Melbourne #2 (including my birthday), Victoria, Australia

2nd January – 13th January 2018

2^nd January

After a reasonably quick flight, with no naps, we landed in Avalon at about 11.30. We could leave straight after getting off the plane, as we had no bags to collect and didn’t have to go through security. After paying for our car parking ticket, we found the car and drove back to Yarraville.

We arrived back around midnight and crept into the house, and straight into bed.

 

3^rd January

As we were back late, we had a little lie in the next day. When we did get ourselves up, we had quite a lazy morning, although I did need some closed toed shoes for a course that we were signed up for in the evening.

Jeannie was round for the day, so we chatted and watched children’s TV with her, until lunch. For lunch, we had a nice tuna salad.

We spent the afternoon chilling out and playing with Jeannie, until we had to go out at around 3, for our course. We drove into Yarraville, as we wanted the car to be up there when we got back, so we didn’t have to walk back.

We parked up and had a little wander, before getting the train into the city. On the way in, I got a call from a teaching agency about my CV, which sounded promising at first, but then he told me that the Victorian Institute of Teaching won’t accept me to teach in Victoria as I only have a three year degree, not a four year – silly rules but nothing I can do about that, so the hunt must go on.

As we were a little early into the city, we went for a little walk around, before sitting ourselves in the pop up garden on Elizabeth Street and eating the sandwiches that Mo had made for us before we left.

Just before 5, we made our way inside, to the sign in for the RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) course – something that is obligatory to work with alcohol, in any way, in Australia. The course was quite informative, and we found out about standard measurements of alcohol, how to deal with intoxicated people and the signs to look out for to refuse service, as well as other things. It was quite an interesting course and when it came to the test at the end, we all passed, besides one girl who couldn’t speak a word of English and kept getting told off during the test, for cheating.

The course finished just after 8.30. On the way back to the station, we grabbed a quick snack, as we were both a bit peckish, before getting on the train. We got the train back and then drove back home – we were grateful that the car was there waiting for us, as we weren’t in the mood to walk back.

When we got back, we filled Mo and Mark in about our course, before chilling out, watching TV, and going to bed.

 

4^th January

The next day, was our big ‘job hunt’ day (again). We got up around 9ish and Jeannie was round again, but she was already occupied making her house. We got ready and spent the morning updating our CVs, with our new course achievement, and applying for jobs online.

We had some lunch at home, before nipping out to the shop to print off our CV. Once we were back, we went for a walk into Seddon and then across to Yarraville, handing our CVs out to anyone who would take them. The worst response I feel, is when the manager says ‘yes and no’ when I ask if they are hiring – it’s quite frustrating.

We both had a bit of good news, as we both got offered job trials for the following day, but they weren’t guaranteed jobs. I was offered a trial in a café (Hunters Harvest) in Seddon, working in their kitchen, and Joe was offered a trial waiting on in a restaurant/ bar (The Vault) in Yarraville.

We both felt quite successful after this, so we wandered back home, in time for tea. Jeannie was still round, so we all had tea together: it was chicken and vegetables.

After tea, Jeannie went home and we spent some time chilling out, catching up on bits and bobs. Later in the evening, we played cards and watched some TV, before going up to bed.

 

5^th January

We had a very early start the next morning, as I had promised Jeannie that I would go with them to the market for their meat and veg shop. It’s quite a regular thing, where Mo, Michelle and Jeannie go to the market together on a Friday morning, so we decided to go with them too, this week.

My alarm was set for 6, and as much as I didn’t want to get up, I did and it’s a good job I did, as Mo hadn’t woken up, so she would have missed it if I didn’t get up. We got up and ready – very quickly – and left just after 6.20 to drive to pick up Michelle and Jeannie.

When we got there, Michelle took over the driving, and we went into the city, to the Vic market. We got some breakfast to start off with, as we had all missed that, and then went to the stalls to get the veg and meat. Once everyone was done with their shopping, we walked back to the car, as Michelle had to get to work, and Jeannie had a busy day ahead of her.

Once we had loaded up the car with all of the food, we all got in too – except Joe, as he was staying in the city to do some birthday shopping! When we got back, it wasn’t even 8.30am and I was quite tired. I lay on the bed for a while, just relaxing, and before I knew it, I was asleep. It was a much needed nap though, and made me feel refreshed for the rest of the day.

