Hello, Everyone!
Last time we wrote we were in Melbourne getting ready to see Cirque Du Soleil on Easter weekend. We were house sitting at the time and taking care of two lovely dogs. It was a most memorable and enjoyable stay. The Monday after Easter we moved into an interesting accommodation..."life with the cat lady". We were in pretty desperate need of a place so we went for a quick viewing of the house in Mt Waverley, near where Julie worked, and thought it was decent enough. The cost came at $150/week, which was good for two people. Not until we actually moved in the next day did we realize the bad conditions around us. 'Cat Lady' worked at a vet clinic and during her time there she adopted 7 cats and two small dogs, one of which was very ill. Not only was the abundance of animals in such small quarters illegal by Melbourne law, it created for an environment of horrible smells. It also wasn't helping matters that 'Cat Lady' put the liter boxes in the kitchen and directly outside of our bedroom door so that between cooking and going to bed we were constantly exposed to grossness. And, going to the 'toilet' at night meant climbing over the two dogs, bowls of nastiness, and their piss mat in a very small hallway. Animals aside, heating also presented to be a problem - we had none! And Melbourne was freezing this time of year some nights (lots of Antarctic fronts). We could see our breath in the cold air as we lay in bed (I sit here now and laugh about it). Most nights we would put our thermals on, climb into our two-man sleeping bag and huddle together for warmth. In the end we did survive with some funny memories. "Cat Lady' tried to get us to pay more money for utilities which was very shady because she had mentioned nothing of it previously. We gave her a small donation.
Although we both loved Melbourne and are happy that we spent the bulk of our time there we are glad to be done with work and to be moving on to new experiences elsewhere - New Zealand!
Cheers!
