G'day from Melbourne!

So I made it to Melbourne without a single hitch!  I had a bit of time to rest at LAX before my flight - you know, paint my nails, brush my teeth, sort through the Cali photos, charge all my electronics :) - and was then on my way to Auckland.  And I must now declare my new found love for Air New Zealand.  For an economy/coach ticket I have never been more comfortable or gotten more sleep.  The seats reclined (I would guess) more than 30 degrees and I had a leg rest like a lazy boy come out from under my seat and a vertically adjustable headrest that could fit a shorter person like me.  I had no need for my normal travel pillow or the sweatshirt, scarf, and gloves I had ready in case it was too cold.  They brought me my vegetarian meal right to my seat without asking and I got to eat a full 45 minutes before my other seat mates and then I was asleep with my complimentary glass of white wine!   I had my own TV with access to dozens of American tv shows and movies, and so I was able to actually finish a movie we'd started watching in San Diego, but that I'd fallen asleep during, the Ides of March.  One other highlight was the safety video at takeoff featuring Richard Simmons and some of the players from the All Blacks rugby team... So good I enjoyed watching it a second time from AKL to MEL!  And it was such a smooth 13 hour flight that I think I would have to prefer it to many of the 2-5 hour flights I'm accustomed to in the States.  Sleeping was so much easier!  I'm here in Melbourne now, 15 hours ahead of the east coast and 18 hours ahead of the west coast and I think I might be able to miss the jet lag entirely!  Oh, and I have declared that I am one day younger right now too.  I flew out of LAX at dark and flew through the pitch black (but could see soooo many stars over the Pacific still) and landed in Auckland just in time for sunrise missing an entire day and an entire sun.  So I'm now one day younger until I come back to the US!

So first impressions of Melbourne...

It's expensive.  Bus transportation out of Melbourne to my host in the city center was $17 Australian which is pretty near to $17 American - and that was for the bus!  I saw a billboard on the way for McDonald's and instead of a dollar menu it looks like they are advertising a "loose change" menu for $2.  Haven't been to one yet so I don't know what's on it for a comparison though.  Hot chocolate at the cafe I was at earlier was 5.40 and tea was 4.70.

It's sooo livable!  Minus the expensive thing (I'm sure they must have a higher minimum wage) I have been loving just walking around the city!  I got to the city at noon, met my host, and have taken to walking around on foot with a map and highlights my host pointed out.  Sooo much within walking distance!  It's not quite manhattan sized, but it's large and they still manage to fit tree lined medians on many of the roads and make a number of streets pedestrian only.  And sooo many people are out and about in the afternoon.  I've been out since 3pm and you would think it was 5 or 6.  And I love how there are benches and benches everywhere!

Lots of languages are spoken here.  I'm guessing the ones I am not understanding are of an Oriental nature.  And the whole city feels soooo cosmopolitan ... Everyone is walking and in so many different kinds of clothes/outfits and it looks really like anything goes in a good way!  I've been casually looking for a better jacket in about a half dozen stores already (though I have passed more than 50 stores that I could have looked in...again, very livable!) and I've seen such a variety of styles on the racks.  I don't know that much about fashion, but the styles look much more sophisticated than what I had been seeing at the Tampa malls.  Even the Billabong store here carries some styles that I'm sure they must not sell in the US.

The streets smell sooooo good with so many different kinds of cuisines!  I can't even begin to name all of the ones I saw.  I am doing dinner with my host tonight so I can't ruin my appetite right now, but I am soooo tempted!

I am going to get in trouble with the driving on the left side of the road convention.  As a pedestrian I am of course used to walking on the right on sidewalks, but I have to keep moving back to the left side with each approaching pedestrian.  Even once on the left I find I am naturally drifting back to the right side again and again!  It's so weird to see drivers sitting on the right side of their cars too.  It looks like a ghost is driving the car when you look in and see the left side front seat completely empty!  And seeing cars making right turns out of a left lane is weird too.  I am now legitimately scared for the car rental I have reserved next week to do the Great Ocean Road coast road trip.

It is a very healthy city.  Besides everyone walking everywhere, I saw people of all ages running.  Women walking the streets in business clothes and sneakers.  People carrying gym bags on their commutes and again many, many bikers.

I brought the wrong camera with me for my wandering this afternoon so I don't have any photos yet, but I'm sitting now in one of the arcades (pedestrian outdoor malls) in the CBD (central business district) enjoying pomegranate frozen yogurt and people watching during the early 4pm rush hour. (Though this will be posted later when I have free internet at my host, Jarrod's.  Internet rates are expensive in australia i had heard (and have now seen) and there's no free wifi at Starbucks here :)

But ah, I really love this city so much already.  Going to start figuring out how to adjust the next month to spend more time here.  I'm going to a bar/venue tonight for soul dancing night with my host and friends and then I head to Philip Island tomorrow with my host again and a bunch of his friends for the Tough Mudder race.  I will be playing tourist and not running (why would I want to carry a tire and run through fire and mud?) but I will get to participate in all of the after party festivities!  Looking forward to it!