Melbourne = Heaven!!

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Wow i think im starting to fall in love with Australia. I am absolutley loving this and living it to the max. Everyday i seem to spend here i just like it more and more its better than i expected. Everything is great weather is brilliant better than we ever get in England, Accomodation - Helen, Tony, Rob, Becky are amazing nicest family i ever met. They have been so kind to us its been unreal, they have been so welcoming and feeding us each day and telling us best way to do things and where to go dnt think we could have started the trip any better, we certainly owe them a lot for there hospitallity. As for Melbourne its self its knicknamed Sporting Capital of Australia and it sure lives up to its name its got everything you could want to do and all comes easy access from there house. Everyone is friendly and helpful its great.

Anyway last couple of days have been good since i last wrote. We went to the tennis for a for a day which was gd (but ridiculously hot) so the Bryan Brothers who ended up winning the mens doubles which was gd then we went and watched Kiefer vs Grosjean which is the most epic game of tennis i have ever seen in my life it went to 5 sets kiefer won 8-6 in the fifth set and it went on for 4 hours and 48 mins unbeleivable. I managed to spot a space sitting on a ledge next to the fountain which was gd so as the sun fiercly came down on the back of our necks every 5 mins or so the wind would change for just for a few seconds and we would recieve spray off the fountain which gave us great relief for those few seconds before it dryed off. After the epic i think we had all had enough of the sun so we decided to go into town for a while look at a few shops and i decided to purchase my second hat off the trip (Even though i look shocking in them cos of my big head still keeps sun off my face. But this time i was feeling a little cheeky and bought a visor from the Addidas shop its cool prefer it by the mile to the hat and i rekon it looks a lot better which is what counts. Then after that we decided we would go out for meal and then have a look at the ginormous casino. We went to a restururant right down by the river and that was really nice and at a really resonable price. It was funny though the waiter we had dropped giles plate on the way out to give it to us then when he was stacking them up to take them away dropped and smashed my plate this time def not his night and we certainly found it hard to contain our laughter well at least till he walked away. Then we walked to the casino just down the road as soon as i walked in i thought we had just arrived in vegas it was incredible i have never seen anything like it. Gamblers Paradise for sure just hundreds and hundreds or rows of slot machines blackjack tables and roulette it took us bout 10 minutes just to walk from one side to the other it was just vast. Then i decided i could not come in to the biggest casino i had ever been in by a mile and not have a little danger bet so i decided to gamble a big $1 yup thats right 1 whole doller about 45p it entitled to 50 lines in other words 50 turns on it but i pressed the wrong button and had them all at once : ( bit of a dissapointment really but i decided to keep the rest of my money safe in my pocket for the rest of the night.

The next day we visited the botanic gardens and i have to say i was pleasently surprised, before we went i can honestley say i was not really looking forward to it but once we had arrived there and i had taken my blinkers off and widened my view there was some really spectacular sights to be seen ( Unfortunatley some idiot me had taken his camera with him (ME) without the battries in it because they were being charged up so theres no photos of that but we are thinking of going bk to get some so dont lose all hope) it was really weird we had just walked out of the city centre and then we suddenly walked into what seemed a massive rainforest. There certainly were some great views to be had by all and i can now say i enjoyed my experience there and certainly go back there even though we got hit by wot looked like a tropical storm for bout 30 min which we spent lurking under trees in the middle of the park. It was all gd. Then later that night we had planned to stay in after walking bout 6 miles that day, but Becky and her friend Adrien ( Girl by the way) managed to persuade us to go out with them to a bar and then a club. I was certainly a bit scepticle at first but after the night i certainly hold no regrets and only memories of gd times. We walked up to the other side of the crossing gates where we caught the bus into the next suburb moone ponds where we went to a bar called Jimmy Rowes. It definatly was busy for sure could hardly move in there there was a DJ and Live band on so it was all gd. We all went to the bar and becky said something to me bout flipping a coin for drinks or something as special deal for tonight didnt really catch all of it so i decided to get drinks in and order 3 beers yup that 3 beers one for me harry and giles and for those that dnt know giles when he goes out he does not normally drink achahol but something in him had changed and he decided to be one of the boys and we were certainly proud of him. Anyway then i got my money out and barman opens the till takes out a coin says to me "heads or tails" and i said "heads" he flips the coin and it comes down a head puts the coin back in the till and shuts it and says "dont have to pay" i could not believe it my luck was certainly in. Then we turned around to watch the live band who were brilliant i thought, it gave the bar a real edge and that extra bit of atmosphere you dnt get when its all just recorded on cd they were doing loads of covers of bands we all liked back home so it really got us moving jumping and grooving all at once and that is something for sure us in free flow u gotta see : ) After a long stint with the great band and a few shots and beers later (Giles took things steady just had the 2 beers, still a gd effort i think seeing he never drinks!!) oh yer and the next couple of rounds were bought and they harry spent 20-27 dollers giles same then i go up again and my round cost $8.20 unreal must be something i was doing right (probably admirining my moves on the dance floor and thought i deserved reward!! only joshin just lucky i think. Then we headed off to a club down the road called "One" and we even got half price entry off that which was class. The club was gd few tunes we had heard and a few we had not but was still fun nethetheless. Then at bout 1.50am it suddenly hit us and we felt absolutly knackered all the walking had caught up with us!! so we decided to head back which was bout a half hour trek to the house and we all managed that ok which was gd.

