Ode to the Ute: An Australian Love Story

Dewey, this blog post is dedicated to you!

 

This is a Ute, or a utility vehicle.  It is to Australia what a large truck is to

  Alberta.  To me they are simply a car-truck, and are absolutely hideous.  Everyone here drives one.  People think they're cool.  They are ridiculously expensive for half a truck.  Pretty sure Oz (and maybe New Zealand?) is the only place you can find them.

Every time I see one I laugh.

I'm finally caught up on my Photo A Day.  I'm going to try and get into the habit of posting once a week.  I almost gave up on this, but I'm no quitter!  Check out the latest here.

Trip to Ikea and Chocolate Goodness

 Last night Joel and I had an Ikea date!  I loved walking around the displays of Ikea, so was looking forward to our trip all week.  We discovered in addition to the normal Thursday late night shopping, they are also open till nine on Fridays!  Australia is moving forward.  It's up near Brisbane, in Logan, which is about a forty-five minute drive on the motorway.  Logan is called Bogan Logan and we saw many a bogan!

When we first arrived I saw this humorous sign that I needed to share with my Canadian friends.  "Think ahead and add extra warmth to the long winter months."  Long winter months in Australia?  Bit of an oxymoron if you ask me.

 

Ikea here is HUGE- three stories!  Top floor is the showroom and restaurant, middle is the market place, bottom is all the furniture and cashiers.  We had dinner at the restaurant, then perused the showroom.  Sometimes I wish I could live in Ikea.  Or just take some of their rooms home.  Most things here are similar to home, but there are some differences.  For example, the cabinets we bought at home when we redid our kitchen don't exist here.  And they sell outdoor furniture!  (Maybe we do have this at home, but I've never noticed any.)

 

 We bought a much needed set of dishes and bowls (our apartment only came with four of each, which we've been washing by hand.  I decided we needed to buy more and make use of the luxury of the dishwasher!) and a few other kitchen things.  Prices are about 20% higher here.  I saw lots of other things I want, but Joel and my wallet stopped me.

Today we woke up to grey skies and pouring rain.  It hasn't stopped all day.  It's coming down so hard that driving visibility is very low.  The rain makes Brutis' windows fog up badly, so driving was even worse.  Lucky I had some tissue in the car to constantly wipe the windows down so I could see! PS- I HATE YOU BRUTUS!  Wolfie would never behave like this.

 I had to run a few errand after work, and after walking through giant puddles and getting wet feet I picked up some new rainboots from Target.   I think I'll be needing a heavier raincoat soon too, as my water-resistant jacket doesn't seem to stand up to a Queensland rainstorm.  The weatherman has predicted rain all week.  Joel is super bummed, as this means no golf.  I said maybe nature thinks he should be saving his money!

Tonight we decided we needed a good pick-me-up, so headed over to our local Max Brenner's for some chocolate.  There are three on the Gold Coast.  We went to the Broadbeach location, which is tinier and only serves dessert.  I was sad they don't have my favorite chocolate chip, marshmallow pizza, but I survived on a chocolate lava cake and hot chocolate.  Joel has never been to Max Brenner's before and fell in love with his brownie sundae.  We're still so full from all that chocolate that we haven't had dinner!

I got an interesting compliment at work today.  A client asked where I'm from because I "have the most beautiful accent".   I also had a client yesterday who told me he and his friends talk in Canadian accents to each other.  Not sure if that is an insult or compliment towards Canada!  He wouldn't do his accent for me.  

Everyone thinks that since we're Canadian we speak French.   (I've had a couple people ask if I'm from the part that wants to separate).  Joel told me today that when someone asked him this at work, his answer was yes!  He's been making up things with the few basic words he remembers from high school French class lol.  I'm going to do this next time someone asks- don't know why I hadn't thought of doing this myself!

My New Haircut and Something To Make You Feel Better If You're Having a Bad Day...

