After returning back from Philip island having managed to note my thoughts as I went along to save me spending hours writing when I got back, I tried to be sociable and put my computer away… Having good banter, an eclectic group consisting of Dutch, German, Australian-English and myself, we put imdb's top 100 through the ringer… The rest escaping to bed, I settled down to find some pictures for my blog. Not 5 minutes had passed when an alarm went off… Nina appearing and asking if it was in the hostel, we went on a mini search mission… Ascertaining that it was in fact in the hostel but not able to see a fire, we ventured outside… The noise also coming from the laundrette in front of us, with the door wide open at 3.30 we were very confused…. Not sure if it was a security alarm that tripped our alarms or not, we phoned the hostel manager… Taking 20 minutes to get here, he opened the office door and smoke streamed out…..!!! Our 'is there an actual fire' questions being answered with a no, him opening the window and shutting the door, we were even more confused… The alarms finally silenced after about 40 minutes, we sat down in the kitchen with chef Jeffrey's amazing Nutella crepes. The manager joining us, he explained that he had set off a smoke bomb in the office the night before to kill bugs… Not quite managing to cover the smoke alarm properly, it was triggered… A bit incredulous, he told us that if an alarm goes off in the hostel it sets off the main board in the laundrette… The laundrette not locked up properly, it was entirely coincidence that the door was open… An hour of drama, I was finally able to post my blog and head to bed. Catching sight of the phone of the girl in the bunk underneath me and seeing it was set for 6.50am, I had barely fallen asleep buy the time she got up…!!
Partaking in the only social event on offer in the hostel – a BBQ on Saturday afternoon, with a chef in charge, there was good food. Having already been shown how to open a beer bottle with both a plastic bottle and cigarette lighter, I was able to add a fork to that list too!! Having lots of banter, my hostel mates were loving my Scottishness. Being asked to say 'there's been a murder' and 'burglar alarm' – Ewan McGregor's apparent suggestion of what word to say to make anyone sound Scottish, chat of scotch whisky and of Scottish independence, I was asked what time Sean Connery arrives at Wimbledon…? Got it yet? The answer is ten ish :-D. Telling them I was heading out to a Tim Burton themed night at a club in town, apparently Burton is another word that is hard to understand when spoken if you're Scottish!!
Waking up on easter sunday, I had a pretty bad day. Feeling frustrated with Melbourne and needing a hug, the weather reminiscent of Scotland's weather, for the first time in a couple of months I thought about heading home… Venturing to another yoga class to maximise my cost per use, I thought it might send some endorphins around my body. Finding it hard to balance and switch my mind off, it was the worst attempt at bikram I undertook… Conscious i've not been eating the healthiest, seeking a banana out, it helped. Packed up and ready to go, whilst happy to be moving again I was sad to say goodbye to my new European friends – Moose and the girls in particular, it was definitely a positive female dorm experience. Tramming it round the city, it taking an hour, I regretted not just getting a taxi… Meeting one of my new roommates, the third Dutch person I've met in 2 weeks, it was lovely to chat. She exuding positivity, I decided that I was not going to let Melbourne beat me quite yet… It already 9pm, investigating what food I had left, I was amazed that I was able to fashion a meal. Forgetting that I had bought pasta, finding a tin of tuna, dolmio sauce and using up coriander and Parmesan, it was a pretty amazing unplanned meal!
A friend from the corkman hostel homeward bound to the UK tomorrow, I popped round to wish him well on his onward journey. Lovely to see my buddies again and hugs a plenty, I felt much better! Returning to the hostel, chocolate in hand, skype connecting to me to one of my best buddies and my gran, aunt, mum and dad about to sit down to a roast beef dinner (so unbelievably jealous I can genuinely taste it!), their chat cheered me up considerably. Lovely to get up to date, and having eaten the entire bar of chocolate (it is Easter after all!) I feel ready to give Melbourne another week :-).
Scottish Footprints 
It was a different Easter for us – no Jane or Louise and no Moira & Ray or Dave and Joan to share day. Melbourne sounds an interesting and laid back place worth exploring. keep up the good work. x
Melbourne is very interesting :-). Wish me and Lou had both been there to share it with you all! Though I hear she also had a roast dinner… Not fair!! Sounds like you had a lovely day xx