Hi everybody! No, I haven't fallen off a cliff, (as my mum had assumed due to the lack of communication from her little boy!) I've just been having way too much of a good time to get to an internet cafe, so I will endeavour to tell you about the past few days to fill in the blanks! SUNDAY After a fantastic kangaroo steak experience the previous night, Kim and I took a short tram ride into St Kilda to check out the seaside and the small market that was a 'Sunday-only' event. All I can say to describe the quaint trading stalls along the promenade of St Kilda beach is "little trinkets and hand-knitted woolly goods galore!" Needless to say that Kim took this opportunity to 'bling-up' her appearance with the purchase of two rings, while I sat back and watched the world go by! Realising the time, we had to dash back towards the city as we were meeting Peter (my Uncle) at 1pm. From our hostel we were taken back to their house which, as I mentioned in my last journal entry, is in the Dandenong Ranges, about 1 hour from the city centre. The Dandenong Ranges and the surrounding area is a national park, which means that it is absolutely beautiful and that my Auntie's house is in the middle of untouched, unspoilt nature, rubbing shoulders with the huge 'Mountain Ash' trees and the local wildlife. After dumping our bags down, we quickly went over to the neighbours' house where a big confirmation lunch had just taken place for Olivia's (my cousin) best friend. We were warmly welcomed in and given some of the hot leftovers to satisfy our appetites, and we also got a bit of the desserts to top off a thoroughly enjoyable meal. We departed, not forgetting our p's and q's, and went back to Rosie's house to chill out before going to watch Alex's (my eldest cousin) third year drama performance. We sat through some truly stunning performances from a number of third year students, including duets, solo pieces, trios, and quartets, featuring a vast range of content, from drugs, to animal rights protests, to full frontal nudity! After the night's entertainment, we headed home with a Malaysian takeaway in tow, which was promptly devoured as soon as we got through the front door. This served as a good sleeping tool, and we fell asleep in yet another different bed... MONDAY After a lazy morning and a massive breakfast, we got back on the train to the city at about 2pm. An hour later and we were back amongst the hustle and bustle of downtown Melbourne, so we checked back into the hostel and made walked down to 'The Lanes' - a small mazy section of backstreets that had been converted into trendy cobbled havens for expensive cafes and boutique shops. After exploring the lanes, we hopped on a tram to St Kilda for the infamous 'Neighbours Night'!! The evening was a good laugh, with a few of the actors from the show posing for photos with diehard fans from everywhere but Australia! If you get a chance to look at my photo website www.tomcuffburnett.shutterfly.com, you will see a picture of me with 'Toadie'! May I take this opportunity to say that I am not really a Neighbours fan, but went along because I had been told that it was a 'must-do' if one is in Melbourne on a Monday night. We returned to the hostel at about 2am, and clambered into bed, trying not to wake up everyone else in the process! See next entry for Tuesday and Wednesday...