Eileen had been trying to get us down to Melbourne for ages, so we figured it was finally time to go. We caught the late Friday night flight from Sydney and landed in Melbs about 10pm. We cabbed it to Fitzroy and then met up with Eileen for a late dinner. It was hoppin’! We crashed at Eileen’s flat that night and met her awesome roommate Susan over breakfast. Saturday morning we mooched around the Rose Street Artists’ Market before buying some tram tickets and heading into the city!

Our first stop in the CBD was actually the new Morris and Sons shop, which I hadn’t seen since it opened. It’s lovely! Then we walked down to Riverland for a lunch of sausages and beer along the banks of the Yarra. I snapped a self-portrait.

We did some more shopping in the CBD, including finally getting our very own “Settlers of Catan”! (You will all be assimilated.) Then it was time to head over to Melbourne Central where our friend Toast was competing in the Australian Rubik’s Cube Nationals. (Yes, really.) Here he is solving a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded.

Frankly, we were all as astonished as you are. This is a real, actual thing. Competitors are shown a cube which they then “memorise.” Once they’re satisfied they’ve got it, they pull down a blindfold and start solving. (Their time includes the memorisation part.) The event was mostly young guys – with one young Asian girl! – and some of them were amazing at it. Unfortunately Toastman didn’t do as well as he’d hoped, but that’s probably because he had us three standing right in front of him making him nervous.

Saturday night we went out to the Terminus Hotel in North Fitzroy for our friend Dean’s birthday dinner. It’s an awesome pub/restaurant, and the food was great. Needless to say, we weren’t observing our diet on this weekend…

On Sunday all four of us (me, Rodd, Eileen, and Susan) piled into a GoGet car and headed out to the Mornington Peninsula, about 90 minutes outside Melbourne. It was beautiful! We headed straight to Cape Schanck Lighthouse, all the way down at the Southern tip overlooking Bass Strait.

There’s a boardwalk that offers some spectacular views of the coast on the east and west sides of the peninsula. Here’s the Snook and I with the eastern cliffs behind us.

We clambered down the boardwalk to get closer to the water. It was chilly but not too windy out there.

Snookums took this photo of me. It was bright.

Here’s the Snook standing at a rocky beach at the shore. It was all lava flow so the rocks were black. It was very peaceful… until a family with like 8 kids turned up.

My old man and the sea.

Did I mention we were staying AT the lighthouse? They have accommodation! We were booked into the Red Cottage. After we checked in and dropped off our stuff, it was time to hit the wineries…

Our first stop was T’Gallant, a winery with a really nice bistro attached. The place was packed for lunch. We shared some of their excellent pizzas and had a glass of wine. (I was the driver for the day, so this was my only glass!)

Then we headed through the “Cellar Door” for a proper tasting. Eileen, Susan, and Rodd tried probably 7 different wines, and I had the occasional sniff of the Snook’s glass. They had some very nice wine, and we ended up buying a fancy Shiraz.

Here’s the Snook and I with T’Gallant’s vineyard in the background. (The vines were dormant for winter.)

Our next stop was Red Hill Estate. Again, the Snook and the girls got down to business while I wandered around sadly. They tried a very lovely Pinot Noir that unfortunately was only available by the case, which disappointed everybody. The Snook had to content himself with a bottle of Chardonnay, which we’re planning to share with Miss Fee and the Sock Victim. (They checked in on the cats for us over the weekend.)

Red Hill had an amazing view. The sun was disappearing though, and it was getting colder.

Our next destination was Red Hill Brewery. The Snook stared longingly at their frames for growing hops. (Hops are TALL.)

He also had a peek inside their brewing shed.

Red Hill had a fun Foursquare promotion where you got a small $2 beer if you checked in. I figured I deserved a little treat. This was a Wheat Beer, and it was delicious!

The Snook went for the full-on tasting paddle.

Our last winery was a tiny boutique place called Eldridge Estate. The winemaker was really friendly and nice, and the drinkers had a great time sampling his wares. Eileen and Susan bought several bottles. Me, I posed for a photo for a tourist out on the balcony.

The last stop of the day was my favourite: Red Hill Cheese. We shared a tasting plate of 8 different cheeses and ended up taking a few wedges home with us!

On the way back to Cape Schanck we stopped off at Arthur’s Seat, the tallest lookout in the area. We could see all the way back to the Melbourne CBD! We could also see the infamous Arthur’s Seat Chair Lift, which is currently closed down (due to it basically being a DEATH TRAP).

Back at the lighthouse cottage, the Snook demonstrated his manliness by getting a fire going in the fireplace. It was chilly, and the wind on the point was really starting to howl. We spent the night eating spaghetti, drinking wine, and playing Settlers of Catan. Our little cottage was very cosy!

On Monday morning, we had a bit of a tramp around the lighthouse itself. Yeah, it was REALLY windy and cold then.

We also checked out the Lighthouse Museum. From the front porch, I took this photo showing how close our little Red Cottage was to the lighthouse itself. (It’s where the Keeper used to live!)

The girls had to get to work, so we checked out and headed back to Melbourne. After dropping off the car, the Snook and I headed into Fitzroy for some shopping and lunch. We found the Little Creatures Dining Hall, and it was awesome. I didn’t even mind how hipster it was.

The Snook fit right into Fitzroy with his carefully manicured beard.

We enjoyed some beers along with sandwiches and fries. Great place!

I was thrilled when our trip down Brunswick Street lead us to The Fabric Store, where I happily bought some material. We window-shopped our way all the way back to Eileen’s. Then it was pretty much time to pack up before heading back to Sydney!

Thanks to Eileen and Susan for hosting us. It was our best trip to Melbourne yet…