Whirlwind tour of Brisbane

Well it's been a whirlwind of a past 10 days. Be sure to grab some form of hydration because this post could cause fatigue due to its length and I apologize for that, but there's a lot to tell! Last Thursday (Sept 25) I flew to Brisbane to meet family friends Nathan and Erin Johnston and their adorable 3 year old daughter Lizzie for an absolutely amazing couple of days of sightseeing and Australian hospitality. Nathan and Erin used to work at State Farm and were really close to my cousin Kristi which is how I know them. Here's an example of a major difference between flying in Australia and America. I simply scanned in my flight code and it printed my boarding pass. After going through very primitive security, I handed the lady my boarding pass and walked on to the plane without ever once even showing a single form of identification. I sat next to this fascinating man on the plane who used to work for the United Nations. He said he was actually sitting in a seat and it wasn't until somebody came and claimed they had the same seat that he and the flight staff discovered he was on the wrong flight! No one checked his boarding pass, just tore off the edge and he walked on to the plane. I made sure I kept my flight information for my other 2 flights in a safe place once I realized anybody could take my place if they had my code. I arrived in Brisbane and was greeted by Erin as soon as I stepped off the plane, another difference from back home. We drove to this restaurant on a cliff for drinks and snacks since neither of us had lunch. Next we picked up Lizzie from day care and did some grocery shopping for one of the best dinners I have had here: Buffalo chicken sandwiches and strawberry shortcake for dessert!!

The next morning I woke up to a breakfast of fresh fruit, cereal, and scones before taking off to the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast had been described to me as the Vegas of Australia, but I would liken it much more to Miami with its gorgeous beaches, high rise condominiums, and rich, beautiful people. On the way down we stopped at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where I got to feed and pet kangaroos, one of the items on my Australian To Do list! I also got to feed an emu (giant bird that has a similar body structure to an ostrich.) I even got to hold a Koala! We kept driving down the coast and stopped at this restaurant famous for its meat pies. These are similar to chicken pot pies, but come in lots of different flavors and are topped with mashed potatoes and gravy. We finished the drive to the Gold Coast (only a little over an hour in total) and drove to the Q1 Tower where Nathan and I went up to the 77th floor observatory. It's the largest residential building as well as the 20th largest building in the world. We had an amazing 360 degree view of the coast and Surfer's Paradise as well as the city with its high rise buildings and winding rivers in the middle. After that we went on an aquaduct tour. We started off on a bus ride through the city and saw where they hold the "Indy 300" (yes, same idea as Indy 500 but the street is commercial). The bus then went right down this ramp and turned into a boat so we got to view the city from one of the rivers where we passed some spectacular houses. I had noticed that there were very few "nice" houses in Australia and also that everyone drove fairly nice cars. I learned the reason for this is because property in Australia is outrageous with ranch houses even in the suburbs selling for $500,000 so people just buy nice cars instead. Anyway one of the houses we passed sold for $188 million dollars and another had its own helicopter pad on the water!! Definitely Miami-esque. After the aquaduct tour we walked along Surfer's Paradise beach then drove back to Nathan's parents' house for a steak and chicken dinner with fruit pies for dessert from the same place that sold us the meat pies. I also got a surprise of Dr. freaking Pepper which I had mentioned to them I was addicted to back home but could not find here.

Day 3 I woke up early for french toast and more fruit. Erin, Lizzie and I then decided to spent the morning in Brisbane. We drove to the city and walked along Queen Street mall for a bit of shopping at this gargantuant outdoor/indoor mall. Then we took rivercat and rode up and down the river that divides Brisbane so I could see the city. We got off at South Bay where they hold all sorts of markets. They also built this huge pool with manmade beaches right next to the river so Lizzie and I went swimming for a while before taking the rivercat back and walking through the city a bit more. We got back to their place and Nathan's family came over for the Grand Final which is the Aussie Footy Rules version of the Superbowl. That night his younger sister took me out to Octoberfest (in Australia, in September haha) with some of her friends. We had some really good albeit expensive German beer and sausages before going to one of the nightclubs so I could experience Brisbane night life. Later that night I got to experience my first kebab which was DELICIOUS! It's like a chicken wrap but they grill it so the tortilla is toasted.

The next morning I woke up for eggs and American Jimmy Dean sausages before packing up the car and heading north for a day at the beach. For any of you who have seen the tv show Yes, Dear this is how I felt packing up the car as they had about 12 different bags for Lizzie haha. We drove about an hour north to Bribie Island for a relaxing day building sand castles and enjoying the sunshine. Nathan even taught me how to body surf where you lie on your stomach and ride the waves in to shore. Another thing to cross off my To Do list! On the way back we stopped at the Glass House mountains for a little hike through the bush and to just admire the glory of more nature. Once we got back to Brisbane we drove up to another lookout to watch the sun set over the city and see Brisbane all lit up. We went back to the house and ordered pizza for dinner. Nathan's family then came over and surprised me with a birthday cake! That was really special since I was feeling a little disappointed about not being home for it.

Monday morning I woke up early and rode the train into town with Nathan and Erin and wandered around the city for a couples hours (I bought a Cherry Coke at the same store that sells Dr. Pepper) and then met up with them for morning tea and to say good bye. Nathan's dad drove me to the airport where I boarded the plane for Airlie Beach. I think I will cut off at this point before anyone loses interest and continue the rest of my adventures in another blog including two days of sailing and scuba diving!

PS - when I got home I had an email that said Lizzie missed me and wanted to send me an email. They had also scanned in a picture she had drawn for me :)