A Few Notes I've Taken

Things I've Learned and Seen in Melbourne

REMEMBER NOT TO EAT AT CASINO BUFFETS
So last night we decided to enjoy one of the three Casino buffet's at the Crown just across the street. We had not really had anything substantial during the day and decided we should have a big dinner. We should have known the food would be interesting when it was named the Sante' Buffet but we went anyways. After a 45 minute wait in line we were faced with some of the most ... uh... interesting foods we've ever seen! I don't think there was but fifteen items that I had tasted before and that I could pronounce the name! We tried item after item... quickly taking a bite and putting the rest on the "trash" plate (like the wasteful Americans we are !) Apparently Meagan and I are not as adventurous as we like to think we are when food is concerned because the warmed gummy Thai dessert squares (picture a small lego) were not something to be desired as you can see by the pictures!


THE WALK ALONG THE YARRA NEXT TO OUR APARTMENT
As I was enjoying a "flat white" aka a latte with no foam in the outside dining area along the Yarra River with Meagan, one of eight towers suddenly exploded with fire! We were caught off guard and looked like deer in headlights while everyone else acted normally. This is what it looked like:












JUST AROUND THE CORNER
Federation Square and Flinder's Street Station are just around the corner from our place. Both very busy areas of town and act as tourist attractions. Federation Square is known for its architecture and cafe/night life. It often houses famous artwork and events.



REMEMBER THAT AUSTRALIAN CARS ARE BUILT BACKWARDS!
A funny thing happened a few days ago... we hailed a cab to take us from Andy's apartment to our new place since we had luggage to haul behind us and after the cab driver put all our luggage in the car, I walked around to the passenger side to get in and he yelled "I'll drive the car!" at first I didn't get it and then I realized that I forgot Australian cars have the steering wheel on the other side of the car! haha

I GOT A JOB... MAYBE?
Today we dressed like professionals and walked the city dropping off applications... I got an offer at a cute Italian Restaurant in one of the many shopping areas and I start with a trial on Wednesday! Yaay! Hopefully that works out cause I bought some sweet all black Converse to wear to work that look terrible on me! ;)

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ARE THE SAME HERE
We took a tour of a neighborhood in East Ivanhoe to see the Christmas lights and realized that they are the same as in the U.S. ! Suprised? Neither were we. Trav, Andy, Jimmy, Bel, Meg and I had a good time acting silly and singing terrible renditions of Christmas Carols. This is a picture of Trav being lame ;) and the other is me in front of a huge Christmas ornament in the city. Sorry Mom, this one wasn't for sale!

I SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHOPPING AT FARMERS MARKETS
Queen Victoria Market is much like our farmer's market (I think... never been to farmer's market) but it's a great place to get fresh fruits/vegetables/meats and other items such as clothes and toys at good prices. The QV Market is open daily but is the biggest on Sundays. Meagan and I were in dietitian heaven when we saw all the fresh fruit/vegetables and took it upon ourselves to photograph them! Yeah, we're nerdy, we know! We bought our first fresh items yesterday to fill our single shelf in our tiny fridge but made a delicious italian dinner with it all! We did decide after trekking miles to get there, that it's better to just buy them at the store since it's closer and pretty much looks exactly the same. The meats scared us a little since they aren't even sealed in a refrigerated case or packed on ice. Yikes... are Americans weird or is that just a little unsafe? Just a note... you can't buy refrigerated eggs in this country. Why do we bother refrigerating them if they're okay to eat when they're not?