Talk about timing!

Touch down, and another handful of days to go nuts in Aussie's coolest city. Once again, the wonderful Pim and Yvonne played hosts - the beer was ready and waiting when we knocked on their door! As was good'ol Ray, so our first night back was a late one as we all stayed up drinking and catching up.

To be frank, this time around we had no intention whatsoever of plodding the streets. With only three days it was all about getting out there and taking in the nightlife. So what a bonus to hear that our arrival coincided with the 30th anniversary of the St Kilda street festival.

A record turnout had seen, according to the newspapers, more than 250,000 revellers going bonkers in the south Melbourne beach suburb, and with Sunday the end of a week long party some 400,000 were expected to descend - and they did, and we made a point of being among them! There was live music everywhere - tram stops were besieged by bands eager to play to the masses. Food stalls everywhere you turned. Then there were the bars. Hundreds of bars packed to the rafters. Oh what an atmosphere. Oh what a laugh!

What we hadn't banked on was catching up with Kirsty (a long story, but Kris and Kirsty used to play together in the sandpits as kids) and her fella James, recent arrivals in Melbourne from the UK intent on making the second biggest city in Aussie their new home. It was great to catch, albeit quick, and great to hear that their settling into their new way of life, with good jobs and an appartment in the chic suburb of Toorak.

It was a late night, you can be sure. But not as late as the next! Once we learned good ol'Kasper from Amsterdam was due to land on the Monday there was no holding us back! All those months since we'd last shared a beer disappeared when we met him off the airport bus and headed out for some well overdue beers! Kasper, I'm not sure how your head was on Tuesday, but shit were we hungover as we hailed yet another taxi and bid this great city farewell.