Melbourne!..or "Melbin"

So last Saturday I boarded the plane to Melbourne with a stuffy nose (I'm sure the guy next to me was stoked), a pressurized head and a very very plugged up ear. I was a little nervous about being sick, but since Callie texted me a few days before and told me she was also sick i thought it was perfect! Great for bonding time. I left sydney when it was 70 degrees and sunny and arrived to Melbourne which was about 60 degrees and POURING. I actually wondered if somehow that tiny itty bitty tiger airways plane made some sort of detour to seattle. Regardless, I was still super stoked to see Callie and spend some time exploring Melbourne. The first night we just watched a little boy meets world (or bmw) and ordered some dominos pizza and talked. I am not sure either of us could really tell you any conversation we had that night since we were both on drugs and i could hardly hear and she couldn't focus on any conversation. We were only a slight mess. The next morning we woke up and went to the church Callie has been going to. It was really cool to see her church and meet some of her friends there. Australia church is just all around a good thing. After that we went to a "china town" kind of are and I had dumplings for my first time. They were super good! After lunch we just headed back and watched a little more bmw and then made some tacos and went to bed. Monday morning I got up and headed into the city. I decided to take Geneva on my adventure with me. I am pretty sure she had a great time if you can't tell from the pictures. I walked around Federation Square a little bit (the buildings are so cool!) then I just followed the river to see where it would take me. I saw some odd art..pictures will be coming on facebook. If anyone can help me out with what they are I would greatly appreciate it. The river lead me to the olympic park and I walked around where the olympics were when they were in melbourne. After that I crossed the bridge and walked around the Royal Botanic Gardens for awhile. I love Sydney, but I have to say the Melbourne gardens totally beat Sydney's. I didn't even have a chance to see it all but it was so cool. There was a pond area in the middle and so many cool pathways and trees. There is even a special part of the park that is just for kids. It has mini trees and mini little pathways. I thought it was so cute! I tried to take pictures of it but I realized that they don't look mini since its not compared to anything in the picture..so ya. Anyway the weather and the gardens were so beautiful. After walking around I decided it was time to find lunch. Melbourne has this amazing area called the Laneways.They are like Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. So. Awesome. As you are walking down this small side street you kind of look down what you think will be a tiny disgusting alley and BAM there are a bajillion little cafes to eat at! It is like magic. I had an amazing chicken burger, it had guacamole and bacon, so nothing could be wrong about that. After lunch I headed to St Kilda beach and walked around Luna Park (the one where Our Lips Are Sealed was actually filmed) shortly after I headed back to Callie's and we ate some dinner and went to bed. Oh! I would like to take this moment to say I do not like trams. From where Callie lives you take them to and from the city it is basically stop and go, stop and go, stop and go, it makes me a bit carsick. I will definitely stick to trains. Anyway. Tuesday I got up and just kind of hung out for awhile and headed into the city in the early afternoon. The first thing I did was see the Disney Exhibit that was at federation square. It was so so neat. They had some of the original drawings from some of the original disney movies like snow white, cinderella, beauty and the beast, the little mermaid... it was such a cool exhibit and i learned just a little more about disney. After that I just explored the city a little more before meeting up with callie for dinner. we went to little italy where we had an amazing italian dinner! I had seafood pasta which was incredible. After stopping for some gelato we headed back to her place because i had to get up at 5 am, yes, 5 am in the morning. So in the morning I hopped on the lovely tram and headed into the city as the sun rose. Once the tour bus picked me up we headed out of the city and to the Great Ocean Road. This trip was probably one of my favorite days in Australia so far. First we stopped at a beach, to be honest I don't remember the name, but it was super pretty as most beaches are. We stopped at a few other beaches, one of them was Bells Beach which is where ripcurl started and where one of the biggest surf competitions is. Unfortunately we couldn't actually go on Bells Beach because they were setting up, but I still saw it from afar. After this was lunch. Where I experienced something I haven't had since the US. UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF KETCHUP!  There were actually ketchup bottles on the table where I could use however much I wanted. I didn't even have to pay extra! It was a huge highlight of the day. After lunch was where the cool sightseeing started. First we stopped in a rainforest area and took a small walk, it was super interesting, especially when I saw the inside of a hollowed out tree! it was neat. Next we stopped at the 12 apostles, this is where the ocean has formed different structures from the land. (pictures on facebook, im not going to try to explain it) It was seriously some of the most incredible sights I have ever seen. When we stopped at the gorge I decided I wanted a self portrait. So I walked down to the beach and turned around..started to take picture..and all of a sudden a wave attacked me. I was soaked from my knees down..and since I was wearing denim that quickly made the rest of me wet. Luckily that was the second to last stop and then I just had to sit in it for the 3 hour ride home. Regardless, it was an incredible day where I saw so many cool things. When I got back Callie and I watched a little more bmw and talked a bit and then I was about to check in for my flight the next day, and I realized, I wasn't ready to go. Between me being busy and sick and Callie being sick we really hadn't gotten much time to hang out so I decided to stay and hang out for a few more days! The blessing of not having ANY responsibilities or plans. Ok well ALMOST no responsibilities, but I'm sure I'll get those papers done at some point! For the next few days Callie and I just took some time to hang out, watch a little more bmw, and I got to see the life she is living there. It was a ton of fun. The last night we headed into the city for one more italian dinner and went to the rooftop bar afterward. It was a great way to actually end the trip! I got up at 5 am (again) and flew out the next morning. I got home just in time to prepare for my Mom to visit! She got here safely on sunday morning! There will be more about her visit in the next blog! Which I will try to write sooner! Also. I apologize for being a little slow with the blog posts lately. I have started to get so used to being in AUS that nothing feels that special to blog about anymore. However I have heard people still think that it is exciting and want to hear about my "normal" life, so I will try to blog a bit more often!