Busy in Brizzy!!

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I feel like I'm always chasing my tail when it comes to blogging but I'm nearly there....have nearly caught up. Sorry it must be boring at times but this is for my own use too cause I had been keeping a journal but that has gone out the window since I got to Oz so this will hopefully jog my memories when I'm old & grey!

Brisbane was the first major city we'd been too on the east coast. Cairns really is more like a town than a city. There we stayed with a lovely Irish couple who we met on the Whitsundays when we were sailing. Ken & Keelin. From Dublin & Edenderry. Lets see if any of you at home know them!! Anyway they lived about 7km form the city so the first 2 days we kind of hung around the suburb where they live, Kedron.....mainly cause it had a massive shopping centre.....it used to be the biggest one in the southern hemisphere....called Chermside. Just for the record, Wendys is one of the more generous ice-cream parlours in terms of portions so keep that iin mind if you are at your wits end trying to choose. So it wasn't all eating ice-cream.....we went to the gym & did one of these pump-it sessions where this jumped-up male made "grrrhhh" noises as he ran through a weigths class with a group of women. Was good, from both an exercise & entertainment perspective!! We went out to the local pubs & clubs, being the good house-guests we are & had a great night at Normanbys....

So we spent the whole of Sunday walking the city center. It's a really nice city. Big!! We went to the lookout at Mt. Cootha & it really is a sprawling city so after a day of walking it we well deserved our dinner out. It was so exciting to go out for a meal. The only real luxury eating experiences we have these days are our visits to the ice-cream parlour. Now I know you might say that isn't that enough but you have to understand that we had been eating our breakfast, lunch & dinner out in Asia for next to nothing & it's so hard walking by restaurants these days when they waft of garlic & other tasty treats, teasing you. So we treated ourselves to Vietnamese & it was good. Not as impressive as the real deal but good nonetheless.

There are lovely buildings in the city, shops & parks...namely Roma parklands, it has the most beautiful sudtropical gardens....& the southbank area is a lovely spot that lines the river with a boardwalk & cafes & restaurants. So we walked ourselves weary Asia-style & got a good feel for the city.

Afraid it was just a flying visit to Brisbane. However I can proudly say that I did manage to do a bit of a clearout & bin one of my bags. My hoarding days are numbered....I hope. I've still a long way to go but I'm definitely getting better. Isn't the postal service great!!

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