We boarded the ferry to Geelong at 8am. An uneventful day. Most of the time was spent in the reclining chairs we had booked. In Geelong we drove to Jamaliah’s niece Dinna and her husband Ryan who live some 18 km from the harbor with their 2 children. We had a great evening talking and getting to know each other.

The next morning, we drove with the Batvan camper from Dinna and Ryan’s house some 21 km to the Geelong North train station and from there by train the 91 km to Melbourne Southern Cross train station. I never realised that Melbourne was so far away. It looks close on a map of Austrlia. Many commuters travel this distance every day. From the train you see a flat landscape with not much trees. There seems to be a lot of wineries around but we have not seen them yet. Closer to the city you see many large housing projects consisting of single story individual houses. They are built close to this commuter train line. Because of the fuel prises and shortages the trains are now free to use.

In town we walked to the over 100 year old Flinders train station. Its long Victorian facade with its 2 clocks are impressive. The inside however is underwhelming. No large ticket hall or covered platforms. 
Opposite the station we made a 4 km city walk through the shopping Arcades from 1892 and Tea rooms. The narrow streets are also functioning as street cafes and being lunch time it was busy with city workers. The route also went past several churches (mostly closed) and large sandstone government buildings or old hotels. Some of the narrow alleys are covered in street art. A bit messy compared to the many others we had seen around the world. The last lane ended in front of Federation square where there are several museums in modern buildings. We will visit these another day.

It is Saturday. We all went into the cars and Dina, Ryan and children and grand parents showed us around the Belerine peninsula which closes off the large Port Philip bay. Along the bay front are many desirable bungalows of city commuters or retirees. We had lunch at a winery, Jack Rabbit, which had a wedding going on as well as a full restaurant you had to book a day in advance. 
At the end of the peninsula is a light house and the ocean waves enter the bay. We bought a 5 kg box of large mussels for € 15 for diner. Diner stretched out till late after children’s bed time and the grand parents arrived home after 12.

On Sunday we left the house too late today to Melbourne. Also there was maintenance on the train line so we had to take the bus and train there. All in all it was past 15:00 when we reached Victoria market. This large covered market place has many hallways with different products. This time we did not buy fish but vegetables and of course magnets. We ran out of time to go to a museum but instead took the tram to the park where the world exhibition in 1890 was held. We could have a peak into the old exhibition hall. The lanes of the park are now lined with large 130 year old plantain trees. They were dropping their seeds so you had to watch out. Not much else could be explored so we started the long trip home. Tomorrow an extra day and a plan to start early.

This morning we left in time at 10:00. After the drive, bus and 2 trains we had our lunch ar Flinders Station at 12:30. Next door is Federation Square with several museums. We spent the next 2 hrs going through the 3 floors of the National Gallery of Victoria. Most of the work is from local Australians including aboriginals. To avoid the mind overload we walked across the Yarra River to the Botanical gardens. In the center is the large Shrine of Remembrance. (a new classic style temple)  Where every conflict the Australian army was involved in is remembered. Ryan picked us up from here after his work, around 16:00. This halved the travel time home so Jamaliah had time to shop and prepare a going away meal.

We had a great 5 days staying with Dinna, Ryan and their two wonderful boys and Luna the dog. Thank you, guys, very much for your generosity and hospitality. We had a fantastic time.