This week has been incredible! Nothing big except for adventure and nothing too exciting except lifeJ. Monday was a chill day – I got caught up on some homework and correspondence after being gone in Sydney all weekend. On Tuesday I was ready to go and had a great day. It started with sleeping in a bit, which felt amazing and then a nice walk to my favorite café, Santucci’s (an Italian, family-owned, best coffee ever kind of place) for a late breakfast. I brought my computer and worked on my blog and emails while I sipped my coffee from the front window bar. After I finished breakfast, it was time to go to campus for class. I spent the rest of the afternoon at home and then headed to the city in the early evening. When I was reading the airplane magazine on the way to Sydney, I saw an article about a bar in Fitzroy (an area just outside of Melbourne) that has a weekly open mic night on Tuesday. I decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to make my debut – in a foreign country where I didn’t know anyone and no one would know if I messed up – no pressureJ. It was perfect. I made it to the bar a little before eight and put my name down… I wasn’t singing until eleven, which was a long time to wait, but ended up being awesome because I got to see everyone else perform too. During the night I met a couple guys from a legitimate band in Sydney who had come down to do a few performance throughout the week in Melbourne and decided to check out the open mic night. They were really awesome. Their music was great, but they were also just super nice. They all stayed until the end to cheer me on. It was really sweet. I didn’t have a great performance, but I was proud of myself just for going and getting up on the stage by myself – it was really good. I rushed out after I finished in order to catch the last tram of the night home (I can’t wait to have a car againJ). On Wednesday, I woke up and decided that I didn’t want to go to class and instead I went to the city. I took full advantage of the fact that this semester I only have to pass my classes – it’s been a truly beautiful thing for me. I took the tram into the city and then just walked around. I had made a plan to go to Queen Victoria Market (similar to Pike Place Market in Seattle), but when I got there I learned that they’re closed Monday and Wednesday. That was unfortunate. Instead I kept walking up the road toward Melbourne University and finally stumbled upon another place I’d read about in the airplane magazine. It was called Seven Seeds and it was rumored to have the best coffee in downtown Melbourne – I really enjoyed my cupJ. After that, I just walked around downtown Melbourne for a long time just to see what I saw. I had no plan, but I was trying to see things I hadn’t seen before and experience things that I might not necessarily get to see for a while since I’m going home soon. After awhile, I decided to go to the National Gallery of Victoria – a HUGE art museum. I’d wanted to go for a long time, but never was quite in the mood to enjoy all the paintings and artwork. It felt right, though, on Wednesday afternoon and I ended up enjoying it SO much! It’s an incredible gallery and the artwork is so impressive. I had fun making up stories for the paintings and imagining the artist’s thoughts as he/she created the masterpiece. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. After I finished walking through there, I headed home to help get our weekly house dinner started. Michael was going to show me how to make tiramisu, but through a series of laughable miscommunications, we didn’t end up with the two main ingredients we needed, so that dessert is put on hold until next weekJ. Dinner was still extra delicious, though, and the rest of the night was quiet and perfect. On Thursday, I got up, did some work, ran, and then in the early evening, headed to the city with Camille and Michael to see the Hangover II. It was SO funny. I liked it just as much as the first. It was funny seeing it in a different country, though, because some of the humor didn’t translate. There is one part where they make a joke about P.F. Chang’s… no one laughed and I realized that it was probably because they don’t have that restaurant here and people didn’t understand what they were talking about! After the movie, we all went to the Pancake Parlor for dinner. It was delicious! Pancakes here are super special – they almost always have ice cream as a topping and chocolate is involved in at least half the options… it’s my kind of meal! It’s a cross between breakfast and dessert… my two favorite meals! J. On Friday, I worked on homework in the morning and then headed to the city for a second attempt at Queen Victoria Market. I stopped at Melbourne Central (a mall) for an Italian thick dark hot chocolate at Max Brenner’s. Max’s is a chocolate restaurant and pretty much the best place on earth! It’s SO delicious. And Italian thick hot chocolate is a truly heavenly drink. It’s like drinking hot chocolate cake batter… SO goodJ. I made it to the markets and was able to get all the rest of the souvenirs I wanted and even splurged on a banana – it was pretty specialJ. I went back home and got ready for a church dinner. It was a fun night for all the young adults at church hosted by our pastor and his wife. He talked to us about core values and beliefs, which was cool and then I just got to visit with my church friends – it was a really fun night! When I got home, I decided I wasn’t quite ready for bed, so I looked up a recipe for biscuits and realized I had everything I needed to make them. And then when I went to the living room to get started, I turned on the TV and found that Law and Order was just starting – it was perfect! It was the perfect way to end a great day. Saturday morning I woke up and decided that I wanted to go on a nice walk again. I ended up at Santucci’s and ate breakfast before heading to campus to do a little homework. I spent the afternoon working and doing other chores and then got showered and dressed up to go out. Camille, Michael and I all went to St. Kilda to check out the Esplanade Hotel – apparently it is one of the most famous music venues in Australia. The band I met on Tuesday was in town to play there on Wednesday night. Anyway, I was intrigued and so we went to check it out. It ended up being pretty sketch and definitely a “heavy-metal” night. Every band playing fit into that genre so we headed off down the esplanade in St. Kilda to find another place for a drink. We ended up at a really cool restaurant with great music and just laughed and enjoyed the rest of the night. It was really fun just hanging out with Camille and Michael – they’re super cool. Sunday has also been a GREAT day! I woke up and got to skype for over an hour with my parents, which was so fun! I can’t wait for my family to be here!! After getting all caught up, I headed to church, which was also great. I hadn’t been in a few weeks because I’d been traveling, so it was nice to really get caught up with all my church friends. After that I went to campus and sipped a coffee while I did a bit of homework. The rest of the night has been really chill. I’m heading to the living room soon to watch a random VHS of Friends episodes Camille and I found in our VCR a few weeks ago. All in all, it has been an AWESOME week and I’m SO excited for another great week to come. Life is goodJ.
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