14,396 Miles from LA to Melbourne

You think the 16 hour flight to Australia is going to be torture, when in fact, it's not as bad as anticipated. Incredibly uncomfortable yes and very little foot room for anyone over 5'. I wanted to ensure I would be able to sleep on the flight so I kicked my butt at the gym the day of departure and made sure to get as little sleep as possible. I sat next to a talkative older sweet woman and a 9th grader who told me the real deal of being an Aussie. Thank you to Drea & Meredith for some movie recommendations; I was finally able to see Ruby Sparks which was wonderfully satisfying! And it only took me 1 + years to get around to seeing The Artist thank you to Luis. The food on Qantas was an experience that just should be forgotten…no bueno.

The line for Immigration did go quite quickly but word to the wise for anyone traveling internationally; use the bathroom before you get off the flight. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT stop at the bathroom while making your way to the line for Immigration…the line will triple in those short 3 minutes! The silly thing was once you got your baggage, there was another "exit line" which involved queuing up in this strange maze that resulted in just handing a piece of paper with your declarations to a woman on your way out…the line seriously made no sense because of they didn't seem to check anyone. 

Seeing Richard was so wonderful, it made all the stress of traveling simply melt away. And he was waiting for me with a delicious latte. 

We're staying at a hotel called the Blackman. It's this modern, artsy hotel on St. Kilda Road that is pretty modern and fun. After speaking with Richard on Skype and seeing

the backdrop of the room so many times, it was great to finally see it person. 

I walked Richard back to work after we grabbed a quick lunch (it was so exciting to eat non processed food). The twisty route from the hotel includes walking through a beautiful fluffy park. The park has these absolutely adorable grey, red and white parrots and love birds that just hang out and mock visitors looking at them. It's so unbelievable to think that these birds are just native to the area.