After my nap, I got up and showered, and got ready for my first job trial. I had a bit of time to relax first and get some lunch, but after I had eaten, I set off to Hunter’s Harvest, in Seddon for my trial. Luckily, as it was such a hot day, Joe was back from the city, so he took me round in the car, otherwise I would have been baking before I had even begun.

When I got there, I was shown around by the manager/ owner (I think), before being put in the kitchen to work as a kitchen hand for an hour. Although I felt like I worked really hard and did quite well (to say that I had no experience, and she knew that), she told me that I wouldn’t find out for another week, or so, which was quite annoying really.

Determined not to feel down about it, I walked home, via Yarraville, so that I could hand out more CVs and try and chase up some of the places where I had previously been. However, that wasn’t overly successful either, and I met some very rude people, who I wouldn’t want to work for, so the hunt for a job continued.

After wandering for a while, I made my way back home. At this point, I was so fed up with the job hunt, but knew I couldn’t stop, as we needed something. When I got back, we chilled out for bit and watched some TV, before tea.

After we had eaten, it was Joe’s turn to head out for his job trial. Joe was heading up to a bar in Yarraville, which I had tried to hand my CV into and the woman was unbelievably grumpy with me, so he really had to impress her. Four hours after he left the house, he was back and didn’t seem overly happy. The grump woman, who I met earlier in the day, didn’t want him on the floor because he had no experience and she didn’t want to have to train him. They offered him a job in the kitchen, washing up, but the wage he was offered was below minimum wage, so he didn’t know what to do.

For the rest of the evening, we chilled out and watched some TV, before going up to bed to watch some Netflix – we hadn’t seen any in ages!

 

6^th January

We were awake quite early, the next morning. However, we didn’t really do much with our morning, we spent it chilling out and catching up on things. It was a hot day in Melbourne, so we were trying to stay indoors to keep cool.

Just before lunch, Mick and Jeannie arrived, as they were having lunch with us. Jeannie had brought some games, so we played with them for a little while, before the food was ready. For lunch, we had salad.

After we had eaten and played some more games, Mick and Jeannie left, and me and Joe got ourselves ready to head into the city.

In the city, our first call was to TK Maxx, on Spencer Street. I had been in touch with my old TK Maxx manager, about a possible job in Australia, but when I got to the store, no one knew what I was talking about, but they took my CV anyway – another one where I felt a tiny bit hopeful and it turned into nothing.

As the temperatures were reaching 42 degrees, we stayed indoors for as long as possible. Once we left the Spencer Street Outlet Centre, we walked towards Federation Square. We took the walk very slowly and stayed in the shade as much as we possibly could, to try and keep ourselves cool.

As we had a bit of time before we had to walk over to the MCG for the cricket, we decided to stop for a drink along the way. We walked into one place which looked nice, but once we were told we had to sit in the pub bit as we weren’t eating, we decided against it. We walked into the square and ended up at Acmi café and bar, where we ordered a jug of Pimm’s to share. I think the man behind the bar judged us slightly, as we only asked for two glasses, but we enjoyed it anyway.

Once we had finished our drinks, it was time to head to the MCG for the cricket. We walked along the river, up to the stadium. When we got there, we had to have our bags searched, before we could go through and scan our tickets. I got through fine, but Joe’s ticket wouldn’t scan and they wouldn’t let him in, so I had to scan myself back out, so that we could go to the ticket office and get them reprinted. This seemed fine, until the woman wouldn’t reprint them, as I wasn’t Les and I didn’t know his date of birth.

After Les arrived to rescue us, we were given new tickets and could get into the ground. We found our seats, where everyone already was, and sat down. Before the match started, we decided to get some food (and had had the pies recommended to us). We went and queued up and got a four’n’twenty pie each, and some chips to share.

As the queues were so big, we missed the start of the game, but only by one over. The game was good fun, although I did find it hard to concentrate on the actual match, as the screens were such a big distraction – I kept forgetting I actually had the live show in front of me. Luckily (as we were told to go for them), the Renegades won, against the Stars.

Once the game was over, we had to walk back to Flinder’s Station. We didn’t realise at first, but we came out of a different gate that we went in, so although we thought we just had to walk in a straight line back, we were wrong, so we got a little lost.

When we eventually found the station, we got the train back to Yarraville, and then had to walk back home, as Joe had had a few drinks, so couldn’t drive the car.

