I only have one word for yesterday: wow!! It was really an amazing day. It started out early because I couldn't sleep so I just got up at 6:15am and went to the gym for a run. After showering I was able to catch Alex on Skype for an hour or so which was fun (minus the "sounding like death" part). Willing the time to go faster, I cleaned up the apartment before finally leaving to catch the bus to the airport. I thought I was actually going to be late, but I forgot about the time it takes to get through customs/to get your bags, etc. At first I went to the domestic terminal because my parents were coming from Sydney, but it ended up that their flight came through the international terminal so I had to run over there. I had a front row seat and every time one of the exit doors opened my heart took a little leap, wondering if it was my parents. And then the moment came and my life became instantly awesome. I ran over and embraced them and saying I was happy is an understatement :)
First order of business upon their arrival was getting them to the hotel. The tram system here is great, but not so much when you have luggage. The tram was pretty full and it was kind of hard to move around the big bags but we did what we could and arrived at the hotel without any major problems. They are staying at the Grand Hyatt and it is beautiful. After checking in (20th floor with an amazing view of the city) we walked around the CBD a little before ending up in Chinatown for lunch. While my dad wanted to go back and take a nap afterwards, my mom and I walked around some more. One of our stops was at the grocery store to pick up some snacks for the hotel room. It was fun to point out some of the different products and we spent quite some time in there. As we were leaving, I saw a picture of Lauren Mitchell (probably the top Australian gymnast who has signed a deal with Visa prior to the Olympics) and I had my mom take a picture. I guess I'm one of those life-long fans of the sport.
After awhile outside, we ended up back at the hotel. It took some time to wake my dad and get him showered and dressed, but during the process I was able to introduce my parents to my favorite news show: The Project. That's one of the things I will miss when I leave. I've gotten in the habit of watching the show every evening and I really like the people on it.
Once out the door we began walking again (so much walking to come in the next few weeks). I knew I wanted to take my parents to Lygon Street for dinner; Lygon is famous for all of the Italian restaurants that have taken up residence there.
It's really nice because most of the restaurants will have their menus in the window or laid out for passers-by to look at. We stopped couple of times to check things out before ending up at Villa Romana (we actually passed the place but then I saw a calzone on the plate of a customer and so we turned around). I'm glad we ended up there because not only have I never eaten at that particular place before but it was also really good! Everyone enjoyed their meal and it was especially nice because the weather was great and we ate outside. I'm hoping we keep having such perfect weather (it was about 75 yesterday) because I know it'll be winter (again!) when I get home.
We took the long way back to the hotel after that (partly to walk off some of the dinner we just consumed and partly because I wanted to show them more parts of town). We went through some quieter neighborhoods before we walked past the Royal Exhibition Building, where I took a handful of my final exams. It is a huge building and even in the dark you can tell. It really is beautiful but this is the only time I've actually appreciated that because it's the first time I haven't been there while at the same time stressing about a test.
I got back to my room kind of late and am up early again to get ready for graduation. I actually have to finish doing that because right now all I've done is showered. I'm supposed to meet my parents in an hour at the hotel so we can wander around and find breakfast. After that we'll take our time getting to campus where I'll pick up my regalia and I can give a condensed tour before the ceremony begins. Woohoo...I can't believe I actually made it and that it's time to celebrate that. Let the good times continue :)
No comments:
Post a Comment