Tommy

This post is dedicated to the nicest Japanese man alive!!! His name is Tommy and he has been living in Australia for the past 20 years....We ended up staying at my friends apt in the city, (which by the way had so much AC I actually had to sleep with a blanket over me) and just after we left to make our trek back out to Bondi beach; Mel decided she really had to pee. She randomly ran into some building, which is where we met Tommy. It was Australia day so pretty much everything was closed. Luckily for us, he had to come in to get something from work and was nice enough to unlock his office and let her use the bathroom. We all exited the building and went our separate ways... Then as we were trying to find our way to the bus stop, he randomly was coming around the corner in his car and asked us where we were headed. Not only did he give us a map of the city, but then drove us all the way out to our hostel and refused to take any money from us!! Just goes to show there are some really great people still out there.

P.S. there is a guy in my room playing the flute as we speak...oh the life of a gypsy

Lap of Luxury

Wow I don't think I've ever stayed in such a shit hole!!! I arrived in Bondi today, where I have booked myself for 4 nights on the beach. However, I'll be shocked if I survive 2!! My room is on the top floor and it's miserably hot because there is no AC. Plus the fan that we have makes noise, but doesn't blow air? It is unbearable to sleep, and getting ready without using a sweat rag to dry your face is nearly impossible. Thank God for my new friend Melody, or I think I would have started crying. She is one of my roommates, and now my new bff for this leg of the trip....Luckily once you get out of the room, life isn't too bad here. The water looks a lot like Florida; except everyone around you has a funny little accent. There is this beautiful coastal walk that connects about a dozen beaches; so we used that to get a little exercise for the day.

Last night I got to meet up with 2 of the Aussie girls that I met; while I was in Belgium last fall. It was so great to see them!! While traveling, you meet some of the most amazing people and it's sad because you usually will never see them again. So it was so fun to get to share a cocktail with them in Australia. Who'd of thought I'd ever make it all this way?:) Then tonight, Mel and I are heading into the city to meet up with yet another Aussie I met in Amsterdam. Should be a fun evening!!

Australian Open

I'm not really a huge tennis fan, but it  is cool to actually see them play live. Especially when your watching it in Australia. Yesterday was the first day of the Open, so we decided to get there a little early to get tickets. I don't know how we got so lucky, but our seats were right up front. We saw lots of random matches on the side courts, and the big ones we got to watch were Sharipova, Venus Williams, Roddick, and Federer. The whole set up of the place was really cool; with lots of different activities to do. Eventually your butt starts to go numb and you need to stretch your legs, so they had this really cool beer garden that had a live band and lounge chairs set up around a jumbo tron; which showed the match going on inside. Of course we decided to finish our day off there.

Tonight was our last evening together (my possy), so we just stayed in and cooked a nice meal in the common area. Unfortunately the time has come to go our separate ways, and to meet our next group of friends in our new adventures. However mine doesn't start until the 24th, as I will be in Melbourne until then. So hopefully I will be able to find some replacements.....

Roddick

I spoke too soon!!!

So the hole that is in our Ozone layer, is apparently right above Australia? The sun is finally shining and now I'm so burned that I will have to hide away for the next couple of days. I put a mixture of spf 15 and 30 all over, but the whole back of my body got scorched. Definitely the worst sunburn I have ever had in all my 27 years!! Guess I learned my lesson

We had our first big night out last night. Before I left the US, I randomly met a guy from Melbourne and he was kind enough to get us completely hooked up and taken care of by the owner at this VIP club downtown. There was lots of drinking and dancing, but the best part was how excited these girls were. They had never been to a place or treated like that before, so they were beside themselves the whole night. I know they will say it was completely worth it, but it's now almost noon and not one of them has made it out of bed.

Well I'm off to watch the Packers.....Go Pack Go!!!!

Rain Rain Go Away...

I made it to Melbourne; the place where I chose to go to escape the rain, and it's raining. Am I ever going to see the sun again??? I thought Australia was suppose to be all hot and sunny, where is my tan?? ..... I haven't really had a chance to go into the city yet, but I've been told it's comparable to Chicago. I'm staying in this hipster beachy area called St. Kilda. The people all seem really nice, but they have the most odd sense of style. I'm totally down with the whole trendy look, but seriously people; a lot of you just look homeless lol. I've met some really great girls so far. My possy now consists of a Sweed, a German, a French, and another fellow American. We've got quite the variety and our conversations have been very interesting. Today we picked up some wine, cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes, crackers, and bread for a dinner on the beach, and then were off to go see the penguins. Apparently there is this place at the end of the pier where they live and at night they come out of the rocks to play. I didn't know Australia had penguins......

Journey Begins...

 G day Mates

I arrived in Australia in the early hours of Jan 7^th; after a travel day of 38 hours. For the most part it was fairly uneventful, except for that time when I peed in the shower while in the Dubai airport? There were 2 ladies bathrooms, and I chose the ones on the left. It appeared to be a normal restroom; complete with a line of 2 other women; although none of which appeared to be locals. However when I got in the stall, I saw that it contained only a hole in the ground; with a hand held shower to your right, and a toilet paper roll and holder to your left. I’ve heard about these restrooms, so I assumed this was “normal”. I grasped onto the handicap looking bars and dangled my ass over the hole; trying my hardest not to pee on my pants or my ankles, and then hurried out of there as quickly as possible. Later I was IM’ing w a friend who had been to that airport, and she so kindly informed me that that was used to “wash up”, and the actual bathroom with toilets was through the door to the right…awesome!!

Most of my Friday was spent resting, and then when my friend got off work we headed up the coast to stay in the unit his family owns on the water. Unfortunately the weather has been really crappy. They are experiencing some of the worst weather they have had in 100 years, so it’s been raining non-stop. Although, luckily my plans are flexible; so I looked to see where the sun was shining and then booked my next adventure. Melbourne here I come! I can say there is nothing more freeing than looking at the forecast; seeing where the sun is shining; and then just deciding that you are going to head that way next. Life is good and I have a feeling it’s only going to get better!!



Unfortunately I found ths outside my bedroom window!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeek!!!