Wow, we arrived in the capital of Australia on a Saturday night - its like a ghost town! Hardly any traffic, not many people about and the shops are all shut - eerie! We met a crazy Aussie surfer, called Frank, at the YHA. He's from the same area as Christie and was really impressed that we'd explored his part of the world. We spent the evening chatting to a large group of travellers. Sunday morning we drove to the museum and monument district and came across ...

I met Christie many many years ago in London when we were all "fresh off the boat" and living in bedsits in Earl's Court. Now, she lives in a beautiful 3-bedroomed house which she has built by hand using straw bales and recycled timber. I was in awe of all that she has accomplished. Not only did she have the vision to create her own home from scratch, but she also had the drive, skills and tenacity to accomplish what others could not even think of doing in their ...

We spent the day in Melbourne city centre and got an overview by travelling on the free circle tram. Luckily, Melbourne has a compact city centre so it's quite easy to get around on foot and via tram. First stop: the Greek Quarter and lunch at The Stalactites. Fasolatha (Greek style bean soup) and lamb souvlaki with plenty of tzatziki - yum yum! Got chatted up by the ageing lothario Greek waiter from Athens. Waiter: "Are you travelling with your boyfriend?" Me...

So, with a heavy heart we left Lelania and her family and headed off north on the scenic route towards my friend Christie who lives in Goorambat. And what an amazingly scenic detour we took! Again, through the Yarra Valley, we had to make a couple of food-related stops. First up: a freshly baked bread sign caught our interest! We found the most amazing artisan bread - wholesome and full of fresh ingredients. Wendy bought a loaf of fruit bread which contained sem...

Yesterday, Easter Monday, along with the entire population of Melbourne, we left Phillip Island on the only road out. This resulted in a 2-hour long traffic jam. It would have been quicker to walk! After several additional hour on the road, we finally arrive at my friend Lelania's home in the Melbourne suburb of Wantirna, where we were warmly welcomed by her husband Rob, her sons Ben and Hayden and their puppy Barnie! I haven't seen Lelania since the "good old d...