May 9, 2016
The plan today was no plan at all. We were looking forward to just spending the day around the apartment, cooking lunch, and trying to figure out what we’ll be doing in Australia for the rest of the month.
We woke up to a bit of rain but within an hour it started coming down (tropical rain style) and was very windy. We waited until the rain died down a bit before walking across the street to the Victoria Gardens Mall to buy groceries. The both of us were really excited at the prospect of cooking for the first time in 70 days (how things change when you’re away from home).
Marcus’ apartment is very conveniently located and the grocery store, Coles, across the street is just like a Safeway. The prices were all very reasonable. Fruit and vegetables were more expensive than home, but not as crazy as Japan. We decided to make a salad, spaghetti bolognese, and corn on the cob. It was a pretty simple lunch but that’s a pretty standard dinner we would make for ourselves back home. The groceries we bought would be good for a couple of meals.
When we got back from the mall, all of a sudden, the sun came out and the sky was blue. The weather in Melbourne does change fairly quickly. We started to cook the pasta sauce, boil some corn, and cut the avocado for the salad. After taking our first bites, we both agreed that it felt really good to eat something simple and prepared by ourselves.
After we cleaned up, we hunkered down and started to plan out our Australian itinerary. We finally figured it out and began to book car rentals, flights, and research some accommodations. We’re going to be staying in Melbourne until Thursday, then rent a car and drive the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide (where Jess and Robin live) and stay there for a few nights. Australia’s a huge country so even with a month here, I feel like there’s still a lot to see here that we won’t be able to go to this trip.
The day flew by and Marcus got home from work to wash up and pick us up to go to Max’s house for their Game of Thrones viewing. Apparently every Monday, they watch Game of Thrones together with his house mates since it airs in North America on Sunday nights. Tim is a big fan of the show so when he heard they do a viewing party he wanted to join in.
We stopped by a food truck area for a quick dinner. They have different food trucks come each day and there’s a bar and open air and indoor seating. I got a pulled pork burrito and Tim tried a Polish “pizza”. The weather was a lot colder than we thought it would be. It was very windy and it was a cool breeze. We were sure it was around 8 degrees C out, but when we checked the temperature it was 17 degrees C. We’ve acclimatized.
After a quick and good dinner, we went to Max’s house and were introduced to his house mates. They turned off the lights and watched Game of Thrones. I took this chance to take a nap. When it was over they all discussed what was going on. I was just sitting there looking around at the house and kept thinking about how good it smelled inside. It was like the smell of someone’s house when they finished making a roast beef (yum!).
It was a pretty relaxing day and was probably the most “normal life” day we’ve had in 70 days. It was a nice change of pace and rest day that we both needed.
Steps today: 3,000