Then next morning we certainly had a gd lyin to make up for the late night before out afternoon epic session of squash. Before this we watched womens Austrlian Open Tennis Final which Mauresmo won which i find quite unfair cos she has obviously has had a sex change cos women looks that manly and hits it that hard. If u ask me she should go to the surgeon for a refund. Anyway less of Manesmo and more of Me, Tony, Rob, Giles, and Harry who all played squash and it certainly made me build up a sweat for sure.We sure had some gd games we all played each other all being of differing standards which made it interesting but the clearly the best 2 were certainly Tony and Giles. They played out an great match for all to see Tony winning the first game 9-1 bit of a drubbing thats where Giles hit back and took a 7-2 lead in the second where he looked to equal it at 1 apeice but then Big T (Tony) launched an astonishing comeback out of knowhere to win it 9-7. Before i had time to catch my breath from the stunning squash that was played in front of us i was on court playing Rob in a more low key affair but still with all the tension and trauma as i the lead went back and forward it went to 9-9 then he took a lead but i managed to grit in and win it 12-10. Remember Rob is 11 mighty fine effort for someone 7 years younger hes handy at a large number of sports and is gonna be a force to be rekoned with in the future well once ive tought him a few tricks of the trade. Harry was certainly 3rd best ahead of me and Rob who were prob about equal. I think i can quite safely say i am the UWB of squash. For all of you who dont know what im on about when i mention UWB me, giles, harry and nathan came up with it and you basically get named it when you either play badly at something or are just appauling at someting like me at squash. It stands for Ultimate Whipping Boy, the first person to be named this is probably the one who hates it the most and that is Nath but we and all out friends have been called it at some point.Then after the 2 hour marathon squash epic we went back to have some food and replenish our energy stores and have a rest. Helen and Tony went out again so me rob becky and harry and giles decided to watch The Green Mile seeing it was on Tv and i had not actually watched the film fully through before but i was impressed and it is a great and sad film. Im not normally a big fan of sad films but this is an exception and i thoroughly enjoyed.

Then Sunday came The Day of Federer ( Thats Roger Federer tennis player by the way) the person i beleive who wil be the greatest tennis player we will ever see in my era and i expect many an era to come. Before we watched him dominate. We had another epic day out in the heat playing tennis this time. Same people different rackets diff courts diff game.We played best of 3 against each other and harry came out on top of the tennis winning all of his games anf giles was UWB which he had a mini grump about when i called him it. Then back to the house where we lounged around and watched the cricket for and hour or two before everyone headed off to the local pool which is 50m and massive for a quick dip and to relax to unwind which was nice. Then we watched the tennis and it was a gd match Federer who was off form the first set which baggy won (Marcos Badaitis) who we were supporting real underdog and crowd favourite and was just great fun to watch. But then Federer decided he started trying and won next 3 sets in his dominant way. Then highlight of the day Federer's speach dnt normally watch them but boy was i glad i did. He gt up there opened his mouth and nothing came out he could not speak then he just burst in to tears because he was obviously so overwhelmed with emotion which we all thought was fair enough so then he took a few deep breaths and tried to speak and just started crying even louder it was ridiculous he was standing there for bout 5 mins just crying even the croud started to laugh a bit he saw the funnyside as well making some remarks bout it when he could scrape some words together. But i reccommend watching it if you havent yet.

