BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
Temperature: 27 Degrees Celsius
Track of the Day: Hallelujah, John Cale
Before we start we must tell everyone our blog has been nominated for 'Best Travel Blog' of 2009 through the 'Blogger Choice Awards'. We are quite sure we have no chance of winning (seriously the top blogs are phenomenal and already have many votes) but it was truly exciting to see that we were even nominated! If you want to vote for us click HERE
"I've gotta say," I tell Alecs as I add some cinnamon to the french toast I'm cooking for breakfast, "I'm still loving how organized our cupboards are." Alecs smiles. "I've got to admit," he says, "it does make it easier to find what I'm looking for." Feeling quite happy and more than a little smug I plate our breakfast before we head out for the day. It's been nearly a week since we moved into our apartment and it's beginning to feel like home. "I'm glad we ended up just chilling out this week," Alecs says as we peruse the local butcher for tonight's dinner meat, "it was a nice
break to just relax before really beginning the job search." Nodding my head, I point to some lamb shanks behind the glass and then follow Alecs into the Filipino store next door. We pick up a few essentials including a bag of tiny jello cups before heading back to the apartment."No you make the decision this time," I say as Alecs and I stand on a bridge the next day debating which direction to go. The choice is between the park and river walk on one side of the bustling outdoor mall on the other. "Fine then," he says indignantly looking from one side to the next, "let's go to the Ferris wheel." This giant attraction is similar in design to the Eye in London, giving riders a view over the city in its entirety. "Should we?" I ask after checking out the prices. "Umm, yes," Alecs says after pondering for a few moments, "I believe a trip up the Ferris wheel will give us a good overview on the city therefore helping us with our job search." Ignoring his attempt at humor we purchase our tickets and join the queue at the foot of the very large Ferris wheel. It's Mother's Day here and standing all around us are mom's and their children enjoying a 
nice day in the park and I can't help but miss my own mum (yes that' how it's spelled here). Finally it's our turn to board and we wait for the gondola to stop before the space-like doors open and we take our respective seats across from each other. Once we reach the top we can see the sprawling city with the river snaking its way through downtown and then out into the sea. Watching all the ant-like people meandering around the pathways below, we take a moment to enjoy
the view and grasp the reality that this is where we live. After a few more turns of the wheel we disembark, opting not to buy the token $10 photo at the exit. As we continue walking under a lavender-
cheap place to have lunch. We settle for a little outdoor hole-in-the-wall eatery alongside the river where Alecs listens to me buzz about attending classes. "Holy crap, what the heck is that," I say jumping from my seat. A very large lizard has decided to join us for lunch this afternoon and proceeds to stand beside Alecs' feet looking up at us occasionally as if hoping we might share with him. After my initial shock of having such a large lizard near my feet I calm down and begin enjoying his presence. He leaves just in time for our departure, but manages to display his impressive speed first as he darts up a tree and onto the roof. "Wow," Alecs says as we continue our walk
"I think camping here will be very interesting considering all the weird Ozzie creatures." A five minute walk has us in the middle of a man made beach overlooking the river equipped with lifeguards, palm trees and powdery white sand. A little girl who looks distinctly like the kid from the movie 'Australia' and her brother run in-front of us collecting sand on their feet as they fly across a quaint little wooden bridge and back into the water. It's a particularly hot day and a dip in this idyllic looking beach is more than enticing but alas I am wearing jeans as it happens and we concede to spending a few moments in the sun and sand instead. Like all good things
though, this too had to end and Alecs and I pressed on, unsure how much further away our apartment was from here. "I love these purple flowers," I say trodding through the botanic garden leaving the beach behind, "they smell like summer." Alecs gives me that look, that look that he sometimes gets when he thinks I've said something silly. "You're weird," he say pushing me. "You're," weirder," I retort, pushing him back against the flowers. Our heads snap back at each other as I say this last word - weirder. "You did it
," Alecs says looking at me, "you said your first word with an Australian accent." Alecs repeats the word with a spot on Ozzie accent and we both do a little dance on the spot as he too manages to say it. "This is one for the books," I say repeating the word weirder over and over again, "our first word." As we stand there doing a dance Alecs notices a sign reading 'NO STANDING DAY OR NIGHT. TOW AWAY AREA' and he now has only one thing on his mind. "I have to stand there," he says, his heart beating at an audible pace, "I just have to." After appeasing his need to be a little boy, disobeying the rules I notice another building belonging to Griffith University, the film school building. Since I am registered to take several film courses in the coming semester I assume I will be spending much of my time near
this place, with serene Memorial Park next door. "I see story bridge," I say looking up-river where the landmark bridge sits with the city in the background, "that means our apartment is walking distance." Feeling a little relieved that we know where we are going, we push on, that is until we see a red cutout of a man with his arms held out towards the heavens. Without a word, Alecs trudges forward, turns around lazily and tosses his hands into the air waiting for me to take a photo. "You know me too well," I say after snapping the pictures, "you know me too well." We pass through a cozy little
park where families all join together for picnics under shady trees with cool breezes blowing in from the river. Every few meters is a little place to barbecue some food, but unlike the little fire pits one finds at public parks in Calgary, these were top-of-the-line barbeque's. Stainless steel tops, courtesy propane-tanks below and knobs to adjust the temperature. A couple stands at the grill cooking some tomatoes, dousing them in olive oil and sipping champagne. Meanwhile the rest of their party cuts into some juicy lamb steaks and slices some fancy looking cheeses. "Now that's a barbie (barbecue)," Alecs says, his stomach growling. We've been walking for about three hours now, a little more than 10 kilometers but we're almost home now, sweaty and tired, but feeling like we at least accomplished something and managed to enjoy ourselves despite missing home this Mother's Day. We stop off at the store for a tomato (in my head I said tomato with an accent) before crashing back at the apartment. We did manage to get ourselves a tax file number this week, which is like a sin number and gives us the right to work. We also opened bank accounts at National Bank of Australia (NAB) and received our new visa debit cards in the mail so we're all set up. If I managed to get a fraction of a tan out of the day they I think it can be considered a success and I did get to see my campus which was a bonus. This coming week is all about the job search, perfecting our CV's (no resumes here) and applying at all the agencies we can find.
