some notes, especially on food

life in Melbourne is going on...  people are friendly, they like to chat up to you  anywhere and everywhere. i think the communication is pretty american, as expected, friendly but somewhat superficial. but its too early to make deep analysis.

notes: 

• it's nice to have mailboxes on the street

• it's nice to have a very functional public transport app

• Melbourne has a lot of "nice to have" things

• the huge selection of wines in the wine shops both excites me and scares me

• every day i see people (men and women) with very similar haircuts to mine. this is not a bad thing :)

tuna pastry or something...

a rainy evening, corner of Barkly St and Inkerman St.

4 sizes of beers??? :D never heard of pot and schooner.

white wine and a doctors beer, called One Fifty Lashes.

the menu in an Italian restaurant.

we had already eaten so had just garlic & herb bread.

trendy cafe, Monk Bodhi Dharma. our once couchsurfing guest Ardalan (from Iran)  lives in Melbourne now so i reached out to him and we met last saturday. i had tracked his 'route' on FB, but now i got to hear the real scoop on how did he end up all the way here and how is life for an expat here.

these kind of coffee places are popular. aussies really love coffee. meh.

looks american/canadian? just a street.

St Kilda town hall.

Cafe Finn. they were playing Jenni Vartiainen.

sushi. sushi. sushi... i am eating sushi nearly every day and cannot get enough of it.instead of bites, they sell full rolls...  a nice thick salmon avokado roll is usually like 2.70 aud/1,9 euros. well worth it, a great snack.

a palm tree/beach themed bar at the top of a building in central Melbourne. great views and a relaxed atmosphere.

a tram stop! one the most central (Swanston/Bourke). the naming of the stops is a bit confusing, usually its the intersection but sometimes there are additional names.

just a random bar, early in the evening.

on Valentine's Day doctor booked a table at this upscale thai place (Colone Tan's), i was really happy. it was very hipstery and nice.

menus...

yummy...

wall art...

 toilet doors at Colonel Tan's

some travel agency window... "euro trip" :D

vodka bar. the menu had probably 50-100 different vodkas. the owner is polish. the place was called Borch Vodka & Tears. lol.

the home of late Rupert Bunny. hmmm.

flat & room search has been taken a lot of my time. ive been messaging, calling and texting. a lot. its hard. a lot of the ads are by companies, the flats are not really available, they are just advertizing with it, so when you call, they will check and offer you something double the price. and flatshares are looking or long term. and so on. oh dear. i have spent easily 10 hours on it, plus the stress which is probably worth more. what surprises me is how the individuals you contact don't even bother replying "sorry no thanks" - is this a cultural thing?? also i am a bit annoyed when people, - trying to be helpful i know i know - suggest "have you checked gumtree yet?" well let me think, like, since 5 months ago, yes i have!! and some 20 other sites besides gumtree. maybe i come off as very dumb or helpless, but im now preferring to not talk about the situation much, in order to not attract useless or self evident advice.