Mooching around in Melbourne City!

Well well well, we're now in Melbourne and what a place, it's huge! We got here Saturday afternoon and are no closer to getting our bearings (maybe only around the bars!)

The drive here took a little longer than expected. From the Eyre Peninsula just away from Adelaide since I last blogged, we drove up to the Grampians National Park. These aren't too 'famous' and James just found a small flyer about them and we decided to head up there. It's basically a mountain range with lots of scary cliff edges and walks. We spent 2 days there climbing to some of the peaks and taking in the beautiful landscape - not that we had the greatest weather! It was well worth the trip up though.

From there we hit The Great Ocean Road, probably the most famous road in Australia and perhaps up there as being one of the best drives in the world. We'd heard so much about this drive that our expectations were quite high which resulted, unfortunately, with a bit of disappointment from my side anyway. Don't get me wrong, the drive was stunning, lots of cliff edges, beautiful beaches, winding roads but we had rain and grey skies and it just wasn't what I imagined. We'd already done a few ocean/cliff top drives and I thought these were just as good. What I did enjoy about the Great Ocean Road was the contrast between hilltop valleys and beaches and sea, not anything I had seen before - think Wales crossed with Greece! We had a fantastic time and would perhaps like to do it again when it's not so dark and depressing:) I was rather impressed when I saw lots of koalas though, we counted about 10 on this one little road, they really are cute. Oh and of course, we saw the 12 Apostles (well 8 now that 4 have collapsed) but still, they were pretty amazing.

So now we're in Melbourne and I am liking this city. Although I'm quite happy to be living the country bumpkin lifestyle for a while, city life is far more my thing and I'm happy to have access to a hot shower whatever time of day it is. Up until now we've been living in the car we bought which is a lot better than it sounds, we have a proper double bed fitted and it's really comfy but it's starting to get cold here now and with the rain, getting out and especially into the car have proved awkward without soaking our bed sheets! So we booked into a funky little hostel called 'Pint on Punt' which is above an Irish bar and right in the middle of all the cool suburbs of Melbourne. We're sharing a room with a couple of American guys which at times is amusing but sometimes, irritating (like the snoring last night!) but on the whole it could have been a lot worse!

Saturday night we introduced ourselves to the city by getting acquainted with some of the local bars and therefore punishing ourselves Sunday by feeling not at our best (well me anyway!). It didn't last long though and I soon forgot about the large amount of wine I consumed whilst having lunch with a couple of friends we met over in Western Australia. Today has been a day of exploring with the aid of our Lonely Planet and its walking tour suggestion. We found a real cute alleyway with heaps of eateries and had falafel burgers for lunch before meeting another of James' tree surgeon friends who has settled over here, we had a few drinks and very cheap pizza before coming to this internet cafe so I can inform all you lovely people what we have been up to - nothing too cultural today I'm afraid:(

Not too sure what the plan is for tomorrow, most probably more walking, getting lost and attempting to read maps! I'm quite thirsty now though after my 3 glasses of wine so better go and get myself another drink:)