04.30.10

Well, as I have mentioned before, there are ten 1st cousins (of John's) out here. Today we got to spend some time with Nadia, one of the 10. She took us to Williamstown which is on the south side of the river in Melbourne. We ate lunch, walked the pier and then headed back downtown. John and I had a great time walking downtown a few days earlier but it was especially nice having a tour. Not knowing where your going limits your ability to really see all the nooks and crannies. We took the city circle tram around the cities perimeters, walked over to the south bank where the Crown Casino was, walked around the very quaint and thematic china town and even got to see the up close architecture of the weird triangle building across from Flinders Train Station. After, we grabbed a few drinks on Fitzroy before heading home and hitting the sack! It was a wonderful day and Nadia was the perfect person to show us the best parts of town, seeing as how she enjoys the city so much herself. We got some beautiful pictures of downtown at night and being that it was a Friday...we also got to see the bars, pubs and restaurants in full swing!
The city and it's suburbs do have quite a bit of architectural art. I think this always contributes to the cities appeal and of course is always a conversational piece. I guess I enjoy looking at it and then putting in my judgmental statement, but regardless if I like it or not, it's become the one thing that really has made Melbourne stand out.
Having driven around so much and reading all the signs and advertisements, I am really starting to pick up on the whole Aussie accent. Rule number one is that Aussies shorten EVERYTHING, which is what makes their sentences hard to understand some time. Brekky = breakfast, mackers (pronounced mack-ahs) = McDonalds, pokies = poker, salvos = salvation (army) the list goes on! It's not slang either, in the McDonald's commercial they really say "...only at mackers!"
Another thing that needs to be clarified is the word LUE. People in the states think that the 'lue' is the aussie way of saying 'bathroom'...au contraire! Here, the bathroom is where the sink, bath and shower are. All separate. The lue is the room where the toilet is. Nothing else...just the toilet.
Also, the word Sheila is in reference to a woman and is considered an insult. I assume it's similar to how we would use 'hussie' or even 'white trash'...teehee!
A 'bogan' is a full blooded Aussie, born and raised. A 'wog' is what they refer to as an Aussie that is really Italian. According to Justine, these two types of Aussies are pretty divided and don't get along in some cases. I guess there are even some night clubs that are 'bogans only'! I guess you will see division like that anywhere but that isn't stopping me! I wanna get into some clubs and really see what the nightlife is really like!

04.29.10

Len dropped us off in downtown Melbourne to visit the Victoria Market. It's just like our West Side Market except 6 times the size and more product. They not only sell produce and meats, but a variety of clothes and souvenirs. We walked all around Elizabeth street and visited a few shops but didn’'t buy anything. We took the train back into town just in time for dinner.
So far what I have seen is that most of the larger grocery stores are actually attached/inside the malls! It's funny because you see people with their grocery carts walking around the mall. Another neat feature is that they have what looks like a food court but is really a large variety of different meat counters. They all have super chic and fancy branding and at first glance you would think it was a clothing boutique, but really, it's just a fancy meat counter! One sells a variety of meats, the other does strictly chicken; all the meats are nicely displayed as if it were some delicate pastry. They would most certainly have my business if I lived here!
There are no department stores...only their version of wal-mart and target, all attached to the mall like it was a Macy's or Dillard's. My mom would die if she had to walk into a mall to go grocery shopping, but at the same time, it's quite convenient!
Their food court doesn't even look like a food court either. Most of the places are cafés or bakeries and each have a glass display of already made sandwiches and different kinds of meat-filled pastries. They quickly put it under a panini press and there you go...a healthy alternative to greasy chain food.
It's like this everywhere you go for food. Surprisingly, they even have a separate café counter in McDonalds just for coffee and pastry. I like this though...you can't help but resist all the scrumptious looking sandwiches and it definitely would explain for the very slender figures here in Melb (how Aussies' refer to Melbourne).
Later that evening we went over to one of Jen's sisters (one of the ten cousins) for dinner, Elisa and Frank. Frank's a builder and had a lovely home. Elisa cooked us up a fabulous dinner that just seemed to keep going and going! Home made salami and wine and a variety of home grown fruits.
We got a chance to meet two of their 3 kids, Jessica and Daivin. Both have traveled quite a bit and we had a great time laughing between our travel stories. Daivin is quite the character and had a few of us in tears. After a few glasses of wine, a couple cups of coffee and heap-fulls of food...we managed to get home. I fell asleep quickly and dreamt of eating that food all over again.

