Deb here. We were both up early and decided to head to the Queen Victoria Market, which opened at 6 a.m. It was a short 15 minute walk and we arrived there about 6:15 a.m. Fun walking around the market and watching all of the veggie, meat and seafood stands set up for the day. The market is huge and reminded us both of the markets in Montreal. We stopped at a bakery and had a scone (me) and bagel (John), then crossed the street to try out an Australian McDonald's for coffee. The McDonald's here all have McDonald's Cafes with an extensive drink menu, so I was able to get a chai latte and John had a flat white. Very elegant!
We headed back to our hotel and had a text from Vicki that they were ahead of schedule and would pick us up by 8:30 a.m. After packing up our stuff we checked out and waited outside for them to arrive. Sure enough, by 8:30 they were stopping out front and we were on our way.
It was the first time we'd seen Vicki and Greg since Hannah's high school graduation in 2009! They'd made a plan for an itinerary and we drove in the direction of Ballarat. It was so fun to connect with them after all this time and catch up on each other's lives. We arrived in Ballarat by late morning and stopped at a beautiful botanical garden for coffee/drinks. We wandered around the gardens, then drove into town and had a leisurely late lunch at a local cafe.
Back on the road to drive to Warrnambool, our destination for the night. Warrnambool is the western end of the Great Ocean Road, which we'll drive tomorrow to go back to Melbourne. Warrnambool was hopping with lots of families out and about. Greg had booked us all into The Quest Motel, which we checked into at 5 p.m. We made plans to meet back at 6:20 to walk to the RSL (Returned and Service League) nearby for dinner. Apparently the RSL's are scattered throughout Australia, and they're a service organization dedicated to serving those who have served in the military since 1916.
Dinner was great, complete with a raffle and giveaways. By 8 it was time to head back to the motel for some rest before another busy day tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment