I spent my second week in Australia, in Melbourne where I grew up. I'd arranged with my best friends husband to surprise her one night and then spend a few days with them. The surprise worked out really well! My friend and her husband were enjoying a night out without the kids when I turned up to surprise her. She had absolutely no idea that I was coming. It was so exciting to see the look on her face when she saw me! We've been friends now for nearly 25 years and even though we have often lived far apart, spending time together is always just like it was in high school. We even spent the next day hanging out on the couch, eating chips and gravy (another Aussie favourite of mine) just like we did in the old days. It was much cooler in Melbourne than it had been in Sydney, but it was still warm enough for us to rug up and take a walk along the beach. One thing I love about some of the beaches in Melbourne are the brightly coloured beach boxes. They are so bright and vibrant that even on a grey day they make me smile :) One of the things I really miss about Australia is the availability and quality of fresh fruit and vegetables. Much of what I am used to doesn't grow well in Sweden and a lot of fruits and veggies have to be imported. So when I got to spend some time in the amazing Organic store that my sister-in-law works in I was super excited! Check them out on  Instagram or at their website :) Whilst I was there I also stocked up on my favourite Aussie chocolate as well! (Some of this I can actually get here in Sweden, but it much cheaper in Australia). Naturally I couldn't visit Melbourne without spending some quality time in cafes. Ah... Melbourne coffee, how I have missed you! The best brunch of the week was definitely the very beautiful and super delicious, poached egg on toast with beetroot hummus from Izzi Caffetteria in Heidleberg. My mouth is watering just posting about it, I am definitely going back again on my next trip!

We were flying back to Stockholm from Sydney. So to make the trip easier we left Melbourne the night before and spent the day hanging out in Sydney Harbour before our evening flight. It was nice to feel like a tourist in a city that I used to live in. To be honest though, even when I lived in Sydney I didn't actually spend that much time in the city. It was another beautiful and sunny winters day in Sydney. Which made me think that my next Stockholm winter is going to be tough. It was really great to get back to Australia and visit all my friends and family. I realised that two weeks really isn't enough time to get to see everyone and do everything that I would have liked to do. Before the trip I had pictured lots of relaxing and hanging out. In reality though I was really busy and the jet lag was tough. So there was a lot less relaxing than I had planned. In a way I was almost looking forward to the flight so that I could catch up on sleep.Thanks for having me again Australia! Till next time :)Cheers, Jess