My hair has been driving me nuts the last two weeks, so on Thursday I got it cut.  Not just my usual trim, a full on chop.  I've had so much breakage on the sides that my hair was looking mullet-y.  I had some free time and just sat down and had one of the girls go to town!  It feels WAY better, those yucky ends at the back were not doing anything for me.  (I'm sure the Applauz girls are all wishing they could have done this cut but I wasn't brave enough till now!).  When Joel finally noticed, he was mad (he wants me to color my hair darker and grow it long like when we first met).  After he got over the initial shock he told me he likes it shorter.

 

Now, if you're having a bad day and need a good laugh, here is the latest problem with our loser car, Brutis.  Not sure how this happened, but the window control console decided to unhook itself.  Now it's just hanging by a thread.  It still works, but makes us hate Brutis even more.  We secretly wish he would get stolen and we could get some insurance money!  Mind you we probably wouldn't even make enough money to take the bus down the street...

 

Anzac Day

I have the day off today as Australia is celebrating Anzac Day (Australia New Zealand Armed Corps).  It's their version of Remembrance Day.  It happens every April 25, which marks the anniversary of the Anzacs arriving at Gallipoli (in Turkey).  This was a long lasting attack with large numbers of Australian and New Zealand casualties.  The plan was to invade Gallipoli, but the Allies were unsuccessful.  It was a big deal in Oz and NZ as this was the first battle that they had lost so many men.
The day starts somewhere between four and five am with a Dawn Service (symbolizing the time soldiers arrived at Gallipoli).  They are apparently pretty cool to go and watch, but with my cold I really did not feel like getting up that early to check it out.  Later on there are parades of veterans and current military members.  The bigger cities televise their parades.  After eleven the pubs open and everyone heads over to play Two-Up.  This is a betting game based on flipping pennies and guessing which outcomes they will land on.  It was played by soldiers during the first war and Anzac Day is the only day it's legal to play this game.  Not sure why it's illegal every other day, seems pretty harmless, but everyone seems pretty excited to play it today!  (Maybe the gambling gets a little out of hand- the Aussies are known to be big betters and bet on EVERYTHING!  There are pokies, like VLT's, at every corner.)

I'm still sick so my big plans for the day are to sleep and rest in bed.  Joel is out golfing.  I'm becoming a golf widow!  I wanted to do some house cleaning (this smaller space seems so cluttered and drives me nuts! I always feel the need to be tidying or rearranging) but I have the chills and not much energy so think I'll just stay where I am.

I've done alot of reading the past few days.  Last time I was at the library I found some Aussie authors as I wanted to feel more immersed in Australian culture.  I finished a book last night called Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty that was so good!  I know all the little "Aussie-isms" they talk about!

Is the Grass Really Greener on the Other Side?

For the last five days I have been battling a nasty cold.  I've barely had any energy to do anything and have mostly been in bed sleeping or trying to sleep.  I've been alternating between my Ventolin puffer, water dis-solvable aspirin (so gross), and cough syrup.  I even lost my voice yesterday.  Today I'm finally feeling a little better.  I've spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself over the last few days (as you do when you're ill) and have been thinking about the "what if's".  As in the "What if we stayed home and didn't go on this journey".  So I thought I'd blog about how we ended up here to get a few things out of my system.

In January 2010 Joel were on our yearly escape-the-winter-blues, beach getaway in Cuba.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and we were floating out in the big,blue ocean in a paddleboat, thinking how great life was at this moment.  That's when the Big Idea hatched.  Wouldn't it be nice to live like this all the time?  No snow, constant sunshine, and a piece of paradise.  Yes, it would!  Where could we live like this all year round?  The Caribbean is beautiful, but not a permanent home.  The US is too hard to get into (and has crappy health care).  What first world countries are there that speak English and have such great weather?  Ding, ding, ding- Australia!  Dewey had just recently got back from a six month school stint there and we were filled with all the wonderful things she had to say about living there.  Various other friends and family members had made the journey as well, with nothing but good stories to tell.  We also needed a big change.  2009 was a tough year for us, and I wanted a fresh start.  All our friends were slowly moving away and going on big adventures and we were feeling like there was no one left, so why were we still in Edmonton?  So it was decided, we should move to Australia.  Pretty sure at that moment we paddled back to shore and announced it to our new vacation best friends, who only encouraged us more as they had all spent time in Australia.  They were even the ones who suggested coming to live in Surfers Paradise!

