Back to Melbourne

Yesterday I woke up to traffic sounds and realized that I had very little time to actually do anything in Sydney before I had to catch the shuttle back to the airport.

So, after sleeping in, (and thus waiting for the shower) having a leisurely breakfast and packing, I headed to the shopping area near the QVB. Market Street, Pitt Street, George Street, and lots of little alley ways were filled with retail goodness. There were heaps of tourist kitsch, lots of the obligatory surf shops, and just as many high-end retail stores that are too scary to actually go inside.

I wandered around the area for a couple of hours and then decided that I'd actually had enough of the big, bustling, busy streets and I headed back to the quiet of the pub and waited for my shuttle.

The rest of the day was mostly uneventful, since I arrived in Melbourne around 5 and there wasn't too much day left. Richard and Dee invited me back to their house and we had dinner, but that was quiet and I went back to the hotel (I was staying in the California again) and had a quiet night.

This morning I got up, did some laundry, and was finished in time to meet the office folks at lunch at the pub. It was a good group and we chatted and told travel stories and I was sad to see it end. I will truly miss the people here!

Not much else exciting has happened today, except for afternoon tea, when I brought in some Tim Tams. I gathered up some folks and we tried the "Tim Tam slam" according to Karen's directions. It was awesome. Melty chocolately goodness. It has the potential to be extremely messy though, so I don't recommend wearing white. (I was lucky this time!) Obviously, a process that requires the upper level thought that goes with Friday activities!

Tonight, after a very quick trip to have birthday drinks with Drew, Richard, Dee and I head to Tasmania for the rest of the weekend. I am very excited to see the place and let someone else share the travel planning responsibility!

Vocab for the Day
Root: euphemism for sex. This has been a tough one for me since I use it quite often when I actually mean to "cheer" for a team.

When I asked which footy team Drew rooted for, he blushed and politely told me that he barracked for the Hawthorn Hawks.