Having visited many of the seaside towns on the east coast of Australia we finally found ourselves in Melbourne and more specifically the pretty suburb of South Yarra. After checking into our hostel on one of the fanciest streets in the area we were a little disappointed to find that our room was little more than a broom cupboard and actually resembled a jail cell as it was a very long and thin room! The hostel was only a short walk from the botanic gardens so we put together a picnic and headed for a walk around the gardens. We found that the gardens were the prettiest and most well maintained that we have visited on our travels and we took our time wandering around all the different gardens before meandering our way down to the river yarra to watch the ridiculously fit rowers flying down the river. The whole city was actually full of fitness fanatics with the park and paths littered with runners and cyclists making the uphill stints literally look like a walk in the park! After our walk we decided to get the car and go and explore the nearby beach suburb of St Kilda. We had spent the day in St Kilda the last time we visited Australia however for some reason I was unable to remember that part of our trip so I was keen to return and see if it would spark any memories! I am pleased to report that as soon as we arrived in St Kilda it all came flooding back. We had a walk down to the beach front before taking a wander along the main street which had a lovely laid back almost hippy feel to it. The streets are lined with cafes and bars as well as shops selling unusual clothes and shoes and is absolutely fantastic for people watching! Being a Thursday it was the weekly night market that fills the town square with an eclectic mix of stalls and given that one of my favourite things to do is wander around markets I was in my element and really enjoyed taking in all the unusual things that people try to sell from their stalls and even more amazed that there were people out there who wanted to by these weird and wonderful things!! Feeling suitably inspired by all the runners in the park earlier when it was time to head back to the hostel Mike changed into his running gear and went to join the masses for a 5km jog around the gardens (I wasn't so keen and couldn't be persuaded to join in) I opted to stay behind and cook dinner! The kitchen facilities at this hostel were better than the last and with free rice and pasta for all guests I don't need to tell you what we had for dinner that night!The next day we decided to go exploring one of the major shopping districts of Melbourne at the cities Chapel Street a 2km street housing everything from large department stores to funky boutiques and lots of charity shops. Not surprisingly it took us the entire day to wander the full length and back of this funky street. Whilst we weren't looking to buy anything it was fun going into the shops and trying on expensive shoes, funny hats and trendy glasses with no intention of buying any of them! The only things we purchased were 2 sandwiches and 3 books for $1 from one of the charity shops, oh how things have changed from the days where we wouldn't have been seen dead in a charity shop let alone making a purchase! I have to say though I am still a long way away from buying my clothes and accessories from them! We had a really fun day and having been on our feet all day and feeling a little weary we headed to one of south yarra's other parks to relax in the sun and read our bargain books before going back to the hostel to relax in our bunk beds and watch a bit of tennis on the TV.The next morning and after a lazy start hanging around the hostel took a walk to the city centre for a trip down memory lane visiting some of our old haunt around federation square and the south bank. Not much had changed around the centre and it was nice to walk around and remind ourselves of the last time we were here. After walking around Federation Square and watching some of the street performers in the sun we went to the shopping area of Little Collins street and the surrounding streets before heading to the waterfront. The south bank area of the city is home to lots of bars and restaurants as well as the huge Crown Resort and Casino. Inside this huge air conditioned resort you are instantly transported to one of the many casino resorts in Las Vegas. There are restaurants, food courts, bars as well as a shopping centre and acres of casino that you could get lost exploring! After wandering around all the luxury seeing how the other half live when they visit Melbourne it was time for a refreshment ourselves at one of the riverside bars. Our favourite bar from when we visited the south bank 2 years ago was still there and we managed to get the best seats in the house looking out to the riverside promenade. This spot has to be one of the best people watching spots in Melbourne and hours could be spent watching everyone's comings and goings! We ordered a couple of drinks and it didn't take long for us to get chatting to a young couple sitting beside us who were also traveling instantly giving us plenty to talk about. Before we knew it 5pm became 10pm and six glasses of wine with no dinner later we were feeling a little merry not to mention absolutely starving! We said goodbye to our new found friends and headed off in search of sustenance which rather glamorously came in the form of a chicken burger from Burger King however having spent all our money on booze beggars can't be choosers and it certainly hit the spot.

The next morning and needless to say we were both feeling a little fragile and certainly in no mood to be traipsing around in the heat. After forcing down a piece of toast we packed up our beach things and headed back to St Kilda beach. The plan was to rest on the beach and hope that with every hour that passed we would feel better than the previous hour. For Michael that was very much the case however for me the hangover wasnt going to give up that easily!! After spending most of the afternoon sleeping on the beach it was time to drag ourselves off the beach and up to the shops to get some dinner supplies which for me consisted of a banana and an apple and for Mike was the old faithful microwave meal as i was in no condition to be cooking! This is certainly one day that we were glad to put behind us!