Sunday, July 19, 2015

Tram Life

Approximately 90% of the time, riding public transport is pretty dull. However, every once in awhile I encounter a fellow passenger who is hilariously entertaining and/or completely strange. Earlier this week, I was riding home from meeting friends for dinner and sat near a guy who was blasting ABBA's 'Mama Mia' from his phone and jumping up and down in his seat dancing. Epic song choice.

Yesterday, Peter and I were on the tram on our way home from the market and sat across from this guy, who was casually reading and chugging red wine out of the bottle at 2pm. Bold. 
I miss having a car from time to time, but entertaining passengers make public transport bearable at worst and enjoyable at best. 

Before hitting up the market, Peter and I had lunch at his favorite CBD restaurant, Trunk Diner. Trunk is next door to one of the first buildings we toured when we were looking for apartments exactly a year ago, and we took some time to reminisce during lunch. Those first few weeks when we were trying to secure housing were super stressful given that we didn't really know what we were looking for. At first, we searched for furnished apartments, which we quickly figured out were few and far between. Furthermore, the furnished apartments in our price range generally featured old, beat up furniture that looked uncomfortable and like it might break down at any moment. The room we toured next door to Trunk had a 70's cabin vibe and was pretty much hideous. In fact, I think it was the last furnished apartment we toured before completely giving up and deciding to focus on unfurnished apartments instead, which turned out to be a better deal in the end anyway. 

We decided at lunch that when we move again in the future, we should secure some sort of short-term accommodation before signing a lease, because two weeks in the hotel was definitely not enough time to find a place and know exactly what we wanted in a completely new city we had never been to before. It would have been beneficial to spend a month or so in an Airbnb or serviced apartment while we familiarized ourselves with the area. So, there's my tip for people moving to a new city! 
Peter ordered a burger and I got a chicken quesadilla, which were both really good!

We stopped by Target to look for some artwork for the walls, which are still completely bare a year later. Embarrassing, I know. We didn't find anything to hang on the walls, but I did score this epic deal on a phone case:
Had to stop for a Boost! I am obsessed with the strawberry smoothies at this place. 

P.S. yesterday was the coldest morning in Melbourne in 18 years. I think it got down to 32F/0C! We are definitely ready to head up to Brisbane in a couple weeks and escape this whole winter thing.

10 comments:

  1. We stayed in an airbnb for 3 weeks when we first arrived - it was definitely the best decision ever. It was way cheaper than any other short term accommodation by far, and the girl we stayed with is now one of my closest friends here. And... 2.5 years later our walls are still bare as well!

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    Replies
    1. We considered extending our short term accommodation but it was SO EXPENSIVE...I wish we would have known about Airbnb at that time!

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  2. oh my gosh.. boost! i miss boost juice so much, the strawberry smoothies were my fave. most of the walls in our house are still pretty bare as well, oh well lol. that guy on the tram - hilarious!

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    Replies
    1. I need to find a way to bring Boost to the U.S. when we move back!

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  3. Fellow train people are breathtaking, aren't they? I was once offered a kitten by a man who had a large box of them. The only reason I didn't say yes (possibly to all) is because at the time our office had a sweet but very blind dog who may have mistaken them for toys...

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    Replies
    1. Oh man, I don't know if I could resist a box of kittens! I've just gotten to the point where I'm not surprised by anything anymore :).

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  4. Winter? You call that Winter?! Ha!

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    Replies
    1. I had no idea it got this cold in Australia! I thought it was always hot and sunny.

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  5. Haha yes, since moving to Germany I have had my fare share of interesting public transportation experiences :)

    ReplyDelete

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Welcome! I started Laura and Peter Down Under in July 2014 when my husband and I moved from the States to Melbourne, Australia for his job. I blog about expat life, our travels, food, and whatever else comes to mind. Follow along on our adventures Down Under!

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