When we got home the cold weather got us thinking about moving even more.  I wanted to go as soon as possible, but Joel needed to finish up his apprenticing and save up some money.  We decided that January 2012 seemed like a good time to go.  That would give us two years to get organized and save up some money.  We started researching things, looking into visas, the cost of living, and slowly telling family and friends.  Wow, we were actually going to do something cool!  2012 couldn't come faster for me.  In the meantime, life in Edmonton got better.  Our condo renovations were finally finished, Joel got his Journeyman Certificate, we made new friends and had made some awesome memories.  All the bad things that had been plaguing me the year before seemed to disappear.  2011 ended up being one of my best years!

When August came around it was time to walk the walk and really put this Aussie idea into motion if it was ever going to happen.  So by September we had listed our condo for sale and I let my boss know our big plans (which was actually real sad to do!).  Sometime around Halloween we got an offer- which meant this was really happening!  After the offer went through we applied and were accepted for one year working holiday visas, got ready to move and got our flights organized.  Before we knew it, the time had arrived and we were really going to make the big leap of faith! 

 The last month before we left was so much harder for me then I thought.  When I originally came up with this plan I envisioned how great it would be to say goodbye and get the heck out of Edmonton.  (As a teenager that had been my only long term dream).  But when it really happened, it was so sad.  Saying goodbye to close friends and family is not easy.  I started to feel really bad for leaving people, and for all the events I'd be missing in that years time.  There were a lot of tears shed!  But when we said goodbye to our families at the airport I somehow pulled it together and didn't cry, despite the tears from both our Moms. I was excited!  Joel and I had each other and were going on the biggest adventure of our lives together.  

Our first few days here were totally surreal, like it was just a dream.  We were busy getting organized and setting up our new life.  I have to keep remembering to be proud of ourselves- we've accomplished a lot in only two months!  We really started from scratch and had to figure things out on our own- no Dad to fall back on!  This has been a good thing for us.  Though there were a few moments when I really needed a time out from Joel, I know together we are so strong and can conquer the world.

Now we are still settling in.  Trying to find a new routine, comfortable hang outs, new friends.  Adapting to life on the other side of the world.  And I get so homesick for the comforts of life I'm used to.  Joel keeps reminding me that we came here because it was something I wanted to do.  I have to start living in the now, not the past.  I have so many happy memories of home that I can think of anytime I like, but for now life is here, in Australia, and I need to focus on that.  I will always love and miss my friends and my family, but I can't get hung up on all the times with them I'm missing or I will be missing out on things here.  I know they will all still be there for me when we come back and on the days I'm blue and really need them.  But I need everyone to support me being here, be happy for me, stop telling me to hurry home.  I feel flattered to be missed and loved so much, but it makes it that much harder for me to enjoy this experience.
  I do want to come back to Canada one day.  As much as I never thought I'd say this, I miss the seasons!  But Joel and I have been given a wonderful opportunity that not everyone gets, so I need to just roll with the punches and enjoy this chapter of life, so one day I can look back and think Wow, how awesome that we did that!  Maybe we'll stay here longer then a year, maybe we won't.  I'm not going to stress about it.  What's meant to be is meant to be.

Happy Birthday Cher!

Happy 26th Birthday Cherlynn! I hope it's a special day.

I've been home sick the last two days. I woke up Tuesday morning with a sore throat and it's turned into the lovely chest cold I get every year. I thought the warm weather would cure me of that, but guess not. I'm trying to sleep lots and rest up to be better for work on Saturday.