We arrived back just before midnight, but were both still sorting ourselves out and getting ready for bed when it turned midnight and it was my birthday!

 

7^th January

After a relatively short sleep (for what I needed), we woke up and got ready for a day of birthday fun! Joe went off just after 8, to get the car from the station, while I got myself ready. When he got back, we had some breakfast and I opened my cards and presents, which included a hunt around the house, courtesy of Joe.

After the first bit of excitement, we finished getting ready, and set off to Fun Fields for the day – a water park in Whittlesea. Although Joe had done some research into it, he didn’t realise how far away it was, so we were a little later than originally planned, but it didn’t really matter.

After about an hour, we made it to the park, where it was a little chilly. As it was cloudy and chilly, I was a little bit unsure, at first, about just wearing a bikini, so we kept our towels with us too. The water rides were so much fun, and once we were wet, we barely noticed the temperature, until we had to stand and wait in a line – luckily, this wasn’t very often. There are three record breaking rides in the park, apparently, (I’m not entirely convinced that this is true) but we went on them all and they were good fun!

Once we had been on each water ride a few times, we were pretty hungry, so we decided to try and dry off – not very easy as the towels were dripping wet as we used them to keep warm in between rides. We got dressed and went to get some lunch from the canteen area.

After lunch, we knew we weren’t going back on the water rides, but there were some dry rides that we wanted to try. While we waited for our food to settle, we went for a round of mini golf, which was also included, in the park.

After our round of golf, which I lost (not ideal on my birthday), we made our way towards the dry rides. First of all, we went on the Pirate Ship, which was fun until it kept going too high and made me feel sick, then we went on the taboggan, which again was fun but there were lots of bends in it, so you couldn’t go too fast. Finally, we went on the go karts. The go karts had the longest line of the whole day, but it was still only about fifteen minutes, so it wasn’t too bad. The go karts had to be our last ride of the day, as we needed to get back for dinner with the family. We had had a really good time though and were ready to go back, so that was fine.

Just before we left, we made time for an ice cream, which was yummy. We drove back to Yarraville, which took us about an hour again.

When we got back, we had time for a quick shower and a chill, before everyone started to arrive. Michael, Michelle and Jeannie arrived first, but the others weren’t far behind. We sat and chatted and not long after they arrived, dinner was ready.

Dinner was a feast, just like Christmas day. There were all sorts of meats and vegetables and salads and it all tasted so good. After dinner, everyone sang to me, and we had birthday cake, that Mo had made, and cookies that Joe had made – there was so much food!

Once dinner had settled, we moved into the garden and played with some sparklers, before sitting around the table and chatting.

Jeannie had a go at ‘playing’ with my camera, but she was quite good and very careful with it, and she took some great shots. Once she was awake, mum rang for a birthday FaceTime, so she had a chat with everyone, before they all left.

After everyone had gone, we cleared up and washed up all of the pots and pans, although I got told off for not helping soon enough, because I was still on FaceTime.

Once the kitchen was cleared, we had about an hour of chilling out time, before it was time to go to the cinema. Our cinema trip, was another little gift from Joe, as I wanted to go and see the new Pitch Perfect film.

The film was so good! I was worried that it wouldn’t be as good as the others, as it’s the third one, but it was and we both really enjoyed it!

After the film had finished, we drove back home and got into bed. It had been a long day and we had done a lot, but I really had a great summer birthday!

 

8^th January

After a relatively busy weekend, we had a lie in until 9 on Monday morning. We got up with the intention of it being another job hunt day and we were motivated and determined, once again!

After we had eaten breakfast and got ready, I made some phone calls to the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) about my chances of teaching over here and they said that I could only apply if I was willing to do fixed term work – something I can’t do, as we’re not here for long enough. After my calls, I responded to some emails that I had been sent, before we set off on another mission to hand out CVs.

On our way to Highpoint Shopping Centre, we stopped off at Officeworks, to print out some more CVs. When we got to the shopping centre, we didn’t quite expect it to be as big as it was. We decided to go about it all logically, and take each floor at a time, walking around the perimeter, checking each shop window for an advertisement. We handed out CVs into the shops where there were adverts, but there obviously wasn’t any response straight away. As we both have experience in retail, I felt much more positive after this job hunt session, but I still had to be patient.

