Day 111, 31/12/11 Didn't do much in the day today, planned on going out later so ate early and made sandwhiches for the evening. The hostel had free sausages and pizza, we managed to get to the sausages but the pizzas were nabbed before we even got downstairs. We headed to Federation Square to watch the entertainment, Australia's laws don't allow you to drink in public so it had to be an (almost) alcohol free night. We watched the entertainment on the stage, drummers, DJ's and live singers and bands. It was really weird as it was no way near as busy as London last year. At about 11:15 we headed to the river to watch the rooftops fireworks. When it struck midnight they went off on all the roofs around the river. To be honest ... read more

Day 110, 30/12/11 Went into town to buy a cap as it is getting way too warm and I don't want my scalpe burning, also it is meant to be in the 40's up in Alice Springs so I will definitely need it up there next week. Took a walk along the river and ended up in another new part of town we didn't even know existed and found an amazing shopping centre which was quite big and well out of the way, it is right on top of our hostel as well. It has loads of outlets shops and we found a cheap book shop. As I have nearly finished Lee Evans book I bought a new one, Susan Boyles autobiography - only cost me $5. Back in the hostel I found The Da Vinci ... read more

Day 107, 27/12/11 Not much going on today, used some free internet in Peter Pans, read my book and went to the Cinema in the evening to see Tower Heist. Day 108, 28/12/11 Some of Melborne's little laneways are known for their Graffiti and you can go around and admire the artwork that people have done. We did just this, we got a map from the visitor centre and got distracted at first by a street entertainer in Federation Square which everyone seemed to find amazing but I've seen them hundreds of times in Covent Garden. The four of us took our walk around all the little laneways of Melbourne and the Graffiti was pretty amazing, we stopped of for lunch before carrying on. It was a lovely day and we got to see parts of ... read more

Day 106, 26/12/11 As Christmas is over the Aussies are back to normal as if nothing has even happened. We were up early anyway to go to watch The Cricket at The MCG. We were there all day and it was very interesting, I learnt a bit about Cricket and can safely say I will never ever go to another Cricket game in my life, I still enjoyed the day though. Australia were bating and India were fielding, and when Australia got caught out the India fans went mental. The fans don't sit on separate sides of the Stadium either as they do in football. The suspected goings on were happening including mexican waves around the 100 000 person stadium - it kind of puts the O2 to shame - as well as chanting, face painting ... read more

Day 105, 25/12/11 It has actually happened, Christmas Day in Australia! I opened my presents which I got from home and have been sitting in my locker for a while and was very happy with them. The Santa hat and underwear were very funny and I will look forward to eating all the chocolate and reading Lee Evans autobiography. We handed out our presents for everyone else and I got some Uno Cards from Stuart and The Sound of Music on DVD from Hannah and Jamie as well as some more chocolate. Stuart also bought the 4 of us tickets to Australia V India at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) tomorrow which should be quite interesting. We then hit Port Melbourne beach and set up our BBQ. The weather was beautifully sunny but was forcast to ... read more

Day 103, 23/12/11 Went Christmas shopping this morning as we decided to get each other a little something. Came back to hostel and watched Pirates of The Caribbean 3 in the room. Hannah got loads of free food from her work (a cafe) as they are closed until the New Year so we had yoghurt, carrot cake, a meat pie for dinner - with mash and beans - and a custard slice. Day 104, 24/12/11 Christmas Eve. Went into town to finish off my Christmas shopping for the others but had to be back for a 3 course Christmas dinner we had signed up to and paid for in a pub near the hostel so didn't get anything done in time. Went to the pub only to find it was closed, we went back to the ... read more

Day 101, 21/12/11 Me and Stuart picked up a rental car this morning, a lovely red Renault Megane and headed for The Great Ocean Road. You have to be 21 to hire a car in Australia so Stuart had to do all the driving. I would've liked a little spin but never mind - the car was automatic too and I have never driven one of them so maybe it was best I stayed in the passenger seat. Saw some pretty nice scenery, stopped of at Bells Beach which is said to be world famous - well I'd never heard of it until a few days ago. It was nice enough but I wouldn't spend the day there as it was in the middle of knowhere and not the nicest of beaches. Drove through some lovely ... read more

Day 98, 18/12/11 Not much going on today, looked around shops for some cheap underwear but Aussies only seem to wear expensive underwear so I didn't buy any. Hannah and Jamie bought a portable DVD player so the three of us got our duvets and pillows and watched Night at The Museum on the small 7inch screen. Read a bit of my book later. Day 99, 19/12/11 Had breakfast with Jamie and two people we sometimes talk to around the hostel. Went to the two big department stores to see if they had any cheap underwear but again, they were too expensive so gave it a miss. Went into work (or should I say old work) to sign next to my name to get paid and I got 3 sales which meant $50 bonus for each ... read more

Day 96, 16/12/11 Didn't know what to do today so I jumped on the train and went to the end of the line to one of the inland suburbs. Not a lot there, just houses and a shopping centre. Was quite interesting to see an Australian town where Australians live and not a city or beach town where tourists and backpackers live. Day 97, 17/12/11 Today the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and it was 30degrees outside, I heard England woke up to snow today too. I spent the day in the Botanic Gardens, with suncream on trying to get my tan back which has disappeared, with a book I got from the hostels book exchange. Went out in the evening with the Irish guys we met on Mondays quiz. Was an alright night ... read more

Day 94, 14/12/11 Got a text from work saying that they had no free phones and not to bother coming in for the rest of the week and to ring on Monday to see about working next week. Turns out, the other English girl got the same text as me as she rang me expressing her views on the whole situation. I wasn't happy either so I rang the manager and asked why they invited us back if they knew they didn't have any phones? We reckon it was a cover story - they probably didn't want us back at all. I will probably just give up with work as it is not working out and I can work at home, so why do it here? I am going to enjoy myself and have an amazing ... read more