Just arrived in Melbourne today for my last stop on the whirlwind tour of Australia. 48 hours (or less) each in Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne. Not nearly long enough but still enough time to see some old friends (after 10 years), soak up the atmosphere, and be the beneficiary of the legendary Aussie hospitality/friendliness! I'll be glad to go home and see Chris in a couple of days but I'll miss Australia again. I hope it's not 10 years before I come back again - I think I will be dragging Chris down here sooner rather than later (which I have been saying for 10 years so who really knows).
It's winter down here in Australia but on the whole, it's actually pretty mild. Kind of like the North Carolina winter where a fleece and scarf is all that I needed (my fleece makes a lot of appearances in my pictures) and I have even managed to wear some of my sandals sans socks the last few days! It certainly didn't start that way when I was in Canberra (the coldest capital city according to Andrew - I can certainly attest to that) but has warmed up quite nicely. It was about 60 degrees in Melbourne today and sunny enough that my trip to the seaside St. Kilda was nice. Brisk, but nice. See?
It was, however, perfect weather for walking around looking at all kinds of shops, from high-end fancy shops to funky, bohemian & artsy shops that I couldn't resist indulging in. If you ask really nicely, I might send you pictures of my purchases! It's a good thing I'm headed home in a couple days otherwise my credit card limit might be left in the dust!
Anyway, wanted to do a quick update. I think I will go backwards in posting - Melbourne --> Adelaide --> Sydney --> Canberra - as I can although I'm sure much will be done from home.
