DAY 1(ish)

The Pre-Oz Image (my last sunset in Monterey) 

Bloggy-Wog, Day 1.  Auckland, NZ.

Here I sit at the Auckland Airport.  It’s 6:30 in the a.m. on Thursday (that’s 9:30a.m. on Wednesday in CA).  The moment we were in the air out of San Francisco I changed my watch to Auckland time and haven’t looked back.  And it worked!  Whether because of the time change or the fact that I managed some little sleep on the 13 hour flight, it DEFINITELY feels like 6:30am.  When I jump over to Melbourne in a couple hours, I will gain yet another 2 hrs.  It seems that moving West is easy on the brain.  Going home may prove otherwise. ;)

The flight was excellent.  I had overestimated the number of on-flight meals (there were only 2, not 5, hehe) but Air NZ has amazing service, and tons of free movies to watch!  On the flight I had plenty of time to plan out my first moves upon touchdown in Melbourne…..and the plan is still to play it by ear for the first couple of days…I have a list great free stuff to do in the city, plus the aquarium & NH Museum!  Anything else?  Then I’ll head south to the Venus Bay Eco Retreat and thence onto Wilson’s Promontory.  Has anybody been to this most southern tip of the mainland?  The website makes it look gorgeous and accommodating.

Day 2(ish). Melbourne.

I’m here!  I’ve definitely landed in Melbourne!  And it’s stiiill Day 1 (for me)!  I went to sleep on the plane over the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday night, landed in Mel early this morning (Thursday) and spent the whole day wandering about the city, checked out the Queen Victoria Market and tried to decide which of the thousands of Japanese and Vietnamese cafés to patronize….I want them all! Melbourne sure does have a LOT of places to eat!  I finally settled on a Turkish market and had some snacks and a Bedouin coffee (un-strained espresso with cardamom mixed in), which was surprisingly delicious.  The backpackers I’m staying at is pretty swanky (for a backpackers) and the people are diverse and pleasant.  There’s an Australian Rules Football (i.e. Rugby without helmets or pads) in Melbourne tonight, so I’ll be cheering on the Melbourne…..team…at a local pub.  I suppose I should find out what they’re called in the next hour.

Today was amazing, and I know tomorrow will be even better because I will actually have gotten some sleep.  Stay tuned for tons of photos from the Melbourne Aquarium and NH Museum!

Hope all is well....and wonderful with all of you!