Well, it has been established that Annette and I are basically the same person. Through our conversations over the past week, it has become quite clear and frankly, a bit scary just how much we have in common.
I have established a bit of a routine that includes waking up with the sun and the birds and going on a morning run. After promising not to get lost on the first one, and then doing just that, I have now at least figured out my general route, which goes back and forth a few times across the creek. Besides the occasional speeding car that comes flying around the corner, it's just me and the birds :). Every morning I tell myself I'm going to explore further, and every time I get to the top of the huge hill, I decide it's a good point to turn around.
Annette and I will watch the morning news with our cups of coffee, and will rotate between fruit and yogurt or CRUMPETS for breakfast! I like crumpets :)
One of the days we went to visit and have lunch with Annette's mom, my great aunt Vera.
We actually spent a majority of the afternoon going through old photos of our family (I have some good ones to bring home ;). Not to mention we found a few old photos of Annette and Vera that I quite liked....
I'm not the only tourist who hugs koalas ;)
We also ventured into Samford, which I believe is the closest town to where Annette lives. Small town. Complete with a local art fair, a lot of hippies, and great people watching.
The next day, Annette took me into downtown Brisbane to show me around the city. SUCH a cool city!! The river weaves right down the middle and separates it into the central business district (quite Seattle-like, expect cleaner, and a bit more lively) and then Southbank.
Southbank on the left and the CBD on the right.
Southbank has a boardwalk all along the river and has beautiful park-like areas throughout, along with the restaurants and outdoor cafes. There is actually a festival going on right now through the end of September, so there are street performances, and different booths setup along the way. The whole place is very active. The Sunday market was also going on, so we made passes through that as well. We stopped at a cute little corner in the middle of the market for a mexican lunch and passionfruit margaritas. YUM! I have to say, I have eaten quite the array of international foods here so far.
After lunch, we continued up the Southbank, and I don't think I can do any justice in describing this, but they have pools/beaches/waterparks, right next to the river, that overlook the the skyscrapers of the CBD, and its FREE!! It's fantastic! Beach. In the middle of the city.
We got on the free ferry, that shuttles people up and down the river and did a lap touring the city by boat. After that, we made a few passes by the ferris wheel, debating whether or not to be tourists and ride it. But I think Annette wanted to do it more than she led on ;) So we went for it!
Trying to avoid the moving shade haha
On Monday, Annette worked from home, so most of my day was spent sitting out on the deck and starting in on the job hunt. Oh what fun ;) haha
The rest of the week, I have been riding into town with Annette and then been left to my own devices while she is at work. So far, I have successfully navigated my way around the city, set up my bank account, found the library (where I start off every morning, sending off job applications, and researching what to do next). I've visited hostels, been to the botanic gardens, wandered through the museum where I learned about Australian dinosaurs, saw up close the MASSIVE insects and strange little animals I may encounter in this country, and looked through some aboriginal artifacts. I've wandered in and out of shops, which to my surprise, clothes here are not any more expensive than the US, AND they are way cuter... "I don't need clothes, I don't need clothes. Walk away....." Ugh. I've met and chatted with a few interesting people. It's funny the looks you get when you've pushed the crosswalk button about 10 times and never actually cross the street, because you're standing in everyone's way talking to someone you just met, who you really didn't expect to stand there that long talking to you. Double bonus that he was a New Yorker who I met because I cheered for him as he illegally ran across traffic, realizing part way through that he wasn't looking for cars in the right direction. I also spent a majority of my day yesterday at the beach on Southbank :)
Once Annette is done with work, we either go out to eat or get take out to bring home. We have gotten into the habit of staying up to watch Big Brother (we don't have cable, so there isn't much to choose from). Every night we wonder why we don't just go to bed, but the dumb-blonde on that show is just too entertaining to miss.
I still check rooms for creatures before I walk into them, and check in and under the bed before I go to sleep. Still no snakes (the only one I've seen is the one we almost ran over one night, the one that Annette got out of the car to attempt to move it off the road haha). The first creature I saw in the house was a spider, that I was too embarrassed to point out because I figured it was a common one, and something I would get laughed at for here, so I just ignored it (but after seeing the FULL GROWN version of that spider in the museum.... gosh darn it, I should have killed it :/...) Next was the rather large gecko in the hallway, that I noticed because he was actually very loud when he crawled along the walls. Go figure, I go to bed that night, turn off the light, and hear the bugger crawling on the wall somewhere near my head. The morning I woke up to Annette telling me to come into her room, I thought for sure there was a snake... but no, it was just a foot and a half long bearded dragon lizard hanging inbetween the curtains, even that was a new one for Annette.
This morning I opened the bedroom door and with tired eyes noticing the furry thing on the floor in front of me, I almost instinctually bent down to pet the cat..... nope, it was a flying squirrel!!! This one gets crazy. Graphic warning!! Rasters, the cat, had brought the poor thing in the house. Annette said the squirrel probably died of shock, she picked it up and said the thing was even still warm..... she brought it over to the light so I could see it annnnd noticed something.... The squirrel was pregnant... you could see the little legs of the baby sticking out.... so Annette opened it up a bit.... the thing had twins!!! And they were still alive!!! Unborn babies. In the open. Moving. Amazing, and traumatizing at the same time...
I am officially heading North next Wednesday. I booked a flight to Proserpine, where I will then catch the bus to Airlie Beach. Airlie is a jumping off point for a couple of the major islands in the Whitsundays. My hope is that I can get a job on one of the Resorts out on the islands... But because of the islands, Airlie is pretty touristy, (although a small town) so if anything, hopefully I can find a job in town.
The plan is that Annette and I will head out to the coast to one of the beaches this weekend, and I am currently on the hunt for day trips that I can make out of Brisbane next Monday and Tuesday before I leave :)
