First stop in Australia.....Melbourne

---

15th December-So today I was up at the crack of dawn to catch my shuttle to the airport for my 6:30am flight. I was a big kid on the plane and watched Dolphin Tale 2 as I caught the first one on one of my other flights. Some people had to pay for movies but mine were free....clearly I had specified this on my booking haha! The only reason I love flying is for the food and the movies 😊 They did a call out saying that breakfast for their business customers would be coming around shortly and so I thought well that ain't me! But low and behold I got my breakfast....clearly I had also specified this lol! I was about to have a little nap when the staff asked over the mic if there were any doctors or medical people on board and I was like oh fuck. This is something I have always dreaded as I'm not in my normal hospital environment. So my heart was racing as I approached the sick man and thankfully there was an anaethsetist on board. The poor man kept being violently sick and passing out. Sometimes he'd do this funny jerky thing too. So I just helped take his blood pressure and pulse, reassure him etc whilst the doc gave him an anti sickness drug. So I spent the remainder of the flight with him and his wife. It's amazing the amount of stuff they have on board....heaps of drugs and a defibrillator!

By the time I'd got my bags and gone through customs where they took my bananas off me 😞 it was about half ten. Then as I was looking bewildered a guy asked me if I needed any help so I said 'oh yes, could you tell me what's the cheapest way to get to my hostel please?' So he sent me on my way to the bus. Now little did I know that the bus station was on the same street as my hostel and they do a free shuttle service so I jumped on and asked for nomads and got taken to the wrong bloody one. So I then had to walk twenty minutes to mine and past the station....I was not a happy bunny! Then I had to walk up the stairs to the top floor as there's no lift. The hostel is okay but it's a bit old and grubby. But as long as the bed linen is clean I can cope 😊 I did wear my flip flops in the shower though lol! Once I was settled I nipped to the supermarket for supplies. Avocados were like five bucks for two but I've got a thing for them at the moment so just had to treat myself. I never thought healthy stuff would be classed as a treat!

I was planning on an early night as I was pooped from being up so early and it's not as sunny as I thought it would be here but it's very warm so I think that wore me out a bit as there's only a two hour time difference. I met a lovely Dutch girl in my room who's English isn't great but we managed to work each other out. She convinced me into going out and I'm really glad I did as there's so much to see. We took a stroll along the south bank next to the river and went through the botanic gardens. We saw the shrine of remembrance and federation square on the way home. We stopped in Starbucks by their big Christmas area and watched as it went dark. As we started to walk home a light projection show started on the town hall which was absolutely amazing! I felt like a big kid. I took loads of little videos as all the themes changed so I can make a Christmas video. I didn't take many in the last few months so I'm trying to get back into it. They had all the different countries, Santa's workshop and even snow falling. It's made me feel all Christmassy. I felt like all I need was my hat, scarf and big coat.

16th December-Today I had a little lie in but it's so stuffy with eight people in the room that I couldn't wait to get up and out. After breakfast me and Mariska went to explore federation square a bit more and I went and grabbed the free guided tour of the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition at the Art Gallery of Victoria. Mariska wanted me to come to the beach and was quite insistent on changing my mind which was a bit annoying but I think it's just the way she is maybe. So she went to St Kilda and I went off to my fashion show. It was amazing! Sis you would have loved it....don't worry I took lots of pics! On the way home I stopped in Peterpan travel agents to try and sort out my East Coast trip and where I want to stop etc. My brain feels absolutely fried! I didn't want to organise it all I just wanted to go with the flow....but realistically I'm a planner so I get stressed if things aren't sorted out. I didn't really do anything in the evening, just showered and made my calendar for the East Coast. In the middle of the night my advent calendar fell down the side of the bunk bed and hit the girl underneath....oopsie! :/

17th December-So today my friend Nick that I met in America met me at the casino (which is just like walking through vegas and has amazing Christmas decorations) and took me driving around the suburbs. First we went to St Kilda which has a nice little beach and pier. We walked down the pier and saw an old guy fishing in his speedos....he looked like a regular and was all wrinkly and brown....too much sun! I nipped to go to the loo and as I was waiting this lady turned around and full on crashed into me....then she just stared at me and walked off...no sorry, no nothing! Honestly some people. Then someone kept rattling the door trying to get in and I was like 'uh there's someone in here!' Our next stop was at Port Melbourne where all the big ships come in, so we stopped for our lunch there. I'd made us rolls and brought fruit with me. Our final stop was at lygon street which is an Italian area full of cafes, restaurants and bars. It looks like a nice spot to go for a night out. We had a coffee and mince pie in a lovely cafe where Nick always goes and it was pretty nice. Once he'd dropped me back off I nipped back to Peterpans to finalise my calendar and a few more trips before heading back to the hostel for dinner. I had pumpkin and sweet potato soup which was rank! I tried on my gorgeous little shorts that haven't fitted me since America and I can do them up 😊 😊 They're still a little snug though.

