5/8/10 - 5/10/10 (brisbane)
Annie Lin
Brisbane – Montville – Brisbane
Over the last three days we have primarily been exploring Brisbane and its surrounding area. We were fortunate to stay with Kylie and have her show us around the city. On Saturday we took a road trip to Montville, a town about two hours north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast. Montville has a hint of an English village with its main street lined with pottery and candle shops. While the boys settled in for a time-lapse video of the valley, the girls strolled the main street window shopping. We drove to a few lookout points viewing the valley scenery. We did a quick drive through another town called Maleny, which was very similar in style to Montville. When we got back into the city we stopped by Kangaroo Point to catch the sunset. It had a beautiful view of the Brisbane skyline and river. There were lots of people having a picnic or bbq, walking their dog, or enjoying the night view. It was a little too late for Jon to capture the sunset on video so we decided we would come back the next day.
After we made our way home it was time to say farewell to our dear friends, Jean and Jono. They were heading to Ipswich to see Jean’s family for Mother’s Day. I was really sad to see them go. Even though I hadn’t seen Jean for five years since I said good-bye to her at the train stop in Japan we picked up where we left off. I’m glad to have made a lifelong friend. Jono said they will come visit us in the states and we look forward to that day when we can meet again. As some of you know we are always on the lookout for couple friends.
The next day was Mother’s Day in Australia. To celebrate the day we had a lazy morning and didn’t get out of the house till after lunch. I was also experiencing horrible sinus congestion so I took a morning nap. I figure naps doesn’t have to be just in the afternoon. Jean introduced me to eucalyptus oil, which is supposed to help with congestion and colds. They sell eucalyptus tissue, which Jon says I’m addicted to since I sniff the tissue before I use it. There may have been a few occasions where if Jon needs a tissue I’ll smell the tissue to get the eucalyptus scent before he gets to use it. Does that constitute as addiction? I was trying to optimize the use of a tissue.
Before heading to Kangaroo Point Kylie took us to the Powerhouse, which used to be a power station that has been converted into an art gallery and small music venue. There is also an outside patio seating area facing the river where people can order food and drinks. It was a warm day so we ordered a few drinks and relaxed on the patio. It was a really cool building with a lot of character. We then headed to Kangaroo Point for a bbq and another sunset. Jake, Jono’s brother, drove into Brisbane for the weekend since he had a work conference near the city and joined us briefly for dinner. When we got home we decided to challenge Kylie to a game of scrabble. Jon and I hadn’t played scrabble since that fateful night in Bulls, New Zealand. Kylie was the big winner of the night though we are claiming we didn’t want to be out on the streets and let her win both games.
Monday was Mother’s Day back in the states and we called both of our mothers to wish them a Happy Mother’s Day. It was also our last full day in Brisbane. Jake met us in the morning and we took a ride on the City Cat, which is a ferry that goes up and down the Brisbane river. It was a much cooler day than before (aka a sign we should leave soon). Kylie had gotten us day passes so we could jump on and off the ferry wherever we liked. We checked out an exhibit at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) that she had been talking about. The artist was an Aussie by the name of Ron Mueck and he does sculptures that are so life like that it’s a bit scary and awe inspiring. Most of the exhibit was of people and to create the hair he inserts each strand of hair into the sculpture as if it was growing it out of the skin. It was one of the coolest exhibits I have ever seen.
We had a lot of leftovers from last night’s bbq so we packed a cooler bag to have another bbq for lunch. I have to say that Aussies do like their bbq’s. We stopped at New Farm park right next to the Powerhouse for lunch. Jake hadn’t been to the Powerhouse and since we liked it so much we decided to go back. But unfortunately they were closed for staff training. Instead, we got back on the City Cat and headed to Regatta Hotel for some drinks. Then we met up with Kylie’s friend, Heather, for some Mexican food and margaritas. We had done a fair bit of walking that day even with the City Cat so we called it an early night and rested for our trip to Cairns the following day.
Thanks, Kylie and Jake, for showing us around Brisbane and why you guys love Queensland. We love it too!
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