First impressions

Having left Nashville on Friday (june 2nd) in the afternoon, we arrived in Melbourne safe and sound on Sunday morning local time. Although it truly seemed to be a neverending journey, the flights were smooth and on time and there really wasn't anything to complain about (apart from airplane food that is). This is the first time in "down under" for both of us, so all of this has been quite exciting, really.
In Melbourne we were greeted by the lovely parents of a a good friend, who have been gracious and kind enough to be our hosts for the duration of our stay. It's been great going from the airport straight to a warm house with soft beds , clean bathrooms and great food and not having to worry about finding something edible immediately or sleeping off the jetlag in a dorm room filled with 20 other backpackers. Thanks so much, Kev & Kath!!!
On Sunday we were too tired & confused to really do anything but take a shower (soooo good after 36 hours of airports and airplanes), sit around, nap, eat and step outside to breathe some Australian air. By 8 pm we were fast asleep and although we woke up a few times during the night, we didn't get up again until 9 am Monday. After a great "brekky" we actually ventured out into Melbourne for the first time. The day was a little cold, cloudy, and fall-y all in all, if you know what I mean. It is winter here, after all, we were reminded. Drugged up with coffee we saw a good part of downtown (Federation Square, Flinders Street Station, Swanston and Bourke streets) as well as the University of Melbourne and the neighborhoods of Carlton and Fitzroy. The neighborhoods around the university were pretty cool, quite "funky" and hip actually, just as Lonely Planet had promised. Today the weather was much better, a perfect fallday with blue skies and brisk, fresh air. We discovered Victoria Market and had a walk in the beautiful, huge Botanical gardens, saw the river and the skyline from the riverfront - niiiiiiiiiiice! Less worn out than the past few days, we're still getting ready to call it a day, so here are some first impressions of "Oz" in bullet-point-format:

• Australia seems very European (Patrick)
• ...yes, very European...and quite expensive. (Lydia)
• There are more "rednecks" than anticipated (P)
• Looks like Florida, but has northern California's weather. (P)
• Looks like Britain, feels like Britain, sounds like Britain (a lot of the time). (L)
• Good coffee (P)
• Good (better) chocolate. (L)
• No Power Bars to be found anywhere. Agonizing. (L)
• McDonald's, Starbuck's, Subway, Burger King (well...Hungry Jack's), Target, KFC ... all here. A lot like Florida after all!? (P & L)
• "Look right, look left feels like an assassination plot" someone once said. I agree. didn't know crossing the street could be such an adventure. (L)
• People smoke A LOT more than in the US. Very European, as we said before. (P & L)
• It doesn't feel as dangerous a place as it sounds (snakes and spiders and sharks and scorpions and crocs and all that).
• I like Vegemite already! (P)

That's it for today. Stay tuned. Good night.