Road Trip part 1: from Sydney to Melbourne

We've just come back from a weeklong roadtrip along a small slice of Australia's southern coast. On the way to Melbourne, we stopped off at Canberra so R. could train with some of his Hong Kong sifu's other students, and stayed at Danilo's lovely house nearby.

The next day we drove to the seaside town of Aspendale, near Melbourne. When we saw this beachfront cottage, we had to take it.


R checks out a takeaway menu, casting a long afternoon shadow


This country-style kitchen is big enough for ten


Steps outside the kitchen


Enjoying a glass of wine from a vineyard we'd visited along the way



R. took this photo from our covered balcony: sunset over the sea, leading from Australia to Tasmania then south to Antarctica


The next day, R. had work to do, and the broadband wasn't strong enough for me to finish mine


so I took a stroll on the beach outside our door



and was surprised by colorful boat sheds


that broke up the blue, grey & brown of sea, sand and sky

We spent part of New Year's Eve in Melbourne, but I forgot to take pictures as we wandered around the Yarra river and through the side streets surrounding Victoria University.

The year ended with a glass of Tasmanian champagne, and '09 began with a coastal drive to Eden...