Melbourne

Well, I made it to Melbourne at 9:30am and my friend Kim picked me up. I was so exhausted from the night before, but she was only going to be in town today, so we had a whole day planned of hanging out. Unfortunately, it is canning season in Shepparton and so she works her day job as well as nights/weekends at the cannery, so she doesn't have much free time until April. Maybe we will see each other again along the way, but it was still nice to hang out with her and catch up in the little time we had together.

Next, we drove out to her aunts' house to pick up Janet and Jill - they were going to hang out with us all day. I am so glad they did because they each had a million great ideas of things to do in the area as well as information about future travels.

So we pull up to Janet's house and it was crazy because I remembered the house. I had been here 9 years ago when we stayed in Melbourne and went to a footy game. I totally remembered the BBQ we had and the house. We also went back to the footy stadium, but I didn't really remember it.

After picking them up, we headed up to the Dandenongs. It is a forest/mountain area just north of their city with all these quaint little villages with shops and tea rooms. The trees in the area are amazing - very tall and green and you would never guess the continent is going through a drought. It reminded me of Julian and they do a similar thing of taking all the visitors to the area. We had lunch at Miss Marples Tea Room. It was really nice and I was so hungry that even my funky salmon sandwich was tasty. Here's what it was - two pieces of bread laid out with mushrooms, olives, alphalfa sprouts, other weird things, lettuce, tomato and then thin slices of cold salmon laid out over top. I felt bad picking off most of it, but oh well... :)

After lunch, we walked around into some of the shops and I got more information from the ladies of things to do while I'm here. Kim and I dropped them back off at their houses and then went to Fiona's work (Kim's sister). I am staying with her while in Melbourne, so I switched all my stuff into Fiona's car and took off with her. I had to say goodbye to Kim there, but hopefully will see here again soon.

Fiona and I went to her boyfriend, Blake's, apartment and took the train into the city to meet up with some of their other friends (Bob and Nikki) that were in town for the weekend. We went to the tallest building in Melbourne (The Edge) and took the elevator up to the 88th floor to check out the view of the city. It is a great view and was nice to see the whole city from up above. One of the coolest parts was that we were up there right when the Men's Finals for the Australian Open started, so we go to see the stadium and huge crowds all around that were in town to watch the match. Side note: Great match, very evenly matched players and lasted around 3 hours. It was cool to be just down the street from the event.

After The Edge, we went to "The Crown". It is the casino in the city, but also has food, bowling, movie theatre, an arcade and shops. We walked around, had a bite to eat, and then headed to the arcade. We couldn't go in the casino because Fiona forgot her license. We found this flight simulator ride that went upside down and sideways so Nikki and I went on it first (Bob and Blake were next). It was a great ride, but I was almost falling out of my seat so we were laughing the whole time. Oh yeah, when we were waiting to get on the ride, there were 3 Australian guys waiting ahead of us. One of them had just won a Puss 'n Boots (from Shrek) stuffed animal in one of the arcade things and he just turned to me and said "This is for you, love..." So, now I have a mascot with me. Luckily, he is small, so I should be able to keep him with me throughout the rest of the trip.

We ended up going bowling after the arcade and hung out and had some drinks. I was fun to finally hang out with a group of Australians - I just liked listening to them talk. I was also listening in to most of the groups around us conversations because I just wanted to hear their accents - I know, I'm nosey! :)

It was about midnight when we finally left "The Crown" and we headed back to the train station only to find we missed the last train out of the city. We ended up having to take a taxi back to Blake's car at the other train station. So by the time Fiona and I got home it was 2am. I was exhausted!!! And what's funny is this is the first time I have stayed up past midnight in Australia. I somehow survived, but I'm sure the soda I had helped in keeping me awake.

So the best part about being here - NOT BEING IN A HOSTEL!!!!! It was great to sleep in a queen sized bed without sharing a room. And I loved showering in a real shower where I didn't have to carry all my stuff to and from the bathroom. I actually get to settle down a little bit and not have to worry about other people using the same space as me. Also, it was quite!!! I didn't have to sleep with my earplugs or blindfold on...

When I was heading back from the Blue Mountains to Sydney, I was writing in my journal about how nice all the hostels here were. I was spoiled during my first week in Sydney and up in the Blue Mountains. We stayed at YHA's which are very clean and a top of the line hostel around Australia. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of finding a cheaper hostel on our return trip to Sydney and it was so gross and dirty and loud (right above a bar). It made the experience in the city that much worse. I am glad though that I had the experience because now I have a little better idea of what most of the hostels are like out there. I decided though that I will only stay in YHA's from now on if I have to stay in a hostel!

Today, Fiona had to work, so I slept in and got up around 9:30am. I of course went for a run around the town. What a great little town - so much better than being in the city. It was nice to not have to fight cars and yet have enough space to get a good long run in. I think I will do some more exploring tomorrow as well. I also went for a walk tonight to check out more of the area. I really have come to enjoy walking everywhere - it is amazing all the things you find out about a place by running or walking around even when you have no idea where you are going!

These next couple of weeks will mostly be me sitting around and relaxing as well as getting prepared for the next leg of my trip. I probably won't blog as much, but will try to get my pictures up as soon as possible.