G'day from Downunder. I'm now in Melbourne and it's the best city so far. I love it here. It's so full of culture and exciting places to see and go. But first things first, let me tell you how my recent travels have been going. Let me start where I left off last time. So, last time I wrote I was in Byron Bay. What a fun place that was, well, if it hadn't been raining that it. You think you've got it bad in England. Well, how about when you save and travel right across the other side of the world to go and have a summer in the winter, and realize that you are in rain most of the time! It rained solid for 4 days. We mostly spend our time going from shop to shop....ummmm...window shopping but I must admit, the odd purchase was made! You see, we had dreamt of laying on the beach and chilling out by the pool but instead we had lots of coffees and smoothies and watched movies. We did attempt to go down to the beach but the weather had this uncanny way of thundering down on us every time we stepped foot on the beach! So, we decided to go to the hippy village I mentioned in my previous email, Nimbin. What a place that was. It was like a version of Glastonbury, but with the odd Aboriginal and crazy folk. The hopped aboard the Happy Coach and were taken to the Minyon Falls on the way. Stopping to see a wild Koala nestled in a Eucalyptus tree, sleeping, as per usual. Then arrived in the rain, of course. It took all of 5 mins to be offered a 'COOKIE' but we declined; we didn't want to try any of that funny business and end up looking like those crazy hippy dudes. So instead, I opted for a Tarot card reading. Now, just to remind you, this is now my 3rd one since my travels. First one was in Vietnam, a palm reading, the second was my horoscopes and this one was a tarot card reading. Now, as you can start to see, I'm starting to believe in all this stuff. So this time I had to pick 13 cards with my left hand. There were about 50 to choose from so bear this in mind as you carry on reading! The first one was DEATH! Great way to start, but it actually meant that there had been a recent death in the family. Which I had agreed, yes, in fact 3. But I didn't tell her that. She then asked if I had murdered anyone.....? Ummm, as she had once asked someone that who replied yes. They had accidently killed someone. Lovely, but that didn't apply to me as I had answered yes to the first bit, so the next card was 2 hearts, meaning that I'm looking for love - and that I am a hopeless romantic - Me - well, that's too true, then a world card, for my traveling, a study card, as I'm going to go back and study, then another card to tell me to take up martial arts, which I had intended to do when I get back. I couldn't believe how true all this was. Well, anyway, its fate, I'm obviously following my destiny right now. However, she did tell me that I'm better suited to a Magician - now where can I find one of those???? So after our whacky day trip we left Byron Bay for Sydney. What a journey that was. In fact it was the worse night's sleep I have had in my nearly 6 moths traveling. We booked onto the Greyhound for an overnight journey down to Sydney. But somehow, we imagined, having the luxury of two seats, and a solid night's sleep. Instead, we got, a packed out bus, (everyone else had the same idea as us!) leaky air conditioning and a bit of a windy bus journey. The first hour or so was ok. But then the air conditioning, which is always so cold, started to leak on to me. By 5am, I was counting 1 drip every 6 seconds. A miracle happened when out of know where, my coat fell into the isle from the luggage holder above, saving me from having to sift all through my bag in the dark and having to wake everyone up to get to it. But, alas, it didn't work for long, as its shower proof! So finally by 7am, 2hrs later, I managed to move to the end of the bus to find an empty seat. The drips were no more, but like always, the travel sickness started and had something else to concentrate on. The seat was broken so every twist and turn, (and there were many!) I jolted out of the seat. We finally arrived 13hrs later, to the sight of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. What a sight. It had been worth it after all! We briefly spend a few days there. Meeting up with Jess's friends and mine. We visited the Opera house which was so stunning. I never thought it would look so good up close. Then we hung out in bars....and drank...took part in a Sunday session for free - Jess's friend was the manager of a few bars so we took full advantage of that! Then after only two days, we caught a plane to Melbourne. That was going well until we turned up to board the plane and was told that our plane had been cancelled - with absolutely no explanation, we got booked onto one an hour later! PHEW. WE got to Melbourne and hour and half later, having traveled mainly with business people, obviously a popular commute, and checked into the lovely Bank Place Apartments. We had upgraded from our hostel living into apartments for the next 10days. Yippee, finally a bed in a room with a tele and clean towels and bathroom! It was heaven. Next day sightseeing!So, first on our agenda was a walk around the city to get ourselves acquainted with the place. So we hopped on a tram to St Kilda, the nearest beach and felt a little like being in Brighton. It's got a laid back feel to the place with a line of cafes and shops to browse in. We sat ourselves on the beach for the day and soaked up the sun and continually applied the factor 30 sun cream. Did I mention you can only buy factor 30 in the shops. Its hard work to find anything lower. 3 hours later after being there, that was enough for me, But we did have the best ever breakfast I ever did have there of corn chips with hollandaise sauce and a poached egg and smoked salmon. IT WAS DELISH! The next day was a trip round the sights. The immigration museum was a fascinating place to realize the history of Australia. To think that this place is only 150years is amazing. I guess I take our history for granted at home. But it sure was a good insight to how Australia becomes what it is today. And to think my mum and dad travelled over here 30 years ago. They were brave indeed! So then it was onwards to federation square and the Ian Potter Gallery. A great place to see more Indigenous art. We noticed a couple of times how many lanes there are devoted to the graffiti artists work. It's fantastic. They are so good at it, filled with loads of colours. We all couldn't help but snap away at it all. Whilst in Melbourne, we have taken advantage of our great location and have been round the bars, trying out some of the cool places to be. There is such a great scene for all things cool here. I love it. Another day trip was to see Phillip Island and the Penguin parade. What a day that was, we only wanted to see the penguins, but we decided to do all the extras too. Well, that was ok, but it just dragged on and on. We had the most enthusiastic driver in the whole world who literally told us everything there was to know and then repeat it again and again. We even got to know about his three kids, and where they went surfing and useless facts like that! Well anyway, by the time we had seen the kangaroos, koalas, we were ready to see the 'Ping Pings' as I used to call them when I was little. They were worth the wait, they were adorable little things which popped out of the water while all us tourists sat and waited patiently for their appearance. I wasn't able to take pictures of the occasion as the flash scares them so much that they regurgitate food that they have been out hunting for and the babies go hungry. So we didn't want to do that. Another day was spent wandering round the Queen Victoria market, which was great place to see the old architecture. Then a tram ride across to the famous Chapel St where all the cool duds hang out and all the posh shops are. We weaved in and out and finally stopped for a well earned cold beer at the Belgium Beer Gardens. Naturally, as it was a Sunday, they were packed out with locals attending their religious Sunday session which they like so much over here. We partook, but not as wildly as some. We knew it was time to leave when the fights broke out!So that sort of sums up my Melbourne experience. I did managed to do a few other extras like going to the Melbourne Museum and going up the 'tall bloke' as our taxi driver called it, the Rialto tower to see the views across the city. I didn't realize it was so big! Well, anyway, imp in St Kilda now, chilling out here. I am in fact chilling out in deed as the temperature keeps dropping. It's more like autumn here, so I have to keep buying new warm clothes as my summer shorts aren't doing much to help. As I type this, imp sat in a hostel with blaring music in the background. Its Ladies night so as you can imagine, it's a busy night here for everyone. It's literally got a bar/ nightclub in the foyer. I did however just hear 'Sweet Home Alabama" and right now, I think there's no place like home. But, with my 6 month anniversary on Monday, it will soon by time when I'm back. But until then, I will keep enjoying my time here and writing them all down for you to see.Well, lots of love to all and will write soon, Adele x