Brisbane

We arrived in Brisbane a couple days ago, after an uneventful flight from Sydney. We spent the afternoon roaming around town, getting a lay of the land. Brisbane is located on a river and it seems to be a fairly young city, which is really fun. It’s got a much better vibe than Sydney, in the sense that the anti-American hostility isn’t as prevalent but it’s clear they still hate us. We met an Irish guy (who lived illegally in Boston for seven years so take it for what it‘s worth) and he confirmed that no, it‘s not our imagination, they actually do hate us. Oh well, we‘re having fun. :>)

　

The day before yesterday, we took the train to Beerwah and visited the Australia Zoo, the one that Steve Irwin and his family started. It was really well done, not overly commercialized in that they just kind of dump you in with a map and you find your own way around. We saw some really unique animals and were able to interact with a number of kangaroo species and koalas. Also, they do a really good job of telling you which animals are indigenous to Australia and which ones are simply for show. My favorite were the elephants, Tim enjoyed hanging out with the roo’s.

Beerwah was unbelievably hot. I think the temp maxed out at 105 F so needless to say we spent a good portion of the day in search of water and shade. I don’t think I’ve ever been that sweaty in my life.

Oh, and on the way home the train was so busy that Tim and I had to separate. I accidentally got off at a confusing spot (we had changed trains on the way up but didn’t need to on the way home) and I thought Tim was going to have a heart attack when he saw me out on the platform, the doors closing and him still on the train.

Woops.

Thankfully, it worked out for the best and we can all stop talking about it. No really, we can ALL STOP MUMBLING AND SWEARING ABOUT IT.

I shouldn’t make light of what happened, it could have ended badly (I had no money, no timetable, no ID, no water) but it didn’t and for that, I’m thankful. Actually, I’m thankful Tim was willing to break he door latch in order to get me back on the train. Crisis averted.

That night, after a long cool shower, we hit the town and stayed out too late listening to music and spent too much money on beer. I vaguely remember eating a subway sandwich late night but didn’t remember the sundae at Hungry Jacks. Good times. The next morning was tough, to say the least.

Speaking of eating like a fat kid, I’ve only gained two and a half pounds. Given that I’m usually good for a solid ten after a week in Hawaii, I’m pretty stoked that it‘s not a huge amount! Imagine if I had been making healthy food choices AND walked these eighty billion miles?

You know, one could argue that I need the fuel to keep up this pace, yeah…that’s it. Fuel.

Yesterday, we had to switch hotels (we used points for this weekend) and it was a nice change. For the previous two nights, we stayed at a place that was an original structure from forever ago. They had a nice little blurb about it at the hotel but I can‘t find it anywhere online now, so you’ll have to take my word for it. It had a lot of character and was very, very comfortable.

The hotel we were in last night (we head back to Sydney this morning) is a traditional hotel. It has a nice executive lounge (with an easy, DIY latte machine – score!) and a pool.

As we were checking out the hotel yesterday afternoon, we decided to get massages at the spa and it was just what the doctor ordered. After a quick dip in the pool, we came back to the room to shower up for the night.

Last night (the 12^th) we went to see a Brisbane Roar soccer game. Apparently, numbers are way down since we were able to get front row seats for $45. We sat there for the first half, then migrated over to the student section, for lack of a better word, where the language was as dirty as the bathrooms. We had a lot of fun.

As I said, it’s back to Sydney this morning and then off to Auckland, New Zealand on the 14^th. In retrospect, we should have just bought a tickets to NZ direct from Brisbane, but if that is the biggest screw up we’ve made, then we’re doing pretty well.

Hope you guys are staying warm, sounds like it’s a bit chilly!! Brrrr….

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