A weekend in Gold Coast

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The weekend’s come and go much too fast at home, and here, the weekends come and go even faster. Our weekend in Gold Coast started off upon our arrival at 5 AM. It was rainy and cold, but Kelly and I still walked to the ocean side to watch the sunrise through the gray clouds. As the day went on the rain slowly lifted up, and I am sure it is because of the double rainbow we saw Saturday afternoon.

In my previous blog, I wrote and uploaded the video of us running on the beach. While we sat in that McDonalds on Saturday morning, there must have been twenty runners go by in less than a half hour. Running must be a popular physical activity of choice in Gold Coast to keep your beach body in shape. Running on the beach was beautiful and relaxing. I ran for about 25 minutes, and started to slack off compared to Kelly! Running in the sand is much harder on your muscles versus running on the ground. My legs began to get sore throughout the run, and later on in the day I felt like I had done squats! After our run it was nearly time to check into our hostel. I did not mention this before, but upon our arrival at 5 am we were unable to check into the hostel at the time so we had to leave our luggage in a “luggage room.” The “luggage room” was a dirty, wet room the size of a small closet. We were lucky to be able to check our electronic items into the front desk lock box.

We checked into our hostel at about eleven am and chowed down on the delicious tuna wraps mum made had packed us. It’s really nice to have a host mum who packs us goodies for the weekends because it cuts back on the cost of food. Compared to last weekend’s hostel, this hostel was true luxury. Sleeping Inn hostel room came with our own bathroom, a kitchen, and a small living room area. The “dorm room” still existed and the four of us still shared a room but overall, much nicer facility for a cheaper price compared to YHA Hostel we stayed in. Hostel kitchens are not made for a Betty Crocker baker, but they are definitely manageable. We were able to grill out and cook eggs/toast for breakfast.

Saturday afternoon we met up with Kelsey and April who arrived on a bus around 2:30. Kelly and I who had been there since 5 am had already familiarized ourselves with Surfer’s Paradise, so we nearly felt like tour guides showing Kelsey and April around the town. Sufer’s Paraside is considered the “Vacation city” of Australia and for this reason; tourist shops were on every street, along with kebab shops. The amount of kebab, Korean, Gelato and Subway reastaunts in this town were more than I could count on my fingers (And it’s ok because smelling this all day is delightful!) I might also mention sampling gelato is delightful.

We grilled chicken burgers Saturday night for dinner using the Hostel’s grill. I stepped up to the plate as the one to be brave enough to grill food for us girls. (Luckily, it worked out well and none of us got sick from raw meat.) Did I say “grill” in my last sentence? Let me rephrase this to “BBQ.” Us American girls are familiar with the term “grill” but the Hostel employees corrected us multiple times because it was a BBQ. With that said, I’m happy I expanded my cooking skills into barbequing!

Saturday night we got dolled up for a night out on the town. I have never been to Las Vegas, but from what I’ve seen in pictures and heard about it, I can say with confidence that Surfer’s Paradise night light is easily comparable to Las Vegas. Girls wearing minimal clothing with heels that seem a little uncomfortable for an evening of dancing. Us four American girls felt “underdressed” however still had a fun experience of Australian nightlife. Or should I say Irish nightlife? We spent the night at an Irish pub. I didn’t think I’d be going to an Irish Pub while in Australia! (But that’s the joy of traveling…you never know what you will experience.) The best part of going out, in my opinion, is meeting people. I talked to people from all over the globe! Learning small differences, or fun new facts. For instance, there is an Italian village in Sydney. In addition (for all you Minnesota Twins baseball fans…) There is an Australian Twins Player. (I’m having a hard time with his name right now but I’m sure you can google.com it.)

Australians also do not annunciate the sound “R” as much as Americans do. For example, the word “far” sounds like “fa” or star sounds like “sta.” If you ever are speaking with an Australian who denies this, have that person say this sentence: “I drove in my car and went far to watch the stars.” It’s like an “a-ha” moment for some Australians who didn’t realize it before. (This makes me wonder what Americans do that we don’t realize.)

