Thank the lord that I will never again be setting foot on a Greyhound bus.

Our journey to Melbourne was a bloody nightmare - 12 hours of boredom and insomnia. The bus was packed and the only thing that was keeping me going was the thought that at Canberra some of the punters would get off, giving me a free seat that I could stretch out across and get some kip. Nobody left. I think we got about two hours sleep in the end, arriving in Melbourne at 8am. Consequently, yesterday was a write off. Not only that but yesterday was the day my cold peaked and I was hot/cold/hot/cold every ten seconds with a splitting headache. We tracked down our hostel, killed a few hours til we could check in and then napped in the afternoon, waking in time to make tea and go for some giggage...

We saw The New Pornographers at The Corner Hotel in Richmond and they were awesome! The venue itself was pretty cool, all chintzy carpets and glitterballs, and the two support bands weren't too bad either. First up were The Stoics who were in a similar vein to the main attraction but with a Belle & Sebastian-style muted trumpet, followed by Plug In City who reminded us of The Secret Machines but not as dark and also not as good. The New Pornographers were amazing though, and through my self-medicated haze of ibuprofen, paracetamol, antihistamine and extra strength vitamin C I was singing along!

Today, after some proper sleep, I've felt much better though so we did some actual sightseeing of Melbourne. Had a wander around Federation Square, which is this abstract mass of steel and glass next to the Yarra River, and then followed our Lonely Planet walking tour past The Forum Theatre, Scots Church, St. Michael's Uniting Church, Parliament House and Chinatown, before getting a drink in the sunshine and continuing our accidental worldwide tour of Botanic Gardens (Melbourne's are the best so far). It has been absolutely beautiful weather today but the sun is ferocious so the shady park was just the ticket.

Tonight we went out for tea and drinks with Nicola and Tim our evil doppelgangers from Nottingham who we first met up in Byron Bay. That was lovely and I think I'll be joining them on the Neighbours quiz night tomorrow because Jim's giving it a miss.

So, first impressions of Melbourne... I LOVE IT. It's not as impressive as Sydney but it is far cooler! There are independent cafes and boutiques everywhere (I found a massive vintage shop literally within five minutes of arriving), it's a city with a thriving arts scene, especially music, everyone looks so cool, the weather is great... I can't find a single fault.

I'm still waiting to have my travelling epiphany where I realise what it is I want to do with my life but I do know that, out of everywhere I've ever visited, I could actually imagine living here...

Love you all loads x x x