Good Day

Today was a glorious day off for me. It's cloudy and has been raining off and on, but today I don't mind. This morning I slept in and skyped with the Whalen's. The girls love to skype and get so excited to see me, but they fight over who gets more screen space! I talked with Cher for awhile and she brought baby Nathan in as well. I was worried he will forget me, but as soon as he saw me he started smiling and giggling like crazy! It made me so happy to chat and see everyone.

This afternoon I walked over to Pacific Fair to pick up a few things and stop at the post office. As usual when you're not shopping for yourself, I found something I wanted. I was looking in Dissh (another store I love here) for a gift for a friend and ended up falling in love with this dress and buying it!

When I got home I went to check the mail. I had a package from Jill!!! So exciting. Thanks Jill!

Inside there was also a Staff Challenge Kit from TM for me with new Pink Paislee product. Can't wait to get started on this and send it back to go on display! I love that even though I'm not there I'm still considered part of the team.

I also had some good news from the building manager- we're getting a new bed! The one we have is awful and Joel and I both wake up super stiff every morning. He complained about it the other day and now they're going to get a new one for us! Yeah!

We re-arranged our living room furniture last night (it had been looking too cluttered and driving me nuts) and now it has a much better flow. I just did a good house clean (save the dishes- I hate doing dishes and I am procrastinating on doing them) and I feel very productive. Next- a good work out, then hot tub and a steak dinner from my chef tonight!

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Today we drove down to the Currumbin Wildlife Center to see some animals! It was a grey and rainy day, but I wanted to see koalas so bad I couldn't wait another week for better weather. I may have over posted with the pictures here, but I am in love with koalas! They are so cute and I loved watching them hang out.

Can you spot them all sleeping in the trees?

You could have your photo taken with them too. Of course I had to have one taken, in order to hold a little friend! The keepers use this umbrella looking tool to take them down from the trees. Sometimes they rebel and climb away, so it can take a few minutes to catch one. This one's name is Sunny and he is a baby. He's just being trained but was very friendly. He was so soft to touch and felt nice in my arms to snuggle. I wish I could take him home with me!

This is a Tasmanian Devil. He just briefly came out of his hole for some food. I believe they are on the verge of becoming an endangered species.

There was a big kangaroo park and you could walk amongst the kangaroos. They are very friendly (ones in the wild aren't) and come right up to you to say hello! Likely they are expecting food, as you can buy feed and feed them. There were two types here, Eastern Greys and Red Kangaroos.

This guy was getting a little frisky...

A tree kangaroo.

Cassowary!!! These birds are so creepy looking. They are the second largest non-flying bird and are super dangerous! They attack.

A dingo. Basically a feral dog. He kept running around so I couldn't get a good picture.

Creepy emu. This guy just walks around the park. He makes weird, low grunting noises. We didn't like him.

There are tons of birds at the center too. Most of them just walk or fly around, but some are in cages. There is a lorikeet feeding, but we were too tired to watch so headed home (luckily because it started pouring rain once we got in the car). We also saw some snakes (in glass cages), lizards, crocodiles, and frogs. There are more animals but alot were hiding out due to the yucky weather. I saw my koalas and kangaroos so I'm satisfied for awhile!

Last night we went out to Envy in Broadbeach with Hamish and Michelle. Michelle loves to dance (especially to her fav singer, Rihanna) so we spent most of the night ripping up the dance floor. We even made a random new friend who danced with us all night (until she met a guy and left). Later we headed to McDonalds for some french fries (awesome at two am!), then walked home in the rain singing old school pop songs. We took many "special" photos, but I'll leave you with my favorite...

