Robyn and Chris’s home ~ a holiday vision. After a birthday picnic in Melbourne with their daughter Meredith, we were given a dazzling introduction to Virtual Reality. Jay traveled into space, I swam through a coral reef, and we stood in the driveway of our house!

Then it was on to Chris and Robyn’s not so little piece of heaven.

Chris introduces Jay to the didgeridoo

A Christmas Eve tour of neighboring highlights

With Simon on Christmas Eve 

Christmas Day was all about food, flowers, family. And gifts. And more food. Robyn is a spectacular cook, and we will not be eating at all in January.

These days will be in my memory forever.

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On Saturday we were whisked out of town once again by Robyn and Ćhris and spent a glorious day on the Mornington Peninsula, including lunch in Sorrento.

After a day of seeing the sights (and the stores) we drove back to Melbourne and ended the day in Carlton at Brunetti’s, an Italian restaurant and bakery that was beyond anything I have ever seen.

 

We returned to Mornington Peninsula on Tuesday and stayed for a few days at this lovely small B&B a short walk from the beach.

Before heading back to Melbourne on Friday we fortified ourselves with lunch at a local vineyard.

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Above and below, the evening view from our apartment

Below, Street art in Fitzroy

We returned to Melbourne on Tuesday, and on Wednesday went to see Fitzroy, a groovy Melbourne neighborhood with cool little one-off shops and lots of great places to drink coffee.

Thursday morning I headed to Mulgrave and the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement, where I was warmly received by staff, and welcomed with flowers and snacks.

Over the following week I met with clinicians, educators and volunteers, heard about the Centre’s programs and services, and enjoyed formal and informal conversations about the challenges and satisfactions of the work we do. I also did a webinar with Ćhris Hall, my good friend and the CEO of the Centre, that was well attended and well received.

Below, a few of my office mates at work 🙂

As much fun as it was to be at the ACGB, an even better time was our weekend visit to  Sovereign Hill with Ćhris and Robyn.

Sovereign Hill is a recreation of an old gold mining town, complete with tradesmen, shops, and an underground mine.

Musket demonstration

Panning for gold

An upscale hearse

Candles and soap made and sold here

Miners would go as far as 1000 feet below ground.

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas 🤔

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I’ll be doing an all day workshop for practioners here on Monday. Since neither of us had ever been to Sydney, Jay and I decided to come early and explore the city. We flew here on Thursday and have been making the most of our time.

11-30   The Harbour is the pride of Sydney and a short walk from our hotel, so after checking in we hopped on a ferry.

 

We went early to an inventive and very popular Chinese restaurant and had one of the most memorable meals of our trip.

12-1   I had seen ads for an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and we we made that our first stop the following day.

Immersive, splendid, strange –

Look closer at the lovely installation above.

Also on display in the museum, this collection of driftwood, described by the artist as “travelers”

 

The afternoon was spent walking and shopping. Here, a window in the beautifully renovated Queen Victoria Building.

Above, the 78 ft. Christmas tree that is installed in sections over three days and extends through three levels of  the store to the stained glass dome of the building.

After a visit to Paddy’s Market and The Strand, Jay capped off the day by taking Tylenol for his aching feet and we had dinner in the hotel.

12-2   On Saturday we toured the Sydney Opera House, and returned in the evening for a performance of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters.”

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An extraordinary setting for music, drama, and a range of other spectacles, the opera house took 14 years, and the modern day equivalent of a billion dollars to complete. All of the mechanics of the building are sandwiched in between the tile clad ‘sails” so that nothing detracts from the purity of the design.

I had a lovely mid day visit with my Sidney friend Liz Lobb in the hotel lounge.

In the afternoon Jay and I took a walk through the Royal Bottanical Garden and visited the Museum of New South Wales.

This gorgeous backlit panel of flowers responds to the presence of someone standing in front of it and is constantly in motion.

A painting I particularly liked

Below: Aboriginal art. We learned that these paintings are full of meaning, and record rituals, stories and places that are sacred to the artist and their tribe.

12-4   My workshop was well received by an experienced and knowledgeable audience, and the day was altogether a pleasure.  To top it off,  Chris, Jay and I had dinner at Sydney Tower,  in a revolving restaurant with the best views in Sydney.

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We were warmly welcomed on Saturday morning at the beautiful Yarra Valley home of Robyn Reid and Ćhris Hall. Those are Robyn’s roses on the table.

Above, Ćhris Hall with Jay, Lily and Eli, touring the not so little piece of heaven he and Robyn Reid call home.

Robyn (with some help from Ćhris) has created a paradise of spectacular flowers, fruit trees, herbs, and honeybees.

