Happy New year from Sydney

So we made it to our Greyhound bus on the Friday and we "relaxed" for 12 hours on the bus from Melbourne to Sydney, we travelled over night so we didnt loose any days for seeing the sights. We got into Sydney at half past 7 Saturday morning and the friends we are staing with very kindly picked us up from the coach! we got back to their flat which is only 15mins outside of the city and collapsed for the day just relaxing and getting to know Todd. We took a short walk and explored the local shops and the beach which is all very nice, before we crashed early for the night!
New years eve and we were very excited!! after a nice long sleep we got up for lunch and made our plans for the evening, we tried to meet up with Craig and his sister for the night but hundreds of thousands of people in the harbour made that impossible! we got a very busy bus down to the Quay side at half past four and went straight into a section called the East Quayside. we walked round with thousands of people trying to find the best view of things and it turned out we were right next to the Sydney Opera House and right opposite the Harbour bridge, we had by luck the perfect spot which made us even more excited! so we got a spot among loads of other people and sat for the next seven hours waiting.....and waiting....and waiting!! when it got to 9pm they had a smaller fireworks display for the familys that had to get home before midnight, and they alone were spectacular! so that made us even more excited for midnight. By this time the pavements were filled with people, sitting and standing,Offical numbers are over a million people!!!! when it got to just before midnight everyone was on their feet with cameras at the ready and a huge count down started on the bridge and then at midnight came 15mins of unbelievable, amzing, never to be beaten fireworks! it was so good to experience it and be there, something we will never forget! so after this there were over a million people tyring to find taxi's and buses to get home, luckily we made it to our bus and got home just after one, still excited from what we had just seen! Happy New year everyone!

Happy Christmas

well folks we had a great xmas! the few days before xmas we just relaxed really helped wrap presents, did a bit of xmas shopping etc! then the big day came!! it was a nice English day really, rain and hail but still hot! it was great as welll because of Artemis getting up early it gave us an excuse to be like kids again and get up nice and early for presents!! we spent the morning exchanging gifts which were all really nice from everyone!then just before lunch time we went to the first family stop off which was Fotis's god mother and god father where we had a few homemade cakes and a drink, and they had a nice catch up! after an hour or so there we departed for our xmas day feast which was at Fotis's aunts house we arrived there to a feast which could have fed a small country, we didnt have a small country so we ate it all! It was amazing there were 28 people sat around one huge table and they all made us feel so welcome,. it was a great experience and a great day! we stayed there until 10pm, we had a really good time, load sof fun! Boxing day was completely different to what we were both used to we totaly relaxed and recovered from all the food we had eaten and just did nothing! the fe days after xmas we spent in and around Frankston and the house packing up our stuff and cleaning our room. Sooner than expected it was Friday and we had to leave for Sydney, as much as we were excited we didnt want to leave either, and Artemis realy didnt want us to leave, she was hysterical!!

Getting Ready for Xmas!

Only a week to go until our hotest ever Christmas! its so bizzare it doesnt feel like xmas at all apart from the decrorations and the preszzies, its just too hot! we have had another busy week this week, we had a great day at the aquarium on monday as we told you last blog, feeding time was great to watch, mad that they just dive right in with the giant sharks! Tuesday we visited a few more tourist sites, The Old Jail in Melbourne where they hung prisoners back in the day and where they also held and hung Ned Kelly "hero to the people" aparently.... typical having a convict as a hero! very good film about him if your not sure who he is! also on the Tuesday we went to a small park which had a house that had been shipped over from England and was the house that Captain James Cook lived in, founder of the south coast of Australia, also in the park was a famous carved tree, full on animals and other creatures relating to an old childrens book. On wednesday we got half way to an open range zoo until the train broke down... some things dont change anywhere in the world! so we ended up back in the city further down the river than we ever had been at a new area which was home to "Galactic Circus" which had every game you could want to play, so we had a great time there, as well as a quick trip to the town hall. Thursday we thought we would take it easy on the beach but the weather did not let us, it was cloudy and on the verge of being a little chilly, well under 20degrees anyway! so instead we just wandered around the town and went for some lunch! Friday we stayed in with Fotis and helped him out around the house before going off to do a bit of xmas and birthday shopping with him and rushed ack for the afternoon and evening with the birthday girl Auntie Jo! this weekend was a busy one as well we went to a greek party on saturday which was just like a bit of a warm up for xmas and the amount of food was unbelievable i really cant wait for xmas now, its going to be brilliant! on sunday we met up with some of the family and went out for the day for Jo's birthday had a lovely lunch and met some really friendly people that we will be seeing for xmas!

xxx

Heating up!

Frankston, the local town, has everything we could possibly need-shops! Not that we have they money to shop but it's always nice to look. Not sure Baz agrees but there is a cinema so we might treat ourselves. We had a day exploring Melbourne and we were very impressed. It's huge, very modern and sophisticated. We've spent some time deciding what we want to see while we are here-the list continually growing (anything that is free is top of the list!). We've had a scorcher of a weekend! Only one thing for it...the beach. Friday we spend at the afternoon at the local beach and Saturday we had a family trip to the beach and it reached 39 degrees, although the air was slightly smokey due to the bad bush fires they are having here at the moment. They are in serious need of some rain! The sea felt freezing but it was definately our saviour from the heat. Sunday was even hotter and after a food shop we decided to head to the beach late afternoon in hope it wouldn't be so hot-unfortunately as we arrived and stepped foot out of the car, the sky clouded over and there was a strong cold wind, so we took a trip to town and had coffee and cake. Australian weather?! By Monday morning it had really cooled down as we spent the day at melbourne Aquarium which was so cool, they had sharks and massive sting-rays. Feeding time was interesting, divers and a bucket of fish equals feeding frenzy-of the fish, not the divers! Spag bol is on the menu tonight,cooked by us so hopefully we will all wake up tomorrow.

Frankston, Melbourne

Well we arrived in Melbourne on time after a bit of an uncomfortable night sleeping in the airport but it saved us some cash! and we should be thankful we even got out of the airport after Laura's Visa wasnt recognised, but after a quick adjustment it was all fine!
Our flight was ok, all on time and we both slept through until landing, and once we had made it through the strict customs, sniffer dogs (thank god we had already run out of coke) and passport control, Fotis was there to pick us up (my uncle for those who are confused!) we had a minor problem of not being able to find the car we were off on the short journey back to their house.
We got back in scorching weather and what a lovely house we got back to, brand new, big rooms and other than the bedrooms everything is open planned, and because we had been in hostels it felt like paradise! we spent our first afternoon relaxing in the house waiting for Joanne and little Artemis to come home, and they did, it was lovely to see them!
After a long comfortable nights sleep we woke up to our first weekend in Aus, so we went with Artemis and Jo into the local town, Frankston and had a look around and a coffee. Sat night we spent with some greek cousins (not mine!) with a film and a huge takeaway which we just ate and ate and ate. The next day we got up and went up north to Healesville to an animal sanctuary which was great saw loads of different animals that you wouldnt see in England; Kangeroo's, Dingoes, Tazzie Devils and more! It was realy good, the only bit we ad to watch out for was eating our lunch with all the birds lurking around!! By the time we got home from there our day was over and we crashed infront of the TV! So far we have spent the week on the local beach which is stunning, golden beaches clear blue sea and scorching heat. As well as shopping in the local town and we took our first trip into Melbourne Centre which is huge, alot bigger than Auckland, and lots to see, so far we have explored the tennis arena, Olympic Stadium, the river and a small part of the centre itself.

look out for more updates on our trips back to the centre and what we see as well as other things we have got planned such as the zoo, and plenty more beaches!!