Traveling for work is NOT fun and it means you make long trips and live out of the suitcase a lot.
BUT, it also can have some great rewards!
One such super reward was our FREE weekend at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne!
Yes, for points earned over the years...
123 Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000 Victoria, Australia
Grand Hyatt Melbourne
Where the grace of another era lives in harmony with the modern age.
Cousin Liz had picked us up at the Melbourne airport on Friday, September 3, 1993 and she dropped us off here at the Grand Hyatt.
The sun was so strong that it was nearly impossible to make any good pictures.
Pieter wearing his black leather jacket from Pond's India's Leather Garments Factory.
Yet we were happy with such a bright day!
When we arrived in Sydney a week earlier we had rain...
Still wearing my favorite leather jacket bought in the U.S.A.
The sun was so strong that it was nearly impossible to make any good pictures.
Pieter wearing his black leather jacket from Pond's India's Leather Garments Factory.
When we arrived in Sydney a week earlier we had rain...
Still wearing my favorite leather jacket bought in the U.S.A.
We arrived the same day at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, as did the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Excellency Mr. Richard von Weizsäcker with his wife Marianne.
Lots of security...
Also Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer were there at the same time.
How lucky we were for having secured our FREE room!
But it worked out well; with only ONE Presidential Suite at $ 2500 at that time...
We did secure our FREE Regency Club room with special elevator key that goes up to the Regency Club level and lounge where you had access to continental breakfast in the morning, tea/coffee service, evening service bar and hors d'oeuvres.
At present it is changed into Grand Club...
Also Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer were there at the same time.
How lucky we were for having secured our FREE room!
Our room 3014...
View of the Yarra River from our room... Again lots of glare, just like in Hong Kong!
More to the right, again view from the Yarra River.
Melbourne skyline view from the Lounge.
Melbourne skyline with me...
Nearly impossible with so much glare for capturing anything reasonable!
It is on our retina and it makes for fond memories!
Husband Pieter here captured from the lounge as well.
Both of us felt grateful!
Melbourne is a city of memorable buildings.
Left to right St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral rises in
Gothic splendor, the dramatic spire of the
Victorian Arts-Centre, Flinders Street Station
is a much-loved landmark
On Sunday morning we went to the 11:00 Mass at the cathedral church of Saint Paul, Melbourne.
As I wrote, so much to be grateful for and that brings one close to our Creator!
On Saturday afternoon, cousin Liz came to pick us up for a stroll through Melbourne's Botanical Garden.
Such bad luck with good photos... too harsh light!
Princes Lawn...
One final photo of Liz with me with a lot of glare in the lens...
Liz took us also to her shop and that yielded this signature wooden EASEL!
Her Dad, uncle Louis made them and she gilded them, also adding those ornamental touches.
Ours is used for this pin tray on my antique oak tea cart with English Rose by Royal Doulton china.
We did have some tea/coffee with Liz in the Grand Hyatt's Regency Club lounge and than we had to say our goodbye... Short meeting but intensive!
On Sunday afternoon we got picked up by someone from the Campbell Soup mushroom farm and dropped off at the Eltham Gateway Hotel in a luxury family suite...
We went to work for the mushroom farm on Monday and on Thursday morning they moved us to a regular room at 7:00 before we went to work.
On Friday morning we could sleep in till 8:30 and brace ourselves for the very LONG journey home!
We did have one final meeting with the staff at 11:30 and we had supper at Andy Gulliver's home before he dropped us off at the airport by 20:30 and said his goodbye as he was planning to leave the company...
In 8 hours we flew from Melbourne to Bangkok, Thailand and hung around some at 6:15 in the morning before we did the next stretch of 12 hours to Amsterdam.
With only 1 hour in-between for a quick phone call with Mom, Dad was not inside, we continued the almost 9 hours to Atlanta.
We intended to sleep in but both woke up very early on Sunday morning at 5:30 and got up.
We went to Mass at 11:00 and went outside into the garden....
Thanks for traveling with us to 'Down Under' one final time!
Related links:
From Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia | previous post by me
Darling Harbour Cruise in Sydney for Surprise Birthday Party | previous Australia post by me
Working & Socializing with Staff from Melbourne Mushrooms | previous post by me
Two Cousins from Two Continents in Melbourne, Australia | previous post by me
Visiting Healesville Sanctuary in VIC, Australia | previous post by me
Katoomba & Jenolan Caves, Blue Mountains Australia | previous post by me
With Hawkesbury Valley Heritage Tours to the BLUE MOUNTAINS Australia | previous post by me
Surroundings of Melbourne Mushrooms in Mernda, VIC, Australia | previous post by me
Visiting Uncle Louis in the Australian Outback of Broken Hill, NSW | previous post by me
My 1st Trip to Work in Australia and also Meeting my First Cousin Liz | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's 2nd and 3rd Trip to Australia | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's 2nd and 3rd Trip to Australia | previous post by me
Trips to Australia | previous post by me
{Angels engraved on lucky calendar coin of 1969} | previous post by me
{My Teacher, Mentor, BOSS & Husband over 44+ Years} | previous post by me
{My Own Design of Brass Mushrooms} | previous post by me
