Welcome Saleh!

Wow! There are so many things to do in Melbourne. Near our hotel, there are restaurants, stores, and cute cafes up and down Chapel Street. On Friday night we went cosmic bowling and had a blast. None of us broke 100, but the atmosphere was great and we enjoyed ourselves. After we finished bowling, we went down the street to a 50's diner to have milkshakes and fries. It brought back memories of the states. But that wasn't the highlight of the weekend. We were ready to see Melbourne in the daylight; that is if it stopped raining.


Luckily, the next day the clouds held back the rain, at least at times, and so we used the opportunity to explore things outside. We went up the Eureka tower, which is 88 stories high. It was neat to see all the buildings and surroundings to get oriented to the area. After lunch we explored the Royal Botanical Gardens. Although there were not too many flowers in bloom during the winter, there were plenty of statues and animals to look at. The walking tour took about 3 hours but we saw things like the Shrine of Remembrance, geese, eels, and ferns. Across the Yarra River from the gardens we saw the circus equipped with a carnival and Farris Wheel.

After a long day of walking, we rested at the hotel and went back to Chapel Street to get Pancakes for dinner. (Ah the joy of being on vacation!) It was a little different than pancakes at home. They put a big scoop of ice cream on top. They were YUMMY! Then we went over to get some groceries and cake mix. The prime students the year before told us that we microwaved cakes and so we had to try this as well.

The next day we went to the Queen Victoria Market to see all the fresh produce and souvenirs. The covered area was filled with jackets, wigs, clothes, uggs, belts, stuffed animals, fruit, vegetables, and candy. We could find anything that we wanted there. I think that we will probably be back there often!

During the week we realized that 4th of July was coming up fast and we had to figure out how to show our American pride here in Australia. We all wore red, white, and blue. On the way to dinner we sang the National Anthem and ate pizza. This 4th of July lacked the usual fireworks and barbecue, but it was fun to celebrate it in a different way.

Then on Wednesday night we got word that Saleh had figured out all of his VISA information and was on his way over the Pacific Ocean to join us! It was so exciting to know that we would all be together. Stephany and I picked him up at the airport after his long flight and we showed him the ins and outs of the hotel. He quickly got up to speed with us and we took him to Stalactites for dinner!

On Friday night after a long day at work, we again explored Chapel Street and went dancing. It was fun to hang out and see all the different people on the streets. It seems here that there is a lot of cultural diversity; even more than in the US. We went to a couple different places and talked to different Australian people when we were walking up and down the street.

After a run around the park on Saturday morning, we went out in the rain to the Docklands. It was lined with expensive waterfront restaurants ranging from Italian to Thai. I could tell that it would have a great view if the sun was out. When we all got too cold, we grabbed more umbrellas and headed out for St. Kilda. We were all excited to see the beach and stick our toes in the sand. It may be winter here but that was not going to stop us from enjoying some summer activities. However, the weather got the best of us. After our long walk in the rain, we didn't even see the beach. We found shelter in a warm restaurant and ate a great meal while watching the footie game on tv.

On Sunday we went to the Footie game at the Telsra Dome. We watched the Richmond Tigers take on the North Melbourne Kangaroos. It was a great game because the stadium was filled with fans from both teams. We thought that it was out doors, but luckily it wasn't because we would have froze to death! Instead we bundled up in our scarves and ate warm meat pies. Not knowing most of the rules we were a little confused at first, but a friendly Australian family in front of us explain everything to us. You could tell when a goal was scored because the crowd roared!
Once we returned to the WARM hotel, we played Crazy 8's with people staying at the hotel. There are students from India, China, Germany, and Columbia. Each game made us laugh and it was nice to hear their stories. Now we are ready for another week of work and playing on the weekends!