Back to "normal"

After 19 days in Australia, my folks flew out of Melbourne early this morning. They have 4 days in Singapore before heading home.

It was a great 3 weeks; I didn’t even get into an argument with my mother! My kids are already missing them – they keep asking if they can phone them on Skype!

I’ve had the past few days off work to dedicate entirely to family time, except for Saturday night when I had a bachelor’s party to attend. The party was in Frankston, which in itself was an eye-opener!

Tuesday was spent in the city. First shopping and walking the laneways, then a coffee in one of Melbourne’s famous cafes before my dad and I headed to the Carlton and United Brewery for a tour of the place. It was fascinating! The numbers were unbelievable: 325 tonnes of barley PER DAY, 2.2 million litres of beer produced PER DAY, 1000 bottles washed, filled, capped and labelled PER MINUTE, 600 kegs washed and filled PER MINUTE! Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed during the tour – something to do with the privacy of the workers!

We also got to try a few different beers after the tour. They had the usual pi55 – Fosters, Carlton Draught, Cascade – but I tried my first ever Carlton Black beer and a Bulmers pear cider. Both surprised me. I actually ordered a 2nd pot of the black beer.

After our drinks and a short quiz, we had our photos taken! Recognise the outfits?

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