girls gone under

can't nobody hold us down...

2011-02-10T08:00:00.008+11:00

oh no, we got to keep on movin!

It's weird I no longer share EVERYTHING, let alone know what these two girls are doing at ALL times. So, they say that everything must come to an end, but it sure was one hell of a ride and we aren't stopping yet. For all of you who said we wouldn't, we did. For all those who believed we could, we love you!

I miss you girls, I will always be here when you need me!
xx

Until next time...
See you soon Aussie!

black out betty

2011-01-28T11:16:00.005+11:00

Ory-O's 24th was spent watching the made in Melbourne flick "The Loved Ones" at the Rooftop Cinema. It was a shocking movie (youtube the trailer, instant anxiety attack), and we were slightly over served (can you tell?).

We've unanimously decided that every city building should chuck a projection screen and some lawn chairs on the roof and call it a day.

aussie open

2011-01-28T10:56:00.002+11:00

Hands down the most fun at a sporting event ever. Shattered we're going to be on a plane home for the finals!

shark bait

2011-01-13T14:25:00.004+11:00

Well I have all my limbs and there was no visit to the decompression chamber- Not a bad way to spend a rainy wednesday if I do say so myself!

My dive buddy and I were the lucky first to jump into the 2.2 million liter shark tank just hours after the release of their new hammerheads. I can't even begin to explain what an amazing experience it was- giant sting rays (they love the feeling of bubbles so they float just above your head), tiger sharks, napping sea turtles, massive grey nurse sharks and of course the hammerheads.

I really have no idea why I haven't invested in an underwater camera yet (the above pictures were taken of me by a friend from outside the tank), but the videos linked below are from the same tank and give a much better idea of what it was like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAaPUvzIOWg&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ACUiLlB8w&feature=related

fancy footwork

2011-01-04T21:38:00.004+11:00

The city-wide fireworks and 105 degree temps made our New Years Eve more like the 4th of July- and we weren't mad about it at all. The rest of the details will forever remain in the bottom of an empty bottle of Tanqueray, but I can assure you a good time was had by all. Ignoring the fact that our beautiful beach apartment had inexplicably turned into a frat house overnight, we had a quick egg sando and were out the door on our way to 'Summadayze'- the legendary aussie music festival. 12 hours of booze and beats- 2011 is going to be a good one!

a not-so-white christmas

2010-12-28T20:39:00.003+11:00

4 bottles of bubbly, 3 suitcases, the heaviest plate of homemade cookies known to mankind, a hydrangea bouquet, and a couple of train tickets-we were off to Shepparton for the Holidays with the loveliest Aussie family around. Whether it was chicken and champagne for brekky or the massive afternoon barbies (and more champagne), we were never without food. And we love us some food.

We spent boxing day having a nap in front of the cricket match and attempting to catch a few yabbies- activities we clearly lack the patients for. Thankfully, Godrey saved the day with a tour around the Kiwi fields-nothing quite like the Victoria Bushland.

We hope you missed us as much as we missed you on our first Christmas away from home in 24 years! (we won't mention the 80+ degree weather)

xx

making moves

2010-12-28T19:46:00.048+11:00

Melbs has been good to me, but Sydney has my heart. Bondi Beach is the spot, with it's laid back, sweet disposition and the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen! I haven't seen the Mallen clan for years, amazing it took us a trip across the world to reunite for one epic weekend...frisbee on the beach, drunken dance moves, breathtaking coastal walks, stunning graffitti art, and the famous Sydney Opera House.

Ah, some things never change, the 330 to the 303! This weekend went too fast but was a good reminder of what is to come, I don't plan at stopping at all!

Thanks to mum for making it happen!

peace and love-

furry friends.

2010-12-18T14:32:00.003+11:00

well after 11 months in the land down under we have finally seen a 'roo that wasn't roadkill or served up rare. absolutely the cutest creatures we've had the chance to cuddle up to-they'll hold your hand right before ripping the bag of feed to shreds, open the gift shop door and have a browse inside, and unsuspectingly wait for you in the loo. koalas could not care less about who's giving them a pat as long as they have a paw full of eucalyptus. patrick the wombat was too lazy to even open his little wombat eyes, and the tassie devils apparently have a bite 10x stronger than a doberman but we would put one in our carry-on no questions asked. if you ever happen to be in victoria, the ballarat wildlife park should be top of your list.

