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Flora's travells
Wow ok, I have just read where I finished off last time and there is a lot to tell!
So after a couple of nights in Perth, we headed for the train station with no idea what was ahead for us!! It was a two day journey across the Nullarbor (that bit we knew!) but what we didn't was how incredibly uncomfortable it was going to be. Yeah it was an experinance but not one that I would rush for again!! Our seats had a lot of leg room but that was about the only perk! They were reclining seats which only reclined a few inches so we had to try and sleep sitting up, and unless you have had a few drinks, this is more difficult than it sounds!! We tried lying across spare seats and on the floor but over all got very little sleep for two nights. The food was very expensive, and you didn't get much, kinda like Engand! The trains in Thailand were better, and I never thought I'd say that!! Ok enough moaning about public transport, plenty of time for that when I get back!
We arrived in Adelaide early on Friday morning where there was a shuttle bus waiting to take us into the city. We found a YHA hostel near the bus station, and dived in there to see if they had spare rooms. They did but we couldn't check in for another couple of hours, so went to find some breakfast. First impressions of Adelaide weren't too bad. Went back to the hostel, and had a bit of sleep (much needed!) Later we found out where the free (!) buses ran, and jumped on one for a tour around the city. We also wandered around the town , where I had to buy a fleece, because I didn't anticipate how cold Austrailia's winters could be! We went to look around the market in town which was amazing, they had everything you could imagine, food wise. There was a stall with about fifty different types of coffee, and cakes, fresh fruit and veg etc. We bought our evening meal here in a bid to save some money. It was delicious!!
On saturday we went and lookes around the botanic gardens and "culture street", where we looked around a museum or two and saw the parliament buildings etc. Whilst wandering down the steet it was relly strange to look up and see parrots in the trees instead of blackbirds and sparrows! Little things like that make you smile, because it's not something you see everyday in England!!
That night as we were walking back to the hostel there was a sign saying "free IQ tests and Personality tests", so naturally we were curious and went in for a scout. Ended up spending half an hour doing a personality test that pretty much told me what I already knew, but it was interesting to see how they did it! Chris did an IQ test,which I'm sure he got a very high score at, can't remember what it was exactly! It was a scientology thing like Tom Cruise is into, didn't get too involved!!
The next day we had another delightful trainjourney to Melborne, where we were meeting some friends of Chris' who used to live in Hoxne! They met us at the train station and took us back to their house. We had a brilliant week with them and it was soo nice to have a comfy bed and more than one pillow!! On Tuesday we caught the tram into the city, and had a look around the main streets. Busking is quite a big thing in Melbourne, there was a realla good band playing on one of the main streets, they had amps and everything, proper proffesional!! It was cool walking around whilst listening to different music being played. There are loads of parks in Melbourne, which makes it such a nice city to look round, and we had really good weather, so there were lots of people sitting in the parks, eating lunch etc. It is quite a busy city, but it still didn't feel cramped or crowded. The streets are really wide and the trams run up and down the centre, quite a cosmopolitan city.
On Wednesday Erin, the daughter of Noel and Maree, took us to the great ocean road. This was about an hour and a halfs drive away from their house, and we didn't do half of it! If we were going to go the whole way it would have taken us about four hours! No short distances here! We stopped at Lournes, which was a really pretty town, with lots of cafes with tables out on the pavements, where we got some lunch, after walking along the beach. It was a perfect day for it, and it was beautiful all the way. Lots of houses were built up the hill sides oppostie the beach, where there were some amazing buildings, with, what I can imagine, would be spectacular views. Good place for a holiday home, maybe a bit pricey though!! After having lunch, we went down to Erskin falls, which is a water fall, down a lot of steps, and what felt like even more back up!! We tried to spot some snakes and lizards, but there were none about, unfortunatley! We climbed back up (nearly died, so unfit!!) and Erin offered Chris a drive of Nick's Rav4, which he didn't refuse, and raced around the windy roads back to the main road, where Erin took back over! We made our way back to Geelong to have a bbq at Nick's house (Erin's boyfriend), which was really cool. We met some of their friends and had a wicked night where Pickle (friend) introduced us to beer bongs, which Chris managed with supprising ease, but me, not so much! (see pictures!).
On Thursday, Noel took us for a drive around the F1 track which Chris loved. They use some parts of it as a normal road and carparks, which are sectioned off as the track when the time comes. You can follow the line of the course as you go around, but not quite as fast! After that we did the ultimate tourist thing and went on a Neighbours tour!!!! I was so excited! Guess who we met......Dr. Karl Kennedy!! We had our picture taken with him, and got a postcard signed! After this they took us to Ramsay street. It was really wierd. It is a tiny street, where there is only six houses in a kind of semi circle. People do actually live there, and they are paid for the inconvienience of the crew using the outside of their houses to film! They have to move all there cars out of the drive ways, and keep there curtains closed, beause the insides of their houses are different to the ones on set. All the other filming of the insides is done at the studios, which we didn't get to see.
After finishing our exciting day we were dropped off back in St Kilda, where we met Noel at his workplace, and he took us back to their house.
On Friday morning we had arranged to meet up with another of Chris' friends, Edward. He picked us up from Noel and Marees and then took us to Williamstown, where we went for a walk along the pier and then went to have tea and cake in one of the many cafes along the road, after chris had his photo taken in front of a very nice ferrari! It was boiling, apparently the hottest first day of spring in Oz ever! After this we went for a drive, then came back to Williamstown, for lunch in an old pub, which was lurvly! After this we went back to Edwards house to see Vicky (his wife), who was very welcoming and happy to see us both, as was Edward. We had a cup of tea and watched faulty towers, before Edward took us back into town on the tram, where we were due to meet Noel, Erin and Nick to see a game of Ozzie rules football! We had a really lovely day with Edward and Vicky and it was good to see them both.
After Edward had dropped us off, we waded through the thousands of fans to find the others. We walked into the stadium, which was getting more packed by the minute until there were about 43,000 fans inside, waiting for the game to begin. It was wicked, have to say I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did. Rules are strange, I think it's a bit like American football. They can run with the ball, but have to bounce it every 15 steps, and they can punch and kick the ball.They have to kick it through goals, a bit like rugby posts, and get a different number of points depending where it goes through. The team we were cheering for lost, but it was a good game. On Saturday, we had a day wandering around the shops in Esendon, and Erin took us into town for the afternoon. Then, after saying our goodbyes, we were on another night train, up to Sydney.
Sydney was awsome but will let you know about that in a bit.
Loads of love to you all,
Missing everyone, Flora xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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