Hi

The first lazy morning of the week. We (I) didn't have to drive miles and miles (I would just like to thank Becki for the one and a half hours of driving that she completed during our trip! We covered a total of 2150 kilometres or 1344 miles in three days) and so it was nearly 11am by the time we were up and getting ready.

After sussing out the road and realising there weren't any parking restrictions, we left Brucy Boy where he was and went on foot into the city. We boarded the tram and after discovering that we needed to use the machine to buy a ticket, I asked a local how to use it and after messing around with coins and buttons deciding which one we needed, someone else came aboard and jammed a coin in it! So...we got a free ride in the end. We got off at Flinders Street and as it was such a nice day, decided to get some better snaps of the city and yes, that included the MCG again - get in there! We'd also heard on the grapevine, that 'The Ashes' were being displayed somewhere around the city - so, that was the mission of the day!

We walked right up to the MCG and although it was quiet, a guy strolled past with a green tag around his neck. I asked him if he knew where the Ashes were and sure enough, they were inside the MCG! (Even Becki was excited by this point!) We bounded across the concrete yard and towards the doors. Two old women held us back and asked what we wanted. We had to go and buy a ticket to view the trophy. At the box office, it was either $8 to see the Ashes or $12 for a tour of the whole MCG, which included the Ashes. The tour it was.

Janette, an old lady that was a volunteer at the ground gave us a dithery, but well informed tour and it was awesome! The ground holds 100,000 people and although from the outside, it looks like any other stadium, the inside is totally unreal. We were able to climb all the way to the top row of seats and look down across the ground. You surprisingly still get a really good view. We then went down onto the pitch itself and walked out of the same door that the England team walked out of the day before. We were also taken up on the huge balcony on the rear side of the stadium that looks out over the city. Apparently it's where all the news presenters do their reports from. It also looked out over the Rod Laver and Vodafone arenas. Rod Laver, being where the Australian Open was starting the very next day - sure enough, all the courts were in use with the famous tennis players practising. We saw the big silver cars that Janette pointed out carry the stars around the arenas and back to their hotels. Just the day prior, Sharapova (spelling?!) had been seen in the Crown Casino at night!

Anyhoo...from the balcony, we were led down to the basement.....to the exhibition museum. There they were, in all their minuscule sized glory.....THE ASHES! I'd heard that they were small, but hadn't appreciated just how small they'd actually be. We sadly weren't allowed to take any pictures, but they were displayed in a glass cabinet and alongside them was the story of how they'd come about. We read that and then admired all the historical cricket memorabilia that also sat in the museum before being escorted back up to the reception area of the grounds. What a fabby one and a half hour tour! I really, really enjoyed it. It was an amazing stadium!!

From there, we had a bite to eat and then got the tram back to Bruce (another free ride for us...cheeky!). We had plans for the afternoon - and good ones they were too!

If I say, Pin Oak Court, it probably doesn't mean much to you does it? Well, how about if I said, Ramsay Street? Yep - you got it, Neighbours, here we come!! Rather than pay $35 for a guided tour, we decided to find out where it was and take Bruce there for an afternoon out. After getting lost a couple of times, we finally pulled into the road where Pin Oak Court was. Pin Oak Court is the real name of the road where Neighbours is filmed, AKA, Ramsey Street and people actually live in the houses. Becki was loving it! We parked Brucy and clambered out, eagerly hunting for the 'Ramsey Street' sign. We walked up the close and there it was, Harold's house...and the Kennedy's...and Lou's...and the Scully's (Helen Daniels) and even the Mangles old house (so I was told - I did have a clue). It soon became apparent that there actually wasn't a 'Ramsey Street' sign There was a car parked on the street with a guy sat in it. Through the window, we saw he had a folder with 'Neighbours' written on the front and so Becki decided to knock on his window and ask about the sign. Unfortunately, I don't think he understood - well, we couldn't understand him when he replied anyway. He could not speak a word of the Queen's English!! With that, we took a few snaps outside the houses and then made our way back to Bruce. Slightly disappointed, we made our way up the hill and were sat at the traffic lights, when suddenly, the official Neighbours Tour bus swung around the corner. U-turn, u-turn, u-turn! We raced back and parked up the van and managed to stand at the back of the group (un-noticed!) and listen to the whole tour speech. We found out exactly who lived where, what was currently going on in the story lines and had some tip offs of the forthcoming line-up (it was a foreign language to me - hadn't seen the program since I was 18). However - Neighbours fans....don't read on. Karl and Susan go to England and get married, only to be interrupted by Izzy, who barges in preggers saying that it's Karl's baby!! Whilst in England, Karl and Suz also meet Emma Bunton and Julian Clarey. Random!

The reason that Pin Oak Court was chosen to film in, is due to the huge car park that sits behind Toadie's house. When filming is going on, they park all the film crews and equipment in the car park and use the back gate in the garden for access through to Ramsey Street. I also discovered that the bloke in the car is actually a 24hr security guard. The reason for the high security now, is because not so long ago, two people were found 'doing it' (having sexual intercourse) over Harold Bishops balcony!! the lengths fans go too!! Now, after 8pm each night, the end of the road is blockaded so that no one can access it.

After the group talk, the guide pulled out the 'piece de resistance'....the Ramsey Street sign! Although we weren't allowed to stand with it and get a pic (as we hadn't paid the tour price!) I got a zoomed in shot of it from the back of the group before racing back down the road, sneakily getting a pic of us next to the tour bus and then jumping back in Bruce. We'd got the tour for free.....yey!! We was well chuffed!

We got back to St Kilda at around 7.30pm and had dinner before taking a stroll to use the facilities in a bar in town. St Kilda is a lovely little place - lots of funky bars about. We bedded down fairly early, and there it was, the final night to the Road Trip!

The following morning we woke up late again, did a bit of food shopping and then got ready to return Bruce. At 3.30pm he was back at his home in amongst all the other camper vans and caravans. We had our bags on our backs again and made our way back to the train station to get back to Southern Cross Station in Melbourne where we were getting an overnight bus (the Firefly - cheaper than Greyhound!) back to Sydney. We got to the station and had a drink in a bar where Jen and Dan (from Ayr) came and met us. We can now happily say, I've met up with everyone from Ayr over Xmas now. We had a catch up before it was time to go and have our dinns and board the coach.

12 hours later, we arrived back in Sydney, bleary eyed but glad to be 'home' again. Only 5 days until we fly to Thailand!!

Bye for now

Miffy x x x