Cafe Vue, International Departures, Melbourne Airport

Earliness is a pronounced Weir family trait.

So – headed to Taranaki for some quality Grandma Time – we are through long-term car-parking and various levels of processing with plenty of time to spare.

Plenty of time to spare, in fact, for breakfast.

Of course, just like everyone else, we are way past the times when we associated flying and airports with anything approaching yumminess.

So we are surprised and delighted to enjoy a fine breakfast while awaiting our flight – the surprise all the more greater for being provided by a group the flagship restaurant of which we will most likely never inhabit for reasons to do with both matters financial and plain old inclination.

We pay substantially above the going rates to be found in our greater neighbourhood, but we are happy to do so for such a pleasant experience.

Bennie and I both go for the Vue breakfast burger at $9.90 of brioche, poached egg and hollandaise, his with bacon, mine with smoked salmon.

I do much better – I get a heap of robustly-flavoured fish and the whole thing is a delight.

A pistachio and chocolate danish ($5.40) to share is freash-as and very tasty but almost ethereal in its lack of substance.

The high-price factor arises once more with our cafe latte and hot chocolate – they’re $4.70 but just fine.

The surroundings are civilised and enjoyable, and thus a stylish, engaging rebuff to notions that flying – or preparing to fly – must always be a drag.

The relaxed vibe continues when I take my allocated aeroplane seat and find myself seated to a young mum and a much younger, brand-spanking-new baby.

This a flying first for me – on any kind of flight, international or otherwise.

Nice to meet you, Maryanne and Brooklyn!