No fireworks here in Melbourne. The Australians were nice enough to fly about eight American flags in Federation Square on the 4th - a nice gesture and an appreciated one. An American family that has been living in Melbourne (and our building) for a few years hosted a picnic on Sunday and invited us. Good grilled food. Met some visiting Americans and some nice Australians too. Our hosts did manage to get hold of a small pack of sparklers which we burned for our "fireworks" display.

The oddest part was meeting a guy not just from the USA and not just from Pennsylvania and not just from Philadelphia and not just from our hometown, but who grew up in a house we can see from the window of our house (and whose parents still live there). Talk about a small world!!