Docklands Prestige Apartments Melbourne

... the center of town. We intended to visit Parliament but it was closed by the time we arrived via the City Tram. However , in our wanderings we stumbled into 3 different couples taking wedding pictures-very romantic ! We also wandered several of the lane ways admiring the graffiti art. We found ACDC Lane-what fun!
There was a book sale at Federation Square so we perused the books but decided we didn't want to add more weight to our ...

... most of the girls were kicking about in their 19 inch stilleto heels, designer dresses, D&G bags...WAG central to be honest, while most of the lads were boys in suits, some wearing sunglasses indoors which really ***** me. I felt a teeny tiny bit out of place wearing my skinny jeans and flat pink ballet pumps! The clientelle reminded me of Karbon on steroids. OTHER than that though it was a pretty decent place and the music was good so I managed to enjoy myself for an ...

... and football. They get very excited about it in Melbourne anyway so we thought we'd get involved and we went down to watch it on the big screen at Federation Square - the main square in the city centre. Sadly it was freezing cols, windy and raining, but it was a really close game and very exciting. we backed the underdogs St Kilda, but sadly it wasnt too be (even though they were the better team on the day!) and Geelong clasped ...

... to come by and if you don't have any experience, which I didn't, then you're pretty much up **** creek without a paddle. So if it had been something I had just applied for then there's no way I would even have got a look in. But, luckily, Dale's a good talker and charmed his boss into giving me an interview - and as it turns out, Anthony (the boss man) just LOVES a Scottish accent. Wham bam, job was mine as soon as I said "awright big chap".

I'm three weeks into ...

... I know (James won). We decided to get the tram back but on our way over to the stop we stumbled upon a Jazz band playing live in the street just outside a post office, so we joined in as you do, with the growing crowd and had a bit of a dance.

We rounded up our long weekend away in Melbourne at the Aquarium which was so good. James even spied Toady from Neighbours with his kids. The penguins were our favourite, they had their own snow ...

... we THINK that is what we got but whatever it was it was wonderful!! Food is quite different here as it was in NZ. A couple from Tasmania, Australia were camping in the campground and we spent one evening visiting with them at their camper. They gave us good tips on things to see and do in the Melbourne area. We went to a wildlife sanctuary and got a good idea of all the wildlife we will see during the next two months of hiking. Also drove the Yarra Valley Wine Trail ...

... work shifts, day and night. The back of their knees, ankles and toes are also checked "Why?" For needle marks of course!! A girl working the day shift 10 am - 6 pm can expect to walk out at the end of the day with $900 in her pocket (half of her earnings, the brothel takes the other half). An hour in a brothel will set a punter back about $240, 30 mins is the shortest time they can book and money is exchanged up front once the punter has ...

... make the most of our time. We discussed going to see the penguins and then the cage divng with the great whites. But it's doubtfull that I'll want to part with $500AUD to jump in the water with a great white. We now have access to free computer and internet time so we'll likely get to post some photos while we're here.

... I won't go on anymore about the weather, I know most of you are freezing and I don't want to rub it in. Warning: the beach pictures may create some envy! I've still been reading a lot, and I've finished 3 books in the last several weeks, one numbering over 900 pages! "Shantaram" is a beautiful book (by a Melbourne author) and they're making a movie starring Johnny Depp so you might want to start reading now! I attended my first concert solo ...

... funny because we actually watched a TV special on the event before we ever left on our trip, just to recap, the competition includes 56 nations and each participant is essentially a homeless person from that country. The teams are made up of 4 players including the goalie and the games are played in a small indoor soccer type arena. The purpose of the competition is to bring about ...