The Settling in of Sarah

Aggh!  I made it safe and sound.  Leaving on Monday was not easy.  I sat in the security line and balled my eyes out.  My family dropped me off at the airport and all I was thinking was "The Second Thoughts of Sarah".  Am I crazy?  What the hell was I thinking when I decided to take this journey.  I was extremely nervous and wasn't sure if I had made the best decision.  By the time I landed in LA, checked into my flight on V Australia and heard the amazing Australian accents, everything changed.  I quickly began embracing my new surroundings.  I got so excited and giddy and couldn't wait to get to Melbourne (or Mel-bun, as the Aussies say).  I wanted an accent already and hadn't even gotten to Australia.  Seeing a bunch of attractive Aussie men didn't hurt the situation either.... :)  I could tell immediately who was Australian b/c they all were wearing flip flops.  The best was seeing 3 older "Harley" looking dudes.  They looked like badasses, mean, tough, in their all black dress attire, beards, tattooed arms.  Two things about them just didn't seem to belong.  1)  Their accents - an Australian accent just does not come off as "tough".  2) They were all wearing rubber flip flops (or thongs, as the Aussie's call them).  I just had to chuckle to myself...

The flight over was great. I watched two movies, chatted with a couple interesting girls next to me and slept a solid 7 hours straight.  After about 30 hours of traveling, I was finally in Australia.  It was 90 degress and sunny when I stepped out of the airport and the sun was beaming.  I could not believe I was here.  Ruth picked me up from the airport.  She has an amazing aparment (or flat) smack dead in the middle of the city.  It couldn't be more perfect.  I already feel at home here.  She is so kind and generous.  We got a quick bite to eat, she gave me some great pointers on the city and I was on my way (tired as hell, but her #1 suggestion was not to go to sleep until nightime).  I quickly got a new phone and just began to explore Melbourne -figuring out the lay of the land.  Everyone is so nice here.  It's a much more diverse and bustling city than I imagined.  I feel extremely safe.  I am quickly learning Aussie terms and have had to adjust to walking on the left side of the road...  In the evening we headed to the Victoria Night market where there are tons of vendors selling all sorts of trinkets and food booths with every type of food you can imagine.  And for a Wedneseay night, it was hopping.  Ruth introduced me to a few of her friends, Dave, Laura and Sid.  Again, they are some of the nicest people I have ever met.  Everyone just wants to take care of me.  It's such a comforting feeling.
Ruth is such a fantastic and interesting person.  She has traveled a ton and her family actually owns a vineyard outside of Melbourne called Hanging Rock, so she is extremely knowledgable on wine.  I've learned a ton already.  She has a connection who offers wine tours, so tomorrow I will be getting picked up around half past 9 to head out to the Morningtown Peninsula where I will explore the vineyards, hopefully make some new friends, buy a few bottles of wine, and probably get a little tipsy...
As for today... I woke up around 9:30 (slept like a baby last night for the first time in months) and felt like a million bucks. I went for a run through the beautiful Botanic Gardens and stopped for an iced coffee on my way back to the flat.  I quickly learned that an iced coffee actually contains ice cream...It was an extremely yummy, refreshing treat, but it pretty much just canceled out the 40 min run I just went on.  Oh well!  Living and learning... I plan to just mosey about the city today.  Melbourne is known for the food and shopping so I plan to visit Collins and Chapel streets.  Probabaly not the best idea for me, as we all know how much I love to shop... But maybe I'll just find some great souvenirs.  Haha.  Yeah right!  We shall see...