G'day from Australia and our final stop Melbourne,

So we awoke in Melbourne after our long day of travelling refreshed and ready to explore. We had heard a lot about the Victoria Markets just behind our hostel as a great place to purchase souvenirs, buy great fresh food and eat from one of the many market stalls. Being English and think a market as a Sunday gathering on a local school playground, I was quite taken back by the size of the place. It was divided into 3 sections - general tat, fresh veg and a meat/fish market, each section was larger than a football pitch! It took us over 4 hours to walk around, have food and enjoy before we thought it time to head back to the hostel. In the evening we had planned to meet up with two on Nikki's friends who have moved over to Oz to work - Rachel and Steph. We met Rachel just after she finished work at 5pm in the city and hopped on a tram to South Melbourne. We walked along the beach front chatting before heading to meet Steph at a local burger bar called Grill'd. Nikki was really happy to catch up with some old friends after a year of travelling; I left them to set the world to right one conversation at a time. After we headed back to our hostel (thanks to Steph for the lift) as the guys had work in the morning and crashed out for the night.

On the second day we headed in to heart of the city and to the many shopping malls, shops and cafés. I found a pancake breakfast place on the hostel recommended board so we headed there as pancakes are Nikki's favourite. The breakfast was amazing and being spoilt rotten we headed of a day of shopping and just general city exploration. In the evening we headed into China-town to get dinner and enjoy the night time entertainment. Chinese food becomes one of a travelers staple foods as it's always a big portion and normally cheap (especially in China-Town).

On the third day we headed back to the market to purchase some souvenirs we had spotted previously in the week. Everything on the market was half the price of the shops and even better quality so was a no-brainer really. We then dropped the stuff off at the room before going for a walking tour of the city. We headed down to the MCG (Melbourne cricket ground) where the Aussie rules 'Grand Final' is played and the surrounding Olympic park and sports venues. We headed passed the Museum of Motion picture and voted the ugliest building in Melbourne due to its camouflage green/gray exterior to look like leaves. After we headed up to the parliament buildings, city hall, Melbourne exhibition centre and Melbourne Museum which we all located on the far side of the main CBD area. Finally we stopped at federation square in the heart of the city and being over looked by St Paul's cathedral. The city was really nice, again a great mix of modern sky-scrapers, futuristic architecture and old period buildings. Melbourne has a great atmosphere, even at 5pm on a Friday the city never seems rushed or full of congestion and people trying to get home. In the evening we were incredibly lazy and got Japanese Take-away with a selection of dumplings, fresh noodle soup and rice - we thought we deserved it after our long day in the city.

On the Friday we checked out of our hostel and headed to Frankston (an hour out the city by train) to meet up with some guys we travelled across America with the year before. Zac very kindly picked us up from the station and had agreed to let us crash in the spare room. Once introduced to the family and dropped our bags off in the room the drinking began. It was amazing to think we travelled across with Zac and Matt (Met up with later) a year ago and they have been home working for the elapsed time while we have still be travelling the world. After a few beers at the house and being joined by Matt we headed into town to watch the AFL (Aussie Rules) play-offs and have a few more drinks. On route we collected Matt's friend Katy and Headed to a converted church to watch the game called God's Kitchen. There we had some food and beers and generally caught up on everyone's last year. After we headed to a bar for a few more drinks and then headed back to Zac's to crash - well I crashed, Nikki and Zac stayed up chatting with his brothers till the early hours of the morning. The next day his family had a family gathering a couple of hours away and Zac had work till 4pm so me and Nikki had the house to ourselves. We just relaxed and watched some TV and generally chilled out. In the evening we headed to St Kilda, just 4 miles outside the CBD where we were spending the next 4 days. The hostel was lovely, clean and with a twin/double room our own space. In the evening, we grabbed some food and just recharged in our room.

The next morning we headed into St Kilda to meet the girls for breakfast at an Italian restaurant called Rococo. The girls had been out the night before so there were a few hang overs but even so we had a lovely breakfast. After, we said our good byes to Steph before walking along the beach with Rachel in the glorious sunshine. It was a lovely day in St Kilda with a small craft market along the sea front. We got a quick photo in front of Luna Park (a permanent fair ground on the Melbourne coast) before walking into town to grab some bits for a picky dinner. In the evening we started to sort our bags and relaxed in our room.

The next two days were spent sorting our bags before flying to South Africa later in the week. We did some washing in the hostel, uploaded some pictures and caught up on our blogs. To break up the tasks we wondered around the town, enjoying the sun and fresh air. St Kilda is also known for its cake shops as it was only fair to let Nikki indulge her love for cake at one of the many bakeries.

The final day we checked out our room at 10am before our bus to Sydney at 8pm and wasted the time watching films, shopping for travel essentials and generally milling around the hostel. A taxi collected us from the hostel at 7pm and took us to the Greyhound bus station in the heart of Melbourne city Centre. Once we found the right bus stop, we waited to board the coach which would be our home for the next 12hours.

We arrived back in sydney in the early hours of the morning anf settled back into Mark and Joys. We had a little sleep then headed into the city for the last time..however the weather was rubbish so we didnt stay very long and opted to go in then next day when it was lovley and sunny, before packing our bags once again in prep for the long long long flight to South Africa the next day!!

We have loved our time in Australia it has been so much fun traveling again after stopping in NZ for a while. We have met some lovely people and caught up with friends and family. It has been an amazing 2 months and a place we would happily come back to!

From Melbourne with Love

Ben and Nikki xx