Hey from 'Melbun' (yes we've been corrected on the pronunciation a few times)! We're still trying to get out of the habit of throwing loo roll in the bathroom bin - South-East Asia habits die hard.

On day 1 we arrived at our hotel in the city just after lunch and went out exploring. Our first stop was Federation Square opposite Flinders Street Station. The atmosphere around the square was pretty electric as the sun was shining and there was a big screen showing the practice and qualifying for the F1. This was added to by hearing the cars racing in the distance. Also opposite Federation Square is St Paul's Cathedral. It's a gorgeous building both on the outside and inside. Later in the afternoon, a bride entered for her wedding and the bells wrung after the ceremony.

In Federation Square is the Australian Centre for Moving Image (ACMI). We had a mooch around the ACMI which explores the development in television, films and games. It has classic video games which are good fun to play on.

Next stop just across the road was Hosier Lane, famous for some of Melbourne's best street art. There was some awesome graffiti and some of the displays incorporated scrap materials to make the designs 3D. After we had a stroll down to Fitzroy Gardens for a sit down.

We finished the day down Degraves Street for dinner and drinks. We stumbled across this laneway accidentally when we were in search of somewhere to eat. It's a cool street that features tables and chairs under cover throughout the middle and you order from menus written up on chalk boards.

Day 2 - the Grand Prix! A big thanks to Steve and Angie for the tickets. We jumped on a tram and headed to Albert Park for the first race of the season. We were in the queue prior to the gates opening at 10.30am so got into the park for a full day. The atmosphere was fantastic but all Aussie's were cheering on 'Our Dan, The Man'. To begin with we walked around the track; it's so beautiful going around the lake with the city skyscrapers in the background. There was lots going on and unfortunately we just missed Lewis Hamilton on stage. We saw the classic cars race and visited the pits during the V8 race. We even had our picture taken on the podium. We decided to head to a good spot a few hours before the race for the first few laps and found a nice patch at Brocky's Hill.

Closer to the race there was an air display including Aus's version of the Red Arrows, a fighter jet and a jumbo jet. The drivers' parade was very special; Max shouted 'go on Lewis' and Hamilton pointed towards Max at that point! The F1 drivers did their practice lap and then lined up at the grid. It really is amazing to see the power and speed of the machines up close and personal. As with most things the television really does not do it justice. During the race we walked around the track for different viewpoints. The atmosphere of the fans combined with noise of the cars made it an incredible day. Once Lewis had taught Dan how to drive an F1 car, we stuck around and managed to have a stroll and a selfie on the track. Followed by a sing-a-long to the national anthem (although Max seemed to be the only one singing).

A strange moment came about when we met up with Jimmy and Sammy (friends as well as Max's Boss at Mellor&Scott). This was strange for us as it was the first time that we had seen people from back home in over 3 months! A big thanks for the celebratory champagne toast for our engagement, it was very special. After a few more drinks we headed for a bite to eat together. Massive Wieners on Chapel St. was our port of call and of course Max had the biggest wiener! It was a great evening so thanks again.

On day 3 we went to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for a tour. The stadium has been taken over by the ICC for the Cricket World Cup which was cool to see. The Bangladesh boys were warming up and practising their cricket on the pitch and the Indian team were practising in the nets in preparation for their game on Thursday. The MCG is huge with a capacity of about 100,000 people. The waiting list for membership of the MCC is now 40 years. We were also told the story of how the Ashes came about which was interesting.

After the tour we got the tram down out of the city centre to the St. Kilda area. We had some lunch in a British pub, strolled down to the beach and walked back around up Chapel Street. We definitely underestimated the distance so this took pretty much all day - no problem when you're stopping at bars and pubs along the way. St. Kilda and Chapel Street are trendy areas with lots of cool shops and places to eat and drink.

This morning we went to the Queen Victoria Market for some breakfast and souvenir shopping. This afternoon we visited the Victoria National Gallery and strolled along Southbank, which is surprisingly a lot like London.

Our last stop in Melbourne tonight was the 85th floor of the Eureka Skydeck, the tallest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere. We arrived before sunset and enjoyed watching the light fade and the city illuminate. There is an 'Edge' experience, where there is nothing but 4.5 inches of glass between you and the ground below - of course we had to give that a go!

We're now frantically cramming everything in our backpacks once again for a Virgin Australia flight to Cairns bright and early tomorrow morning.

Steph and Max x