Melbourne, Australia, Australia

Yesterday was a big day of apartment hunting for Lisa and me. We got off to a rough start though. We went out for breakfast and got to 107 Little Lonsdale Street about 10 minutes early for our 10am viewing. We waited around until just after 10am before calling the agent Mariam only to find out we were at the wrong address. Apparently in Oz they write addresses as apt number AND THEN building number, rather than the way the rest of the world do it. So we were waiting at 107 instead 538, which of course was a twenty minute walk away in the already sweltering heat. We got there anyway, and saw our first apartment of the day.

The rest of the day consisted of us walking from one side of two to the other to view as many apartments as possible. It never seemed like two in a row were even in the same vacinity. So we were ridiculously hot and sweaty all day long, that’s fun. But we did find a flat that we love, so we’ll put in an application today and see what happens. We should find out on Tuesday if we’ve gotten it or not. Fingers crossed!We took some advice from the Melbourne Rough Guide for dinner and went to Camy Shanghai Dumpling and Noodle Restaurant in Chinatown. It is well known for good food, reasonable prices and terrible service. They were right on all accounts. Good dumplings, good beef and noodles, but the service was horrendous. Ah well, I guess you get what you pay for in service as well as food quality.

We finished the night off with a Bubble Tea that Lisa has been raving about for months. Apparently they are a bit different here than they are in Scotland, so we didn’t get what Lisa was expecting. What I had was basically a glass of watered down pineapple juice with huge chunks of tapioca at the bottom of the cup. In order to suck up the tapioca, they give you a straw that resembles a piece of PVC piping. Seriously, it was crazy. I didn’t get a picture of it this time, but I’m sure we’ll go back to try to find the one Lisa was thinking of, so I’ll make sure to get a picture next time.

Today we tried to sleep late since nothing was going to be open on a Sunday morning, but both of us were awake at stupid o’clock, so that was unfortunate. We went out for a breakfast at my favorite place so far and then went to use the free wifi at Fed Square again. Now I am sitting in my favorite bar in Melbourne (Welcome Stranger) watching the Jets and the Colts beat up on each other in the AFC Wild Card game. I’m not rooting for anyone to win, I’d really like to just see half the guys get injured so they can’t play next week in case the Pats face the Jets.