Bye bye Brisbane

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I had been up early everyday last week to make my way to work on public transport, and today was no exception. I wanted to say goodbye properly to Lee before I left to fly to Sydney and this was the only way of doing it. I got my gym gear together and we drove to the Hyperdome to get the 5.30am bus into the city. Lee had looked exhausted last night when he got home from work last night, his eyes staring off into the middle distance as we talked. Clearly he hadn't got much sleep last night either, as I found him passed-out on the sofa when I went to bed. We sat towards the back of the bus along with all the bleary eyed commuters in near silence for the whole journey. I understood why he was so tired, taking on a new job and becoming a parent all in such a short space of time can really take it out of you so I couldn't begrudge him wanting to sleep on the bus.

We arrived at South bank station a little after 6am and I walked with Lee to his office at the Gallery of Modern Art. I hadn't seen this part of the city before and was hoping that the walk to work might perk him up enough to say goodbye. The gallery was an impressive and imposing building looking out over the river and was clearly designed exactly for purpose. We said goodbye to one another and had a bit of a man hug - needless to say I got rather emotional and the tears started pouring down my face. I hadn't been this emotional about leaving somewhere since I left home back in February and I could only put it down to the fact that I had become rather comfortable living and working in Australia. Lee had always been a close and dear friend but I never cried when I said goodbye to him back home but I guess the circumstances were a little different now.

I walked around to the front of the gallery over looking the river and made my way across the Tank Street bridge. I had often seen the bridge while in the city and thought that now was as appropriate time as any to walk across it. I took a couple of photos of the bridge and the gallery as I crossed because I although I'd spent a lot of time in Brisbane for work I'd never taken any photos of the place and I wanted to be able to look back and have as many fond memories of Australia as I had of everywhere else I had visited. I walked down Ann Street and through King George Square to the gym taking photo's of The Drovers and The Petrie Tableau as I went. Thankfully by the time I got to the gym I had pulled myself together enough not to look like a mess in front of the people I used to work with.

After my workout I felt ready to take on the world again and decided to drop my final time sheet into Paul at the agency. We had a brief chat and I thanked him for giving me the work. I had enjoyed working as an agency chef, all the fun of working in a kitchen without having any of the responsibility for the business at the end of the day. My next pit stop was for breakfast and something to take back for when Carmen and I had tea later. There was of course only one thing that I could take back that would make both myself and a woman who had just given birth happy, Krispy Kreme doughnuts! With doughnuts in hand and a full stomach courtesy of Subway I made my way back to the Hyperdome where I hoped to file my tax return and get some extra traveling money care of the Australian Tax Office! When I arrived at ITP office I was told that frustratingly I wouldn't be able to file my early tax return because I needed a payment summary from each of my employers. I had got one from my apple packing work but neglected to do the same for the cheffing work. I wasn't going to let it get to me though, there is always a solution to any problem so instead I went to the bank to set myself up with a rechargeable money card and get some US dollars as back up.

With as much as I could hope to have got done completed it was time to head back and grab a cup of tea with Carmen before I headed to the airport. We talked about what I was going to do and where I hoped to visit when I got to South America and she began to reminisce about her time traveling in Europe. It wasn't long before Tina came over and I knew that my time in Loganholme was running short. I still had to pack, leave instructions for any post that may come for me and print off a copy of my itinerary and photocopy my passport and insurance documents as per Carmen's instructions before I left...staying true to form I had left everything until the last minute! I hadn't thought about leaving copies of everything as back up when I left the UK and clearly motherhood has turned her from organised to super organised! it was with a heavy heart that for the second time today I began to well up as I said goodbye to Carmen. Although I had felt a little awkward staying with her and Lee for the last two weeks, what with Zahra having just been born and them just getting their own space, I was still really sad to be setting off again. Safely packed and in the car I waved goodbye to Carmen for the last time as Tina and I headed to the airport.

Tina wanted to leave enough time to get to the airport and check-in in case we hit any traffic on the way, which made perfect sense. When we walked into the departures hall at the airport I noticed that everything was computerised from checking-in to baggage drop off which always irritates me. Why does a ticket still cost so much when the company have eliminated the need to pay anybody to check you in and what if the system goes wrong? What if I arrived in Sydney and my bags turned up in Melbourne?! Tina calmed me down and took over the whole process for me as she could see that what was left of my hair might fall out if I had to go it alone. ' I don't know why you don't like doing it this way, it's really easy' she said. Clearly she didn't know that I was one of the biggest Luddites going and that I was more likely to through a computer against the wall if it didn't work rather than try and patiently work out the problem! Nevertheless, I was checked in and had paid for my one kilo of excess baggage with enough time to spare to grab an over priced airport coffee and something to eat. We sat and talked at the little cafe in the departures hall for what seemed like an eternity, about everything and anything we could both trying to avoid the inevitable goodbye that was to come.

Eventually my flight appeared on the screen with a note saying 'Go to Gate' along side it, so I picked up my rucksack and we walked over to the security gate. Its horrible to leave friends and family behind regardless of how long it will be until you see them again. After the shedding of many tears and many hugs it was to to make my way through and get to the gate, I couldn't put it off any longer. Once through the security checks I waved goodbye for the last time and made my way upstairs to the gate for my flight to Sydney.

We sat on the tarmac for an extra half an hour before we began to taxi to the runway. The female captain apologised for the delay and explained it was because of refueling problems at Sydney. I chuckled to myself, waiting to see if some Australian guy would make some sexist comment about a 'bloody Sheila' flying the plane; but disappointingly it never came. I was torn as to what to watch as there were a few movies that I fancied seeing. I settled upon 'Horrible Bosses' as I thought a comedy would probably be my best bet and I wasn't wrong. To make things even better we were offered a complimentary drink to go with our meals as an apology for the delay...beer and a good movie, things had begun to look up!

Once I had arrived in Sydney I needed to get from the domestic terminal to the international terminal ready for an early check-in tomorrow morning. After my conversation earlier in the day to a chap at Quantas, I had been assured that because I had a connecting flight with them I could get on the free transfer bus between the two airports. Unsurprisingly when I asked the Quantas help desk they said that the bus had stopped running for the evening and wouldn't start again until 7am the next morning. I refrained from asking them whether they in fact knew their arse from their elbow as the burly looking security guard had joined them behind the desk and so made my way to the transit train. when I eventually got to the International terminal I was ravenous, and much to my disappointment everywhere was closed, save for one...Pie Face! Pie Face is a fantastic concept that appeals to the Australian love of meat pies as well as the discerning cake lover like myself and I can't begin to tell you how pleased I was to see them!

Full and satisfied I went to find a quiet place to try and get some sleep before tomorrow. No sooner had i settled and got comfy I was nudged by a miserable looking security guard who told me I had to make my way downstairs as they shut the terminal at night. Bemused, I tempted fate and asked why. I was told it was a security risk and it was standard procedure for international airports. I laughed and said 'Really, because I've been to loads of international airports on my way here and this is the first I've come across it.'. The guard was obviously used to dealing with smart-arses like me and just pointed towards the exit. I joined the train of people that were being herded like cattle towards a small anti-chamber at the entrance to the terminal where we were to spend the night. Once the gates had closed we were left to it with the exception of the sour faced jobsworth returning intermittently with the odd straggler, which I and another English couple couldn't help but laugh out loud about. At last I got comfy on the small travel pillow that Julie had given me in India and I tried to drift off to sleep.

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