All aboard

Yesterday after a morning of big exploratory conversations we went on a drive and had a lazy lunch in the semi-rural outskirts of Melbourne. The roadside signs for fire risk said 'severe' and flashing lights alerted all to a total fire ban that's been imposed.

Later we went back into the city to Abbotsford for a Vietnamese dinner with Priyani which was delightful. I last saw her as a child 16 years ago. She is now a young woman in full bloom with great ideas, articulate and a global thinker.

Today Guri gave us a tour of the city. As with highly organised guides, he had an agenda of what he wanted to show us so there was no time for slouching around. We went through Carlton Gardens, Federation Square, Docklands, Flinders Street, RMIT, State Library and more. We hopped on and off the free inner city tram service. Melbourne central has a great atmosphere with lots of green spaces. We then had a delicious Indian lunch, followed by Italian coffee and fig slice. Then we were off to the airport in bumper to bumper traffic to catch our flight back to Canberra. Indu and I had to pay an extra charge for our handbags but it was well worth all the extra joy the three of us felt over these few days we spontaneously decided to spend together.