04.27.10

One thing I DO love about Australia is their affection for coffee. There are more cafés and bakeries out here then one can even count. Surprisingly though, I have yet to see one Starbucks. Len says there may be one or two in downtown Melbourne, but even they have yet to see one. I guess that would just come off as an insult to all these Italians out here. I mean, it's not like I have seen one in Little Italy in Ohio either.
In Ohio (and Cali), everyone gets coffee because they are in a rush and don't have time for anything else, or because they are in a rush and need a quick pick me up to continue being in a rush. Out here, coffee is meant to be tasted and enjoyed. It is customary to have coffee like a dessert, if not replacing a dessert completely. If there is nothing left to do...then lets go have some coffee! Or, if it was a long full day...well let's go have some coffee! Or, we are going to go out for the evening and...have some coffee! Jessi is a big purveyor of coffee but she is split between the rush and the enjoyment of it. She would appreciate it out here, more then I think she would even realize. (Oh, that's another thing! Out here they spell things like 'realize' as 'realise,' 'tire' as 'tyre' and 'fiber' as 'fibre.' Even right now my spell check is telling me their version is wrong. Strange!?)
Today was pretty kicked back. Everyone had to get back to work and school and John and I were able to take care of all our left over business. We managed to get our bank account straight and at least figure out our solution for the phones. We did walk to the local plaza, got a pizza and coffee and just headed back home. We wanted to keep walking around but it started to rain. We both spent some time on the computer trying to hammer our the fine details of getting a car lined up and of course, posting pictures!
We tried 'Tim Tams' for the first time tonight too, which I guess is to Australia what Oreos are to America (they are this chocolate cookie bar with a chocolate crème center! Soo YUMMY) and we watched the movie 'The Rabbit Proof Fence' (Australian based about the aboriginal tribes back in the 60s and of course a white mans stupid idea that the race needed to be fixed). Excellent movie! I think we are also starting to get use to the time change. It's the latest either of us have stayed up...lets just hope we don't wake up at the crack of dawn this time!

04.26.10

Well today Len and Jen introduced us to Vegemite. It's this weird salty, yeasty spread. It's dark like chocolate and looked like Nutella, but it's just like how baking soda looks a lot like powdered sugar....hahaha DON'T mistake Vegemite for Nutella. Len says it's a household staple, like milk, and that no Aussie grows up without it. It's definitely a required taste. I honestly can't say it was that bad, but forget me ever eating that for breakfast or a snack!
We also took a trip into the country today. Took only 15 minutes from Epping, where Len, Jen and Justine live, but we went about an hour into the rolling hills to a town called Healesville. I really wasn't expecting Australia to be so bumpy, and again, reminded me of how the mountains are in the country side of Cali. These mountains are much more round though and more spread out. It was one winery after the other and was quite breath taking. I told John that if I were Aussie, this is where I would live.
The center of town was lined with cute and quaint little shops and tons of plush gum trees (eucalyptus). We had heard all the exotic birds right outside our bedroom window, but here we actually saw them...cockatoos and magpies and these bright, red breasted parrots as well. It was really neat seeing such large and colorful birds fly around. They are all SO loud though. It amazes me that people actually choose to have these creatures in their homes!
Anyways, the leaves are only slightly changing color and you can smell just a hint of Autumn in the air (just like in Cali.). It's odd going through fall again so soon, but I like it. I also noticed that there was a hazy rainbow ring around the sun. I have never seen anything like it before, but I didn't question it for too long. It seems as though the sky is always full of rainbows here.
We ate at a little pub, had some cider and walked around a bit. Then we drove to a little hotel that was on top of one of the hills. It had a little restaurant and we stopped for coffee and dessert. It had the most amazing panoramic views ever!
Len started to tell us about the devastating bush fires that happened a year ago. It happen just a few hills over in a small town called Marysville. Took 90 some lives...so sad to think about. We were able to see the brown twiggy skeleton of trees that lined the hill in the distance. Unfortunately, Australia has been in a drought for some years, which is why they can't water their lawns. Water is rationed and John said that they are down to some 30%. My heart and prayers go out.
Well, as we headed back, we did manage to see some kangaroos in the distance. It was evening so they were in the fields in small family packs. I was SOOO excited but I don't really count it because they were still so far away.
Our last stop for the day was at John's great aunt's home, Zia Antonia. John's family is originally from Italy. His grandfather (on his mom's side) and his sister came from Italy to Australia, except John's grandfather came to Ohio. She had 10 kids, all of whom we have slowly been meeting...and their 30 some kids (John's second cousins) that they share between them all. Amazingly, Zia Antonia recently celebrated her 90th birthday! She was so happy to see John. She kept smacking him in the shoulder and leg and kept telling him how much he looked like his grandfather (all in Italian of course). It was such an awesome thing to see and I felt so privileged. We ate again in large Italian servings, snacked on roasted chestnuts and talked about generations of the Italian family for the rest of the evening. We started in Australia, but by the end of the day, we were most certainly in Italy!

