So one of my many New Years resolutions was to keep my blog up to date, and it is now the 15th Jan and still no posts.. so here goes..

New Years Eve in Melbourne was great but probably for all the wrong reasons. I decided not to plan anything atall and have no expectations because learning from previous experiences, NY is never what it is cracked up to be.. especially if you plan something big! So lots of my friends from the hostel had booked to go to Sydney for the big night. But Im not a big fan of the city and is drinking in the park and watching fireworks really worth the extortionate airfare of $140 (when usually $50), not to mention club fees and no bed to sleep in, and no doubt you are not allowed to drink there and the crowds urgh.. it just wasn't my idea of entering 2011 in style. So I decided to just hang out in the hostel and drink lots of white wine.. so had lots of fun doing that, and learnt how to say happy new year in 13 different languages (although dutch swedish and polish are just variations of the same sentence- so i guess thats kind of cheating) But everyone got involved and then we went to the fireworks (which were very lame- maybe three little poofs of fire and smoke) but it didnt matter because we were all so happy and enjoying eachothers company. I ended up talking to a policeman in the middle of the road with bottle of wine in my hand (despite no drinking on the street law!?!) but luckily he was nice. I then jokingly helped him direct the traffic in the middle of the road, though he had to run off because a fight broke out in the middle of the street so I ended up standing there by myself actually directing the traffic, i was actually stopping the cars and letting pedestrians cross, all dressed up in my stripey sailor dress! Everyone seemed a lot happier to take orders from me (with my bottle of wine still intact) with many shouts from car windows "happy new year!!" "you are doing a great job" "best looking policeman ive ever seen!" I felt like i was actually doing the public a service in my drunken state!

Anyway, after New Year I didnt have long before I left Melbourne, so I tried to make the most out of it. Took lots of pictures and visited the suburbs of Brunswick (mix between camden and portobello), williamstown (cute beach town) and chapel street which had lots of vintage and op shops.

As the end got nearer and nearer I realised that I really had fallen in love with the city in a big bad way, and the thought of leaving it was as hard (or maybe even harder) than leaving england home, maybe it was the thought that I might not actually return. The more I thought about it, the more I started to consider ways of coming back. To get my second year visa I have to complete 3 months of farm work ie fruit picking or similiar. I originally had decided that this was a very long time and most likely a waste as I had not found anywhere I really wanted to stay and live in. But Melbourne is different, it has the great city and suburbs, the beaches for watersports, and the interesting shops and bars. So Im thinking when I fly to Perth in Feb, I might do the fruit picking, finish my travels then after I have stopped home I would have the option to return and do a years marketing and who knows maybe someone might sponsor me to stay.

The last few nights were amazing, I managed to get a ticket to one of my favourite bands of the moment called "The National" if you havent heard of them look them up. They are amazing, and some lady handed me a ticket after I was stood outside with my friend david trying to listen to them through the walls. They were more incredible than I thought they would be live.

I also had a bit of a leaving party thing on the last night which was very emotional and drunken but surprisingly memorable, mainly due to back pain after falling into a chair and winding myself and losing my phone (found it in the bar the next day, luckily) and having a spaghetti fight in the hostel!

The next day, I said my final goodbyes and packed my bags and left Melbourne connections for my flight to New Zealand on the 11th Jan feeling excited, nervous, sad, hung over and slightly stressed.