sunshine & shiraz

2010-11-25T16:22:00.004+11:00

we've been so busy with all of our visitors lately its hard to narrow things down to a single post. this weeks most notable adventure was to the Yarra Valley and it's 70+ wineries- beating out sangria-filled night markets and boating in the port phillip bay for its place on the blog. We visited a few heavy-hitters including the prestigious Domaine Chandon and De Bortoli, and the equally impressive boutique cellars Millers Dixons Creek Estate and Mandala. no one left empty handed (greg wins 'tourist of the day' award for the case of chandon and the handmade cheese tray he took home). we're planning on writing a thank you card for the massive hangover that followed us back to the city, but we will absolutely be heading back soon. possibly weekly. now it's off to the kitchen to watch jeanne hyde attempt to prepare thanksgiving dinner with an oven thats measured in celsius. pure gold. let the holiday season begin!

off to the races

2010-11-03T13:56:00.002+11:00

we celebrated the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup with 100,000 other revelers and a case of champagne for breakfast. it's no surprise that one of us didnt see 'Americain' win it all (she was being helped to a cab by a very nice security guard), but found the winning ticket in her bag some 6 hours later. the rest of us cashed in on our winnings and miraculously made it home from flemington racecourse in time for fish and chips and a late afternoon nap. there also might have been a few USA chants and the singing of the national anthem while waiting for the train. i really have no idea why people find americans abroad so obnoxious?

some things never change.

2010-10-20T01:15:00.003+11:00

summer is almost here and so is colleen george and company. we feel a moms weekend take-a-knee tribute in the near future.

you can take the girls out of athens, but you sure can't take athens out of the girls!

there goes the neighbourhood

2010-09-19T21:12:00.003+10:00

From the moment we saw the massive bottle of jameson painted on the building we knew it was meant to be. 3 bedrooms and the beach for a backyard was all it took for us to sign our lives away. So much more room for activities (and international visitors).

xx
bestfriends beachhouse

to the top end.

2010-08-11T18:54:00.004+10:00

We had our first yank visitor last month- Mr. Santilli spent his 4th of July jetlagged in Melbourne like any good patriot should. Kels was in the States and Ory was not participating in the blog so her details shall not be revealed, so Tony and I headed North.

First stop: Sydney. Victorians say the only good thing out of Sydney is the road to Melbourne, and I’m sure there is a bit of truth to that- but the harbour is gorgeous even on a rainy day. The cafes, opera house, harbour bridge, and royal botanical gardens are all worth seeing. The nightlife is apparently world class, but after dedicating 5 years of my life to Athens Ohio my standards are pretty high.

We flew into Cairns in the Far North Queensland from Sydney- they call it the gateway to the Barrier Reef, but there isn’t even a beach there (the mudflats up to the esplanade are known for bird watching but I mean really…bird watching?) If you ever fly into Cairns, do yourself a favor and have the rental car waiting at the air port-all the fun stuff is up north. Palm Cove is about 20 kilometers up the Captain James Cook highway (the british explorer who ran his ship “the endeavour” aground on the barrier reef in 1770- more on him later). Absolutely beautiful, in the rainforest and right on the beach, but like everywhere in far north Queensland-the water isn’t really for swimming. Stingers and crocs are everywhere.

From Palm Cove we headed North to Port Douglas where most of the ships launch for outer barrier reef dives. The coral dates back 18 million years, and there we were swimming in it alongside eels and minke whales. Cape Tribulation is situated in the Daintree National Forest (the worlds oldest rainforest), and is only accessible during the dry season. There is one road that goes through this part of Queensland, and it’s only paved part of the way. Cape Trib was renamed by our old friend Captain Cook- it was known as Kurangee by Aborigines for thousands of years. I can’t imagine how many bottles of rum he killed before he ran over the barrier reef and spent the next months living amongst the Aborigines. It’s like Jurassic park there. Crocs and Cassowarys have survived for millions of years, the rainforest plant life is 120 million years old. I can't even wrap my mind around that.

Mt. Sorrow is a rainforest hike that is described in local guides as “for persons of moderate fitness”. Tony and I thought it would be a perfect way to explore the rainforest. So did Daniel Nute, a British backpacker who in 1997 filled out the same bush hiker forms we did to help searchers in the event that you didn’t return. His body was never found. We limped out of the rainforest with leaches in our shoes and a new found respect for free climbers and jungle people.

Most of the land in far north is still reserved for Aborigines. A far cry from the Native American reservations the US so lovingly set aside for its Natives. To equally offend everyone however, as recently as the 1960’s, Queensland schools used textbooks that described Aborigines as “feral jungle creatures”. They weren’t even included in the national census. Civilization is so uncivilized. Captain cook detailed his time with the aborigines in his journals: “ They may appear to some to be the most wretched people on earth, but in reality they are far happier than we Europeans. They live in a tranquility which is not disturbed by the inequality of condition: the earth and the sea of their own accord furnish them with all things necessary for life…they seemed to set no value upon anything we gave them, nor would they ever part with anything of their own.” In no aboriginal language is there a word for “yesterday” or “tomorrow”. They just exist. And that’s pretty cool.

oh, you're still here aren't you?