After we had checked every shop window, we went to the food area and got ourselves some lunch. We stopped in Nando’s, but it wasn’t as nice as it is at home, and we don’t even eat it at home, so we weren’t impressed.

After lunch, we drove to Altona Gate, a different shopping centre, but there weren’t any job vacancies in any windows – it is a much smaller shopping centre though. We drove further into Altona, as I wanted to look for some new Birkenstocks, as mine had broken in Sydney, but they are so expensive over here, so I didn’t get any.

Once we had handed out as many CVs as we could, we went back home. When we got back and I checked my emails, I had been offered a tutoring job, but had to complete a ‘short’ online assessment/ training activity, before I could go any further in the process. I completed the ‘short’ assessment, which took me five hours, but it will be worth it once the schools are back in, as I will get $40 per hour. I had a mini break in between for dinner, but I didn’t finish the assessment until after 9.

Once I had finished, I had well and truly dedicated my day to job hunting, so I enjoyed a rest for the remainder of the evening, before going to bed.

 

9^th January

The next morning, we got up and ready and were prepared for another productive day. Our first port of call, for the day was the Post Office, as I needed to complete my working with children check, for the tutoring job, I had been offered.

Once that was complete, we decided that it was probably wise for us to open an Australian bank account each, for when we got a job, so that we could be paid without any problems. We went into a couple of banks, to see what they could offer us, as decided that the NAB was best for us, even if the woman was a bit awkward with me – Joe couldn’t do his at this point, as he hadn’t brought any documents, as it was a last minute decision that we made when we were out.

After I had set up my account, we drove back home, for some lunch and a chilled afternoon. After we had eaten, and were sat looking up different things, I got a phone call from one of the shops from Highpoint, with an offer for an interview, the next day. This made me very happy and excited at the possibility of a job!

To burn off some of my excited energy, we decided to go for a walk into Yarraville, as the weather was perfect for walking. We walked up and sat in Alfa, to have a cold drink each, before walking back.

When we got back, we chilled out for the rest of the afternoon, until it was time for dinner. For dinner, we had a tomato, bacon pasta, which was very nice but very filling. Once we had eaten, we sat and listened to John on the radio, talking about a new teaching plan for Victoria Uni, before cleaning up and getting ready to head out.

My last little birthday gift from Joe, was to go to the outdoor cinema in the city, to watch Dirty Dancing. We drove up into Yarraville, to make things easier, but it took us fifteen minutes to find a parking spot! Once we were parked up, we got the train into the city.

When we got off the train, we had a quick walk to the Birkenstock shop, to see if there were any sales, but there weren’t, so I left that. From the shop, we walked up to the Botanical Gardens. It was a long walk from where we were and as we weren’t sure where we were going, it felt even longer.

We got to the outdoor cinema area at around 7.30, and couldn’t believe how busy it already was, considering the doors didn’t open until 7. We found ourselves a little spot, that we could squeeze into and sat and waited for the film to come on. Looking at everyone else, I couldn’t believe how prepared they were with their picnics and drinks and pillows; we had just taken a mat and a blanket – we looked like amateurs.

We got a drink and some nachos, as a snack, from the bar – but we wouldn’t do that again. It was so expensive, especially for the size of the portions, we barely had five nachos each.

After waiting a little longer, the film started around 9ish, once the sun had set. It got bit chilly, so it was lucky that we had a blanket to keep us warm, but we would maybe take another one next time too. As the film started, so many bats flew over our heads, it must have been their wake up call, as the sun went down, as there were so many of them!

We got cosy watching the film, but couldn’t get too comfortable, because if someone in front moved, the chances were, they blocked your view, but it was a really good experience.

As the film finished, we had to all leave through the same gate, as the others were shut. We had to walk back to the train station, which didn’t seem to be as far. We got the train back to Yarraville and then drove back to the house, from the station.

When we got back, we went straight to bed, so I could get enough sleep, ready for my interview.

 

10^th January

I was awake early, with nerves, the next day. I got up and dressed and had some breakfast, before doing some interview practice with Joe. After we had practiced, and I felt a little more mentally prepared, I got myself interview ready, and ready to leave.

We left the house, just before 11.45 and drove to Highpoint. As we were pulling into the car park, we were stopped by the police, who told us that the car wasn’t registered and took the plates off it. We were basically stranded in the car park, as they wouldn’t let us go home. Once we had dealt with them, I had to try and forget about it, while I regathered my thoughts and thought about my interview again – it’s a good job we got there early.

