I left Denver on Monday 25 April and arrived home at about 8am on Wed 27 April. Leah picked me up and we headed over to Elwood to fill in the day till my niece, Suzanne, got home from work. She and her hubby Neil (and of course Taylor and Oliver) graciously let me stay with them while in Melbourne.
Leah and I went to De Cuba and had breakfast. I think I just about talked her ear off I was so excited about all the things that I had experienced. Then Leah had to go to work so as she left I just stayed on and Martine, the beautiful bride to be arrived. It was so good to have the chance to see her on her own before the wedding and have a really good catch up. She left about 1.30pm so I headed back to Leah's apartment across the road to do a couple of things and got a call from Leigh, another girlfriend, who was going to be at Blue Tongue in Elwood with her hubby Ron, so I walked down and met them for a late lunch, early dinner...bottle of wine kinda thingy. So I had managed to catch up with 3 girlfriends in one day on the same day I arrived back in the country...good work me!
I then headed over to Suz's place and was greated with hugs and kisses from her boys, well not Neil of course, but Taylor and Oliver. Its such a nice feeling to have two little boys very excited to see their great aunt (affectionately known as grantie as I dont like 'great aunt' but want recognition its my second time round!) As always it was a relaxed fun evening, with wine and lots of laughs.
I was attending the wedding of the gorgeous Martine Radegonde and Joe Alessi on Saturday in Melbourne. Seeing that was all of two days away I thought it no problem to whip up to Sydney on Friday to meet up with my footy buddy Di and go to see the Blues play Sydney. What can I say, Im a footy tragic. Di and her partner Mark had arrived in Sydney a couple of days earlier on their yacht Mustang Sally. They had sailed up from Melbourne, having left on 12 April and I was joining them for the trip from Sydney to Southport. Yes that does mean that I had to be back in Sydney on Sunday evening to be ready to set sail on Monday morning! Let me just summarise that....arrived from Denver Wednesday morning; flew to Sydney Friday morning; flew to Melbourne Saturday morning (7.30am) and flew back to Sydney Sunday evening.
I dont have any specific photos of these days so a couple of photos taken while I was back in Australia have been included.
Thursday was spent planning what needed to be done in preparation for the wedding. I had planned ahead and had my outfit at Suz's (and also my footy gear!). But still there was a wax, manicure, pedicure, haircut and colour, wedding present and shoes if I could find some...no problem right?? I rang my hairdresser who has been cutting my hair forever and I followed around wherever he was working, only to find he had sold the business while I was away and is no longer doing hair! EEK, EEK! But I didnt have time to grieve this loss! I had a wedding to go to! Suz suggested I try the two hairdressers just around the corner from her place. Excellent idea. Got in that afternoon and got my cut and colour done. While there I made an appointment to have my hair styled on Saturday morning before the wedding. Also got my wax done that day in the area and made an appointment for a manicure and pedicure at the same place on Saturday morning. Okay, so the wedding is at 2pm in Hawthorn, I arrive back at 9.00am, have a hair appointment and a mani/pedi..no problem right?? Another pleasant family dinner, this time my nephew came over as well. 
Off to the airport the next day to catch an 8am flight, arrived at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) in Rushcutters Bay about 10am. Off we went to the Fish Markets for lunch. It was a rainy day so we caught a taxi rather than take the boat and we called into the Hunter dealer where Mark and Di had bought their yacht (shes a Hunter 44). Mark is a very good navigator at sea but Di and I were becoming a little dubious about his ability to actually find the Fish Markets for a while. We did get there eventually and had a nice meal and bottle of wine with the outgoing crew Graham. Soon it was time to "frock up" for the football and off we went. Di and I get very excited before during and after football matches! This was no exception. Unfortunately it was pouring for the first quarter of the game and we couldnt sit in our seats so we had to watch from undercover. As it eased we bought some ponchos and went to our seats as they were close to the front, great seats really (except for the no cover when its raining bit!). The rain held off and we got to stay there for the rest of the match. The BLUES won so Di and I joined in the rousing theme song. Then as the team often do, they came over to the fans who had travelled interstate to watch them play. Andrew Carrazzo gave out Carlton face cloths and we got to high five Waitey, Carrots, Simmo, Robbo, and a few others which was a bit of a blur. The highlight for me was somehow attaching myself to Andrew Walker's forearm (my favourite player), feeling how goddamn rock hard it was, and kinda forgetting to let go....even more embarrassing is that I couldnt talk so I was kind of just babbling 'well done' and not letting go of his arm....he only looked a little bit scared....:)! Even Mark and Di got a bit worried I think. We walked most of the way home as it was easier than trying to get a cab or public transport. Back at the boat we related in detail the match and other activities to Graham, who I doubt was interested but a captive audience....;) Then off to bed and sneaking out at 6am to catch my 7.30am flight back to Melbourne for the wedding.
