What a fantastic 2 weeks! Olly arrived on Sunday morning, tired and very hungry (guess who forgot to order a vegetarian meal for the plane...) but luckily we had been on a pie mission the day before to the Mornington Peninsula so he didn't starve.. Olly and I spent the first few days Melbourne. We discovered a fantastic record shop which stocked every brilliant band we could think of, including the obscurest of the obscure (plus a heap we'd never heard of) and w...

After a month on the farm, I was very happy to get back to the luxury of Vicky and Grant's house in Melbourne. It was wonderful to see them both, as well as have a long shower and a room to myself and a sofa! Ahhhh bliss. :) They also fed me up with delicious food, making up for my month of pasta and tomato sauce. The Easter weekend was quite action packed and of course filled with delicious chocolate. Even Vicky managed some as Grant and I had found her some da...

You may remember me finishing off my last blog with an indication I would be starting to look for work. Unfortunately for me I had picked the worst time of year as all the uni and school students took the casual jobs in December! So there really wasn't much going. I also knew I was going away again at the end of January so was only looking for a couple of weeks. Hence, no job. Hopefully, though, when I get back from my next trip I will be able to pick something u...

Christmas and New Year in Melbourne! We had a wonderful family Christmas in the sunshine. We opened presents in the morning, delighting in each other's gifts. Books, jewellery, yummy chocolates, smellies and plenty of cooking gear were unwrapped. Dad and I stole the show when we received proper Aussie hats from Vicky and Grant. Amazing! Check out the pictures. We had all forgotten about buying crackers so we decided to put an environmentally friendly spin on t...

Hooray! I've made it to Australia! And how wonderful to see Vicky and Grant after more than a year. They kindly collected me from the airport and took me to their beautiful little house in Surrey Hills. They have been looking after me (and feeding me!) ever since. A day later and who should turn up but Mum and Dad! A real Hill family reunion. They are here for nearly 6 weeks and it's going to be fantastic spending some time together in my year away, especially a...