Me, Mariska and an Aussie guy I met called Josh went to the Queen Victoria night markets which were fab! They had music and food and I tried a sampler of apple strudel and had to walk away before I ate the whole box....sorry Barbs but this one was immense! I settled on a twizel stick which is basically a potato spiralled onto a stick, fried and flavoured. I went for salt and vinegar and it was gorgeous! I finished off with prosecco and prawns where you had your seafood on a wooden board and the glass hooked onto the side...pretty neat! I had an oyster too...slimy little buggers but tasty! On the way home we found a little artist market up an alleyway which was cool. This one girl had her pet rabbit sat on the table called Dexter. He was so content and she let me have a little hold awww! So gonna have to get me one when I go home. Lastly, we swung by the town hall again to watch the light show and also caught a break dancing crew who were fab and managed to raise quite a bit out of the crowd for underprivileged kids. It was a really nice final night in the city.

18th December-Happy Birthday to my Janey from work....miss you lots! Ps you'd better be reading my blog! Today I was up early, checked out and on the train to Cranbourne where Carol lives. She's a lady who I'd say is in her 60s/70s that I met when I was on a coach trip in France two years ago. She was doing a four month trip around Europe all on her own which I just thought was amazing. I had to buy this myki card thing for the train....it's a bit like an Oyster card. I think it's a bit of a rip off really because they cost six bucks and then you've gotta put your fare on it pfft! Before I left I had to awkwardly wake the girl up underneath to retrieve my iPad case which fell down the side of the bunk bed during the night....double oopsie! When Carol came to pick me up she gave me a big hug and a kiss and I just knew it was going to be a brilliant couple of days 😊 She lives in like a little retirement complex and has a gorgeous bungalow. I jumped on her scales and am a kilo lighter woop woop! I bought her a little selection of festive gingerbread cookies in a bag with baubles on as a little hello gift, from the artist market. After a cuppa we set off for Phillip Island where the Penguins live....eek I was so excited. We dropped our stuff off at her beach house where we're spending the night and nipped into the local town called Cowes for an Aussie meat pie....nom nom!

Our next stop was the Phillip Island wildlife sanctuary where I saw my first lots of paddymelons, wallabys, kangaroos, koalas and Tasmanian devils. We got to go into the paddocks where the Kangaroos and emus are free to run/hop about. I fed a couple and they hold onto your hands as they take the food....so cute! One had a pouch that was moving but we couldn't see anything. The emus kept chasing us for the food and they're bullies to the poor kangaroos. After that we went out to Nobbies point where the blowholes are and my god it was windy. I almost lost my flip flops! We then made our way back to the beach house for a rest and some nibbles. It was raining really bad so we were afraid we might not be able to go and see the Penguins but it died down and we got to go yay! We went into the little conservation centre and they had little nests you could peep into and see the baby penguins....so cute! When we were sat waiting to watch the Penguins coming in from the sea we had to be really quiet and not take photos as they're very timid. Sometimes it would take a group several attempts to run up the beach as they'd get scared and run back towards the sea and do a big belly flop and slide back in. It just takes one brave one to lead the others up the beach and back up to their nests. How they waddle all the way back up the hill with those big fat bellies full of fish I don't know.

After we saw I'd guess over 100 penguins come out of the sea we started to walk back up the boardwalk where you could see all the babies waiting patiently for their food. The mums would call them and when they got to them like five babies would just bulldoze the poor thing, even if it wasn't their mum. It's kind of gross how they regurgitate their food. I bought myself a little fluffy baby penguin and a kangaroo pin for my backpack 😊 I know I'm a child for buying a teddy but I couldn't resist! We had a cuppa before bed when we got back and I was shattered! I've had a brilliant day, definitely one of the highlights of my travels.

19th December-So today I woke up fairly early so we had breakfast and got moving. On the way home we stopped at the Churchill Island heritage farm where they had Clydesdale horses, sheep, cows, a very friendly pig who's belly you could tickle, bunnies, guinea pigs, ferrets, a cockatoo and even some peacocks. They had the old farm house, barn and blacksmith shop that you could look around too. Was lovely. We then stopped just as we got over the island bridge to see the Pelicans. We picked up some fish and chips to take home for lunch which were gorgeous but I couldn't finish them....I think my stomach's shrunk since I've been dieting. Not a bad thing mind! In the afternoon I helped put the chocolate on profiteroles as we're making a tower for Carol's family's Christmas Day which we're having tomorrow. So I get to celebrate with a family yay! One of the ladies that lives nearby called Jenny came over for dinner and we had chicken pancakes. We checked out the movie channels and settled on Mr & Mrs Smith which I've actually never seen....you know, the one with that hoe bag in that stole Brad from the lovely Jen?

