Melbourne....Still

So I thought I should do a quick update. We haven't done a great deal here. We have spent many hours in the DVD room watching films, walked around all the parks in Melbourne, along the river and down to the docklands. I particularly enjoyed a walk I did alone to Fitzroy Gardens.
I walked round the gardens, through the conservatory and also around Captain Cooks Cottage which was bought over here from Yorkshire about 70 years ago. It was tiny and wasn't the full cottage that they had lived in as half had been knocked down, while still in Yorkshire, for a road. I paid my $2 entry and wandered round the tiny kitchen and then up the stairs to see the main bedroom - I thought it was really nice a sweet. They had also put in a herb garden.
I then walked on to see the Fairies Tree, which is just a tree for children with lots of carvings in it - I was expecting something slightly more magical. I suppose it was different though. I also checked out their miniature Tudor village, nothing compared to the ones we have at home. It was however a gift to Victoria from a little village in UK because Victoria had helped them out with food shortages after the war. That's nice.
I really like Fitzroy Gardens with its tree lined paths and fountains. The day I was there there were also a load of Asian women dressed in wedding dresses - this confused me. Maybe 10 of them got married at the same time, I think they were just playing dress up!
We also had a walk right along the river, past Southbank and onto the docklands. We stopped at a park and played on some swings and twirly things on the way. Saw the Telstra Dome, where Robbie will be playing. We have booked into the hostel for that night as its walking distance.
We've watched The Princess Bride at the docklands on the free outdoor screen, was bloody cold though but we stuck it out - classic film. We will prob be going again over the next few weeks as there are showings every Friday and Saturday night, we have The Notebook and Gremlins on at some stage - have to see them.
We have been out for dinner a couple of times, which has been ok. We've also checked out a few of the cafe/restaurant bound streets but not eaten there yet - maybe go with Lorraine and Graham when they arrive. Lygone Street is like Little Italy, seems quite nice, with all its pizza/pasta restaurants. Brunswick Road is a bit alternative, bit rock and roll maybe and has quite a few cafes etc. I quite like them as they are older buildings which haven't been painted in a while - different to the city.
We have also been to the Queen Vic Market, once on a Sunday morning and once on a Wednesday night. The Wednesday night was more crafty and we got some dinner there along with a couple of wines but by far the best thing about the night market was the Victoria State Police Rock Band.....they were hilarious. They sang Green Day, Black Eyed Peas and a load of Australian songs we didn't know. It was just so funny seeing some middle aged policeman rapping to the Black Eyed Peas "Don't Lie", just great entertainment. We will be returning to the market and just hope they are there again!!
We went to Rod and Tracey's, Emma's uncle's, for a BBQ on the Sunday just gone - its great BBQ in December!! It was really nice to meet them, since I'll be spending Christmas with them, and we had a relaxing time chatting and eating. We also swapped our DVD's and got a whole new batch while we were there.
On another note we are in a dorm, mainly by ourselves, and get the odd visitor which has been interesting. A week or so we had two Australian girls who were slightly more than friends!! Kept me awake, and feeling not too great, with their shenanigans - then to top it off when they fell asleep they snored! We had another guy from the UK, Russell, who we had a laugh chatting to so he was ok although he was due up at 7am the next morning and seem to wake up 2 hours early!! We have also had Mr Scribble...... Mr Scribble was very smelly. He arrived the night that Russell Russell was there. He got up quite early and went out. He didn't come back until really late that night and knocked saying his key was playing up and reception were aware (this confused us because Emmas key had been playing up and they fixed it right away!). This night was the worst, he stank so badly that we put tea tree oil on our pillows and under our noses!! The next morning after he had gone our we decided to complain, which is what we did, and it turned out that he hadn't paid. Reception said to go down when he came back that night. We were in bed when he started knocking again at 2am - we didn't answer. Anyway he has since come back and taken his bag so we hope that's the last we see or smell of him!!
We now have a 19 year old guy from Germany and he is so young, I am bored of him as he just invades our space and starts talking crap...well thankfully he leaves tomorrow so hopefully we'll have the last few days to ourselves.
We should be moving into Rod and Tracey's in a little while so that will be quite nice. Thanks to them!!
Not too sure what else to say.....we have been quite bored a lot and so wandered around quite a bit. No work as yet so looks like I'll have to wait until the new year. I will be staying in Richmond when I come back to Melbourne for 6 weeks which is just East of the city - I should be able to walk in.
Well I hope everyone is doing well.
Take Care
Dawnie
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