Nice 'do, kid

Riding the tram

Fishes, and crocs, and turtles, OH MY!

We went to the aquarium today and Pal had a blast.  They have large, floor-to-ceiling tanks full of colorful fish that made him laugh and stomp his little feet.  He loved it!

I love seeing him giddy with excitement.  It's such a joy to watch him learn about all of these neat things around him.

Australian Football "Footy" game

We didn't understand anything that was going on, but we had fun anyway!

Fitzroy street art

Matt's street art obsession continues…

These were taken on our outing in Fitzroy yesterday.

Melbourne architecture

This is the Melbourne Exhibition building.  It's so grand and beautiful!

Collingwood Children's Farm

We went to Collingwood Children's Farm today.  It's a fully functioning farm in the middle of the city!  They have pigs, goats, cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks and Pal couldn't have cared less about any of them.  He did, however, have a great time running around and squawking at people.

That time we went to Fiji - throwback

Wednesday night street food market at Queen Vic's

One of my new favorite things!  Every Wednesday night through the winter they have a street food market at Queen Vic's.  We went and indulged in Spanish food and Australian meat pies then topped it off with a chocolate waffle with ice cream!  Yum!

All smiles

Such a sweet boy

Pay no attention to my outfit.

More adventures, Mom!

Elmo wears me out

More street art

The street art tends to change everyday.

Run through the Royal Botanic Gardens

Every morning we, as a family, get up to run through the city.  I have always thought that running is a great way to explore a new place.  We have been running through the Royal Botanical Gardens, one of the many, many gardens in Melbourne.  Here are some photos from our little jaunts.

St Kilda

Today we went to St. Kilda, a small beach town suburb of Melbourne.  During the summer it is quite the happening place to be, however, on a weekday in the dead of winter, there wasn’t much going on.  We did have a nice pasta lunch and then stopped at the South Melbourne Market on our way back into town.  South Melbourne Market is a lot like Queen Victoria Market, just smaller and with more home goods and furnishing.  We picked up a marinated chicken, some fresh veggies, and some handmade raviolis.  I loved it!

Street art

Matt loves street art and Melbourne happens to be famous for it.  Here are some examples we have found so far.

Our home away from home

This is our apartment and the view from the balcony at night.  Not too shabby!

We went to the Queen Victoria Market yesterday and bought Pal a new hat (since is cold here).

I am going to need new feet!

Melbourne is an amazing city and we are living in the heart of it all!  There are cafés, bars, restaurants, theatres, and museums on every corner.  It’s almost overwhelming and quite the paradise for a foodie like me.  Today we went to the Queen Victoria Market to get some things for dinner.  This place makes Pikes Place in Seattle look like a road-side hotdog stand.  It was beautiful and so cool!  I will be sure to bring the camera next time so that I get photos of it all.

We don’t have a car so we have to walk everywhere we go.  Yesterday we went for a short morning run then walked around the city for several hours.  In total, we walked (and ran a little)12.5 miles.  I decided to try to keep track of our walking totals for the time we are here just to see how much ground we cover.

Ran:  3.0 miles

Walked:  9.5 miles

Total:  12.5 miles

I will get a photo of the new apartment soon, but until I do, here is another throwback…

Pal eating watermelon at Beachcomber in Fiji (July 11, 2015)

Getting settled in Melbourne

Today is our first real day in Melbourne.  We are moving into our new apartment and getting settled for the “long” haul.  We have 90 days to discover and love as much of this great country as we can so let the urban adventure begin!

Enjoy a throwback photo while we unpack…

 That time Pal and I watched Elmo in a hotel room in Fiji (July 6, 2015).