The next day we set of for Melbourne. We saw loads of the aftermath of the forest fires, and there is some gorgeous scenery inbetween the cities so it was a really nice drive. We arrived to a gorgeous sunny Melbourne at about 6pm and went to the hostel to find we were actually staying in the guesthouse which was next door and absolutely gorgeous! A free BBQ had just started as well so we stocked up on food and wine and then went to get ready for a night out! One of Si's friends lives in Melbourne so we were meeting up with him.

The night ended up being a bit of a disaster. The bars are quite spread out and Si's friend was really drunk so didnt really know where to go, and everywhere we went just seemed quiet. We ended up heading home earlyish (1am) and got a decent nights sleep. We are movig to an area called St. Kilda tomorrow which is on the coast and supposedly a lot nicer.

The next day we booked into a Formula one Hotel for the night as there was actually othing else available. The boys went to watch the qualifiers for the Grand Prix and me and Gem went into Melbourne...There isnt that much to do but we went to the observatory which gives you a 360 degree view of the city which was pretty amazing. You are up so high your ears pop on the way up and down!

Then we went shopping....I wanted to find some new jeans and ended up buying a pair that had been reduced from $189 to $30 I also bought 2 t shirts. We went and met the boys to get some food and was showing them my purchases. One of my t-shirts had a big rainbow hear on the front and the word G'dAY written across, which i loved, until steve pointed out it was actually a lesbioan's tshirt which is why the d was in lower case, and he'd seen loadsa people weraing them at the Mardi Gras....so i'll be returning that tomorrow.The formula one hotel was absolutely miles away, so it was lucky we had the car! Noone could be bothered to do anything when we got there so we ordered Pizza and went to bed!

The lads were up at 6am the next morning as they had to drop all the bags off at the hostel in St Kilda, drop the car off and then get to Grand Prix early to get a good seat. Me and Gem got up at the more modest time of 9am, and checked out at 10 and went back to Melbourne for shopping trip number 2. I managed to swap my top for a cardigan, and i also bought a pair of high heels for 25 pounds. I might not need them in Oz but i probably wont find a cheaper pair in LA so i thought it was a good investment. Altogther i got 5 things including 2 pairs of shoes for 75 pounds which i thought was quite good. So me and Gemma celebrated by drinking 2 bottles of wine outside a night bar in the centre.

The boys didnt get back from the Grand Prix until late so me and Gem went out for a few drinks around St Kilda. It is a much nicer place than the centre and was heaving because of the Grand Prix.

The next night me and Gem were going to the "Neighbours" (australian soap) party. Its held every Monday and some of the Neighbours characters turn up. Then Karl Kennedy who is the soaps longest serving character has a band which play at the end. The boys didnt want to go as none of the female characters were there, but when we arrived actually one of the soaps most attactive girls was there so they werent very happy when they found out the next day. It was such a good night. There is a quiz and some prizes to win and stuff as well and we ended up sitting with some of the people from the hostel, so it was good to be in a bigger group!

On Tuesday we went to the beach with the boys pretty much all day. Si and Ste want to drive the Ocean Road to Adelaide and so do me and Gemma but we cant afford to hire and the Car relcations had not come up with anything. Me and Gemma cant really afford to be ahnging round as we also want to do Brisbane and Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise before Helen (another friend from Uni) arrives on April 13th! Gem wasnt feeling up to going out tonight so it was just me and the boys and a couple from Blackpool that we met. It was quite quiet in St Kilda so again it wasnt a big night. We had to swap rooms today as well and all get split up. My dorm is awful and just full of lads who have obviously been there for a long time as there is old food everywhere and its just gross.

The next day there were still no cars so me and Gem have booked our flight to Brisbane tomorrow at 6am! Which means we'll have to be up at 4am or earlier even! I woke up to find that Ste (bless him) had sorted us out a new room for tonight as he knew how much i didnt like the other one! They managed to find a 2 seater car to go to Adelaide today so they set off a few hours ago, and Matt is flying back to Sydney tomorrow. Will be strange all splitting up but will all be in Sydney again when Helen arrives which will be good.