Hot summer!

This has easily been the hottest summer since we arrived in Australia.  Temperatures in Brisbane have been well into the 30s, with high humidity, so it is like walking into a sauna every time we go outside.  Victoria and South Australia have had incredibly hot days too, sometimes hitting more than 40C!  Luckily, that kind of heat doesn't seem to last too long and the 40+C is often followed by a few days of a "chilly" 25C.

Not looking forward to Tuesday!

We just got back from another trip to Melbourne to see the Australian Open tennis.  It is a fantastic time and every time we come back we say that we will skip it the following year, but we always end up going back.  This year we really lucked out with all the matches we saw, with some really good competitive games.  Some years we see matches that are complete blowouts, which are actually very boring to watch.  We decided this year to try the front row "sun-seats".  These seats are exactly what they sound like: front row seats with great views and full sun exposure.  The sun exposure makes it absolutely exhausting to sit there for hour after hour in the baking sun, but the matches were so exciting that we managed to sit in our seats with only minimal breaks.  The pain of sitting of the sun was worth it!

Great tennis action!

Federation Square, Melbourne

We are still discovering new things here.  The other day we saw a beer size that we had no idea existed, the Schmidi!  We have seen pots, ponies, schooners and pints, but never a Schmidi.  You won't find it in Google, only Australia! 

The one and only Schmidi