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12/10/06 - Checked out of the dorm room and went to explore the city centre. I walked for miles again today and it turned out to be the hottest day for Melbourne on record for this time of year! I could of told them that without even getting a thermometer out, as I was melting all day! It reached 36.6 degrees! Unfortunately for me, I had gone out in the morning when it was fairly cool and I was wearing jogging bottoms, not good!! I then discovered from the locals that Melbourne can experience all 4 seasons in one day! Got back to The Nunnery, which is just in such a fab location and checked into my single room! Fabulous! It even has a TV! Did some investigative work today in trying to find my cousin Ruby and how to get to her. I think I have succeeded, tomorrow will tell! I have family out here that I have never met, so it will be nice to track them down and arrange to meet.
13/10/06 - Didn't realise until later on in the day that it was Friday 13th!! But it was a fab day for me! Managed to find my cousin Ruby, after a train journey, then a bus journey. The bus driver was really helpful and told me where to get off (not literally!) and he knew the street I needed and gave me directions. The staff when I got there were really helpful too and walked me through the building to her room, she's resident at a care facility because unfortunately an operation to remove a cyst from her spine left her paralysed. We had a lovely afternoon, talking, Ruby reminiscing about Scotland (she's my Grandma's niece) telling me about when they first emigrated here in the 60's. She even shared her lunch with me, which I thought was a lovely gesture. A really nice lady also made us a cup of tea and bought me some biscuits and a cake! It was obvious she had told them all I was coming, which was nice. I left around 2.15pm, in order to make the journey back to Melbourne. I checked in with the staff at the Nunnery, as they had joked that they probably wouldn't see me again and they would cancel my reservation for next week!! Apparently to most city people, South Morang is somewhere off the face of the earth!! Well I did it!! Hopefully I can arrange to meet Ruby's daughters Fiona and Sandra, who are around my age and also Uncle David, my Grandma's brother.
14/10/06 - Shelleys' Hen Night tonight!! Shelley called me around 11am and I wandered down to her hotel and we went shopping and sight seeing for the day. Simon had gone off with his mates for his 'Buck's' Day and Night, they had gone off to the races in fancy dress, he as Little Red Riding Hood! We had a coffee in the city, then hit the shops and also did some culture! We went up the Rialto Tower where there is an observation deck over the city. The views were fab! We wandered along Federation Square then made our way to Cook's Cottage and we also found the Fairy Tree!! By this time we needed to get back to get ready for tonight. We parted at the corner of Nicholson Street. I just about had enough time to close my eyes for 10 minutes, then I got showered and dressed for our night out in Melbourne! I wandered down to Shelley for 4.30pm, we popped into David Jones (a department store) and got a few nibblies and drinkies, then got a taxi to Southbank, where her friend Jen was staying. We piled into Jen's and chattered and drank until around 7pm, when we then made our way to the restaurant on Southbank, by the river. By this time there was 8 of us! Dinner was fab! After dinner there was just me, Shelley, Jen and Fiona (who's husbands were Simon's friends, so were on the Bucks night!) who were up for going on further! We ended up at a night club called the GPO, but we lasted 5 minutes in there, as we all felt too old!! Jen comes from Melbourne (but lives in London at mo!) so she knew where to go. We piled into a taxi and headed for a place called the Motel. This turned out to be really good. We had more champagne and danced, danced, danced! I texted my mate Lisa at some point, as they were playing our Whitney song!! After that we went back to the Southbank to the Crown Casino. I felt like I was back in Las Vegas, the entrance was just like any casino out there with all the taxi's lined up, etc. Not long after though Shelley hit a brick wall of tiredness and we ended the night on a high!
15/10/06 - Had a big lie in, didn't feel too bad, just extremely tired! Shelley called around 12pm and her and Simon (who had made it back at 5am!) walked to me and went for a late breakfast at 'the Fitz', a nice cafe just round the corner from the Nunnery. We had a mooch in some shops afterwards, but we were all flagging, so parted ways and slept for the rest of the day. I ended up watching the film 'The Bourne Identity' later on that night.
16/10/06 - I have walked my feet and legs off today!!!! When I tell people where I have walked today they can't believe it! I can! I can feel it! Basically it was shopping for a wedding outfit today! I have been looking for a while, but was told by lots of people to wait until I got to Melbourne. They were right, there are so many lovely shops/boutiques here, but stretched out across the city!! I walked down Nicholson Street, Spring Street, Wellington Parade, Bridge Road, Church Street, Swan Street, Chapel Street, Toorak Road, St.Kilda Road, up to Federation Square and collapsed in DeGraves Lane and had a milkshake. Finally got a dress in a shop called Brown Sugar in the city centre!! Then walked back to the Nunnery from the city! This took most of the day, so that may give you an idea on how far it all was! I'll show you on the map when I get back! Needless to say I didn't much else!
17/10/06 - Got picked up at 11am for day trip to Phillip Island. My legs are so stiff!! I just about got myself out of bed this morning! We visited a wildlife sanctuary on the way, where I had a photo taken with a koala, hand fed kangaroos and saw my first Tasmanian Devil, which was kinda cute and funny! But not much like the cartoon character! We then went to Girdie's Winery for some wine tasting and from here we could see over to the island where Kylie Minogue has her private retreat in the shape of a heart. We stopped at St.Roma and took in the lovely views over to Mornington Peninsula. We then headed to the Nobbies and Seal Rocks, but unfortunately it is too early in the year to see any seals. But we did see a penguin hiding under the boardwalk, soooo cute! We then had pizza on Woolamai beach and watched the surfers, before heading to the highlight of the trip the Penguin Parade! I paid an extra $10 to go on the exclusive side of the boardwalk and it paid off, as I had great views of the penguins coming out of the sea at sunset and waddling up the beach right past me. They are soooo cute and they go quite far up the beach quite close to the main building too. Therefore, I walked back up the boardwalk towards the car park following alot of them to their burrows. When I reached the top a ranger stopped us, as it was obvious a penguin wanted to cross our paths, but was hesitant because of us all. As soon as we quieted down and stood still it waddled across, it was great! Everyone has to check under their vehicles before leaving the car park, incase a penguin has found shelter under there! By this time it was 8pm and we all headed back to Melbourne. I finally got in around 9.45pm, absolutely shattered!
18/10/06 - Had a bit of lie in, then mooched around Fitzroy shops and got a wedding pressie and some jewellery to go with my dress. Packed up, as off to Brisbane tomorrow for the wedding at the weekend. I'm going to leave some stuff here, rather than carry it all, as I'm coming back here after the wedding.
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