Travel update

Am now in Christchurch after a couple of long flights and a stopover in Melbourne.

Left London on Saturday night, and flew to Melbourne via Singapore. Flight was good, seemed to pass very quickly even though I didn't seem to get much sleep. Had a window seat which was good for more room, but it did mean that I had to wake my neighbours up when I wanted to get to the toilet!

Arrived in Melbourne early on Monday morning local time and was met by Li-Ann and Karina. As part of the plan to keep me awake all day, we went for some breakfast. We then went back to the apartment Andrew and Li-Ann were renting, and after a catch up and a shower, we went for a walk through the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was fascinating to see all the different types of birds flying around. There are also quite a few walks to do around the gardens. Went and had some lunch at the Blue Train Cafe on the South Bank - lovely situation, overlooking the Yarra River over to Flinders Station.

After lunch, Li-Ann and I wandered around town - Melbourne has lots of beautiful old shopping arcades to look around. We went to visit Li-Ann's mum who works at the Myer department store, and I bought some sunglasses and nail polish. Had a brief trip out to St Kilda on the tram before catching the train back to the apartment and out to dinner at Li-Ann's aunt's house. Managed to survive dinner (by this time I hadn't slept for about 48 hours!) with a quick snooze on the couch before heading home.

On Tuesday, we headed out to the Yarra Valley for lunch - we stopped in at the Sweetwater Cafe at Yering Station for a lovely lunch and then to St Hubert's for a tasting session. Wish we'd had more time - both places were great! We had dinner with Li-Ann's parents that night at a Chinese restaurant - we had some fantastic Peking Duck.

On Wednesday, we went out to St Kilda and after a walk along the beach and a walk along Acland St, the main shopping street in the area, we had lunch at the Stokehouse restaurant right on the beach. Great location - we were glad to be inside though because the flies were terribly annoying outside! After lunch, we drove around the Albert Park Melbourne Grand Prix circuit, which was surprisingly interesting, mainly because Andrew is such a huge fan! We also visited the Shrine, which is the memorial to the ANZAC soldiers - it was actually quite impressive and gives a great view over the city.

Had to catch my plane to Christchurch that evening - flew with Jetstar, Qantas's budget airline. I'm not that impressed at being downgraded to a budget airline, particularly as I paid over £1250 for my ticket! It was only a three hour flight, but we had to purchase food (and there was no hot food left!), there were no films (you could rent a mini DVD player for $12) and they charged me $35 because my luggage was 6 kg overweight!

Fiona met me at Christchurch airport - there was a huge crowd of people waiting for other travellers, including a bunch of drunken students, one dressed as a lobster. Very amusing.

Today (Thursday), I've been to have a Mole Map done, and been to the hairdresser. Also met some new babies when I had Lisa, Jon and Felix, Sally, Richard, Alexandre and Amelie, Aaron, Andrea, Sam and Ava, and Kelvin around for a barbeque tonight. It was great to see them all, even if they nearly all had to leave by 6pm to prepare for bed etc!

Christmassy!

Loved the Campaign for a Real Office Christmas page on the Guardian blog, especially the desk, computer and chair wrapped in Christmas paper!

pre-Christmas dinner, London 2005

pre-Christmas dinner, London 2005
Originally uploaded by MhairiT.

Food, food, food! Have just uploaded photos from Saturday's pre-Christmas feast at Casa Helps, and from other parties and celebrations