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Published: January 9th 2009
8th December 2008-4th January 2009
We felt pretty relieved and excited about touching down in Melbourne, not only were we going to meet up with many, many people but we were guarenteed hot showers, a comfortable bed and endless cups of tea...for at least 2 weeks or so anyway whilst we were staying with our friends Gail and Craig.
Gail (Rachael's friend from uni) met us at the airport and needless to say Rach was pretty (understatement!) excited. We spent the first few (okay maybe a few more) days relaxing, washing (ourselves and clothes) and getting used to the fact that we could understand almost everything that was being said to us, then we set out to explore Melbourne and we loved it. Friendly people, relaxed atmosphere, 4 seasons in one day (we didn't think that the weather could be as changable as the U.K-we were wrong) funky shops, good company/new friends and...cakes...goodness the cakes...
Part one of celebrations= Yup, it was finally here...(trumpet fanfare please) Lucy's 30th birthday! Rach bought Luce a Neighbours tour and so off we went with the hope of seeing none other than Dr Karl Kennedy...although he had not heard that we had
arrived and had ventured to find us in the U.K. However, we saw the street, some of the filming and cast so we've now figured out the storyline for the next 6 months! In the afternoon we went for some birthday cake with Ian (Gail's brother who was also a homeless stray from the U.K) who had the bright idea of eating the delicious (and rather oversized) cakes on the beach. Hmmm...seagulls, cake and Lucy...can you guess the next part? Yep, she got shat on...from a great height by a rather hungry looking seagull. Rach and Ian found it hilarious, especially because it was difficult to distinguish between the cake Luce was still muching on and the poop on her foot. Lucy, in high birthday spirits, decided that it must be a sign of good luck...
The evening celebrations were a slightly more refined and mature affair (she was 30 afterall!) but not for very long. We (Luce, Rach, Gail, Craig and Ian) commenced the evening with a bottle of wine and then made our way to Jamie Oliver's Melbourne restaurant 'Fifteen'. Gail and Rach had booked the degustation (or should we say disgusting due the huge amounts of
food which we consumed) menu. 6 courses, 5 bottles of wine, 2 broken glasses, 8 exploded party poppers, a dyed tablecloth and one chocolate Happy Birthday later we all rolled out of the restaurant towards a favourite bar of our hosts. This was the start of Lucy's promised good luck. When at the bar Craig thought it was quite odd that he was told he would have to pay for the spirits...and then realised that the champagne being ordered by the man next to him was free...we had all somehow managed to gatecrash the afterparty of the opening night of Shane Warne the musical...we repeat again the (5-each) glasses of champagne were free! Lucy (and everyone else!) had a really good night, although she was confused when she woke up at 6am on the sofa covered only with a sheet and a dressing gown...we repeat; the champagne was free. Lucy has realised that at the age of 30 she follows after her mother and Grandmother when it comes to a tipple!
Good luck number 2 appeared on our slighty hungover drive (with Gail and Ian) to the Melbourne Botanical Gardens. Whilst stopped at traffic lights Rach spyed a 50
dollar note blowing around on the verge, Ian rescued it by running across the dual carriageway to cheers from the rest of us in the car. Our third piece of luck came when we arrived at the gardens, the ticket machine was being fixed and so the mechanic gave us the afternoon ticket for free. Thank goodness for Lucy and her birdpoo!
The next few days were spent catching up with more friends, both from home and people we had befriended on our travels. Clare and Eurig (who we met in Vietnam) are currently living in Melbourne, as is Jason (one of Luce's old work buddies), everybody was introduced on a pre Christmas night out...which ineveitably ended with a 5am finish and huge amount of dancing.
The two of us and Ian went on a pre Christmas adventure to The Grampians and along the Great Ocean Road. We borrowed Gail's car for our road trip and enjoyed hiking, wildlife spotting, meeting Teegan (a new Aussie buddy), taking many photographs, visiting the cheese museum, ending with a shopping spree and night out in Torquay with Gail, Craig and DJ (who came to meet us from Melbourne). Our Sunday lunch
In the Melbourne Botanical Gardens
Rach, Ian, Luce and Gail relax after 30th birthday fun!was shark and chips on the beach with yet more seagulls eyeing up our food.
Nicola and Simon flew into Melbourne just in time for the 'Neighbours night'. We all met four of the cast, had many photos taken and spent an enjoyable evening dancing and taking part in the trivia quiz..we thought we were going to win...but we didn't. A more sedate but still fun reunion was with one of Rach's old pupils (Angela) and her mum (Dee) who have re-emigrated to Melbourne, Rach couldn't believe that Angela is nearly 14, she first taught her when she was 7!
