Seems the Kiwis were just being nice.

I'm about to leave Melbourne today. It's a fantastic city. Around 3 million live here in this beautiful coastal town. Public transportation is great, so it's really easy to get around. And there's plenty to see and do. Plus the food options are broad. Overall I loved it. Seems like a great place to live. And apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so. Melbourne was voted the number one place to live in 2005 and has ranked in the top 10 the last couple years. It's a place I'm sure I'll return.

I've kept myself pretty busy the last several days. I wandered around, exploring the different areas by foot and tram. I visited a bunch of ad agencies. And I had some good food. I had a delicious Chinese meal with an old co-worker from New York. Jason McQuoid, along with his wife Becky, and their friend invited me to join them at Lau's Family Kitchen. We had a feast of small seafood dishes. It was wonderful to go to a nice local place with a table full of nice locals. It was also fun to catch up with Jason. He pointed out all the places worth seeing in and around Melbourne. Including the Great Ocean Drive, which I did yesterday. It's a gorgeous coastal highway that leads up to the twelve apostles. I'll load the photos when I can. You really can't believe how slow these computers are.

Melbourne is an easy place to just wander. Interesting architecture, shopping, museums, a huge open market, and great looking cafes everywhere you turn. Made me want coffee every couple hours. But I had to slow down because I was getting a little jumpy. I have to say though, the Australians take their coffee a bit more seriously than the New Zealanders. The menus look the same, so I was pretty confident when I ordered my long black with milk and sugar. But here I was met with a disapproving, annoyed and confused look. "Milk in a long black? But then it isn't a long black!" Oh, I said. Well, then what should I order? I was told I wanted a flat white. Okay fine, I'll try. So a flat white is delicious. But it seems like it's a whole lot of milk with only a little bit of coffee. Tasty, but too much milk for me. My tummy doesn't approve. :( So I decided to go back to my original order. Making sure to smile more and ask, rather than order my inappropriate coffee. I manage to get what I want, along with plenty of raised eyebrows. I'm not sure what's up with the 'tude. It's not like they're drinking it. Oh well.

Like I said though, overall I love Melbourne. I think I could be happy here hanging out for a while. But I'm the move again. I fly up to Cairns (pronounced 'cans') this afternoon. I'm looking forward to some sunshine and warm weather. Hopefully the weather will be nice - I start my diving class on Tuesday. :)

Alright. I'm off for now. Cheers.