Scattered Thoughts and Random Facts

It's finally the weekend! Even though this was a "short week" due to Easter it felt really long for me. Likely because this is the first time I've worked a five day week in awhile! In addition to my Thursday night, I went into work yesterday to fill in and it was really busy. I was so happy to come home today and head back to bed! This getting up early to drive Joel to work is driving me nuts. I'm tired and in bed by ten and I feel like I come home, eat dinner, blog/check emails and goto bed. Today he's informed me he'll be golfing every Saturday morning at seven am so I'll have to drive him to the course in order to have the car to drive myself to work. I think I'm going to start saving for my own $1000 POS car for my sanity. I'd take the bus, but the bus system here is terrible and super inefficient. It's a half hour drive to work so I can only imagine how many days that would take me via public transport.

Last night we had some rain and it was surprisingly quite cool for Australia! I even had to wear a sweater- something I thought I wouldn't need here! The moisture from the rain makes it feel cool. We went out to our favorite Italian take-away, Milano's, for a $25 dollar dinner. Best deal in town and always good food. The guy who works there joked that he thought he scared us away as we hadn't been in awhile. After that we went cruising to explore the Main Beach suburb, which is home to Sea World and the Versace Palazzo Hotel and is known to be a pretty high rolling area. As in Versace Versace. I thought that was very guido when I heard about it, but it's for real! It's Australia's only six star hotel and there is only one other in the chain in Dubai. Wasn't as exciting looking from the outside as I expected. Apparently Chris Brown is staying there this weekend for some musicfest.

At work I am still somewhat of a novelty to our apprentice, Kiarra. She loves to ask me questions about Canada (and she gets in trouble for talking to me so much instead of doing her work). I think she is so cute, but a little naive. (She is only seventeen and not very well traveled yet). Yesterday we were talking about swimsuits (called "swimmers" here) and she was asking me where I bought mine. I told her some from VS, some from a little boutique at home, to which she answered "You can buy swimmers is Canada???" I thought that was pretty funny. I told her yes, we do get some warm weather in the summer that we need them! "Where do you swim then?" Funny. She gets a kick out of some of the "Canadian" words and phrases I use and has been teaching me some Aussie slang. I learned "feral" (which is someone ugly or disgusting) and "sussed", which is basically short for "succeeded".

Next for my random info is the boy band that is taking Australia by storm, One Direction. They are like Justin Bieber times five. They were competitors on X Factor or some show and Simon Cowell's been promoting them. They were in Sydney yesterday for their first concert and every girl under sixteen was going crazy! The radio DJ's were joking about them all day. The concert took place in the afternoon and was only and hour and a half long. Because that's all the songs they have to sing. Anyway they are being touted as the next Beatles and the older generation is very unhappy about that because no one can replace The Beatles. You can't go a day without hearing something about them and their merchandise is for sale everywhere. Joel hates their music and switches station every time they come on, so every once in awhile I'll sing their biggest hit, "One Thing", so it's stuck in his head for the day! I don't mind their music in a turn up the volume, singing in the car, feeling good kind of way (come on, I love the Spice Girls and BSB). So if you too like cheesy music (Dewey), you should download them. Are they popular yet back home?

Next up is the My Family stickers. We have these in Canada. It's the Mom, Dad, children, and pet stickers that you see on the back of peoples cars. They are extremely popular here. I think they're cheesy, and laugh at the people here who are making fun of them. For example, I saw a junky car with a "My Family" sign, but only a single man sticker. Today we saw a "My Family" with two bunnies (must be a friend of our old bunny loving, military neighbor John) and another one that simply said "Making My Family"...

Late night shopping. It only happens ONCE a week!!! That means all the shops close at 5:30 (except the grocery stores and K-mart, which is actually decent here) every weekday except Thursdays, when they are open till nine. This drives me nuts. I learned from a client that even in New Zealand they are open late each weeknight. Might have to petition Can-do Campbell Newman (the premier) or Julia Gillard (PM) on that one. Makes me miss West Ed and it's infinite opening hours...

