It's getting heated

There's nothing that can make you feel dreary and lacklustre during a drizzly Melbourne winter quite like being bombarded with other people's travel photos from a European summer. Each day I'm faced with album after album named 'Europe 2009', 'Rome-ing', 'Euro Trip!' and 'IOS BABY!!' One sympathetic person even chose the title 'Our European Tan'. It's gotten to the point that logging into Facebook requires a mental debriefing, assuring myself that summer is coming, the fake tan bottle is still sitting in my cupboard, and porcelain skin is in fashion again anyway...isn't it? Because that's what my skin is - porcelain. Not pasty. Not wan. Not washed out... Just humour me on this.

The deep, coffee tan and warm, relaxed glow of my travelling peers has certainly sparked jealousy, and a sudden desire to drop everything, jump on a plane and jet set over to the Greek Islands. But as the weather warms up, and the we're teased by sporadic periods of sunshine, Melbourne's overall mood appears to be on the up. Who needs to lie on a beach in San Sebastian when we have our very own stretch of sand right here in Mordialloc? So you're sipping espresso in Paris. Big deal, I'm doing the same thing in Fitzroy. And that gelati from Florence - does it really compare to what Trampoline has on offer? Sure, Europe is amazing. Sure, I wouldn't say no to a quick sojourn around the Croatian coast. But there's no denying that Melbourne in spring is a great place to be. As the rain clouds disperse and the winds lose their icy chill, the streets fill with people, the Earl Grey's are replaced by James Boag's and a sense of anticipation permeates the air. Spring is here. Now all I'm hanging out for is that first Sunday session in the sun, and maybe even the beginning of 'My Melbourne Tan'.