32nd Birthday

Mom and I
Blowing out 32 candles
Goodies from a local bakery
Lighting up the dessert

With flowers from Mark
Flowers, Birthday Girl, and Mark

Mom arrived in Melbourne on Sunday morning--what an amazing birthday gift! She was scheduled to come Saturday, but due to heavy fog in Melbourne, her plane turned around and went back to Sydney where the airline paid for a hotel and meals for one night so they could try it again the following day. (There is a much longer story here, but I'll spare you). Sunday was beautiful, and with no fog. After our trip to the airport to meet mom, we went to the St. Kilda neighborhood for lunch, and after eating, walked around a bit before getting some desserts from a local bakery for the evening celebration. In mid-afternoon, we went to the Arts Centre, and attended a free concert featuring Indigineous musicians. Before the concert, we watched an Aboriginal man explaining the meaning behind face and body painting, and another one who made music with a gum leaf. The two hour concert had a wide variety of performers, including African and Aboriginal musicians, jazz singers, rappers; some sang modern and others, more traditional music. After the concert, we had dinner at Bistro Vite in the Southbank area and returned for dessert at our apartment. It was a fabulous day!