I’ve had the best 24 hours in Melbourne. Literally. My plane landed at 10:40am yesterday and I boarded my plane home at 10:40am today.

Apart from spilling a whole cup of tea on my lap on the plane, it was a pretty uneventful flight down. ? And apart from being horribly engorged from not feeding Julius for 30 hours, it was a pretty uneventful flight home!

I didn’t plan much for the trip as I didn’t want to stretch myself too far, spend the whole time on trams, or exhaust myself even further. The last week has been full of sleepless nights and I really needed to recharge in every way.

The lunch at Newman College yesterday was so great. As my brother dropped me off around the corner, I started panicking a little, wondering what on earth I was doing there. But I took some deep breaths and headed through the gates.

And was greeted with open arms. I really did love our time there, and there were heaps of familiar faces and smiles. The lunch spread was top notch and the glass of bubbles eased some of my nerves.

When Frith and I left seven years ago, we gifted the college with a framed set of photos that Frith had taken. Newman by day and night. It warmed my heart to find them still hanging where they were placed all these years ago.

I was really touched.

I then went for a drink with some of the Staff on Lygon St before meeting my good friend Dr Luke. Luke is Chance’s godfather among many other things, and it was so good to chat to him for a few hours over mulled wine and pizza.

It was only 7:30pm but I was definitely starting to get sleepy so I headed back to my brother’s place for some home brew, (more) pizza and ice cream before I crashed on a single mattress on the floor at 10:30. I originally thought I would prefer a hotel room with a big bed but I was so tired it wouldn’t have mattered where I slept. My alarm woke me up at 8am and I felt more rested than I had in weeks.

I decided to have a Melbourne brekky on the way to the airport and went to Friends of Ours. Frith and I had brekky here years ago and it was as good as I remembered. (I didn’t really take a lot of photos this trip as I just wanted to enjoy the scenery first-hand.)

So now it’s back to my munchkins. I’m so so grateful for my mini break and do feel somewhat re-energised for week two of school holidays. Bring it on.

Thanks Melbourne. It was good to see you again xx