Hey everyone! Alexis and I are in Cairns now. We are leaving for our three day live-aboard dive trip tomorrow out to the Great Barrier Reef! I am so excited! We left Melbourne early this morning, which was 15 degrees and arrived in this tropical place where it is 28 degrees. Melbourne was fantastic! But first, I didn't tell ya'll about our wine tour in Launceston. Our last day there, we all went for a stroll up the Cataract Gorge near our apartment. Then Alexis and I went on our wine tour of the Tamar Valley. We visited 5 wineries and tasted a huge variety of wines. The area is well known for their Pinot Noirs. We had to restrain ourselves a bit, but we bought several bottles along the way. Our last stop had the most amazing view of the sun setting over the winery. It was magic (to use an Aussie phrase for you). Mom and dad took a lovely drive up the river and went to a lavender farm. I wish that we could have stayed longer, because Launceston was beautiful. Left for Melbourne the next morning and my friend Shelly picked us up at the airport. We got checked in and then Shelly took us to a great street in the city for some lunch. Then we got a personal tour of the city including a visit to the local beach area, St. Kilda. Lex and I met back with the parents for a walk through the Victoria Markets. People everywhere and so much fresh food. The atmosphere really fits the city. In fact the best two words to describe Melbourne are food and shopping! We did a lot of both. Especially my father, he tried every type of food that we came across. Anyway, Shelly took Alexis and I out to another trendy, local area for dinner and a drink. We all called it an early night though, because Shelly was flying out at 6 am to the States to visit her family that lives there. The following day was a day of walking. We saw the entire city. All morning we weaved in and out of the local fashion stores to shop. Melissa, you would be in heaven! I have never seen so many cute shoes stores in my life. I hadn't realized how much I missed wearing high heals until I started to try some of them on. We then had some take away lunches in the little alleyways. We took a walk by the famous train station, Federation square, and through the botanical gardens. Of course we couldn't go through the day without picking up some wine and cheese on the way back to snack on before going out. Later, we visited the observation deck in the city and saw a beautiful view of Melbourne by night. Dad kept trying to freak me out when we got to the top. Ugg! Then we walked over to the Crown Entertainment area and Southgate. The restaurants and shops line the riverfront, which has the most beautiful display of lights in the evening. They even have these things that shoot out fire on the hour, every hour after dark. Really cool to see. Dinner in Chinatown to complete the day. It was a true Chinatown too, we were the only english speaking people in the entire restaurant. Great Ocean Road was our destination for Tuesday. We rented a car for the day and drove the long trip to the Twelve Apostles. It was suppose to take only 4 hours there and 3 hours back, but of course our family has to stop many times for restroom breaks, food breaks, a beer on the beach, and photos. We ended up traveling for a total of 12 hours that day. We stopped in some beautiful coastal towns along the way. We even saw about six wild koalas in gum trees along the road side in one stop. The Twelve Apostles (huge rock formations on the coast) were just as brilliant as they were the first time I saw them. They literally take your breath away. The trip along the countryside back was lovely. Of course my mother and sister read their books most of the way. I couldn't understand how they could read while traveling along one of the most scenic coastal routes in the world, but everyone does their own thing, I guess. I am glad that I didn't have to drive at all because driving in the city of Melboure is quite difficult. Because of the trams everywhere, you have to move all the way over to the far left of the road in order to take a right-hand turn. It was so strange and confusing. Last day in Melbourne. Mom and dad had to leave around 3:00 to catch a flight out to Adelaide. They were going to spend some time in the wine region out there. So, we were limited on our time in the morning. We all had a fantastic brunch together and then walked around again to shop. We also took a tram out to the New Quay area near the docks. It was another trendy, new area that had some great architecture. There was a great view of the Teltra Dome where they play a great deal of their sporting events. After we said goodbye to our folks, Alexis and I went to get haircuts. We were quite nervous and rightfully so. The ladies took almost 2 hours to do them. Both of them turned out ok, but Alexis said that the lady chopped way too much off of hers. Oh, well. Lex and I had yet another great meal for dinner. We found a little place in the Greek district. Then we went out for happy hour. There wasn't much going on, but we did find a bar with Sex & The City on their big screen for two episodes. It made our night! We called it an early evening again, because this time we had an early flight out to Cairns. So, we leave tomorrow for our diving trip. I am sorry about not uploading pictures this time, it doesn't seem to want to work. However, I will make sure that they are up before I leave next Tuesday for Asia! Wow! I can't believe it is June already. Later.