It was the 23rd of December and due to the lovely weather we didn't feel at all festive so Gail suggested that our 'little family' plus Nicola and Simon went to the 'Carols by Candlelight' rehearsal at the large outdoor arena called the Myer Bowl. It was great, we saw lots of good acts and sang until our hearts content, we hope that the people behind us enjoyed it as much as we did?!
Christmas Eve was 28 degrees, yes, that was 28 DEGREES. We spent the day doing the final food and present preparation that you
usually do coupled with a trip up the Eureka Tower (highest building in Melbourne) and a frantic hunt for brandy sauce or butter which we discovered Aussies don't do...brandy custard was the only alternative.
CHRISTMAS DAY! We were up with the larks to see Gail, Craig and Ian before they jetted off the Craig's parents for lunch, so we hopped on a tram (with our Esky-cool box to us Brits) to meet Clare, Eurig, Nicola and Simon for a festive picnic in the Botanical Gardens...and the temperature was 30 degrees. Our Christmas hamper consisted of; cheese (lots of it), turkey/stuffing and cranberry sandwhiches, crackers, mince pies and bubbly! We had a great time and when we boarded the tram to head back to our main dinner we were feeling slighty merry. Presents were exchanged and a few beers supped (kept cool in our new Christmas stubby holders) then the barbie was lit and the masterchef Craig cooked our t-bone steaks before throwing quite a few shrimps on the barbie. The evening was spent playing 'Craigium' (our new take on the board game Cranium to match Craig's name) with Gail, Craig, Ian, Clare, Eurig, Nicola and Simon. The day was
A Whole Family Night Out
From left to right= Ian, Gail, Rach, Luce and Craig. very different to our usual Christmases but great, great fun.
Boxing Day saw an early start for an adventure up the Murray River (about 3 hours drive north of Melbourne). We spent 3 days camping, cooking on a barbie, sitting around a camp fire and learning new water skills, these included; wakeboarding, kneeboarding, tubing and being the speedboats first mate (otherwise known as a spotter). Much fun was had by all and we have both discovered a new hobby in wakeboarding, all we need to do now is find a friend with a speedboat who'll drive us around the Solent! All of a sudden it was the 28th of December and time to leave Gail, Craig and Ian at the river to head off to Sydney. We were both sad to leave as the best time was had during our stay in Melbourne but we were very excited about Sydney for New Years Eve and catching up with more people.
Our journey to Sydney was a short 12 hours by coach with 2 friendly bus drivers. As soon as we set foot into the hostel we met Kate (one of Rach's friends from home) who had come over
from New Zealand to celebrate New Year with us. Our first full day saw us venturing to the Sydney Opera House for a paparazzi shoot of both it and the bridge with us, Kate and Simon (another friend and holiday maker from Southampton) with large grins on our faces. Bondi Beach was the next stop, we were amazed by how busy it was and took obligatory photos. During the evening we met with Mags, another Southampton dweller-we couldn't get away from them, and visited the aquarium.
NEW YEARS EVE! After preparing our picnic and buying our booze we hopped on a ferry across the harbour to meet Blake (Aussie) and Louise (Brit) 2 friends we met in Vietman) at Cremone Point, along with thousands of other revellers, where we spent the day eating, sunbathing, catching up and having a few drinks until the spectacular fireworks at midnight. The evening lived up to all expectations.
New Years Day was spent recovering over many chai lattes and a walk over the Harbour Bridge. Before we left Sydney we ventured across the Manly to meet our friends Blake and Louise to go to Palm Beach, otherwise known as 'Summer Bay' (from
the soap Home and Away). We didn't get to see any of the characters but were impressed by the beautiful beaches and had fun playing in the surf before heading off on our night bus to Byron Bay. Our tour guide did a good job!
Byron Bay= Relaxing, sunbathing, chilling with Nicola and Simon at a funky Sunday market whilst listening to live music and watching the pretty amazing surfers do their thing. We were excited to see that Mr Scruff (one of our favourite mutal DJ's from the UK) was playing at a pub, so we just had to go and we danced, ALOT! It was a lovely place to chill.
Next stop Brisvegas...
Luce and Rach xxxx
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Bob and Helen
non-member comment
Happy new year girls
As the title says happy new year to you both. What fun you are continuing to have. You will have to write a book when you get back. Remembering last christmas at Granny Weymouth when I took a photo of you Rach and Simon asleep on the settee looking like a pair of book ends, hardy compairs to this time partying all the while !!. How lovely. I remember when I was in Brisbane in Nov. with all the stores playing christmas songs and carols how odd it seemed. Hope you enjoy Queensland altho I am sure you will find the humidity very tiring. You both look so well and happy - keep it up. Looking forward to thenext instalment. Take care. Love Bob and Helen. xx