The Aussie Men

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Goodbye Melbourne

Well as promised the last few pics, to show you lot at home a taste of Melbourne life!!

More pictures of Melbourne.

See I just couldnt get enough, and there are still many not placed on the blog.

Well this is my last night in the State of Victoria in around 9 and half hours I will be seated on a bus heading to the airport.. It has been a great experience to which I have to thank Paul, Emma Shannon and the immovable bump. They opened there home and lives for me to experience a different way of life, and I have loved every moment of it.... xxx Thank you.

Melbourne Pt 2

Good morning England !!! haha I sound like Robin Williams, and it's actually afternoon here, we've had a quiet day been out for a snack lunch and to a Big W for Emma to get some baking dishes, poor old Paul, he's going to suffer her pastry now :) Oh btw RM if you are reading this Mummykins has sent a package as I cant fit it in mysuitcase, keep Liam and Daisys at our house till I get back ok.

Anyway back to yesterdays trip to Melbourne

After Cooks Cottage I grabbed an icecream and walked through Fitzroy Park and into Treasury Gardens, nice open space surrounded by offices etc, many office people were just sat outside and working from there, seemed a relaxed thing to do.

Then I took my life in my hands and crossed over the road and tramway and decided to walk a few streets, however its so big I decided I didn't have the time left to get lost and hopped on a tram and criss crossed till I got back to Flinders St , which is where the train station is that I started from, i then asked this friendly bloke the way to the Shrine of Rememberence, explaning I didnt know which direction I needed to head to as I had my north, south east west bearings gone!

Anyway he turned me 45 degrees around and said trams that direction all go past the shrine. With that I went red and hurried myself of in that direction, and sure enough I found it. This was the last place on my itinerary !! phew.... after that my time was free...to do whatever, but my legs and back were aching.

I enjoyed the Shrine but it was quite sombre, and a very peaceful place. It just brought back memories of Grampy.... who like the Anzacs served in Galipoli in WW1

Anyway you can stantd at the top of that Shrine and take photo's, and although I didn't take any inside the Shrine I used that opportunity to grab some good shots.

Right thats it for now will add the last pics of Melbourne tonight before bedtime... time to get ready we are having a goodbye meal out tonight.

Melbourne

Wow what an exciting fun filled day I had today, crept out of bed early and showered and put a face on to go out and face the world. Emma took me to Frankston and I left them to go via train to the City, armed with a map and destinations that I desperately wanted to see and a promise that I wouldnt go shopping. Armed with an itinerary I made my way to Flinders St, and headed to the tourist office to get advice on getting around the city and seeing the places I wanted to see without zig zagging back and forth and wasting time.

First destination was the Victoria Street Market, but that meant taking one of the modern trams across the city. Me, the girl who can't get on anything in London other than a train, but hey I did, and got myself right outside it. Look at what they sell in the deli section :(

What a huge place, I could've walked around it all day. some lovely food there too.Next was the Melbourne Gaol, which I decided was easy to walk to, rather than sort a tram, and yup I found that easy enough, was beginning to get rather proud of myself and this independent me. If I can do this on my own, then I can do anything !! So into the gaol I went. Walking in the footsteps of Ned Kelly before me.

Onwards and upwards, right this time I needed to catch another tram, this time it was one of the cute older trams, and it took me too Capt James Cooks Cottage, in Fitzroy Park. Got a little lost with the map, and turned it upside down and voila!! I arrived at the edge of the park, very beautiful park right in the city, a few photo's on route and fially I found the cottage that had been transported from Yorkshire to Melbourne Australia.

Cooks Cottage

Well it's about midnight now so will add more stuff in the morning...so goodnight all....

Curry Night

Yesterday, was a fairly quiet day, Emma had a prenatal appt at the doctors, and still we have no baby... unless she has it Friday I'm going to miss it :( It was my turn to cook again so instead of Emma's apparently wet rissotto we had curry, and even I ate some of it, the family would be proud !! Legs hurt for most of the day, but not as severely, today it's more a backache than a leg pain....must be my age!!

Been a bit upset that the family back home have hardly kept in touch, looks like they prefer no me there :( but as for friends and workmates.... you are stars ...the texts make us smile An for the umpteenth time....NO THE BABY HAS NOT BEEN BORN YET hahah

Ouch...my legs hurt

Not much to write today, woke early, and we lazed around the house till lunch doing washing etc, went to Frankston to book the Skybus to get me to the airport on Saturday, fingers crossed that the baby isnt being born, cos I have no idea where the corner of main st and queen st is to catch it..I have visions of me running down the streets with my suitcases. also on the list of jobs was head to the train station to sort times etc, on Thursday I plan to head alone to Melbourne and I needed to sort times and prices.
Then did a little shopping therapy, and had a late lunch, and then headed to the post office, they dont seem to have postboxes like we do in UK on street corners. Then it was back to Mornington to the information centre, to get leaflets etc to organise myself and plan an itinery of places I want to see in Melbourne, like the Melbourne Gaol where Ned Kelly was hung, Queen Victoria Market and the Shrine of Rememberance, and maybe even the Melbourne Observation deck. Time limitations will decide tho.

