I had hoped and prayed that we would leave Minnesota before the snow flew, but, unfortunately, it snowed the night before we left. Not just a few little flurries, but full on heavy, wet, huge snowflakes. I’ve been so excited for this move, that I forgot to think about leaving my family and my dogs, which was harder than I could have imagined. My dogs have known that something is up for days – Astrid’s been wearing her sad, anxious eyes. After Ben carried our luggage to the rental car, we said good-bye to our babies and put them in their kennels. When Astrid started crying, I lost it. I think it took me until LAX to fully regain my composure. Apparently she destroyed her kennel on day 1; she ripped a hole in the screen on her door and let herself out. I’m certain, she won’t leave my sister’s side until I return. And Gizmo, well, we’ll see how that goes. He had just started to respect, love and listen to us. Now we’ve shattered his world.
What a long freakin’ flight! If I were booking myself, I would certainly do so with fewer layovers.
We arrived in Melbourne on Friday around noon, with minimal incidents. Customs was a breeze, but the all of the luggage fell off of the cart on our way up the people mover. The driver harassed me a bit about the amount of luggage I had, until I told him that we would be here for a year. He was fantastic and we will certainly use him again! On our drive into the city, he pointed out places of interest and gave us tips on living in Melbourne.
We are staying at the Mantra in the Central Business District (CBD), which we would call downtown. Honestly, it’s really more of a hotel than an apartment. I have a 2 burner cook top, no oven, a mini-fridge, 1 pan and 2 of each dish. I cannot even unpack my suitcases, because there is no closet space and no drawer chest.
Hoping to beat jet lag, we quickly cleaned up and headed out into the city in search of food. I can’t remember what it was called or where it was located, but we found this fantastic, vegetarian friendly Japanese place. After lunch we wandered about the CBD a bit, but neither of us really remember what we did….We were so TIRED! Around 5:30, we headed back to our hotel to have a break and get ready for dinner. I woke up on the couch at 11 pm and went to bed. We got a solid 14 hours of sleep on our first night. So much for adjusting ourselves to local time on day 1!
Saturday we were a bit more worthwhile. We spent the entire day wandering around the CBD, finding our local conveience store, office supplies store, liquor store, beauty supply and electronics store. Unfortunately, I tried to use my straightener that morning with the converter we brought with us, before we realized the straightener was low voltage and ruined it. We made an emergency run for Petra, which is much like Ulta, for a replacement. We also discovered the massive gardens just east of where we are staying. I always knew they existed in the wild, but was thrilled to come across Rainbow Lorikeets in the wild! Together the Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens kind of remind me of Central Park, but Melbourne itself is a nice blend of Minneapolis and New Orleans. The churches are unbelievably beautiful!
Saturday evening dinner was apparently unmemorable because it took me quite a while to remember that we went to a place on the park called Lime. We were one of 3 tables in the entire restaurant, but actually really enjoyed our meal. It seems, at first impression, that Melbourne’s nightlife is quite early. We stopped into a new bar called AER at about 7:30 and found 2 bachelorette parties in full swing. The signs at tram stops boast that they now run late – 12:00 AM. LATE?!? I’m barely out by 12:00 AM at home…Except not this Saturday, I was back at the hotel and in bed by 9:00 pm.
Sunday we decided to begin checking items off of our to do list and begin exploring neighborhoods we may be interested in living in. We got our mykis (transit passes) and headed out to Port Melbourne. My number one agenda item was to see the beach! It was cold, it was grey, it was nearly raining and it took 2 entire days to see what I love, but finally I made it. Port Melbourne reminds me of North East – younger, many restaurants, bars and shops. Perhaps not our neighborhood, since we are a strange mix of yuppy and hipster, but certainly a candidate if based solely on is proximity to the beach. We found Coles, which is a supermarket, and loved it. I’ll be very glad for my employee discount after I start my job.
The best part of Sunday, FINALLY seeing J-Ro! I was so excited that I think I screeched a bit and nearly cried.
