Hi all,

We have been in Melbourne for a nearly 2 weeks now. We spent the first couple of nights in the city, exploring the sights such as parliament, federation square and the botanical gardens. We also went to the Victoria Market which was huge and full of nice food stalls and mega cheap fruit and veg. Mum and Dad you would have loved it. We moved to St Kilda after staying in the city which is a funky little suburb of Mebourne full of nice little shops and bars as well as the beach. A few friends of mine from uni are staying at the same hostel so we have been out for a few drinks with them (ben is still moaning about the price of beer). We spent a very exciting Monday evening at 'Neighbours Night' where you meet the stars and do a quiz and experience other neighbours cheesiness. I have to admit, being a big neighbours fan, i loved every minute of it. Ben on the other hand was not too impressed but he stuck it out! On Wednesday I made him go on the 'Neighbours Tour' which involves travelling around Melbourne on a massive blue 'Neighbours' bus. We watched old episodes all the way to the studio where we met SUSAN KENNEDY! What a legend! We also visited 'Ramsey Street' which is actually very small, Grease Monkeys and the 'garage'.

Last week we hired a car for 3 days and drove the 'Great Ocean Road' which runs pretty much from Melbourne along the coast to various tourist attractions. The views were fantastic and we saw kangaroos and koalas along the way. Ben lost his driving licence in the Heathrow wallet incident, so I did all of the driving. We saw some amazing surf beaches and the 'Twelve Apostles' (see the pics of rocks in the sea) and stayed at a homely little hostel in a place called Anglesea. We are catching a night bus to Sydney at the weekend where we are spending christmas and new year. It still doesn't feel much like christmas here. There are a few decorations and christmas songs playing but it's not the same in the sun!

Hope everyone is well at home

Love Sarah xxxxxxx