Barbara and Marten!

It was so lovely to have one of my dearest friends and his wife come to visit us in Australia, that I kind of wish they had stayed.  Of course I wanted to take them to my favourite restaurant in Queensland, Cardamon Pod Brickworks.

Marten and I were both best men at each other's weddings, well for me it was the ring ceremony in London. 

It was unusual that we became friends, as we only worked together at Google for a short time, but the simple fact that he was up for doing things meant we often spent time together.  I think a key weekend was where another friend pulled out, and Marten stepped into his place and the friendship blossomed from there.

We've seen a lot of the world together, and travel (I think) very well together, having just the right mix of grumpiness, ability to comment on everything and introspection to fit in well with each other.

That he would marry someone as lovely as Barbara felt like a great event in my life as well.

I'm not a great long-distance friend, I like people's company in doing things more than talking through a device, but I try to not let too long go between the times we catch up.