Just before 12.30, I went to the shop where my interview was. I was a little early, and the store manager was still on her lunch, but I met with the area manager, while we waited. Once they were both ready, we sat outside the shop, in a little coffee area, which was where the interview happened.

We started off having a long chat about my availability and reliability, as they have been let down a lot, apparently. Once I had convinced them that I can be there whenever they needed, within reason, we started talking about my experience. They asked me lots of questions and wanted examples of what I have done in the past. Once the interview was complete, they thanked me for coming in at short notice, which I think worked in my favour, before I left.

Once I had found Joe again, we had to ring Mo, for a lift home, as we couldn’t take the car anywhere. When they arrived to collect us, we explained the situation to them, but there was nothing any of us could do at this point, so we went home.

When we got back, we had some lunch, before having a chilled afternoon. During the afternoon, I got a message from Robyn, the area manager who I interviewed with, as she couldn’t get in touch with my personal references (John and Michael), and she wanted to know if I could get them to contact her. As Michael and Michelle were on holiday, I didn’t expect to hear back from them, and John was working, so didn’t expect him to get back to be straight away either. John did though and was able to get in touch with Robyn straight away, which led to me getting offered the job! This made me feel so relieved, as it meant we would start to get some money coming in soon, hopefully.

After the good news, we spent some more time looking for jobs for Joe, before we got ready to go out for the evening with John. At 6.30, John and Rosie arrived to pick us up and take us out for some dinner.

In the car, John gave us some choices of where we could go, and we decided on St. Kilda. When we got there, and parked up, we had a walk along the streets, looking for somewhere for dinner. When we found somewhere to eat, we sat outside and ordered our food. Dinner was a treat from John, which was very kind of him.

After we had eaten, we went and got some ice cream – surprisingly, not to my request – and went for a walk along the pier. When we got to the end of the pier, there were crowds of people, all stood, waiting for something, but we weren’t sure what at first. We soon realised that they were waiting for the penguins, but John had no idea that it was such a big tourist spot for penguins, as it was obvious that most of these people had planned to come for the penguins, and hadn’t just ended up there by chance, like us. We watched the sun set, while we waited for the penguins to come.

 

We waited for a while, looking out into the water, but not much happened. Eventually, we got sightings of something, but when it got closer we realised it was a rat – a native Australian one though, not a horrible, dirty one. We waited for a while, and watched the rat do its warm up act, but we didn’t see any penguins.

Once we left the pier, we walked back to the car, and John took us home. We chilled out for a little bit, but I wanted an early night, so I went up to bed not long after we got back.

 

11^th January

As I had got myself a job, and only had scruffy, travel clothes with me, we got up early on Thursday, to head out into the city, before it got too hot. Mo and Mark dropped us off near the station, which was nice, as we were car-less and the temperature was rising quickly.

Our first job in the city, was to get some work clothes, so we went in and out of shops, comparing prices and finding some nice outfits, suitable for work. Once I had a few outfit choices, and we had wandered a fair distance, we had worked up quite an appetite, so stopped for some lunch.

After we had eaten, we went on a job hunt for Joe. We walked up and down so many streets and around lots and lots of shopping centres, checking every shop window, but there weren’t very many vacancies out there. He handed his CV into the places that he could, but other than that, there wasn’t a lot that we could do.

As I had got some birthday money, I was instructed to spend it on a treat for myself, rather than just essentials, so I thought I would look for a nice piece of jewellery, as all of mine is at home. There were a few sales on, so I looked around, and found a few that I liked in Thomas Sabo. I tried them on, and as I couldn’t decide, and they were discounted at 70%, I got two!

We started to make our way back to the train station after this, so that we could head home – we were getting very tired. We got the train back, and then had to walk, so we were back just after 5.

Before dinner, we had a little time to relax and rest our legs. John popped in on his way past to say hello, and ended up staying for dinner too. We had homemade burgers and veggies for dinner – Mo’s burgers are so good!

After dinner, we washed up and chilled out. I felt so tired after all of the walking that we had done. While I chilled, Joe applied for more jobs on my laptop. About 8pm, Joe somehow managed to persuade me to go for a run. I’m not sure what I was thinking – I mustn’t have been feeling right, because we went for one and were out for half an hour!

