And now the end is near...

---

---

And so I face the final curtain.... it was time to head back to Sydney for my final night in this fantastic country. I was sad to be leaving Melbourne. It really had so much to offer and like the other cities and areas I have visited I know I have only just scratched the surface.

The flight back was fast and uneventful, I got my favourite seat again (4B) and enjoyed the legroom of being at the front of the section (absolute result for those with long legs). The flight was quiet so the crew got chatting to me, and were fascinated to hear where I had been - they were quite surprised as to how much I had done and where I had been, and the "good on ya" kept being said.

And so to landing in Sydney, coming in over the ocean it was grey and bleak, very different to my arrival here nearly three weeks ago. The rain had set it and it looked as if it would be a miserable afternoon.

Back to the Marriott and a warm welcome from reception who remembered me and straight up to the room. As it was wet, what better way to spend the afternoon than to shop, especially with those left over travellers cheques and the strong UK pound. And so a few gifts bought for friends and family (and a few for me as well!!).

This evening I was to meet up with some Nielsen chums who had come to work in Oz. It was brilliant to see Carrie and Paul again and catch up on all of the news both home and away, We went to a fantastic japanese on darling harbour, and then back to Paul's in Balmain (a very nice house indeed) for a quick farewell drink and then back to the Marriott for sleep.

---