Day in, day out

Sorry for the lack of posts everyone.  Life is golden in Melbourne and it's been a busy fun time of working, kicking it with friends, exploring the city and catching up on a few movies and books during the Australian winter.  Here are a few things I've been up to:

• Continued giving walking tours of the city, showing backpackers the hidden cafes and bars tucked away down the many laneways of Melbourne.  Melbourne is made up of so many places that you need time to just wander around, and check them out.  It's not Sydney, which is full of the sights (Opera House, Harbor Bridge, etc), it's a city that is all about the experience, the people, and most of all the coffee.  Having become over the last decade, a cup (or more) of coffee a day guy, this place is a caffeinated paradise.  The love that goes into each cup is unbelievable as it is ground fresh and made just for you.  None of this brewed an hour ago like in the US, this is the real deal: fresh, aromatic, full bodied and strong.  

• I flew out west to visit friends in Fremantle, Western Australia.  I lived there in 2005 and this was my second time visiting since then.  Fremantle was such an amazing place to live back then, and yet, the city has somehow gotten even better (unlike my English grammar through the travels).  New shops, cafes and still that good weather.  It was wicked to catch up with friends (some of the best in the world) and eat/drink at the favorite places.  Since I was there on a weekend, there was also the Sunday run and swim at Cottesloe Beach.  It is winter, but swimming in the Indian Ocean was just as amazing as it is in the summertime.  In the last year, I've been swimming in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian.  Love me some beach!

• I finally sold my Moroccan rugs through an auction house.  If you recall, I was talked into buying two amazing rugs in Morocco with the thought to sell them here in Australia. It turned out to be a bit more difficult than I had thought, but last Saturday morning, I went and watched the auction where the rugs were sold.  It was a fun excursion, watching the people bid on everything from 1700s silverware sets, to a 1785 candlestick (sold for over $1500), to paintings.  A statues of an ancient Chinese warrior went for $4200.  Quite impressive what people were paying and the auction moved along at a quick pace and wasn't as stereotypical as I thought it would be from all the movies.  My two rugs were sold separately and several people in the audience were going for them, including the person next to me, and a phone bidder.  My heart was beating faster with anticipation of the sale.  It felt good to know they were being passed off, a weight off my shoulders (literally as I carried them around the world with me through 4 airports and 4 houses in Melbourne).  Business mission: success.  Making money: not worth it.  Story: priceless.