Googling Australia

Hello everyone,
I spent some time on Google Earth today and, as always happens, I ended up wandering the streets of Australia and I couldn't help but remember lots of good times spent in these places with my friends.

Where I lived:

At the top you'll see the complex I lived in (College Square), untagged just above that is the Independent Grocer of Australia (IGA) where I had to make runs for milk and crackers during commercial breaks of Big Brother.

Top right is the safeway - also there was a Borders, a coffee shop, and a movie theatre.

Safeway and College Square were on Lygon Street - world famous for its Italian restaurants (go ahead, google it). Just to the right of this picture there was this incredible Italian restaurant that had a Nutella dessert - Erika and I enjoyed this masterpiece on many an ocassion.

To the right you'll see Uni Melb - just where the little tag is you would find the union - in the union there was a rancid sushi joint, a store that sold award-winning lotion, a wonderful coffee shop where Erika and I would hang out every Tuesday afternoon, the computer lab, and lots and lots of smart people who care about stuff and held protests.

"Kiddy Corner" (American phrase) to my apartment building was the Jewish Cemetary. It's big. My friend Joe once chased a fox in there on our way to the playground (tagged below the cemetary). There was a gravestone for Elvis in there.

Above the cemetary I have pointed to where I saw a dead bat on the sidewalk once.

Mid to low in the picture you'll see Erika's college. A college in Australia is what we would call a cross between a dorm and a fraternity. They had a ball - we would have called it a dance, but they did not. We went to it.

Down low is the Melbourne Zoo. Jess and I saw some otters there. This is a picture from that fateful day:


Speaking of pictures, this is one of Erika in my apartment building on halloween:


Downtown Melbourne:

Up top you'll see a casino. It's an indoor city with pillars of fire outside (literally). Erika and I saw a movie there once (the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre if you're interested) and had to walk all the way home afterwards as the trams stop running after 1am. We ate free popcorn and strangers tried to talk to us along the way (see tag).

There's a music venue in the middle of downtown. This is where I met many of my wonderful Australian friends.

Below that is where I once tried to climb on the briefcase of one of these strange statues and wiped out onto the sidewalk below:


Then there's Chinatown.

Then Nando's Chicken joint - where they proudly boasted "No Fat Chicks."

In the lower right is the Queen Vic Market, where fruit is purchased.


Townsville, The Strand:

This was my most exciting find. I spent Christmas in Townsville. December is summer in Australia, so there was a Christmas parade - I remember there was Mary and Joseph, a manger, and several camels. Knowing I'd never seen a camel before, my friend Frog hooked me up with the meeting and petting of one of the blasted creatures.


If you look to your right you'll see a bathroom. Jen and I were in the bathroom one evening, and the boys were outside waiting for us. Then some Bogans came up and said to Joe (wearing a brown and orange polo) "nice shirt." Joe responded "it's the way of the future man." Then the Bogans began throwing beer bottles at the car and the boys were fleeing the scene as Jen and I exited the bathroom. We sprint to enter the moving vehicle as the bogans are chasing us. Once we were safely inside, Jordan sticks his head out of the car window and yells "God Bless!"


Youthful exuberance.