Week 3 was great and ended with an amazing weekend in Melbourne!! On Monday, I got coffee at the cafe with a friend to recap the weekend before I had to jump on Teams for an interview (that never actually happened due to a mishap with the link). We had Global Management in the afternoon, and then we had a quiet night at home. On Tuesday, we had class at 8 am and then again at 3:30. In Global Management, we had an activity that was meant to simulate cross-cultural negotiation that was really cool. We were split into two groups and given our own languages and customs so we couldn’t understand each other which ended up being really silly. On Wednesday, we again had our 8 am and 3:30 classes. Michelle had a fever, so I ended up walking to class alone in the afternoon. After class, Nicole texted and asked if I wanted to meet her at El Camino Cantina with some of her friends from her other class for their 10-cent wing night. It was nice to meet some new people, although we all ended up agreeing that the wings were so-so and the drinks were a little watered-down.

Thursday we only had our 8 am, so in the afternoon, Michelle, Vivian and I went to a new beach called Camp Cove. This was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my life. The water was so blue and so salty that you could sit in the water without having to tread. Michelle and I spent the whole time in the water people-watching. It was so nice that we texted Nicole and moved our dinner later so we could stay for an extra hour. For dinner, we went back to El Camino for half-price fajita night. The guys bailed to it ended up being a girls night for Nicole, Michelle and me. We went home and took a power nap before meeting up with Nicole’s friends again to go to the Caterpillar Club. This was a really cool speakeasy-type bar that was pretty inexpensive and had a really good live Jazz band. We met a lot of cool people, including Dan, a Model Agent who was my twin. At the end of the night, Michelle, Nicole and I Ubered to I Love Pizza and each ordered an entire large pizza to take home and eat, which really hit the spot.

Friday we were leaving for Melbourne. I woke up early to pack, and Nicole decided to go to the park to tan. She came back at 1:30 for our 2:15 departure, so we giggled as she frantically threw things into her bag. We boarded the bus at 2:15 and arrived at the airport soon after. We had about two hours to kill, so we got acai bowls, hung out at a restaurant for a bit, and then shopped for a while more. The flight was super quick and I watched Suits the whole time. We landed in Melbourne and took a bus to the hotel, finally arriving at around 9 pm. We decided to go get dinner with Ned and Manolo, but quickly realized that most places were closed. After around 5 failed attempts, we finally found Kiss & Tell, an amazing Asian-Fusion Tapas restaurant, where I had the best scallops of my life and two so-so lobster sliders. We went home and up to Bay and Marco’s room to check out their view (they were on the 27th floor!) and hang out for a bit. I decided to go home early to make sure I had energy for the next day, so I left before everyone else and went to bed.

Saturday we had our all-day bus tour of the Great Ocean Road. It was an early wake-up, so I slept for about an hour and a half on the way there before the tour began. Once the tour began, it was spectacular. It was so beautiful and every stop was picturesque. We saw beautiful landscapes, the GOR Arch, wild koalas, and the Twelve Apostles, which were truly spectacular. Our stop for lunch was really cool, and I got fish and chips with Flake, so I got to eat shark:)). For dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant that the guys had been to the night before. It was so delicious and we were able to sit in the kitchen because the guys had made a good impression the night before. After dinner, everyone wanted to explore the Melbourne nightlife, but I was so tired so I decided to stay home, which ended up being a good decision.

On Sunday, we had lunch with a Bucknell Alum who is now a professor in Melbourne. Michelle and I accidentally rode the train for free, so we got very lucky that we didn’t get caught. It was really cool to hear about the Alum’s life and how he got to where it was. We were all starving so we got a pizza to share for the table, and I got an amazing Chicken Parmesan. After lunch, Nicole, Michelle and I went to the beach because it was 100 degrees out. We decided that we liked the Sydney beaches better, because the water was more clear and there was a lot of trash in the Melbourne water. For dinner, we went to a seafood restaurant and I got a really good clam pasta. After dinner, we split up because some people wanted to go to a club, but Michelle, Casey, Ned, Manolo and I decided to go to a speakeasy called the Berlin Bar. It was really cool because one side of the bar was the “capitalist” side and the other was the “communist” side. We sat on the “communist” side per Ned’s request and stayed for two drinks before going home.

Monday was an interesting day as well, but I will leave that for next week’s blog! Overall, it was another great week. I really enjoyed Melbourne and can’t wait to explore more of Australia!