It's All Coming Full Circle...

The past 3 days have been a whirlwind of fun, spending as much time with all of my friends as possible. Things have really come full circle, people from the beginning of all of our times in Australia reemerged. I just cant believe that this time next week I will be sitting on an airplane heading back to the United States. It is incredibly bittersweet. Laura and I (We are basically the only 2 left) went through some photos of Melbourne Welcome, and it seems like just yesterday we all arrived here and were getting to know each other. Now, I feel like I have made some of the best friends in the world, and I know that although our time here in Australia has come to an end, it is only the beginning of many long friendships.

Katie and I holding the eggs that represent Laura, Char and Hamish

Since finishing up all of our exams, we have been super busy. On Tuesday, Hamish and I went to DFO where I did some shopping. I bought 2 more cardigans from Cotton On and 5 more pairs of undies for super cheap. I love buying undies. (lol). After shopping we went our separate ways but then met up after dinner and went to Borders for a few hours to try to find some books. It was then I discovered just how expensive books are here! For a paperback book that would cost me 10-15 in the US, it is 27 here! Crazy. Needless to say, I didn't buy any books, but I read a few plane magazines and Cosmo. After the bookstore, even though it was freezing, we went to Brunetti's for some gelato. Hamish and I both had Apple and Blackberry gelato. We came back to my warm room and watched finding nemo. It was a relaxing but great day!

Starting Wednesday, Katie and Laura finished their exams. On Wednesday morning Hamish and I walked into the city and I went to a bookstore where I found some cheap books! I bought 2 books- one for 4 and one for 6 dollars (the same book last night was 27!). I was super excited because I haven't had a chance to read books in ages. College life always comes in the way of leisurely reading. Later that evening, Katie, Hamish and I met up and walked in to the city to buy some Tim Tams for our Tim Tam Challenge that night. The Tim Tam Challenge was created by Katie to determine which Tim Tams were the best... She bought 3 types: Arnott's (original brand), Coles, and Woolworths. We did a blind taste test, with only Katie knowing which was which brand, and we all came to the conclusion that Arnott's was the best by far! After buying the Tim Tams, we did some souvenir shopping and then went to Shanghai Dumplings where we met up with the rest of the group. Katie, Laura, Hamish, Charlotte, Tina, Leah, Peter, Robyn, Duncan, Alan all came to all you can eat.

Dinner at Shanghai Dumplings

We all stuffed our faces, and it was so delicious. We were really happy because usually they are out of 1 or 2 items on the menu, but this time they had everything. Full circle, full circle. After dinner I headed over to Chris's where we spent a relaxing evening together.

On Thursday I headed back home and met up with Hamish, Laura, Katie and Charlotte who all beat me to my kitchen. We made a big brunch. Scrambled eggs with tomato and capsicum, french toast, pancakes, bacon & English muffins. It was so delicious and lots of fun to get together and cook together, especially breakfast, my favourite meal.

Family photo at Breakfast!

We all got to use up some of the ingredients we have. After breakfast, we walked to the National Gallery of Victoria, an art museum right across the Yarra River on St. Kilda road. It was lots of fun, even though Hamish and I mostly sat on the chairs to observe art. The contemporary art, European Art and other exhibits were neat.

Hamish, Katie and Laura in front of the Museum

After the museum, we headed back into the city where Katie, Hamish and Charlotte got some fresh donuts. Then we stopped in some more souvenir shops but didn't buy anything. We stopped at the Reject Shop, which I wish I had known about when I first moved here. They had super cheap household items- like dishes and stuff which would have been super useful. After we showed Katie the cheap bookstore where she purchased a few books for the plane.

Hamish headed home, but Laura, Katie and I headed over to a restaurant right across the street where I live called Mark's Place. I never thought about going in, but they advertised a "Avocado Cheesecake." Of course, us being obsessed with food, couldn't pass this $4 piece of delight up, so we headed into the restaurant. When we ordered just the cheesecake and 3 forks, we got some weird looks from the staff, but come on, who can eat a whole piece of cheesecake by themselves? It was quite tasty, and we could taste the avocado, but it was not overpowering. I forgot to take a picture of the cheesecake, but luckily there's a thing called the internet, which I found to have a photograph similar to the one I would have taken. We walked for about 5 hours that afternoon so we were tired, so we each went home to relax for a little while. About an hour later Katie, Laura and Hamish came over to UniLodge for Casto's barbie!