2010-08-02T22:30:00.003+10:00

Hi blog, so we haven’t posted on you in 4 months- not at all surprising considering the 3 of us have never started and finished anything in a timely manor (at all). Its hard to believe 6 months has gone by since we boarded our VAustralia flight in LA. Looking back on it all its pretty crazy that we call this place home now.

Working full time has kept us insanely busy but we still make time for happy hour drinks and days at the zoo. Our little Kelsey flew back to the states last month for wedding season. We missed her dearly-it didn’t feel quite right ordering 2 shots of jameson instead of 3. Thank God she’s back safe and sound-if we’ve learned anything from Atlanta, Ory and Bridgette should not be left to their own devices in an unsuspecting city.

We have big future plans so stay tuned…

Also…ory will not be posted in any pictures until she agrees to participate in blog writing. Until then, we will post only daily proverbs from her

“OMG…TOILET PAPER?! COOL!”

xo

29 and sunny

2010-04-18T00:15:00.005+10:00

celsius, of course. It was a perfect saturday afternoon for a sailing regatta in albert park and gin and tonics at the yacht club!

side note...the giant black geese in this country are entirely too comfortable around humans.

crown casino.

2010-04-15T18:15:00.002+10:00

and we made him feel uncomfortable...so what exactly does that say about us?

kelseys birthday!

2010-03-29T00:44:00.003+11:00

The second birthday in Australia went off with more hitches than we can bear to say. For the record. do not show up to the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the Footy season opener with members club tickets and sandals on your feet. Sure they’ll let 3 people in front of you in with them on, but not you. Thankfully you can walk all the way back to the tram stop, take it back into the CBD and find a little asian shoe store still open at 8pm to buy yet another pair of flats and make it back in time to meet the birthday girl at the bar and catch the 2nd quarter of the game. Also- if you’re wearing your teams jumper (jersey), and you happen to be in the members club section, you’ll be the only one wearing one. dually noted. Since the Richmond Tigers lost, we had a great reason to blame our celebrations on- you can only imagine how much fun we had. A huge thank you to the O’Sullivans- we don’t know what we’d do without you! (we certainly wouldn’t have seats 3 rows behind the Richmond bench…oh ben cousins #32...)

home sweet (australian) home

2010-03-28T21:27:00.003+11:00

We found an apartment! It’s a private renovated wing of a great old Victorian mansion in Brunswick- just a 15 minute tram ride to the CBD. It took a liter of bourbon and more cleaning supplies than anyone should ever inhale, but we didn’t sleep until it was spotless. Ory mopped the 15’ ceilings for crying out loud. We’re slowly furnishing it thanks to ikea and the great vintage shops near us- bridgette bought a 1960’s coffee table for $20 and carried it all the way up Lygon street (boy work). The Queen Victoria Market is right around the corner for Saturday grocery shopping (we bought 5 kilos of grapes for $3 and an entire tray of steaks for $15 just to name a few bargains we couldn’t say no to. Imagine sitting near us on that tram ride home).

In other news… JOBS. We have to pay this absurd rent somehow

Kels- the breadwinner of this family thus far- working at the aboriginal arts center framing thousands of dollars worth of authentic artwork from the outback and slinging coffee on the side at the cutest little Italian café.

Bridgette- lasted 2 shifts at Santinos Terrace with straight-off-the-boat, wildly inappropriate 50 year old Italian men. That was 2 shifts too long. Went door to door to nearly every architecture firm in this city (bloody Von Furstenberg flats to prove it) and scored an interview with a great firm in the CBD this week-so keep your fingers crossed!

Ory- waiting tables at an Italian restaurant… yeah you’re seeing the pattern here, we’re in the middle of melbournes little italy, also the epicenter of the Italian mob (no we’re not kidding…the good news is it’s the safest part of the city for that very reason). Good thing we love a good espresso and a great pasta dish…and Italian men.

Needless to say, we’re falling in love with city life!

xo

b.k.o

b turns 24!

