So I arrived here in the cover of darkness at 1:30 in the morning. On the bus I had made friends with a 250 lb tatattooed guy named Buzz so I felt a little better about arriving in the not-so-nice part of town because no one was going to mess with Buzz. We checked in at Footprints, although recommended the IEP I was pretty disappointed at this accomodation.

I got up the next day and walked all over the city, went to Hyde Park (gorgeous) and the Botanical Gardens (beautiful) and saw the Harbour Bridge and Opera House (breath-taking). I was going to meet up with another friend of mine from NZ who was down for the Mardi Gras but that would have meant waiting another 4 days and I just wasn't feeling Sydney It seemed big and impersonal with lots of concrete and a bit dirty. Melbourne stole my heart, so I booked a flight for the next morning and was lucky to get accommodation in Melbourne since the Grand Prix is on right now.

Spent another week in Melbourne, met up with Natalie again and some German girls that are now here that I had met in New Zealand. It is such a great city but I think I am just about ready to come home. Perhaps another adventure is beckoning, but mostly I miss my life. I love Australia and Australians, but no one and nothing can replace the people in my life that I love the most. And its these people that I must go home to.