Sunday was spent walking around town, but in addition, Kelly decided to do a spur of the moment surf lesson. As tempting as it was for me, I have experienced surfing in previous travels so I passed the opportunity up. Instead, I played paparazzi for Kelly as she learned to ride the waves. I had an enjoyable afternoon hanging out on the (yes, windy) beach. The wind didn’t bother me because the view of the ocean and city is breathtaking, so it’s easy to throw the weather to the side in these moments. The moments were sometimes thrown off by Kelly’s surf lessons…as she got up on the board for about three seconds, and I heard a quick, high pitched “Ahhh” and got a quick view of Kelly falling into the ocean. It was a free two hour entertainment. I will say she got up a few times though! A good first time surf lesson! Surfing can sometimes be discouraging but as hard as it is to get up on that board you have to keep pushing yourself.

Since we had a cheaper dinner the night before we thought we’d go out for some new delicious Australian delights. We went to an Italian pizza/pasta restaurant where I got a prawn, chicken, onion and avocado pizza. You might be reading this asking yourself, what’s a prawn? It’s another name for jumbo shrimp. Avocado on pizza sounds strange but I loved it. Going out was also a good deal for Kelley, April and I because the place had a deal to “buy two entrees, get one free.” The total for my meal was 15$, and this was a bit spendy for me, but the pizza was delicious and I now have a new homemade pizza idea! I look forward to making pizza (and BBQ) upon being back in Minnesota.

Sunday night we also went out to some bars/pubs. The “clubs” cost money to get into so we chose to stick to the bars/pubs. I’m happy we did because the bars/pubs are more “laid back” and you are able to carry on conversations with new “mates” made from all over the world. There was also a dance floor so I was happy to get my dance workout in after that 12 inch pizza I chowed down. (…I mean I did share two pieces with the other girls.)

Monday Funday! Today is the Queen’s Birthday, declared as a national Australian holiday and for this reason we do not have school today. We had our last day in Gold Coast today and we chose to get a peek at what the Gold Coast is really all about. We went to the 76^th floor of the Sky Point Observation Tower. It reminded me very much of my past travel experiences of going to the CN Tower in Canada or the Sears Tower in Chicago. The Sky Point gives a remarkable cityscape and ocean side 360 degree view of the area. The Gold Coast is much larger than I was aware of!

Current location: Somewhere between the Gold Coast and Lismore. Kelly and I are now on our bus ride back to Goonellbah…that hilly suburb of Lismore. Kelsey and April had a longer wait for their bus, but they stayed back to finish our next weekend’s plans which my lips are sealed on that for now (Speaking of my lips “Our Lips are sealed” is a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie filmed in Australia. Fun fact.) I’m so thankful I have the weekends to explore and travel Australia, but also remind myself how lucky I am to have the experience of teaching children in another country. As I talked to people who we met throughout the trip, and tell them I am living in Lismore; the reaction is yet to be extremely positive. Lismore is a small city in Australia making it not too well known. I’m always looking at the bright side, making life as positive as can be, and this trip is helping me to become better at that because there’s always room for improvement.

The bus ride is nice because we have a view of the ocean waves, which are windy and rough at the moment. The ocean view right now reminds me of an East Coast Ocean view (high winds but still a gorgeous view.)

Interesting fact: In Australia, bachelor parties are called “box” parties. Our friend who drove us up to Gold Coast was going to celebrate his friends “Box” party this weekend.

That sums up the important aspects of my weekend. I hope everyone sarts off with a wonderful week!

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Photos

Arrival
5:30 In the morning watching the "sun rise" in the rain

Surfers
Beachside

Ferris Wheel
A nighttime shot of the Ferris Wheel in the city

Coffe from the top
Just enjoying my postcard latte on the top of the tower

View from the top
Our American Girl crew

City
The City View

Comments

[Helen Schoenfeld]

WOW!
Oh Sarah you are really LIVING! We are 'blown away' by all your experiences. What memories you are making. You are very BRAVE! We are really so proud of you.Loved all your witty comments and pictures. We almost feel as though we are there. Love, G & G