Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We had a fantastic time at Christmas, even though it was our first Christmas away from home without our family and friends, it was the first Christmas we spent with each other after being together for seven years so that made it extra special "Urgh pass the sick bucket" I hear you all shout haha!

It's very odd spending Christmas in Australia, I was a bit of a grumpy elf on the lead up to Christmas. I spent a couple of days Christmas shopping and wrapping pressies for the family and it was then that it hit home that I wouldn't be seeing them at Christmas and that made me homesick and very bah hum bug!

When it started to get to the middle of December and we still didn't have any concrete plans we started to explore our options and when we discovered that the public transport was still operating we were straight on the phone to Rupertswood Mansion to see if they could fit us in for their Christmas Dinner. Luckily for us they could. As soon as this was sorted my Christmas spirit started to return and I started to get excited for Christmas yipee!

As I mentioned before it's very odd celebrating Christmas in Australia the biggest reason being the weather. It's their summertime so it can get bloody hot. On the build it was like seeing decorations and Christmas trees and hearing Christmas songs in June, and even though they put lights up it's sunny until 9pm-ish so you can only appreciate them if you are out and about at night time. Having said all that they still put lots of effort in.

On Christmas Eve we headed to the city to see all the decorations, the highlight being the Town Hall which they lit up with projections of Santa's workshop. We also sat in Federation Square for a while watching the Carols by Candlelight concert on the big screen. By the end of the evening we were suitably full of Christmas cheer!

Christmas morning arrived and we opened our presents whilst enjoying a massive plate of pigs in blankets made by Davie. There was present opening via Skype with my Dad and Step-mum and a phone call to my Mum's where I got to speak to the rest of the family and undergo an "Anchorman" skit with my brother (I'm Blind!)

When we arrived at Rupertswood Mansion we were greeted by a guard on the red carpet and handed Champagne cocktails. Whilst everyone was arriving we got to look around the Mansion and once again we were wowed by how magnificent it was. I wish I'd taken more photos of the interior but to be honest we were too busy enjoying ourselves (and drinking the champagne!)

We were called into the dining room for dinner and the food and drink just kept coming. There was a singer serenading us with Christmas songs. There was a seafood platter, turkey, ham, Christmas pudding and much much more. We were stuffed and very merry by the end of it.

We were staying the night in the mansion along with two other couples so once the staff left at around 5pm we had the run of the place. Our room was lovely, it was on the corner of the first floor so we were surrounded by a wrap-a-round balcony. It was also rumoured that King George V stayed in the same room which is why the room was called The Kings Room.

For the rest of the evening we sat out on the balcony with the other couples and carried on the drinking and eating. We also Skyped Davie's family and my Mum, I'm not going to lie we were both a little tiddly by this point but I'm sure you all noticed haha!!

Boxing day we woke up with hangovers so we took our time having breakfast and making ourselves feel like human beings again, because of this we didn't arrive at the MCG for the cricket until midday. The cricket was good fun, England were batting so we got to see some action, we even witnessed a couple of 6's! We had really good seats - 26 rows from the pitch and we were in the middle of the crease so we seen the action straight on. Steve and Maria were a little more enthusiastic with the drinking than us - we couldnt really stomach it after Christmas day! Plus it was stinking hot so we were thirsty for water and fizzy pop more than beer.

When we first arrived it was cloudy and there was a bit of rain so we were all wishing the clouds to go away. After lunch the clouds disappeared and the sun was straight at us - it didn't take us long to wish the clouds back haha! Anyhow we had an excellent day, the crowd were good fun and we were thoroughly entertained by mexican waves and watching people build beer snakes with their empty cups.

On Friday it was back to work for both of us - boo!! I Skyped my Dad in the morning because it was their Boxing Day still so I got to say Hello to everyone and see some of the extended family which is always good fun.

That weekend it was glorious so we headed to Sandringham beach for a spot of sunbathing and paddling. That evening we followed it up with a BBQ and a couple of beers - well it'd be rude not to!

New Years Eve we were both in work until 4pm so when we got home we packed up a picnic and headed to the city for the fireworks. We found a spot on the Docklands where we could also see the city skyline. The fireworks were fantastic, we had an excellent view of the dockland fireworks and we could also see all the ones being set off from the city and the rooftops. It was spectacular.

New Years Day the weather turned a bit pants so we had a lazy day. In the evening we made ourselves a massive lasagne and stuffed our faces as well as enjoying a bottle of Champagne to celebrate the new year.

So all in all we had a great Christmas and New Year. 2013 was a brilliant year for us, we have been on so many adventures and we still have more to come in 2014 so "Cheers! to 2014" I hope you all have a fantastic year!