Settling into Melbourne

As promised, another update and more apartment photos!

The past few days have been super busy as we moved into our new place and got everything settled. For a while there is felt like the list of things we needed to buy and arrange was endless: from ordering a utilities and Internet hook up, to tracking down a fridge for the place (apartments in Australia don't come with fridges, who knew), to stocking the cupboard with enough snacks to satisfy Dave's snacking needs. But as of yesterday, after setting up Dave's new TV and installing the fridge, all the major "to-do's" were finally complete!

Here are some more photos to show off the space:

The living room and dining area featuring the photos wall I put together of some of our favourite shots from Europe.

The photo wall from another angle —  I think it really warms up the space!

My favourite part: the kitchen! Featuring our brand new fridge (yes, we are officially fridge owners).

The bathroom includes a newly renovated shower...

...More of the bathroom.

The bedroom... this space still needs a bit more sprucing.

Now that we are settled in, Dave and I are going to make exploring Melbourne and its surrounding area a priority. Some of the must-do's already on the list, include:

• Mornington Peninsula
• Phillip Island 
• Dandenong Ranges National Park
• Great Ocean Road
• Yarra Valley Wineries 

So, as I sink back into my role as trip planner, life in Melbourne stretches out before us in a familiar fashion. Dave and I spend most days working. Sometimes at home, but mostly Dave will head to the library and I'll post up in a coffee shop for a few hours. Later I'll cook dinner, and we'll relax in front of the TV (Brooklyn Nine-Nine is our current binge-watching show of choice). Sometimes, when the eastern time zone awakes, another burst of work that will keep us up until after midnight.

All you Toronto sports fans will be glad to know we're still following the Jays as they enter the final stretch of the regular season. Usually in the mornings over breakfast Dave will give me the inning-by-inning updates and we'll roll our eyes as Dickey lets another win slip away. More locally, the Geelong Cats have become our AFL team of choice, and they are currently prepping for a preliminary final match up against the Sydney Swans this Friday. We'll head to the pub Friday night to catch the game with the rest of the city (the entire vicinity of Melbourne seems to shut down when AFL is on).

It's finally started to warm in in this part of the world—with temperatures poised to reach the low-20's any day now. I can't wait for when it's warm enough for us to trade in our jackets for bathing suits and finally dip our toes in the nearby ocean. I'll have to remember these early-cool days when we're melting in the Aussie heat come Christmas time.

This was a fairly boring update, all to say that we've settled into Melbourne well, and are ready to start adventuring beyond. Dave officially lifted his imposed "travel band" yesterday, which means we can start to ask ourselves, "what's next..."

Until then,
Heather