In response to Lily and Eli’s request, we headed out to see koalas and kangaroos – and numerous other creatures – at the Healesville animal sanctuary.

Chris takes a break from photographing the family and other wildlife

We had a close encounter with the koalas

Saturday night, lots of amazing food and lots of laughs. Best sleepover ever.

On Sunday morning, the best Eggs Benedict 😋. Then, off for more food touring!

Chocolate world

Followed by artisanal gin and a visit to Moët Chandon.

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Above, on the gourmet trail.

After Thanksgiving pizza and beer on Thursday night, we settled into our lodging near the Apostles.  On Friday we embarked on a food tour under the direction of Eli and Lily. Here they are planning the day.

Along the way

First stop: cheese!

Next, a tasting and a tasty lunch

On to Berry World

Inside Berry World

By now we had room left for nothing except ice cream

….and fudge.

And then, back to Melbourne we went.

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Eli arrived on Tuesday afternoon and was miraculously awake, so we went out for drinks and snacks. I had been invited to speak at the evening board meeting of the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement (the organization sponsoring me here) so we parted ways for a few hours. Lily and Eli hung out and we met up later for dinner.

Before heading out the following day we stopped at the Kit Kat Store, a Mecca for chocolate lovers, where Lily and Eli created a custom confection.

 

Mission complete, we hit the Great Ocean Road.

A late afternoon lunch stop

These guys are everywhere. We liked them, but they are not popular with the locals.

On the beach at Aireys Inlet after lunch

 

 

 

Above, a dog on the beach. Below, a dog at breakfast the following morning.

Post breakfast walk on the beach, then on to the Twelve Apostles, a formation  of rock slabs carved by the waves.

 

Thanksgiving dinner 🙂 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Above, the view from our apartment: home for the next two months!! Below, our neighborhood..

Love this city, and our wonderful friends Ćhris Hall and Robyn Reid, who picked us up at the airport – with groceries! – and after a fabulous dinner, delivered us to our digs.

The biggest news: Lily is arriving soon for a visit and Eli will be here next week!!! ❤️❤️❤️

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A trip to Federation Square and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, where we saw a fantastic exhibit on Wallace and Grommet ❤️

Below, the plane from Chicken Run, a personal favorite.

Love love love having my girl here.

Yesterday, I gave a workshop in Melbourne, and will do another in Sydney in two weeks.

But first! Eli is arriving today and tomorrow we hit the Great Ocean Road!!

We drove for five hours to get from Franz Joseph to Queenstown. Even in the rain, this part of New Zealand is spectacular.

We checked into our hotel, a charming recreation of  what was long ago a dairy market.

We started the following day in Arrowtown, a historic gold mining town on the banks of the Arrow River.

This was the scene that greeted us.

We had coffee at Dudley’s Cottage, one  of many restored and repurposed buildings in town.

We strolled, shopped and had lunch before heading back to the car.

Passing the lake we spotted this guy

these three (a deer, a pig and a sheep)

and a llama.

In the afternoon we took what is reputed to be one of the most beautiful drives in New Zealand, the waterfront road to Glenarchy.

Stopping for a walk on the shore

Approaching Glenarchy

When we got to Glenarchy we walked down to the dock and arrived just in time to see a wedding photographer throw a handful of birdseed, prompting a flurry of activity around the bride and groom.

After another coffee in another scenic cafe we headed back to Queenstown.

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A birthday visit to the Glow worm Caves 😊

Big plans today!

We rose on November 9th 🎂 eager to depart for Te Anau and our tour of the Glow Worm cave. FYI,  “Glow worm” is a bit of a marketing ploy; they are not actually worms, but the larvae of a certain type of fly. But doesn’t “glow worm” sound so much more fun?

The cave system in Te Anau is one of several in New Zealand that are home to these tiny bioluminescent larvae. To see them, you make your way through the dark and twisting cave, past gushing water that eventually flows into an underground river.

No photography allowed in the cave, so I’m relying on web images.

You  board a small boat, and continue deeper into the cave until all at once you’re surrounded by what seem like constellations of tiny blue stars.

It was unlike anything on earth, and I could have stayed for a long time in this underground galaxy.

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One of our most anticipated activities in NZ has been the helicopter flight we booked to Franz Joseph Glacier. Originally  planned for Monday, the flight was cancelled due rain, evidently not an uncommon occurrence. We rescheduled for today, and when we headed into town for breakfast it was under blue skies.

Heading out

The ride over snow and ice was thrillingly beautiful

Then we were down!

We trudged around in the snow, gasped at our surroundings, stared at each other in disbelief, and then boarded for the return trip.

Later in the day we drove to Lake Matheson, and after an excellent lunch by the water, took a walk along the rainforest trail, stopping along the way to enjoy the views.

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