Bit worried about my legs at the moment, I am getting bad pains in my calves, don't think it can be a thrombosis as it's ages now since the long flight, but I am keeping an eye on them, I just can't bear them to be touched... but they are gorgeous ....according to Emma's Paul haha

Just wrapped some of the gifts for 2 nephews and think I may post them back to UK and hope I catch one before he leave to get to uni....
right off to watch the biggest loser on tv..... night night all..

Everybody needs good Neighbours

Woke early this morning, and off we went to a picnic area, they have a great idea here they have public electric barbeques in most of the open spaces/parks, free, just turn up with the food and away you go!!

After we’d had BBQ brekkie (Paul took over once we'd nearly finished cooking) we went down to the beach, where I sat to write my postcards, hope you all like them, meanwhile Emma rested and Paul and Shannon paddled in the sea. It’s supposed to be autumn here, and here I am sunburnt. We drove by the Dandenongs and headed to Melbourne and………..

RAMSEY STREET !!

Shannon wanted to have her picture taken with her Neighbours hero Harold, but I was hoping to catch Karl…phworrrrr but.....NO SUCH LUCK!!

Today they were filming on the street so there was no access to the public, however from the roadside we were able to watch some filming and see a few of the characters, Ned, Elle, Carmella and Ringo… NO KARL !!
Will be watching now for an episode where a white van has crashed on it’s side on the street and a brown car has a dent in it, with the above characters involved.
My arms and chest are on fire, god help em when its summer here. !!
Not sure what I am doing tomorrow yet, but I am running out of days now and hope to head off on my own into Melbourne at least one day. Still no sign of the baby showing, keep getting emails from the girls at work asking me to let them know when it comes, I will but I bet you it’s when I’ve left here…..

Here's some more pics of the Mornington area.

Can you see Melbourne in the distance.?

Thanks Val

Just a big thanks to Val, for letting me visit her for a couple of days in Brisbane and being kind enough to take me to the Australian zoo, seems funny to think that we didn't really know each other before the trip, the age gap we have of nearly 20yrs meant she was off at uni and getting married when I was born, and then she left to start a new life in Oz.
I really enjoyed my time with her, sharing family memories and swapping family photos as my dad was the last link to the past for us all, we are both very fond of our aunts husband...... dear Uncle Ray...who neither of us write to often enough ..haha something he seems to tell both of us. Anyway I think we had a good time and a fun time, just a few tears for me when she showed me an old cine clip of my Grampy who I adored but died when I was 5 I wasn't expecting to see him and it certainly was a lovely lovely moment

My dad and his brother Tom (Val's dad)

thank you once again for the photo frame, when I look at the photo you gave me of me stroking my kangaroo, I shall always remember a good time... xx

ps ...ironic that we found this picture of Val's Dad and his/my Dad's sister Floss on their visit to Val 20 yrs ago. (they were well into their 70's already)

Tom & Floss

Phillip Island

Went to Phillip Island, unsure how far away it is from Emma's as I snoozed on the way there and again on the way back, thats something I've noticed, as it's sunny in the morn you get up earlier and by the time you go to bed your shattered, I could sleep for England at the moment.

At Phillip Island there are penguins but we didnt see any and the penguin parade was later in the evening so we gave that a miss, however we did go to the Koala sanctuary and saw lots of koalas in natural habitat.

Shannon fell in a rock pool and got wet, and Paul broke his flipflop trying to save her ( they call em thongs in Oz) poor lad continued to walk around as best he could,but we couldnt stop laughing at him. Still no sign of the babys arrival yet, it better get a shift on !!! I leave the state of Victoria in 6 days time. However, at last I have found someone who wears bigger knickers than me hahhah

(fridge pickers wear bigger knickers)

Got a nice email from Jo, apparently she's been shown the blog, so hello you lot and g'day :) Dunno if my brother is reading it? got a lovely text that brought a tear to my eye as I was leaving heathrow, but noting since. The girls at work are, well some anyway cos I've had texts etc, not sure if I'm returing home ....hahah....Emma and Paul want me to stay and claim asylum. I think they mean I need to be committed to one!!

more CRIKEYS

The otters were very cute and very appealing, and very destructive to their habitat. The kookabura sat in its gum and I never heard it laugh at all, miserable thing haha.

I loved the Echidna, a bit like our hedgehog, but boy can it run !!! I can honestly say it was well worth the drive from Vals to the zoo, even if on the roads you take your life in your hands :)

One hint for going to Brisbane is to double the heat that Melbourne has and take lighter clothes, it was sweltering, when I arrived back in Melbourne the temperature was definately much lower Saw the most amazing wooden model of a kangaroo in the zoo shop and could't justify buying it, my regret now is that I didn't :(

Seemed really weird seeing tigers and elephants in the "Australia" zoo, but like Val said I guess thats the Asian part of it. But I had expected insects like the spiders etc. I had a biggish spider in my bedroom and called for Val to get it, but apparently it was harmless....phew !! Just a few of the pictures from the zoo, too many to post them all.