Reunion

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This morning, I left Byron Bay after my brief visit to head up to Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city. The ride up took about three hours; with the clock getting set back an hour once we reached the state of Queensland. Along the way I read more of Fatherland and listened to my iPod.

I arrived in Brisbane late morning and left my things at the hostel while I went out exploring. My first stop was to get some lunch. I had also wanted to do a brewery tour of XXXX Brewery, so I figured I’d combine the two at the XXXX Ale House. After a 10 minute walk in the blazing sun, I was ready for a nice cold beer.

By the time I got to XXXX, the tours were finished and they weren’t serving food. So all I had was a pot (small glass) of XXXX Bitter, which tasted great after battling the heat outside.

After my brief cool down I went back out in the heat to explore some more. I worked my way back towards the hostel, passing Suncorp Stadium and ending up in a section of bars and restaurants. There I found a take away place that was open and had a chicken kebab in the shaded seating area.

As I continued meandering towards the hostel, I kept getting hotter and hotter. I came upon a cinema and made the impromptu decision to get out of the heat and see a movie. Few looked appealing, except The Road. I had read the book that the movie is based on about a year ago. I recalled not seeing what all the hype was about but it was interesting enough to see the movie. Like the book, the movie was interesting but left something to be desired.

For dinner, I found a pub near where I had lunch. The pub was playing a rugby game on its big screen so I watched it as I ate and drank a XXXX Gold and a Toohey’s Extra Cold. The game was a Rugby League competition between the National Rugby League All Stars and the Indigenous All Stars.

Having self-taught rugby in Athens, I remembered a few of the rules. Though I don’t remember whether the game I saw was Rugby League or Rugby Union; same sport, different rules and pace of play. As an aside, the Aussies also complicate things with soccer. They have traditional soccer and the so called Australian Football League. I haven’t seen an AFL game.

One of the more peculiar things happened at the game’s halftime; peculiar to an American, at least. Just before the second half started, official betting lines for the second half were displayed at the bottom of the TV screen. Spreads, money lines, first player to score, points scored… I wonder if sports betting is more prevalent here than in the United States? Or does the government just do a better job of keeping its nose out of peoples’ business?

I took off before the end of the game to head back to the hostel where I was meeting up with Jo, a Brisbane native who I met while traveling in New Orleans.

I was outside the hostel and saw him crossing the street so I went over to greet him. Surprisingly, with him was Jamie, also someone I met in New Orleans. While I knew the two were now dating, Jamie is from Wisconsin so I was very surprised to see her here. I soon learned that she’s over here on a work-holiday visa. We had a bit of a New Orleans reunion on our hands, almost halfway around the world.

The three of us walked into the city to Queen’s Plaza, where we found a pub called Mick O’Malleys. Inside, we reminisced a bit and caught up on the past several months. Jo and I got to talking about sports and, in more of an informational discussion than a debate, the American healthcare reform controversy. Meanwhile, Jamie had to be bored so we switched to more lighthearted topics that I can’t recall; all the while we had put down a few pints.

I don’t remember what time we left but I know it was late. We walked back to the hostel where Jo and Jamie split to head back to their apartment.

Tomorrow I’m planning to see much of Brisbane on a free walking tour that looks very similar to some of the ones I did in Europe.

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Photos

XXXX Brewery
The big Queensland beer.

Reuniting
Our first time together since New Orleans. It's hard to believe it's so far from there.

Jo and Jamie at the pub
We all met in New Orleans; now they're dating.