Then Today which seems bloody long as i woke up at 7 and been writing this for hours to you guys over there still am now at 11:53pm here. So i really do hope you appreciate this as its taken me ages : ) but i am enjoying it as its feels gd for me to share the great time i am having with all of you. So to today.....

This morning we went on the Neighbours Tour something Giles would have just flown out just to do. In my honest opinion i was dissapointed with it. We got picked up on the neighbours "Official Tour Bus" just next to fed square and then began our journey to ramsey street picking up the rest of the people. We started to feel like right lurkers especially me and harry when we had picked up everyone and there was only 2 other blokes on the bus and one of them was gay. Everyone on it was english apart from 2 at the back quite wierd to be round english people again. Then we went to our first destination Erinsborough High School even though its not called that they just put up a sign when they film at the gate of it!! and the first photo oppertunity this was after seeing videos of people off neighbours trying to make it in the music world with all of them flopping bar Kylie. Photo oppertunity was gd though and gd memory to take bk. Then onto the filming studios where they film everything except we sat outside in the bus because It was all behind trees and secured off so saw nothing there. Then the tourguide also decided to ruin the storylines for next few months Stu dies yup thats right shock horror!!!!!! and Connor leaves and 2 pregnancies thats right you heard me right 2 omg had to take a couple of breaths while i took all that in to wait and see if hed ruin anything else!! Then off to the definate highlight of the tour Ramsey Street itself even though its not even called that. We then got off the bus and played the highly original guess whos house this is game which last about 1 min with all the Neighbours Nerds around us. Then the highlight picture time with the sign and the houses what we really came for which was gd shame it was tipping it down while we did it. Then we headed back on the bus and watched episodes of old school neighbours and saw 2 successive deaths in 2 episodes talk about ending the tour on a high!!!!! Anyway Giles enjoyed it and that was what counted so that was alright i guess 1 out of 3 aint that bad.

Anyway rest of day we picked up a few leaflets and seriously thinking through things to do for rest of trip and whats gonna happen. Me and harry have talked it through and we are 99% certain we are gonna cut a week off in L.A and New York so thats right people you will all get to see me 2 weeks earlier barring a ridiculous cost of changing a flight.

I also made a must do list for myself.....

- Bunjee Jumping
- Skydive
- Walk up Sydney Harbour Bridge
- White Water Rafting
- Great Barrier Reef
- Fraser Island
- Whit Sundays

Sounds like a gd list to me lot of adrenalin gonna be passing through me over next few months!!!!!!!!

Tonight i went for a run with rob an henry (dog) down by the river so nice just to run down there scenery is brilliant specifiacally made for jogging and walking its a 4km circuit as well so gets me fit. Me and rob and gonna do 4km each night from now on Boring Billy 1 Giles and Boring Billy 2 Harry probably wont join us but its there loss. And also i agreed to do an aquathon with Big T (Tony) which is goes 250m swimming then 1.5km run then 250m swim then 1.5km run then 250m swim then final run of 1.5km shouldbe gd really up for it now after my run.

And finnally Hannah is back tommorow there oldest daughter which is gd shes been travelling in China for a year so should be great to meet her really looking forward to that : )

Right thats my lot finished writing at 12:20 its been epic everyone else in the house has been asleep for bout an hour while ive been writing this!! Once again i hope everyone over there is doing really gd and keeping themselves well. Please feel free to email me through hotmail [e-mail] or leave a message on on this blog all comments would be great, wanna see your thoughts. Sorry again for lack of photos each one takes bout 10 min to load and i am a very tired man at this moment!! But i will try my best

All the best

Chaz x x x

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Comments

[Sue Cover]

Wonderful
Thank you so much for sending me your travelblog entries. I have REALLY enjoyed reading them and hearing about your time in Melbourne. So glad you are all so happy. Tony and Helen sound such fun - please send them my thanks and best wishes. Love to all 3 of you.

[Danny]

Essay man
Alright Chazzy, good to read all about you guys. sounds like its been good. tell you wat tho im loving it here in England! i 'specially like having to scrape ice off my car!! I am impressed that you have written so much each time, but its good. i hope you've been keeping up with pompey transfers, we now have signed 9 people! mad. anyway look forward to reading your next essay.