20th December-This morning we stuffed the profiteroles with custard, stuck them to the tower thing in the middle and pinned Christmas decorations on lol! They call it a croquem bouche. We then made our way over to Carol's daughter Lyndell's house for dinner where I had to balance the tower on my lap the whole way over in the car....one of the most stressful times of my travels haha! Carol's son, wife and kids came over too. We opened presents when everyone arrived and I got a few things and a lovely pair of Australian opal earrings from Carol....they're my birthstone too 😊 Dinner was lovely with crackers and prawns and it was very relaxed which is unusual for my family! We spent the afternoon nattering and testing out some vanilla vodka Lynndell got given whilst the kids played in the pool.....yes that's right-they have a pool! I brought my bikini but just couldn't face getting in it after everything I ate....it's a little snug as it is 😞 They have a selfie stick so we did a family selfie lol! Carol said I can have the car and go to the beach tomorrow whilst she goes off to another family Christmas thing as she said I'd get bored but I love family things and Lynndell said I had to come and she's lovely so what the heck! To finish the night off Carol read her book and I watched a creepy movie called Kiss The Girls.

21st December-So I was up, showered and dressed ready to go at half ten this morning and Carol let me drive which was cool. I still have to think about it when driving an automatic and keep putting my left foot on the brake because there's no clutch. I don't overly miss driving mind....I do too bloody much of it! We got to Lyndell's and one of us went in each car and we drove about an hour towards the city to their cousin's house. We had a great time and they included me in their family photos out on the deck which was sweet 😊 When we got back to Lyndell's it was still boiling so we all got in the pool for a bit and Lynndell let me borrow her new swimsuit which was a gorgeous blue and held everything in nicely! If I didn't tan I'd buy one. On the way home we stopped for some Thai food and I had sticky rice and beef, just like when I was in Asia....mmm mmm! Really we didn't need it all as we've eaten so much this week so we grabbed a doggy bag so will have it for lunch tomorrow. We watched Rumour Has It before bed. I'm loving these movie nights!

22nd December-So today is officially my last day with Carol sniff sniff! 😞 We had a really lazy day today and just nipped to the shops where I picked up a bikini version of the swimsuit Lynndell let me borrow yesterday. Now I'm pleased to announce that the 12 fitted me but I want to look really good in it on the beach so went one size up 😊 We spent the afternoon reading, playing sudoku and making dessert. Well I didn't really make dessert, Carol did it whilst I had an afternoon nap oopsie! We then spent the evening having dinner with Carol's neighbour Jenny and her two friends. I've eaten seafood all week and don't think I could ever get sick of it 😊 No movie tonight so me and my penguin cwtched down for our last night....I'm very attached to this souvenir.

23rd December-So I packed my bags and chilled out this morning before leaving Cranbourne. Carol took me to the train station and waved me off...tots emosh! I forgot to give her her thank you card though so I'm annoyed at myself. I think I met my first couple of bogans on the train. They were quite rough and I'm sure the guy was pissed, but they were nice enough. When I got back into the centre I was waiting to catch my bus to the airport when I saw a sign for a different airport called Avalon and thought hang on a minute, I'm sure I recognise that and sure thing I almost went to the wrong airport. That would not have been a good Christmas present! I even got a refund for the bus I was wrongly waiting for which was a bonus as it was like eighteen bucks. When I finally got to the airport after stressing about being late because it was further away than the main one the plane was delayed by half an hour....typical! The lady let me check both my bags in too so I didn't have to cart one around....I was over too!

So it was bye bye Melbourne and hello Sydney this evening. My hostel is right by the train station so I'm really lucky. By the time I got into my room I was pooped and still hadn't found Lauren so I plonked my bum down in reception to soak up my very much missed wifi and in she walked. So weird to see someone from my home town. We went out to find a supermarket and I got some bits and pieces for the week and we bought spag bol to share. I get the feeling she's not great at cooking so I got on it....we forgot to buy cheese though....devasted! We were total bores this evening and got in our pjs early for bed. Gotta recharge those batteries for the next few days of festivities! We're not in the same room which is a shame but we'll cope! Xx

---