The Great Ocean Road

joyel left to go to Brizzy early saturday morning, so we took the opportunity to continue on to The Great Ocean Road.  it was about two hours from Melbourne, and it is beautiful.  I drove while Jeff took pictures out of the car window, and it consisted of hairpin turns next to huge drop-offs into the ocean.  as i am still getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road, i was white knuckled most of the trip.  and i was driving.

A lighthouse that we're pretty sure you're not supposed
to be this close to in a car.

Surfin' in 4 degrees celsius

THE Great Ocean Road

on our way to The Great Ocean Road, we passed a “kangaroo crossing” sign that was in the midst of a marsh...i wondered out loud about the likelihood that a kangaroo would live in a marsh...then, we see this...we saw our first kangaroo 6 days into our stay!!

Trust us, there are two 'roos in there.

Footy

last night we went to the St. Kilda/Collingwood Australian Rules Football (footy) match with Joyel.  even though we really didn’t have any idea of what was going on (Jeff claims he knew), we had a really good time.  we took the tram to the arena and settled in for the match.  WOW.  these guys play on a field about double the size of an NFL field, and it seems to be a mix of American football (there’s a ball shaped kind of like a football), hockey (they check each other on a regular basis), basketball (they bounce the ball), and cage fighting (they punch each other any chance they get).  and they do all of this without any pads or helmets on...

Joyel's in Melbourne!

The opening...bounce?

18 players for each team on the field.  otherwise, no
idea what's going on...Jeff says it was a goal.

Jeff and Joy’s Week in Melbourne

while i worked most of the week, Jeff and Joy tooled all over Melbourne as tourists.  they walked for miles and miles, exploring the downtown area, botanical gardens, Mornington Penisula, visited Arthur’s Seat (no one knows what this is...), and shook hands with Cadel Evans at his victory parade!  there were more people in fed square for Cadel than for Oprah!!!  quite an exciting week to be sure.  thanks for visiting us, Joyel!  we love you!  (and can’t wait for you to move to Melbourne!)

Brighton Beach

Arthur's Seat (number 3...not sure what happened to the first two...)

Preparing for the Cadel Evans victory celebration!

Joy and Jeff got there early... and got right next to the fence!

Tour de France winner, Cadel Evans.  He shook their hands.
Neither have taken a shower since.

Living in Melbourne

our temporary apartment is in South Melbourne, and has these awesome views of the city...it is so nice to see all of the lights at night.

we went apartment hunting earlier this week, and hopefully we have found our apartment.  

we are relieved about this for several reasons:

1. we know where we’re going to live for the next year or so (perhaps more)
2. we won’t have to listen to our crazy realtor talk for 5 hours straight (without taking a breath) ever again
3. we don’t have to get into a moving vehicle with that crazy woman ever again
4. we don’t have to go into people’s homes and see all of their crap shoved into a VERY small space 

we knew going into the application that there were other applicants, but due to our expat status, we knew that the odds were in our favor that we’d get it.  we’re waiting on the lease approval from the company, but feel good that we will be moving into this beaut next week.  2 bed, 2 bath, so come and visit!  

the building also has this view (not from our apartment, but that’s good enough for us!)

Trams and Car Parks

the city is full of trams, and on the roads through the city, the trams have the right of way.  i remembered this after i cut one off.  not my finest driving moment.

speaking of driving, the car park (parking deck) in our apartment building is the size of a sardine can.  and we have a small SUV.  i yelled out several times the first time we took the car out because I was either afraid that Jeff was going to run into the wall, or because another car was preparing to hit us head on.

oh, and remember, we’re driving on the opposite side of the road.  fun times.

Should you forget...here's a reminder.

HELLO Melbourne, Australia!

well, we made it...this past week has been full of getting settled, hanging out with joyel, and trying to get acclimated to the 14 hour time difference.

we’ll be updating with several posts to tell you a little about our week...enjoy!

Farewell Atlanta...until we meet again

today is our last day in the States.  we leave this afternoon on a 5:30pm flight out to LAX, then onto Australia.  this is a bittersweet time for us, as we're leaving behind our friends, family, and Poofie-Cat, but we're really excited about the opportunity and adventure that will greet us in Oz.

please keep in touch with us...we'd love to hear from you.  and we'll do our best to update the blog a couple of times a week or so.

xo,
laura and jeff

Drain the Bar

several weeks ago we hosted a "drain the bar" party...unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures.  I had both cameras sitting out, and didn't take one picture.

regardless, it was a fun-filled weekend, full of friends, food, laughter, and booze.  just what the doctor ordered with all of the craziness that has been our lives lately.

for those that came to the shin-dig, we had a great time, for those that missed us...we missed you, too.  hopefully all will be able to stop by for the "stock the bar" party on our arrival back in the US!