Today I got up and out to try and hand my cv in to the local supermarkets in the area. I went by myself because I fancied some alone time to chill but it ended up being the day from hell. The mobile wasn't working properly and I waited over an hour for a train that never came due to fires causing issues. So I hoped on the bus, then couldn't find where I needed to go etc etc. cut a long story short it was a nightmare then resulted in being told my each one to either come back tomorrow or look for vacancies online.
By the time I got back I was in such a state Liam took me out for the evening for food, which was nice that we got to go out and have some time together and made us both feel better.
On the 12th we had a leisurely get up before doing a bit of job searching on the computer. We then decided to go and take a look at Belgrave just because it was a nice day and felt we should be outside. We seem to have mostly taken on the local way of avoiding outside when its too hot because we are aware the UV is extreme here.
We could have taken the train but we decided to walk which took us around 50 minutes. It was really nice because we got to have some alone time, have a proper chat and spend some proper time together for the first time since arriving which I think made us both feel a it more relaxed.
We looked into all the little shop windows, deciding against going inside due to the ludicrous prices everywhere. We went to look at the famed puffing billy railway, but just looked as a ticket was about 40 dollars each. It was so hot today that there was a high bush fire risk up again, which meant it wasn't even the usual steam train today anyway.
We walked up to an area where we could watch it go past, which was fun because everybody was sitting with their legs out and waving as they went by. We then sat at a picnic bench in the shade for a snack and water but we didn't stay long as a branch fell down really close to us due to it all being so dry so we decided to leave as we were surrounded by a few big trees.
We did the long hard walk back up to the town, I popped into the safe ways to ask for a job to which I was instructed to go onto the Internet. We were hot at that point so took the train back which still requires an up hill walk of 20 mins to get back.
Spent the evening playing with the kids and watching movies etc, the usual routine which is becoming quite nice. Pippa has a very odd wish to be my dog most of the time, which involves me giving her commands and walking around the house with her on a lead. It's so funny!
The next day was a day of rest. Not that we've been particularly busy but sometimes you just need one. I didn't get out of bed until past 11am, and I spent all day playing monopoly with the kids and watching films with them. Liam helped Paula and Richard mix cement and other construction related stuff outside. They all went for a BBQ in the evening so we were left to our own devices, which meant me having a hot bath then looking at stuff I want to see in melbourne, and Liam doing job related stuff on the computer preparing for his interview.
We had an early start in the morning to get on the train for 8am and into the city for Liam's interview. He's feeling really positive about it and feels it went well. The are a lot of people gong for the job though so now we just have to sit back and wait for news. We then spent quite a lot time wandering around for me to find my list of job agencies to speak to them face to face and hand in my cv. After the 3rd one not being interested in face to face and telling me to send my details online I gave up. We had already done a load of walking, I wasn't going to waste any more energy on it when we could be sight seeing.
So we walked to the arcade, having heard the architecture was worth a look. It was an old Victorian style building with very posh and expensive shops inside. We enjoyed window shopping, looking at the spectacular tea rooms and the craft shops. There was a place that was making rock candy which was good to see as we hadn't seen it being made before. He had a massive piece of warm whatever it is they use to make rock in a big thick cylinder. He kind if pulled it and rolled it to get thin bits from it before chopping it off and putting it to the side, doing this a dozen or so times for each piece very quickly. It cooled really fast so he has to do it quick. They were doing samples and we thought it was the best rock we had ever tasted.
After that we walked to find some lunch, on the way we saw a Lindt cafe and went in for a nosy. There was so much variety that I'd never seen before and I was more excited than what was totally necessary for chocolate but it was amazing. They even walked around with free samples. But, prices were high with it being Lindt and Australia so we took the samples and left.
After lunch we went to the immigration museum, still admiring the city despite having been in a few times now. I've never seen anywhere with such a mixture of old and new, traffic jams and trams right next to horse and carts. We were in the immigration museum for around 2 hours or so. It was interesting to read up about the first settlers and the changes to the immigration laws etc as the years have gone by and depending on what's going on in the world. It also had a room dedicated to stereotypes and celebrating differences in everybody which was a nice touch. It was very interactive so it keeps you interested all of the way around, with little touches like screens for you to interview people for visas and little tests to see if you would pass the test to become a citizen etc.
We then walked over to the crown entertainment complex to get an idea of what was inside for when we fancy a night there. There's floors of gambling stations, posh designer shops and a cinema. Lots of places to eat, clubs, big in your face sparkly decoration. There's a cheap night on Tuesdays for the cinema so we decided we would go next week and treat ourselves to cinema and maybe a go in the casino. However I think Liam would rather go there with his friend John.
An hour on the train and a stop off at the shop for some supplies and we got back at the house around 7. Early night tonight due to the great ocean road drive tomorrow.