2010-03-13T18:53:00.004+11:00

There couldn't be a better way to celebrate the first birthday in australia than with a trip down the great ocean road in a 1964 ford falcon. 2 days and 500 kilometers along the shipwreck coast-some of the most amazing ocean views you could imagine. we stood in ice cold, crystal clear water looking at the edge of the world. we walked along the beach at the 12 apostles and climbed in caves at the site of the sunken loch arch.

now its back to city life and planning the next adventure in underland!

wish us luck! (donations accepted and payable through paypal)

xoxo

b,k,o

as if

2010-03-06T21:52:00.003+11:00

So there was a minor setback in the apartment search today...in the form of 26mm of rain in less than an hour, golf ball sized hail, and the evacuation of southern cross station after a massive hole was torn in the roof. but other than that, another beautiful day in melbourne!

bushwazie

2010-02-24T23:01:00.003+11:00

So we thought our pictures on this post should accurately represent our past week....RIDING TRAMS. all over this city. and we've come to a few conclusions when it comes to apartment searching in Melbourne: 1. they wont rent to americans (this hypothesis has been backed up by several locals) and 2. they wont rent to us because we're unemployed (...nahhh couldn't be it).

So plan b: buy a hippie van and drive up the coast selling handmade seashell jewelry out of the back, or blow through our entire savings on travels and come home in a month. we'll keep you updated (no worries moms and dads).

In other news, we made it to our first aussie barbie (is it really spelled like barbie?) for our new friend Brody's birthday, and we're planning a trip down the Great Ocean Road next week. The Shwayze concert was awesome (bruises to prove it), we're taking advantage of the $12.50 steak night at the ESPY, and we share a bed and a cell phone (we're the 3 best friends that anyone could have)

We still miss you, in the words of Colleen "we're really far away".

and we will find a safe place to park the van.

cheers mates

b,k,o

calling all vacant homes

2010-02-19T23:30:00.002+11:00

yep yep still looking for a place to call our own. 5 full days of apartment hunting in melbourne has proven to be a lot more difficult than we had imagined. on the plus side we have gotten to know our way around town pretty well in the past week and with a little luck we'll land one of the several apartments we've applied for. we're applying for 2 swank pads tomorrow then heading to the beach before the shwayze concert at the espy (www.espy.com.au). you can only imagine how excited kels is. the weathers beautiful, the city is great, and we can't wait for our first visitors!

peace

pints and penguins

2010-02-14T15:21:00.003+11:00

We left the city for a holiday on Phillip Island this past weekend-such an unbelievable place! Scenic cliffs (the nobbies), woolamai and smiths surf beaches, fluffy penguins and of course a local pub. We were the only people to order a pint (everyone drinks “pots” to avoid warm beer…we think they should just drink faster) Lots of new friends- some that play semi pro soccer, some that live in a van by the beach. We had Friday night afterhours in the ocean (the stars were incredible), and spent Saturday in recovery mode watching Aussie rules footie…could possibly be our new favorite sport. Now its off to the St.Kilda festival, and an early Monday morning house hunting!

hope you’re staying warm…cause we sure are!

xoxo

b,k,m

full on

2010-02-11T00:18:00.002+11:00

So our hostel is less of an inexpensive hotel and more of an expensive homeless shelter, but after living in Athens what’s the difference? It’s only for 2 nights thankfully- and then we’re off to Phillip Island for a weekend holiday! After a night out with our New Zealand roommate (over served) we explored more than the bars in St.Kilda for a potential home base. Our first tram ride into the CBD for a new bank account was successful thanks to Jessie (our oz mother) and the lovely Rita at Commonwealth Bank. Each day gets a little easier and a lot more comfortable, give us another week or two and we’ll be right at home here. We had a few pints of carlton draught with our new friends (girls from England and Sweden), wedges with sweet chili and sourcream (try it-kels likes it more than ketchup) and bartered with a sushi shop that was closing for the night (we bought everything they had left for $60). This day has been full on (intense…picking up the local lingo)

We know you miss us, and yes we miss you too.

Take care. No worries.

Much love, xox

b,k,m

please remain calm

2010-02-09T19:47:00.003+11:00

After an unbelievable 24 hours in LA and almost 4 days of travel time, we’re finally in Melbourne! We partied in the Hollywood Hills for the Superbowl and caught a taxi to LAX just in time for a vodka tonic before boarding our final 15 hour flight. We arrived in Melbourne to perfect 30 degree weather (we haven’t quite figured out this whole celsius thing yet) and spent the day at the beach in St. Kilda after dropping our monstrous amount of bags off- Colleens secret valentines made our day, and we’ve learned that SPF 60 works phenomenally as long as it’s applied evenly

So much more to come…

xoxo

b,k,m

away we go!

2010-02-07T04:22:00.002+11:00