04.25.10

The good news is that we celebrated our first Australian holiday today. Anzac day. Just like our memorial day really. Because it's on a Sunday though, everyone will get the day off on Monday. They call it a public holiday. The bad news is that because everything is closed today and tomorrow, we will have to wait until Tuesday to get our phone and banking situation figured out.
Speaking of phones...Verizon told us they operated in Australia and to just wait until we got there to figure out our plan. They also said that using the internet via our smart phones would be the best way to keep in touch with everyone. IDIOTS! They do not service Australia. Our phones won't as so much pick up a dust mite worth of a network. We have no idea what we are going to do yet. It's just really annoying.
Well, today Jen and Len took us into downtown Melbourne...well not actually downtown but into town. We visited St.Kilda beach, which was a lot like Venice beach. Vendors lined the road and there was a longggggggg bike path along the shore. The water and sand were dark and rough (beautiful though) just like in LA. We walked down the pier and had some coffee at a little café kiosk. John and I noticed some big kites in the sky along the way, and I figured it was kite boarding but didn't notice anyone in the water. We decided to just walk down and see for ourselves! Sure enough there were at least 15 kite boarders. We had always wanted to do this but you have to be in an area with lots of wind and space. I don't think there is but maybe one or two locations in the entire USA where you can kite board. So needless to say, we were beyond excited to take our first lesson!
They give you a much smaller version of the actual kite and simply show you how to get the kite in the air and how to control it. I was amazed at how powerful it was. I was leaning back quite a bit with the kite holding me up and at times, it would even yank me across the sand. It was so much fun just doing that; I can only imagine what it would be like with the giant size kite! You just practice in the sand at first and both John and I did really well! We are hoping to go back to finish the rest of the classes and to get our butts on the water! It was beyond amazing though!
The entire time at St.Kilda, the clouds were moving at a quick pace. One second it's sunny, the next it's cloudy, the next it's rainy and then sunny and warm again! I have never seen so many bright and full rainbows in my life. There had to be 5 or 6 rainbows that day! I was so amazed by it. There is something so surreal about seeing a full colored rainbow in the sky. I guess it would be like if you saw a real unicorn or something. You read of them so often in fairy tales and they are always apart of this mystical, fantasy world...so every time I see a rainbow, I guess I just feel like I am apart of that magical world. It's just special for me and it's all crazy and beautiful at the same time. God truly is amazing!

