Blogs from Australia, Oceania - page 4010

Not much new to report here… I officially have a home. I officially have a home Mar 14. Mar 14. ish. hahaha Yes, well, I handed over a month’s rent today as bond for my apartment. It comes furnished with most bills paid which sets my heart all a’flutter. Yippee! There is some decent temp-accom around here which will be no problem to call home once I leave the luxury of Pelham Court. My feet endured a day of the pavement today as I explored some more corners of the city all afternoon. I met up for lunch on posh Southbank with a Canadian in my program who just arrived Thursday. A few more people will be arriving in the next while which means that my days might very well be filled with things to do! ... read more

After the Fraser Island trip I caught the bus to Rockhampton (locally known as Rocky, in keeping with the shortening of just about every word by the Australians: eg bottle-o = bottleshop) which is the beef capital of Australia. So mission number 1 was to get a decent steak. I stayed at the Ascot Hotel which has a backpackers above the pub and is known as having the best steak in Rocky. They bring the steak out of the kitchen sizzling on a very hot slab of rock, you then cook it to your liking. It was absolutely deliceous and I was particularly impressed that the provenance of each steak is listed in the menu. The following day I caught the coach and then the boat over to Great Keppel Island. It is like a paradise ... read more

After the previous day’s excitement, we decided to have a lie in (again) - the rest of the day was spent doing the blog (6 hours), walking around Melbourne (where all the restaurants are) and where the gas torches ‘flame up’ on the hour when it gets dark - sadly we missed this as we were further in the city having a nice little Per-Peri chicken meal at Nando’s. We called it a night as we were shattered - we wanted to have a good night’s sleep as the next day we had planned to sit in a bar all day and watch the 2nd cricket final from Sydney. The next morning arrived and we enjoyed yet another lie in! It was amazing how quiet it was - not birds anywhere! We set off at around ... read more

BRISBANE The Medina Executive was centered right between china town and downtown and sat on the border of the Brisbane River Board Walk. China town has everything you want and especially wonderful sushi : ) Right downtown you'll find the Queen Street Mall that ranges from low expense stores to Chanel and Ralph Lauren. A few blocks from downtown you can find the boardwalk which is always speckled with tourists, joggers, and bikers. The City Cat ferry has one location here and they will carry you up and down the river for a very cheap all day rate if the bus or train doesn't catch your interest. The Queensland Rail has an excellent transportation service that can take you everywhere you need to go in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Ipswich. Students travel ... read more

Walking around the Alhambra has truly been the highlight of my trip so far. Seen from afar, it's mellow red walls and simple, but imposing structure does not give any clue to the wealth of the various cultures who have inhabited it over the ages. Granada is surrounded by rolling mountain ranges and the Alhambra sits solidly high on the side of a very steep hill and meanders down the slopes - having been added on to by every occupier since it was first built centuries ago. It is a mix of religious cultures - Arabic, Jewish, Spanish and the Catholic Royal Families. All of these blend together seamlessly and even the 3 museums which are placed around the huge central Plaza have been constructed in a simple modernistic style which does not detract from the ... read more