Finally, onto Drink Driving. It is a very big problem here. I've already met three people who've had DUI charges and have lost their licenses here. Joel's been tuning into a weekly show about it, and it appears that 20% of Australians are charged with drink driving. (This is just my guess. If there are enough incidents to make a weekly, hour long show about all the people caught, it must be at least that high). Rules on drink driving are the same as in Alberta, a one drink max (also texting and talking on your phone are big no-nos, but you can eat or drink a beverage). Maybe they should do like New Zealand and make more anti-drink driving ads, like this one to put a stop to it This video just makes me laugh. I know it is a serious matter, but the first time I watched it I didn't even realized they were speaking English! Courtesy of my awesome youtube/photobombing loving cousin Paul. Bloody leeegend!

I Heart My Baby Sister!

I love that Dewey can always make me smile! In addition to the videos she and my Dad emailed me, I got this gem in my inbox this morning. It is Dewey imitating Diddy in Times Square (you can see a big billboard of his face behind). The first time I went to visit her in NYC we saw a Diddy poster and I made her pose like him for a picture. Diddy always seems to have an ad for something up in Times Square, so from time to time Dewey will send me a pic of her imitating the latest Diddy ad. Classic.

I'm feeling much better today. I think I really just needed some sleep (especially since I have to get up at 6:15 every morning to drive Joel to work so I can drive myself to work later). I didn't have to be at work till two, so after I dropped him off I went back to bed and slept for three more hours and felt way better when I woke up. I found out I will be working Thursday evenings from now on, which means I'm getting busier! I felt I deserved a pick-me up treat today so I picked up new Esthecada perfume (my favorite perfume maker), Island Kiss, which I can't stop smelling.

Homesick

I didn't think it would happen, but the last few days I've been incredibly homesick. It started Monday evening and hasn't gone away. I think talking to so many friends and family back home over Easter started it, as I'd been doing so good with things until then.
I'm really missing my friends. I am so thankful from the texts and emails I'm getting from those special people (and the awesome video my Dad and sister sent me!), but it's not the same as face time. I've been spending alot of time looking at photos of good times on facebook! I even called home before work yesterday morning because I missed my Mom!
I'm missing the comforts and routine of home. I'm more of a creature of habit then I thought! I'm having trouble making myself a new routine. The last two days I've just been tired all the time and can't get motivated todo anything after work. I even tried doing a relaxing stretch video tonight but couldn't relax.
I keep thinking of what I'd be doing if I were still back home. Sleeping in my comfy bed (this bed sucks). Not having to think about what lane to be driving into (I still get mixed up once in awhile). Alberta drivers (ya I know we are supposedly the worst drivers in Canada but at least we are somewhat courteous- the Aussie's are just plain ignorant of other drivers and pedestrians. I think it's a game for them to speed up and scare the pedestrians crossing the street, even at crosswalks). Eating Honey Nut Cheerios (Cheerios here are NOT the same). Going through the Dairy Queen drivethru for Blizzards or Wendy's for Frosties. Having space and order in my nice condo with my scrapbooking table. Unpacking fun new product at Treasured Memories. Smelling the hint of spring in the air and noticing the days getting longer (it's dark before six here now).
I know I shouldn't whine as there are people out there with a lot worse to complain about, but I just can't lift this downer mood. I don't regret coming to Australia, but I thought I'd adjust a little easier. Maybe watching a little Fubar will help???

Happy Easter!

Ah, Easter Sunday, a glorious day on the Gold Coast. The weather hit twenty nine degrees today and we had a beautiful afternoon with no clouds. (Yeah I'm rubbing it in Edmonton, I know about all the snow you got yesterday!) . Easter is my favorite holiday. Why you ask? Four day weekend, no holiday stress like at Christmas, the hint of spring (though this year it's still really summer) and the BEST chocolate (mini eggs and creme eggs anyone?). The first half of the day was spent calling various friends and family with Easter greetings, then golf for Joel and reading/napping in the sun for me. When he got home we hit up the beach. It was so warm in the water! There were some good waves too and it felt good to play around in them. I love the sound they make as they crash in and the way they foam all around you. It seriously makes me happy to have this right at my doorstep.

