More from Melb!

Hello again!

Today is my third day in Melbourne and I am having a blast! I spent the first day wandering and exploring by myself. That night I moved to another couchsurfing house and it has been amazing fun. There are three girls, all students at the prestigious University of Melbourne, and they live in a huge and fancy townhouse near the city center. Three stories with a rooftop terrace/balcony! They gave me my own key so I can come and go as I please as well. They are very loud and fun and remind me a lot of my time in college.

Yesterday was lovely and warm. In the morning my friend Nita (who stayed with us in Seattle with her sister Rena) met me at the house and we took a tram to the city and hung out all day. We went to Luna Park for picture (a popular theme park/carnival), followed by St. Kilda beach, where she treated me to a piece of delicious chocolate hazelnut cake. Then we went to the National Gallery of Victora. a free international art gallery with many famous paintings I recognized from my Art History studies. There was even a famous self portrait of Rembrandt that I studied intensively my first year at UW. I asked a guard if I could take a photo with it, and I was able to snap a few pictures. Then we hung around the city some more, stopped at the University of Melbourne where I got a photo standing outside the Chemistry Building (because I'm cool like that), then we watched the season 2 premiere of Gossip Girl (gotta catch up still!), then had dinner on Lygon Street which is known as "Little Italy." All the restaurant owners stand outside and try to entice you to eat there and often offer free stuff. One place offered us free wine but Nita and Rena thought that wasn't good enough, so they gave us each free dessert as well!

Then we went back to the house and the French boys had arrived. They were cooking dinner and so I had two dinners last night. They are hilarious and great fun and it's hard to believe if they are telling the truth half the time! They kept messing with us. We stayed up until 1AM talking and playing games and dancing around the kitchen.

Today I am seeing whatever I missed in the city that I wanted to see. Tonight we are all going to a Mexican Independence day party with one of the girls' friends.

Then tomorrow I'm off to Walpeup and the sheep farm!

Everyone is amazingly kind and laid back and it reminds me a lot of Seattle here. Today is chilly and very blustery. I am wearing a scarf!

Anyway, hope you all are well.

Miss you and lots of love,

Steph