Being social in Melbourne

It’s becoming a travel tradition to meet up with my brother Stan. You would think I plan my itinerary especially around the routes of the cruise ships of the Holland America Line, on which Stan works as hotel manager. I went to visit him on board in Los Angeles and San Diego, Recife (Brazil) and now we meet again in Melbourne. Stan gives us the grand tour of the Statendam and we have an Asian style lunch in one of the restaurants (not at the pool deck, it’s too cold!).
We don’t have time to see the ship set sail, as we’re meeting up with Lynn for drinks and dinner. Lynn used to live in Amsterdam for a while and seeing her again feels very comfortable, like we’re still living in the same city and not on opposite sides of the world. We go for drinks near our hotel, on the south side of the river Yarra; the more yuppie side. It’s the week of Melbourne Cup (horse races) and all the women wear flimsy summer dresses and feathery hats. For dinner Lynn takes us near her place in Fitzroy, the more funky area. Later that week we return to Brunswick Street to check out the fun young designer shops and mellow cafes.
Another great reunion was visiting my friend Delia at her sweet home in Kensington and meeting John and their sons Eli and Jasper. Delia used to live in Los Angeles when I was living there too. We hadn’t seen each other for twelve years and had a lot of caching up to do. She is working as a freelance architect and showed us a beautiful project with which she just won an award (http://www.timber.net.au/awards/media.htm). It’s a pity we don’t have more time to stay in Melbourne and enjoy all the good company. We still have a lot to see in this big country and even with two full months we have to make tough choices. So we arrange another rental car and head north.