We spent the night at the apartment of Kwan, Rowena's uncle.  He was moving into a new house and about six of us were given access to his old place.  I slept on the floor and awoke after too few hours of sleep.

Rowena drove up with her mother's friend Alexandra, who had flown from Greece to attend the wedding.  Doug, Sherri, and I were planning to drive out along the Great Ocean Road to the west of Melbourne and see the giant rock formations known collectively as the Twelve Apostles.  We invited Alexandra to join us.

The Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road winds along the cliffs of southern Victoria which jut out over the ocean.  The view is spectacular, but it's difficult to appreciate it when cars are appearing suddenly from around each 90� turn at twice the speed of sound on the wrong side of the road.  My knuckles were white by the time we stopped in St. John's just short of the Twelve Apostles.

The Twelve Apostles are spectacular!  They rise out of the water like monuments to the forces of nature.  

Our trip along the Ocean Road took longer than we anticipated, so we sped back to Melbourne via the main highway to meet the rest of the family for dinner.

Dinner, Harp, Casino

 I had not seen my parents for  almost a year (they live in Florida.  I live in Kentucky); but when we got back to Melbourne, they were hosting a dinner at an upscale restaurant in celebration of tomorrow's wedding. 

It was here that I first met Rowena's parents: Brian and Leng.  Both were very charming and we took to one another at once.

Also in attendance were Martin, Chris, and Rowena's brother Rowland.

The food was excellent.  Someone had arranged for a harpist to entertain us after dinner.  Afterwards, we strolled through the largest casino in the southern hemisphere (no gambling for me tonight), before heading back to the house.