Melbourne in the Winter

Good Day Mates! As I sit here writing this, I'm wearing two long sleeve shirts, a jacket, a hat, two pairs of pants and a couple pairs of socks. And I'm still a bit chilly. Being cold in July isn't something that I'm very accustomed to. It has definitely forced me to understand the public transportation system here quickly. I've been tramming and busing my way through the city to see the wonderful things here. I've all ready hit both National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) International and Australian. Both buildings were amazing works of art in of themselves. The architecture here is just phenomenal. They are on the very cutting edge of design, yet still manage to keep up the old buildings. It's this juxtapose of old and new sharing the same sidewalk that give the city a unique edge. While my days have been comprised of amazing museums and city exploration, poor Jeff has been doing his time in a classroom. We did have a fun weekend together, though.
The ASU/University of Melbourne group went on a couple of tours. Saturday we trekked out of the city in search of wildlife. We hit up an Australian petting zoo, the wallabies and kangaroos were especially cute and friendly. The llama was bit aggressive (bad llama!) and definitely don't go near the emu's (they will snap off one of your fingers and maybe an eye!). After that quick stop, we headed over to Philip island and sat on the beach til our butts froze off. It was all to watch the smallest penguins in the world come in from sea and get back to their little burrows on the land. It was actually much more interesting than I make it sound. In fact, the signs boast that it is an award winning experience. I wonder what the award looks like?? In any case, that place was packed! Hundreds of people from all over the world just watching these little penguins do their thing. Sunday was a bit more up my alley. We headed out to the Yarra Valley which is famous for wine! We only had the chance to hit up a few places but it was so beautiful! In fact, I'm not sure which was better the wine or the scenery. Our first stop at Chandon was FAB-U-LOS! Nothing like a bit of champagne in the morning (right Leslie?), I wish I could start every day this way and not just Sundays!
Now, for what you really want to know.....does the water swirl down the toilet in a different direction when flushed? The answer is: I have no clue! All the WC's here have no swirl effect. They just throw out water (you should be careful) and suck it back at the same rate, so no swirly. Very disappointing! Also, I should let you all know that I am the least fashionably dressed lady in this city. Seriously. They are big big big on the knee high boots (I'm a fan) and everyone and I mean everyone is sporting them. Grandmas on the tram tsk tsk my unflattering tennis shoes. As for the boys, I don't know how they get those jeans on. Not that I am complaining. In the States the pants are so baggy I see half the undies, they're practically spray painted on here. Very Pete Wentz. And if you are planning a visit, bust out that wallet! A matinee at the movies is $16 a person. I saw an 18 pack of coke ON SALE for $22. And beer? Don't even think about it! A case of Corona or similar will set you back $60.
Well my fingers are freezing up so I've got to end this. We're heading to Sydney for the weekend so I'll update you then!