When we got back, I had the biggest blisters on my feet and I was extra tired now! I went for a shower, before I sat under the air con to try and cool off.

I got an early night again, as I wanted to feel refreshed for my first day of work, the next day.

 

12^th January

At 7am, my alarm went off, for my first day of work. I got up and had some breakfast, before I got myself ready. I left a little earlier than I originally planned, as I wanted to get some blister plasters on my way to the bus stop.

When I got to the bus stop, I had about ten minutes to wait, until the bus arrived. Luckily, there was a shelter at the bus stop, as it had started to rain, and I didn’t want to turn up for my first day looking soggy. The bus arrived at Highpoint just before 8.45, giving me time to redo my hair, after having to put my hood up, before I went to the shop.

I arrived outside of the store just before 9, just before Olga, the store manager arrived. When she arrived, she opened up and showed me the usual opening up routine. Throughout the morning, she gave me lots of information about the system and customers and how best to do things. I thought it would be quite simple to pick up again, after working in retail for five years, but this is a much bigger responsibility, as I will be left to work alone and close up, after a few training shifts.

I put some sales through, and returns, I chatted to customers on the shop floor, but found it difficult to help them, as I didn’t know the layout very well and there was no order to where things were. I helped to unpack the delivery from earlier in the week, getting that processed and hung up and before I knew it, the three hours were up and my shift was over.

Although I finished at 12, I didn’t get home until after 1, as I had to wait for the bus and then walk back from the bus stop, which takes around twenty minutes.

When I got back, I had some lunch, and sat down for a while. Once I got up, after sitting for about twenty minutes, my legs had stiffened up, after the run the day before! We spent the afternoon chilling out. As Joe was job hunting, again, I ended up falling asleep on the sofa and must have slept for almost two hours – I definitely needed it! I woke up just in time to help with dinner, which was salmon and veggies.

After dinner, we had a nice chilled evening, watching TV and chilling. We ended up watching a film, which didn’t end until late, but I couldn’t give in and go to bed, until I found out what happened!

 

13^th January

The next morning, we had a lie in again, until about 9. We got up and had some breakfast, and as we didn’t really have any plans for the daytime, we chilled out for a little bit.

Later in the morning, me and Joe went for a walk into Yarraville, via a shop with job vacancies, to try and find Joe some work and chase up the places he has already applied to. It has turned into a very long waiting game, which has become very frustrating!

When we got back home, we had some lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in, catching up on things and avoiding the rain. During the afternoon, I got another phone call from my third tutoring company now, asking me to come in for a chat. I agreed to go in, but until I get set shifts at the store, I can’t commit to any tutoring, but it’s nice to have extra options, which I will chase up when I go in for my next shift on Monday. While I was on the phone, Michael and Jeannie popped round, as they were back from holiday and had some bits to collect, but I didn’t see them, as it was a quick visit – it was okay though, as we were going out for dinner with them.

At around 5pm, Mick, Michelle and Jeannie picked me and Joe up, to take us out for my birthday treat.

They drove us to Footscray, where we went to a cute little backstreet restaurant called Back Alley Sally’s. It is definitely a place that we wouldn’t have found on our own, but it was a trendy little bar and pizza restaurant.

We went upstairs and sat in a booth. We ordered drinks and food, and while we waited for that to arrive, we had played the game ‘Pass the Pigs’. It was a game that me and Joe had never heard of before, but we soon picked up the rules and Joe was so good at it, although I think it’s only based on luck. There are two mini plastic pigs, which you have to throw, and depending on how they land, you get points. I was on Joe’s team at first, but then Jeannie wanted me on hers. As soon as she realised how good Joe was, she ditched me and wanted to be on Joe’s team! I don’t blame her, I was awful!

After dinner, we drove to Williamstown, where we got ice cream! When I say we, it was just me and Jeannie, but it tasted so good! We ate our ice cream and then head back home.

Once Mick and Michelle dropped us off at home, we said bye to them and spent the rest of the evening chilling out, before going to bed.

Although Melbourne’s weather is proving to be quite difficult and up and down, we’re still having a great time. It’s becoming frustrating on the job hunt, but we know Joe will get something soon, and we will be fine. We’ve explored a little bit and can’t wait to see some more, as time goes along.

To travel is to live, Katie x