Shopping & Girl's Night

Saturday June 3rd – Today we ran some errands and I began to do a bit of organizing and packing. We did some more shopping and I made some purchases at the Queen Vic Market. I got a Drizabone coat for one of my dogs. Drizabone is an Aussie style oilskin coat for people but the dog version was too cute to resist. I also got a pair of Ugg boots, another Aussie icon. Next we went further into the city to the Bourke street mall. Bourke street (pronounced Burk, if you’re an Aussie) is a series of department stores and shops spread along a couple of blocks. The main street is closed to traffic (except the tram). There are tons of people and usually a few buskers.

Today we saw my favorite busker yet. It was a weathered Aussie bloke with his guitar and his “Bluey” at his feet. A Bluey is what Aussies call a blue heeler, or as we call them, Australian Cattledog. We would play simple tunes like “How Much is That Doggie in the Window” and would pause briefly after each line and the dog would let out two barks. We stopped to chat with him and pet his dog, of course. She was quite friendly and enjoyed being petted by lots of the people passing by. She was a hit, very sassy and smart. Occasionally he would stop playing and get her to demonstrate her tricks, like waving and playing dead.

Tonight we planned another girl’s night on the town. Laura, Jhaneen, Sue and I met a couple of friends of Sue’s for dinner then we hit the pub and club scene in the city. We had a great time and stayed out much too late!