Snags and Kangaroo Kebabs

His family is visiting and he wanted to show them an authentic Aussie BBQ. They made Kangaroo Kebabs, Kangaroo Fillets, Snags on Bread (which is almost like hotdogs/sausages, but a lot better.. and Aussies don't seem to use buns for Snags, so we always wrap it in bread). They also bought some Boags Beer, which is an Aussie beer from Tassie. It was a great time with everyone, and meeting Casto's family was lots of fun. After dinner, I got ready to go out and met up with Stephen, who drove in from Frankston. We went over to the village and had a few drinks and headed to Elephant and the Wheelbarrow where we listened to a life acoustic band. Hamish, Laura, Katie, Stephen and I all enjoyed ourselves; it was really relaxing and refreshing. That's basically our favourite pub, because it has life bands a lot with the dance floor and its fun. But I didn't realize that it was a bit of an older crowd. But it was funny and loads of fun spending time with the people I love.

Then, yesterday, Friday was Katie and Charlotte's last day. We woke up and headed to Brighton Beach. They had all been there a few times, but I hadn't been. Brighton Beach is beautiful; its about a 30 minute train ride out of the city. The way the land bends, gives Brighton Beach the best view of the city skyline.

Posing on the Beach with Melbourne in the background

It was absolutely gorgeous. Also unique to Brighton Beach is the little beach huts/cabanas along the seaside to store belongings and whatever else They are owned by families who come to the beach often, and they are all painted uniquely.

Australia Flag Cabana on Brighton Beach

It was one of my favourite sites here. The weather was pretty gray, chilly and windy, but the rain had stopped from earlier in the day and we got home just before another big rainstorm came in. So all in all, it was perfect for a winter's day.

We headed back in the city where we stopped at Brumby's Bakery for some date scones. So delicious. Then we headed up to Vic Markets where we each got a freshly made donuts at the famous donuts truck. I can't believe I hadn't tried them earlier- but thank god I didn't because I would be a huge fatty. We walked back to the Village and hung out while Katie packed. The rain started coming down in buckets so we were all relieved to be inside in the warm next to Katie's heater. After she finished packing, we made some dinner. We made cheese, chicken and tomato quesadillas with the left over tortillas, which were so delicious. We also had some pasta with butter/salt/pepper and some marinara sauce as well as a mix of beans and corn. It was a great meal and we sat on the floor of Katie's kitchen reminiscing and not wanting the time to go by any faster. I headed back to my place to change and grab the hand luggage scale my Mom had given me to Christmas. MOST USEFUL PRESENT EVER!! All of my friends have used it, success. We decided to make Melbourne friendship bracelets, so now Katie, Laura and I all have similar bracelets on; so when we miss each other and our time in Melbourne, we will know we aren't all that far away. We will wear the bracelets until they come off.

Melbourne Friendship Bracelets

Stephen and two of his friends, Tyle & Sean came over and we had some drinks and headed out to Perseverance, a club/pub, on Brunswick Street. It was my first time there, and on Fridays they have 90s night, so they play all this 90s music, which was amaazing. We got there at 1030 and didn't leave until 130. We danced for 3 hours nonstop! It was so great. Michael from Sydney, was down in Melbourne and had some time off from the army, so him and 2 of his buddies came to meet us. It was so crazy seeing him again, but it was super fun. We headed back to village where we all hung out and then the guys headed out so we could say bye to Katie and Alan as our little group. We waited outside for their Taxi and then it was time to say goodbye- to Charlotte too, who was leaving a few hours after. It was so sad, but I know I'll see them again soon. It won't be the same as in Australia, but I guess that is life...

Dont leave me Katie!! Don't go Charlotte!

Hamish and Laura walked me home where I was sad for a while but luckily Andy in NY was able to distract me and I went to bed feeling a bit better. I woke up this morning, feeling quite empty and sad, because things are so quiet now. I am happy to be going home to see family, but SO torn because I really don't want to say bye to Chris. It will be so hard to leave him, as well as Hamish & Stuart. At least I know I will be back next year, as long as things go according to plan. I am happy that Laura is here- she leaves July 1. So we will have some fun the next few days. We have plans to go to Parliament, The Immigration Museum, State Library for a picnic. We also have plans to cook lots of good things- tonight is Butter Chicken and tomorrow is Banana Bread and Stir Fry- so we can use up all of our left over food. We made omelets for breakfast this morning, which were so delicious. I finally made decent omelets- the secret to success was the smaller frying pan.

I miss Katie tremendously. And Charlotte. And Holly who left on Friday morning. And Steven, and Matt. I miss everyone. But that's part of life. I've had such an amazing time in this country, and I wouldn't change a thing.

On our last Sunday night dinner last week, Katie made a slideshow, documenting our time here. Here it is; it sums up our entire time in Australia. Here's to the memories <3 style="text-decoration: underline;">

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7pEYZwuAQc