"BRISBANE'S REALLY STARTING TO GROW ON ME,"

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
Temperature: 27 Degrees Celsius
Track of the day: "All night long", ACDC

"Is goofy a dog or a bear?" I ask Alecs early Saturday morning as I finish my oatmeal. "We've been over this before," he says shaking his head, "Goofy's a dog." I stop for a moment. "Why would a dog have a pet dog?" I ask. Alecs shakes his head again turning off the Saturday morning cartoons. Today is Brisbane Riverfire, a festival of events to celebrate the river that the city thrives around. Tonight at 7:00 there will be fireworks shooting off all over the city and we've got a nice picnic dinner planned and a perfect little park to watch it all from. Until then, we have plenty to do, including a quick trip to the riverside market. This farmer's market happens every fortnight (which coincidentally falls in line with payday for both of us) and the 45 min walk each way is more than worth it. We head out early to beat the sun and are soon enough wandering through the crooked stalls, Moreton Bay Bugs (a small type of Lobster) crawling around their little aquariums, juicy mangoes spilling over the stand and the smell of fresh cinnamon buns fills the air. "I'm going to get some beets for dinner," I say to Alecs squeezing past a large German Shepherd 'accidentally' reaching out to pet him on my way. We pick a delicious array of fresh fruit and veggies before venturing home to prepare for tonight festivities. Living in the city centre has it's perks and watching the flocks of people flowing in and out of the train station brings a smile to our face. 'We're lucky we can walk to the place people have to commute into," Alecs says as a particularly packed bus heading to Southbank passes us. Our plan of beating the rush of people to the park failed miserably and as we crossed story bridge to Captain Burke park it becomes very apparent that despite being four hours early - we are in fact late. "We need to get some of those fries from the fish shop on the corner," I say to Alecs excitedly. We stop in at our favorite fish and chip shop for some beer battered chips that have yet to be rivaled. Chips in hand we head to Captain Burke park. The buzzing sound of people chattering gets louder and louder and as we turn the last palm tree lined corner into the park. A young boy flies past us followed by a little rugby ball. Skidding across the grass a young boy dives to catch the red rugby ball his brother threw his way. "This likes as good a place as any," Alecs says removing his pack and spreading out on an empty bit of grass. Our superb self-control shines as we manage to wait a whole two minutes before digging into the tasty fries. "I forgot how good these were," I say relishing each piece in my mouth. We sit and chat, listening to the buzz of families around us for the next few hours. The more healthy side of our picnic includes some fresh strawberries, a chicken pita wrap and some sliced veggies which all prove to be delicious in their own right (but cannot be compared with the infamous beer battered chips). The voices of several children shouting to their parents in unison fills the air. "The jets are coming, the jets are coming," we hear one little girl shout. We turn our heads to the sky and sure enough five fighter jets shoot overhead in formation - the booming sound following moments later. They soar through the sky twirling about, plummeting to the ground before swooping back up for dramatic effect. Before long the jets disappear and the sky begins to get darker and darker. Moments before 7:00 the crown starts cheering, the radio station who has set up in front begins counting down and the first firework screeches through the air ending with a loud pop and a burst of pink fills the air. Little kids with glow sticks stop fidgeting and look to the sky, older ones climb trees and playground equipment for the best vantage point and I pull out a little bag of popcorn. Leaningg up against each other Alecs and I settle in for what is to become a 45 minute long festival of fireworks. The centrepiece of the light show - the story bridge - suddenly shoots off a consecutive burst of fireworks from one end to the next. A steady stream of larger more colourful ones continue next to it and we find ourselves frantically trying to decide which ones to look at. The many different colours, sizes and sounds fill the air and we can hear the sound of the other fireworks around the city going off in between burst of ours. The reflection off the river is magical - each pop of light reflecting in our eyes and on the water. "This rivals the Disneyland Fireworks," Alecs says leaning over to grab some popcorn, "it might actually - dare I say it - be better," he adds. The grand finale arrives all too soon and last for much longer than expected. An F-111 Jet zooms overhead and a booming almost deafening sound fills the air and resonates through our entire bodies. Moments after passing the last string of fireworks ignites and it's all over. We hang around as the crowd disperses, admiring the city lights before walking home after a fun filled night to remember. The streets of the Valley (community we live in) are alive and kicking as we shuffle down Brunswick Street. Live music plays at centre stage, pub goers enjoy a nice XXXX Gold on the patios and I can't help but have a skip in my step. "You know Brisbane's really growing on me," Alecs says as we turn onto Alfred Street. "Me too," I say smiling...."me too."

So long for now,

Alecs and Meg in Brisbane.