nice day in the park and I can't help but miss my own mum (yes that' how it's spelled here). Finally it's our turn to board and we wait for the gondola to stop before the space-like doors open and we take our respective seats across from each other. Once we reach the top we can see the sprawling city with the river snaking its way through downtown and then out into the sea. Watching all the ant-like people meandering around the pathways below, we take a moment to enjoy
the view and grasp the reality that this is where we live. After a few more turns of the wheel we disembark, opting not to buy the token $10 photo at the exit. As we continue walking under a lavender-flower clad walkway I notice a giant building which says 'Griffith University'. "Alecs look," I say pointing to it and the many other subsequent signs surrounding the area, "that's my school." Starting in July I will be finishing off my undergraduate degree in communications at Griffith University and it seems I couldn't have chosen a more beautiful or ideally situated campus to study at. No more than 20 meters from the doors to the college is the riverbank, line with flowers, pathways, palm trees and huge green spaces and yes of course a giant Ferris wheel. "I guess I'll be taking the City Cat Ferry to class eh?" I say noticing the port just to the left. Happy that my campus is more than I expected it to be, I nearly skip alongside Alecs as we search for a
cheap place to have lunch. We settle for a little outdoor hole-in-the-wall eatery alongside the river where Alecs listens to me buzz about attending classes. "Holy crap, what the heck is that," I say jumping from my seat. A very large lizard has decided to join us for lunch this afternoon and proceeds to stand beside Alecs' feet looking up at us occasionally as if hoping we might share with him. After my initial shock of having such a large lizard near my feet I calm down and begin enjoying his presence. He leaves just in time for our departure, but manages to display his impressive speed first as he darts up a tree and onto the roof. "Wow," Alecs says as we continue our walk
"I think camping here will be very interesting considering all the weird Ozzie creatures." A five minute walk has us in the middle of a man made beach overlooking the river equipped with lifeguards, palm trees and powdery white sand. A little girl who looks distinctly like the kid from the movie 'Australia' and her brother run in-front of us collecting sand on their feet as they fly across a quaint little wooden bridge and back into the water. It's a particularly hot day and a dip in this idyllic looking beach is more than enticing but alas I am wearing jeans as it happens and we concede to spending a few moments in the sun and sand instead. Like all good things
though, this too had to end and Alecs and I pressed on, unsure how much further away our apartment was from here. "I love these purple flowers," I say trodding through the botanic garden leaving the beach behind, "they smell like summer." Alecs gives me that look, that look that he sometimes gets when he thinks I've said something silly. "You're weird," he say pushing me. "You're," weirder," I retort, pushing him back against the flowers. Our heads snap back at each other as I say this last word - weirder. "You did it
," Alecs says looking at me, "you said your first word with an Australian accent." Alecs repeats the word with a spot on Ozzie accent and we both do a little dance on the spot as he too manages to say it. "This is one for the books," I say repeating the word weirder over and over again, "our first word." As we stand there doing a dance Alecs notices a sign reading 'NO STANDING DAY OR NIGHT. TOW AWAY AREA' and he now has only one thing on his mind. "I have to stand there," he says, his heart beating at an audible pace, "I just have to." After appeasing his need to be a little boy, disobeying the rules I notice another building belonging to Griffith University, the film school building. Since I am registered to take several film courses in the coming semester I assume I will be spending much of my time near
this place, with serene Memorial Park next door. "I see story bridge," I say looking up-river where the landmark bridge sits with the city in the background, "that means our apartment is walking distance." Feeling a little relieved that we know where we are going, we push on, that is until we see a red cutout of a man with his arms held out towards the heavens. Without a word, Alecs trudges forward, turns around lazily and tosses his hands into the air waiting for me to take a photo. "You know me too well," I say after snapping the pictures, "you know me too well." We pass through a cozy little
park where families all join together for picnics under shady trees with cool breezes blowing in from the river. Every few meters is a little place to barbecue some food, but unlike the little fire pits one finds at public parks in Calgary, these were top-of-the-line barbeque's. Stainless steel tops, courtesy propane-tanks below and knobs to adjust the temperature. A couple stands at the grill cooking some tomatoes, dousing them in olive oil and sipping champagne. Meanwhile the rest of their party cuts into some juicy lamb steaks and slices some fancy looking cheeses. "Now that's a barbie (barbecue)," Alecs says, his stomach growling. We've been walking for about three hours now, a little more than 10 kilometers but we're almost home now, sweaty and tired, but feeling like we at least accomplished something and managed to enjoy ourselves despite missing home this Mother's Day. We stop off at the store for a tomato (in my head I said tomato with an accent) before crashing back at the apartment. We did manage to get ourselves a tax file number this week, which is like a sin number and gives us the right to work. We also opened bank accounts at National Bank of Australia (NAB) and received our new visa debit cards in the mail so we're all set up. If I managed to get a fraction of a tan out of the day they I think it can be considered a success and I did get to see my campus which was a bonus. This coming week is all about the job search, perfecting our CV's (no resumes here) and applying at all the agencies we can find. Until next time so long,
Alecs and Meg in Brisbane
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