04.24.10

First impression? It is JUST like LA, just much more clean. The landscape is also much more green but has a brown undertone, with lots of exotic looking trees and palms. The houses all have Spanish tile roofing and are right next to each other with large fences around the carefully portioned lots. Real estate is high out here, so no corner goes un-claimed. Everyone's front yard is manicured nicely and given that no one is allowed to water their lawn, everything still seems pretty green!
Every time I look out the front window of the car, I get so overwhelmed by the traffic. Driving on the opposite side of the road is scary, just like driving on the right side in LA! The stores are all lined up on the road in a long row, only ending to allow for a street to pass through. Each store has a large overhang protruding from the façade; each one sticking out further then the last, with its name plastered all over, as if they are in constant competition to be seen first. Again, a feature I have seen famously in LA. So far, the biggest difference is that instead of a huge population of Mexicans, there is a large number of Asians! It makes sense seeing as how Australia is so close to Asia and its' sister countries.
I guess I am still in shock that I am actually in Australia. The accent is AMAZING, but sounds more British now that I am surrounded by it. Len and Jenny are so welcoming and don't hesitate to start showing us around and getting us acclimated (John's mom's cousin is Jenny, married to Len and their daughter Justine who is John's second cousin...whew!). We both accidentally nap but wake up to meet Silvia and her two adorable kids. Then Len, Jenny and Justine take us down 'High St.' to their favorite Thai restaurant for dinner. Maddy, (one of John's cousins) and her dad Olivio (Jen's brother and one of the 10 (1st) cousins) meet us there. It was such great food, but once our bellies were full, we were just beyond the point of exhaustion. I don't even remember hitting the pillow. Needless to say, it was an awesome first day!

04.23.10

The trip from Ohio to LA was kind of long. Normally they play a movie (for free) but they changed it up so that now each seat had its own TV and you had to pay six bucks to watch TV/Movies. We decided to forego this option and just slept instead. They did give us dinner which wasn't bad. The total ride was 4 hours and 30 minutes long.
Our layover in LA was 2 hours. We actually had to walk out of the airport and catch a bus to the next terminal, which meant going through security again. Luckily, this time, we had no problems. The plane was huge! Three seats, isle, three seats, isle and then three more seats. There were 60 rows of seats which means that there were 540 seats! I swear the plane just kept on going!
We sat all the way in the last, back section and in the center 3 seats. Luckily, the plane wasn't filled and we managed to get all three seats to ourselves. It didn't help much that the armrest only went up 50% of the way, but I managed to get underneath it and stretch out a bit.
I have never been on a plane this size before so I was excited for the new experience. I really didn't know how I would react to being on a plane for 15 hours though (which was our total flight time). There was much more space in-between each row so you had better leg room and the seats went back further. Each seat also had its own TV and remote! There was a huge catalog of movies, TV and even games. Needless to say, I was quite excited by this. They fed us right away with another dinner and the beverage cart included all kids of alcohol and all complimentary! I had some wine and watched 'Men Who Stare at Goats.' We both fell asleep and woke up with only three and a half hours left to go. They gave us breakfast and then I watched 'Fantastic Mr. Fox.' Before you knew it, the plane ride was over.
Now we are in Auckland, New Zealand and again, our layover is 2 hours. Not too bad. The plane was just as big as the last, but much more full. At this time we both feel really gross and stinky and are getting irritable. We shared this plane with a popular rugby team but I forgot who they were. They gave us breakfast and I watched 'Precious' and 'The Blind Side.' This was our final layover and it was a three and a half hour ride to Melbourne. We land smoothly, grab our luggage without a hitch and pass customs with a breeze! I take a look at my phone and realize the drastic time change. (We departed on Thursday the 22nd and landed at 10am on Saturday the 24th) and that's when it hit me...we are finally in Australia!

