Let me just say that I don’t know how people find the time to keep a journal.

So, on that note, here are my recollections of the past events:

Vintage is basically over, at least for me. Mark is still hard at work blending, cleaning tanks, doing analysis, etcetera. For a reward for our efforts this harvest Marilyn and John very graciously got Mark and I two nights in Melbourne at the Rendezvous Hotel right bang in the centre of town. However, before we got there we made a few stops. First I got to meet Mark’s old assistant winemaker, Brian. Then we went to Healseville to have lunch and go to the animal sanctuary. The drive was very scenic but the GPS, or Sarah as I like to call her (as in Sarah Palin because it is just as annoying and almost as useless) was wearing on my sanity. After a few trials and tribulations we made it to the lovely little town. After a nice, but unnecessarily rich, salad at the pub Mark very graciously took me to see the animals. The sanctuary was similar to the one in Port Macquarie but larger and set in more scenic bush. The animals were gorgeous of course. Despite the sad reality of captivity, the animals had a pretty nice place to live.

After the sanctuary we went to the city. The Melbourne traffic, which is notorious for its congestion, was true to its reputation. However, we found our hotel easily, thanks to Mark’s driving skills, and checked in. That evening we found a bar called the Purple Emerald and enjoyed a nice G and T. While we were there we both realized that the environment here is completely different to the states. For example, there were groups of people just sitting down and having a conversation in the bar. However their decibels were well above what is socially acceptable in the US. In the states, if you were talking boisterously you would be assumed drunk, refused service, and asked to leave. And while it is true that Aussies are generally more animated than Americans, the public self-expression here is certainly more liberal. At dinner I had some excellent Laksa and delicious fried rice in Chinatown.

The next day was spent wandering around looking for shops to buy things in. Like most of our shopping trips I was not as lucky as Mark. While I tried very hard, I only found two items of clothing at the end of the full day of looking and trying things on. Oh, well. Mark on the other hand found some lovely shirts and a magnificent new jacket. That night we went to the theatre to see “Spontaneous Broadway” which is apart of the Melbourne Comedy Festival. It was wildly entertaining and Mark even enjoyed it! He has been to the theatre twice in one week and enjoyed it both times! We then found a nice Italian café and had some very tasty risotto for dinner. In the morning we had breakfast and ran a couple of errands before returning to the farm. Unfortunately, I acquired some sort of stomach bug and had a tough time thoroughly enjoying myself. Nonetheless, it was a nice break from winery duties. However, I will say that the hustle and bustle of Melbourne is too much for me.

Yesterday, feeling slightly better, I ran errands with Freddo, which was very fun, and today has brought us to our last full day here! How time flies. Neither of us are ready to leave. We head off to Auckland tomorrow afternoon and then back to the states. So, until New Zealand, cheers!