Down under again

We arrived in Melbourne again, with the same eight bags and three backpacks we've been hauling around the world since the end of July. This time there were no flight delays or baggage issues, which meant we had to haul all eight of them from the airport.

A wall of luggage belonging to us.

We didn't really have many problems with the hauling until we took the taxi from the train station. The driver got creative on how to fit them all into the small car along with the three of us.

The weather was gorgeous, sunny and a pleasant 25 degrees celsius. I once confided to an English Sunday school class that I was sure that in heaven, the temperature would hover around 25 degrees celsius. That's 77 degrees fahrenheit, by the way.

We checked into our house. We will be living here for the next two months, until we find more permanent rental. It is located just on the edge of the university, and is university owned. That kind of explains the decor. But it seems nice. Actually, Jonathan was a little upset with us for choosing the cheaper university option instead of the AirB&B house we stayed in during August. He was whining right up until he started exploring the place. As I let him out to explore the back garden, he said, "Wow! This place is like a mansion!"

"Like a mansion?" asked Tim, in his skeptical voice.

"Well, at least compared to our last place," Jonathan replied.

Like a mansion, friends. Because it has three large bedrooms, living room, laundry, and a huge back yard.

House tour photos:

Front entrance.

Living room.

Bathroom. Toilet is in its own separate room.

Oh, the shower in the bathroom is awesome, by the way. After many months of low flow, dribbly shower taps, the shower head in this apartment is heaven. It's like a mansion.

Laundry. Separate from the bathroom.

Kind of weird that the dryer is hanging upside-down from the ceiling, with nothing under it. But hey, it has a dryer! That will be nice for cleaning the towels. Also, this isn't really relevant to the current photo, but included in our rental cost is a bi-weekly cleaning service. Super awesome, right? Carrying on:

Kitchen. With dishwasher, but buy your own detergent. (Put that on the list.)

Hallway.

The three bedrooms are on one end of the house, the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and laundry are on the other end.

Bedroom 2. This one won't be used much unless we have guests, then Jonathan gets it.

Bedroom 3. Jonathan chose the one with two beds for everyday living.

Bedroom 1, for Tim and me.

Another view of bedroom 1, with the largest workspace.

Because the largest desk area is in Bedroom 1, Tim will probably work there during the day. And then sleep there at night. Luckily it's just for a couple of months at the most, or Tim would probably get very tired of that room....

Spacious back garden and separate garage.

There you go. Like a mansion.

There is no air conditioning in our mansion. That is not a problem when the temperature is a heavenly 25 degrees. We left all the windows open overnight (there are screens). Fresh summer air drifted in and out and around our jet-lagged mostly-sleeping forms all night long. And then early in the morning, we were serenaded by a pair of Australian magpies, which warble and trill and whistle several notes at once. (They do not squawk like North American magpies. Ask google about it.) What a lovely way to begin our first full day in Australia!

The high today is supposed to be 27 degrees celsius. Tomorrow, however, it is predicted to be 36, and then Thursday it will be 39. Those convert to 80, 97, and 103 degrees Fahrenheit. By Friday it should be back in the 80s again, but with no air conditioning, we'd better be away on Thursday. Thursday is New Year's Eve. I think we'll go hang out at the beach. And then fireworks in the park! So happy to be here.