04.22.10

The last day in Ohio was wonderful. I got up super early to do one last final apartment run with Jessi. With great success, she found a hidden gem in the most ideal location of Lakewood. I got back to John's moms in time to help finish packing and completing some last minute tasks and then we headed off to my moms for a quick lunch and our final goodbye. Rachel surprised us by getting off work early and was able to come by as well, which was AWESOME! Jessi, my sisters and John's mom all made it. I even got to see the dogs and played with Noah for a bit. I got teary for a second, but only because everyone else was teary!
After our final goodbye at the airport curb, John and I head up to the ticket counter and began checking in. They asked us for our visas and passports... everything goes through fine. Our bags are all under 50 lbs and the line for the security gate is practically non-existent. We shovel each bag through the x-ray machine until we come to a screeching halt...at my carry on. "Ma'am, we have to check your bag." I was slightly annoyed, but figured they may have a problem with one of my airplane safe liquids. They open my suitcase right up, dig into the center and pull out a belt...with a brass knuckle buckle. I am such an idiot!
I say sorry a million times and figured they would just throw it out. To be honest, I completely forgot I even brought it. I packed all my belts and accessories so I would have lots of variety for my modeling shoots and just grabbed all my belts out of my drawer and threw them into my luggage. I didn't think to go through the tangled bundle, but then again, I wouldn't have thought twice about a brass knuckle belt either.
All of a sudden, there are about 5 or 6 TSA employees huddled around, throwing this belt between themselves like it's a hot potato. I start to get a little more worried and ask the lady what's going to happen and if I am in trouble. She can't even look me in the eye and says "I don't know, that's a pretty serious weapon, it's up to the police." Now I'm sick to my stomach and am almost positive they are going to make a HUGE hoopla out of this, send me to jail and I won't ever see a plane again! After about 15 minutes, the police come back over and tell me that after some deliberation, they decided that I had no intention of using it as a weapon and that I am fine to go ahead...BUT it is still a weapon and have to write up a report and send it to homeland security, whom will be sending me a letter in the mail. They will either fine me, or just give me a slap on the wrist, we'll see, but go figure!!!..again, I'm such an idiot!

04.20.10

We are down to our last two days before our departure. It has been a hustle trying to get everything done while still finding time to be with our friends and family. Our apartment is empty and the last task here is to gather up the rest of our cloths and bathroom items and clean up.
Jessi is going to stay here until the end of the month or until she finds a new apartment...yes, she is STILL on the hunt for a place to live. She puts the 'pro' in procrastination but it somehow works for her.
Packing has been a challenge all on its own. I am having a hard time fitting my life into a suitcase...and keeping it under 50 lbs. I WANT to pack lightly and with as little suitcases as possible but it's really hard to do. I even watched the 'packlight' demonstration on youtube. Great advice but it doesn't apply so much for people who are going to travel the world. Just imagine that...having to pack one suitcase to travel the world with. Cold weather, warm weather....SHOOOEESS!!! How do I know what I'm going to need in Indonesia or Russia? My theory so far is that if I take a little more then what I anticipate, then I can always get rid of stuff if I don't need it. It's much easier (and cheaper) to do it that way then having to buy a bunch of stuff later that I do end up needing.
Well we are getting down to the wire and so far, everything has been running smoothly.....now if only I could tackle this suitcase dilemma!

04.10.10

We are counting down...12 days left to go! I have all the dresses put together and 4 of which are completely fitted and finish. My friend Rachel and Dawn have been coming by to help me wrap up tedious tasks and have really helped speed up the process.

Jessi finally caved and will be watching the puppies... THANK GOODNESS! I really wouldn't want them with anyone else and they will be most happy with her. However, she still has no idea where she will be moving....which means that the dogs and my best friend are homeless in three weeks.

Tomorrow we are having our family going away party. I am excited because our families will really get to spend some time together and I love nothing more then being able to spend time with them! I just hope it doesn't get sappy... I'm not ready to cry!

04.05.10

Sad news.... unfortunately, our departure date has been pushed back again! I'm so frustrated and anxious. I can't stand that I have to wait even longer but I can't ignore the signs. Everything happens for a reason so I just need to go with the flow.

The reason why it's getting pushed back is because our work visas are taking longer then expected. It's our fault because we waited so long to get them but on the website it says that it only takes 72 hours! They just go through a lot of extra precautions because of the crazy stuff that is going on in the world today. Well, it looks like this could push us back as far as 2 or 4 weeks. We are aiming for mid-April, but may have to stay through the entire month. There is no way I will be in Ohio come May though... not even going to happen.

Its alright...It means I have extra time to work on the bridesmaids dresses, I could do the fashion show after all and I wont have to break my lease early. I just have to keep on keeping on. One of the few obstacles I am sure we will continually have to climb over. No sweat!

04.02.10

Departure is less then 3 weeks away! We are throwing a big going away party at Knock Outs in Parma.... here is the flyer I made for it!

The fundraiser is from 8-10:30. For $25 bucks you get unlimited buffet food, draft and well drinks and a raffle ticket. At 9:30 TRIPOD city performs and we will have a DJ after. The party goes on all night long and the fundraiser tickets are optional. We just want our friends to come wish us off before we leave that Thursday. Hope you can make it!