Week 4

Christmas Eve

First we had the job of moving hostel away from and into the city. The first people that Jacko bumped into when we arrived there were two girls that he and Johno had met on holiday in Kos a few years back. Once we could get checked into our rooms we threw our bags in and made our way to the shops to buy our secret Santa presents (we had a $25 limit). We had to rush around a bit as the shops shut at 5pm and we didn’t leave until 3pm. We all had a bit of a laugh when it came to wrapping the presents as Johno realised he had bought see through wrapping paper!

Already we liked this hostel more than the last as it had its own bar. A few beers in the bar to start the night as we waited for young Kendal to arrive. We arranged to meet him in a pub near his hostel, which happened to be nowhere near as he was staying in Hawk St and not Bourke St, must communicate better. It was a pleasure to see his friendly face walk into the boozer.

As it was quite late in the evening we thought we’d take him to somewhere tried and tested so we headed back to St Kilda and onto Fitzroy St. It didn’t seem as busy which we thought was quite unusual but we soon found ourselves tucked up in some little bar taking advantage of the free shots on offer, I think it might have been a private function but that wasn’t going to stop us. We were misbehaving in no time and Johno’s presence could soon be felt in the air! We finished the night in Traffik and a good night had by all, welcome to Melbourne Kendal.

Christmas Day

We thought Santa was coming to fill up our stockings when we woke up on Christmas Day but instead it was Miller and his little helper Anderson banging on our door. We got ready and made our way downstairs to have breakfast and open our presents. Smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and bucks fizz were on the naked chef’s breakfast menu.

Then it was time to open our secret Santa presents and open the beers. Everyone was well pleased with what they got and we had a good laugh opening them, this is what we received and whom from

Johno (bought by Jacko): Texas Hold’em Poker Set and a Boomerang

Jacko (bought by Alby): Didgeridoo, Red Hair Spray, Koala Key-Ring and Coconut Butter

Alby (bought by Kendal): Beer Coaster Drinking Game Set and a Cuddly Kangaroo

Kendal (bought by Whitto): Portable Colouring Set, Boomerang and a Shot Glass

Whitto (bought by Johno): Designer Head Torch and a Cuddly Koala

We couldn’t get booked in for Christmas Lunch anywhere so we had a go at making our own. Me and Whitto had microwave Turkey Roast Dinners and Johno and Jacko had Turkey and Cranberry sandwiches! We carried on having a good drink throughout the afternoon before getting ready for dinner in the evening.

Dinner was booked in a 5* hotel which we all thoroughly enjoyed and it was nice to all be together for a meal even if it wasn’t traditional. The night was taken to the Casino as this was open 24 hours and I think the last arrival back to our room was at 5.30am.

We hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and we all missed our nearest and dearest.

Boxing Day

Fortunately the first day of the Boxing Day Test was delayed because of rain as there were a lot of late risers that morning! We made our way to the MCG and were amazed at how big it was. Such an impressive stadium and to see it at full capacity was a fantastic experience. It was just a shame about how cold it, the coldest Boxing Day in a long while and that England didn’t clock up more runs on the board. There was a glimpse of hope with a few late wickets for us and although we didn’t want to see it we can at least say we were there when Shane Warne took his 700th test wicket.

After a long day we headed back to the hostel to carry on drinking in the festive spirit and even met up with an old friend – Scooby who was also in Melbourne and what was meant to be an earlier night finished rather late.

4-0 Down

Well what can I say, I couldn’t believe that the cricket was over within 3 days and that England were on course for a whitewash. There’s not much I want to say about it apart from shocking. Meanwhile the others were having a game of cricket down St Kilda beach themselves and were probably doing a lot better than what England were.

Down to Chapel St which was meant to be up there with Fitzroy St and Brunswick St as one of Melbourne’s liveliest places. We were told that there 57 different bars on Chapel St but we struggled to find three! We did plot up in some funky little bar though which reminded me of something similar to Shoreditch. Another late evening had by all and even an appearance from Agger and Jo.

Nice Little Earner

With it being very hot and our last day in Melbourne we went down to the beach for the last time. A few beers in the St Kilda sea baths and then up to the pier to say goodbye to our old friend and the lovely staff that worked there. On our way back we thought we’d pop in and say goodbye to the Crown Casino as well. We ended up staying in there for about 7 hours and with Johno doing quite well he kindly offered to treat us to a few drinks in the nightclub upstairs. Little did we know how bad it was going to be and drew a line on the evening when the DJ started playing Backstreet Boys.