where have the last few weeks gone?

Melbourne has been a great deal of fun and it's almost time to leave.

I've been working a bit, partying a bit and generally having a good time. Workwise, my shifts vary from 13 hour montrosities with few, if any, breaks to piddly periods of less than three hours.

Danielle hasn't been able to find a job so is deserting me for Perth. Although I'll catch up with her in a few weeks, it's going to be hard and horrid to be in different places.

On Monday crazy Caroline left and with her, the rules of stalking and stories about Take That... you kind of had to be here but let's just say we were both hoping to casually track down the That when they were in Australia recently...

Today, Finnish Jenny leaves and English follows suit tomorrow and Danielle on Saturday. That leaves just Swedish and me and half an empty apartment. So it will be knuckling down to save and earn cash for a bit before I head off.

We've had some cracking nights out - hooking up with some of the Manly crew such as Jana and Amy - and today the Welshies and Geordie Steve came to Melbourne from Adelaide for a few nights out. So life isn't dull.

It hasn't all been drinking either (you'll be pleased to know dad). I've been exploring some of the alleyways in town (during the day, perverts) and checking out little cafes and boutiques and wandering tree-lined streets.

Swedish, Finnish, Danielle and I were off to Melbourne Museum on Monday but, as it was too sunny to be inside, decided to trapise Brunswick St in arty farty Fitzroy instead and had lunch and coffees in cool little cafes and chatted away before coming back to St Kilda beach to watch the sunset.




Amello, the restaurant where I work, is at the sea baths and right on the beach. Most evenings there are just the most stunning sunsets over the waters. A few nights ago the sky was ablaze for ages with pinks, oranges and reds and the clouds smudged the light across the horizon.

Work is going well. It's bizarre to be working in a restaurant again (which I swore blind I'd never do again) and reminds me of the old days working at Bowden Hall... The food is amazing at this place and we get free pizza every night - a very dangerous place to work clearly.

It's ok work though and it's nice to meet new people and save a bit of money although the hours are pretty irregular.

There's still so much to do in Melbourne before I leave - Neighbours night and/or tour, the museums and galleryies. Melbourne is the food capital of Australia (and they love their food here) so clearly there is more tasty treating to be done. It's going to be weird and hard without Danielle though and with Swedish Jen working such long hours.

Toda, we took a picnic to St Kilda Botanical Gardens as a kind of farewell - spuds from spudbar (a litre of sour cream? half a block of cheese? oh go on then) and cakes from the very lovely cake shops along Acland Street. It's been a baking 31C today though - the weather here is as changeable as UK summers and we've seen pretty much every kind of temperature and weather variation this week.