Melbourne First Impressions

We arrived in Melbourne about 33 hours after we left New York (39 hours after leaving Guilford!) Addi was amazing the entire time- truly, I couldn't be prouder. She raised the bar and i had to contain my inner brat wanting to get out! She and I fell asleep at about 4PM Oz time. Jim wandered out and made fast friends with the hotel barkeep. He got the bloke's whole life story- this should be no surprise to anyone who knows my husband.

We have only been here for a day, but first impressions:
- at 3M people, it is perfectly sized. Amazingly clean and so friendly! Free trolley system can get you anywhere. Food is pricey. Hot air balloons float overhead at dawn (yup, we were wide awake and seeking food at dawn).
- Melbournians are in competition with Sydney about everything. "Sydney may be larger by 500k people now, but we were larger for the longest time. We will be the largest again! We can grow as far as the eye can see- Sydney is contained by sea and mountains!" "People here are so much nicer than the people in Sydney-they are a bunch of old convicts!" Having not yet been to Sydney, I can't say if the competitive feelings are reciprocal, but I assume so!
-Aussies drive on the opposite side of the road. They also walk to the left on the sidewalk. Im sure this is true in all countries where they drive on the left- but this is our first time working with it in the city environment. Needless to say, we caused many a human pile-up.
-Kellogg Rice Krispies are called Rice Bubbles here! Why? A 'krisp' is a french fry!

We hit the Melbourne Zoo today. Beautiful like the DC Zoo with fun exhibits and healthy environments. Our favorite, though, was "Who's Poo are You" yup. A dozen toilets with various animal poo on the lid. Lift the lid to see who owns it-the kanga? The lion? The human?

It is 4:10PM here and we are struggling to stay awake. Must....not....sleep...before....6:00.

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