Friday,10th to Monday 13th

It is hard to get a coffee in a place where I can sit on a proper chair at a proper table before 6.30. So on Friday morning early I went a bit further to one which was open and good. I sat in a corner and watched all the locals come and go. It had a European  corner bistro feel to it. Dark timber and furniture, but still enough light to do a crossword. Soon after lunch I went by train to Frankston on the Mornington peninsular. I spent the rest of the weekend with friends John and I made in Melbourne when we were living there 45 ish  years ago. They now live in Rye, right on the tip of the peninsular. We spent a lot of time sitting talking and eating. I saw many of the other towns, how some people live on the ( rather outdatedly  named ) Millionaire's Walk ,  a walk along a right-of-way  narrow strip of land along a cliff top with magnificent views  in front of huge, huge, houses  ( not quite Billionaire's Walk but more than a few million), and a visit to the interesting buildings, those left of the quarantine station at Portsea. 

On Sunday afternoon I was back in time to go to the the weekly Last Post  15 min service at the Shrine of Remembrace. Each week a different group of Australian service men and women are recognised and last Sunday we remembered the people who went to Somalia with the UN in the 1990's. Not far different from where my son-in-law was a few years later.

Yesterday I went for my morning coffee and 1-every-4 days-but-only-if-it--is-good  croissant to Lune in Armadale. There are now several Lunes, started by the lady, an ex formula 1 engineer recently on ABC s Australian Story. It was the best croissant I have ever had in Australia. The only trouble being very light and delicious is that it disappears quickly.  From what I read, each of the Lune's shops is a little different. Most are bakeries, take away only, but this one has a large table you can stand around and 4 tables outside with 2 chairs each, all fixed to the pavement and nice coffee. So my morning criteria were satisfied. I put up with the freezing cold weather. I walked a different way back to my hotel.