For Easter dinner tonight we had a Mexican Fiesta (why not) complete with Sol beer.


No chocolate from the bunny for us! Why you ask? Because the stores are all sold out (except for the cheap stuff no one wants to eat). Normally we do our groceries Sunday, but you guessed it, everything was closed again today for Easter. This is crazy to me, nothing closes at home on Easter! We went last night to do our groceries instead but Coles had been raided! The stores are closed for one day and people stock up on food like it's Y2K. There was no bread left and only really crappy meat.

I hope everyone has a great Easter and eats LOTS of chocolate for me!!! (And since no one seems to like Cadbury Creme eggs send any you get to me!) Maybe tomorrow I'll be lucky enough to find some random pieces left on sale somewhere???

Trip to Brisbane

Both Joel and I had a four day weekend for Easter, so on Friday we drove up to Brisbane for the day. When we first got there we had a good first impression. Brisbane has a population of two million and is Australia's third largest city. The Brisbane River runs through it and there are tons of fancy bridges crossing it. Brisbane kind of reminds me of Calgary. There are tons of big buildings downtown, many of them dating from the early 1900's. That's about all I can tell you. On Good Friday all of Australia shuts down, so nothing was open and no tours were running. We drove around for along time looking for an open Subway or MacDonalds to eat lunch. I thought in a big city like Brisbane things would be open, but no. So here is a tour of Brisbane with highlights made up by me.

One of the many bridges crossing the Brisbane River. To our right is the South Bank (cool place to hang out at night) complete with Brisbane Eye Ferris Wheel, to the left is the CBD (Central Business District. All cities have one).

Brisbane City Hall. It is currently under a $250 million renovation. In front is a big square full of statues and a giant tv screen to show Aussie Rules Football (the rules to this sport make no sense, much like their government according to Joel).

Brisbane Botanical Gardens. Very big park, well maintained, pretty to walk through. Parliament hides somewhere in here.

Banyan trees. These things grow all through the park. Joel liked how the branches grew into the ground.

Old building facades. This used to be someone important's home, but now looks like it's been converted to some sort of business.

Not really sure what this building is, but I found a statue of Queen Victoria! When I was a kid I always had to take pictures with my namesake. I guess it's stuck.

The Treasury Building perhaps? Joel liked the big balls. So did the Asians watching us take silly pictures. I think he started a trend.

We found people! And some open restaurants! The Queen Street Mall is where it's at. Mostly just bogans (Oz trailer trash) and backbackers. Had some good ice cream.

The Anzac Memorial in Anzac Square. Anzac is the Australia New Zealand Armed Corps. This monument is to honor those lives lost in World War One and Two. The flame inside burns eternally.

Some white statues. Not really sure what this was about. I thought outback explorers, Joel thought boy scouts. I always have to take goofy photos with statues, usually picking their nose or such. I won't post the pics with me as we came up with some quite inappropriate poses. Anyone who's had the good fortune of taking a statue photo with me can use their imagination.


We parked in an area away from the CBD. On our walk back to the car e fantasized about someone stealing Brutis. Unfortunately he was still there. Here's one of the cool bridges we saw ( the Kiliarnkamo or some other abo(riganal) name).


The most famous bridge in Brisbane is the Story Bridge. You can climb it and go across a la Sydney Harbour Bridge. Melba mislead us for a good while, which led to gas wasting and a fist fight with Joel. Joel won, Melba went back to her cage with a stern warning from me. Once we found the bridge we walked across it and had an awesome view of downtown Brisbane.




Not sure how I feel about Brisbane. We decided we'll give it another try sometime when things are actually open, maybe get a tour and learn some real facts.

We headed back to Surfers and low and behold restaurants here were open!!! Perhaps the city of Brisbane came here for an Easter vacay? We had a nice diner at an Italian restaurant.