday vouchers and then jumped on a tram to take us to the South Melbourne markets for a spot of shopping before lunch at Panettes.

On Saturday night we ventured over to Carlton to discover a lovely French Restaurant.  We had been booked in with our visitors and decided that we would still try it out on our own.  It was fabulous and somewhere that will become a real favourite.   Moretons Brassiere has it all, great food, great wine and friendly service. 

As usual Bill eyed off the deserts before deciding that he would only have an entree so he could fit in the Apricot Bread and Butter Pudding he had spied.  His Chicken Liver salad was tasty and filled him up nicely.  I was the greedy one with a main, Lamp Rump on Pureed Cauliflower and Thyme, and flaming Orange Crepes with Grand Marnier.  Yummy!

A bottle of really nice French Wine, fresh baguettes and butter made us feel like we were back in France again and we enjoyed every moment of our evening.  After dinner and feeling like we would never need to eat again we decided that we should walk home for some much needed exercise.  

The following morning we woke up to a beautiful sunny and still day and decided that a visit to Werribee Treatment Plant might be a good idea.  It was absolutely the right decision and we spent a few hours cruising around Lake Borrie and the coastline discovering lots of different birds taking advantage of the beautiful spring day.  

Another unexpected event on Tuesday night when Sandra visited us for dinner.  She had come over for work and we were thrilled to see her again.  We had dinner 'Downstairs' in the newly opened and renamed restaurant and it was lovely.  With new owners, a new menu and a totally new makeover we were pleasantly surprised and will definitely be making return visits there as well.  And this time no desert was eaten at all.  Time for that another day.

Wednesday brought yet another unexpected pleasure when I answered the phone and found BB on the other end asking if Bill and I were free were dinner the next night.  He and Bett were in town for a day or two and so dinner was arranged.  Once again 'Downstairs' was the venue of choice and again it didn't dissapoint.  It was so good to see both Bett and BB again and we had a wonderful night sharing all our stories of the last few years.

Friday night we ventured a little further afield and had dinner at another fave place, The Rising Sun, in South Melbourne as I had to go somewhere to show off my new 'do'.  Just a haircut after work but any excuse not to cook was the way to go on a Friday night.  The steak was great as usual and a nice way to finish the week.  Tomorrow we were picking up Tammy and Paul who were arriving for Cup week.

So while we are really sorry that our visitors were unwell and could not make it we thoroughly enjoyed our unexpected week and look forward to catching up with Cheryl and Shane another weekend.
until next time.......