Week 5 - Sad to leave Melbourne!

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After being told two days ago that Melbourne, Australia had just been voted the 2nd most livable city in the world, and has been in the top five the last few years (#1 in 2004), it hit me how much I love living here in Melbourne! I was a little sad packing up my dorm room today and decided to go out one last time to enjoy a walk by myself from my dorm room to Melbourne's famous Lygon St, just 2 streets down from my college. Lygon St. is said to be "one of the great food precincts of Melbourne. It owes much of its growth and popularity as a eating out destination to the students from Melbourne University, who frequented the street long before it became fashionable with business people. Lygon Street has the biggest selection of Italian restaurants and cafes of anywhere in Australia, and was the first suburb in Melbourne to promote eating outdoors and tables and chairs on footpaths. Lygon Street is a great place to spend a warm summer's evening with a group of friends, especially if you're sitting in the garden cafe of one of the terraces that line the street" (http://www.melbourne.com.au/lygon.htm for those who like pictures :). I then went to check out Brunetti, an Italian cafe just off Lygon St. that I had heard so much about and was told I had to go to! After enjoying two pastries and a coffee I officially decided it is my new FAVOURITE PLACE! I will be going there for breakfast and coffee tomorrow (I just found out on their website that they have crepes)!! I realize it is a good thing I did not find this place when I first got here or else I would have gained quite a few extra pounds by now as well as spent a few too many dollars on coffee/pastries (my favorite foods)! :) If you want an idea of how hard is to decide what you want at this place, you can check it out: http://www.brunetti.com.au/Default.aspx

Today was the last day of classes in Australia. I got my papers turned in and finished my biology presentation! The dorm rooms are empty besides me and my friend Sam who don't fly to Cairns until Saturday to meet up with 8 more kids from our group. Tomorrow we are spending the day at a beach here in Melbourne then meeting up with a few of my new friends from Young Life camp to go to a cricket game, the huge sport here in Australia and especially here in Melbourne -- "the sports capital of Australia"! I've heard its pretty boring, but I'm giving it a go and am up for the experience! Then we are spending the night at one of the couple's house whose husband is full time YL staff here. Saturday morning they are taking us to lunch somewhere up in this hills? then dropping us off at the airport!

Earlier this week I spent one evening having dinner at more friends of Steve Ridgeways, Lindsay & Elsa McMillan who have been to Puyallup a few times. They live in an old church that was remodeled and made into little condos; such a fun place to live! I have not seen anything like their house before; it was so neat. They were very sweet and I really enjoyed getting to know them a little bit over dinner. I also got to meet their daughter who was in town from Sydney for the week. She just had her first baby and at home she designs and makes her own shoes (http://www.mardi.net.au/); it was heaps fun talking to her!! :] Lindsay dropped me off at my dorm saying that he would see me again because everyone comes back to Melbourne after seeing how great it is...we'll see about that! :)

The weather forecast says there is supposed to be rain Saturday - Friday when I'm in Cairns -- I'm praying for some sun out on the Great Barrier Reef!
Cheers until next time -- probably when I make it to New Zealand on March 9th!

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