The early bus to Brisbane was fun. The bus driver was chipper. The road was scenic, covering little beach towns and giving us a glimpse of the gold coast, which looked like Miami, glass high rises built up to the sand. The early bus (which was 3 hours long) took a breakfast break and I tasted sweet chili and sour cream chips, which is a popular flavor here. The bus break is as Australian thing. There are signs on the highway that drivers should “Stop, Stretch, Revive” every two hours. The only negative on the early bus was the lady sitting next to me, who was wearing killer red leather boots, but moved to the back row after breakfast break and PAINTED HER NAILS. On a closed, 12-seater bus.
In Brisbane we checked our luggage and took a walk around. Naomi immediately proclaimed her love for the city, but I didn't like it as much as Sydney. We saw a bunch of fancy buildings, including the train station, the old treasury building which is now a 24 hour casino, the old post office and full stamp collection (including kangaroo, Tasmanian devil, and wombat stamps), and the commissariat stores buildings, “built entirely by convicts.” A nice lady gave us a tour of the museum and we learned a lot about early convict life and the mistreatment of the Aboriginals. I did so much “research” for this trip that I felt like I already knew everything she told us, but she told us that she preferred Sydney over Brisbane so I wanted to be her friend.
On our way over the something River, (we just call every river the Mississippi), we found ourselves in the middle of the best farmers market in the world. ENDLESS SAMPLES. We were over the moon. Fruit, avocado, bread and vinegar, bread and spreads, and the most delicious snack every created, date and almond chutney over sour cream on crackers. We planted ourselves in front of that table and basically ate lunch.
Across the river was a big library and an art museum and a public bathroom, some grass and a cultural center. We walked around quickly and then returned to the farmers market for seconds.
We also took a tour of the parliament building with the worst tour guide I've been with so far. He was very friendly and spoke very clearly and seemed very knowledgeable, but it was clear that tour-guiding was the last thing he wanted to do. His heart was really in chatting. We talked about our jobs and our hometowns and the educational system in Australia -- their school year begins in January and ends in November, giving their school years a single year date (2009 vs 2008-2009) – and a teensy bit about the Australian government system. At once point we were standing in front of the famous Speaker's Mace, the one he had glossed over at the beginning of the “tour,” and while he chatted away to another guy about Melbourne's football team, each of us wandered over to admire the bejeweled Mace and read the attached placard. In order to move him along, we interrupted his conversation and asked about the Mace. He replied, “Oh yeah, that's the one. Let's keep walking here and I'll show you the library.” We were so weary from our tour and carrying our crap around that we walked 20 meters through the Botanical Gardens and called it quits.
Australian thing of the day: Sweet chili and sour cream chips. Very tasty. Pretty mild spiciness compared to Flaming Hot Cheetos. Just my speed.
In Brisbane we checked our luggage and took a walk around. Naomi immediately proclaimed her love for the city, but I didn't like it as much as Sydney. We saw a bunch of fancy buildings, including the train station, the old treasury building which is now a 24 hour casino, the old post office and full stamp collection (including kangaroo, Tasmanian devil, and wombat stamps), and the commissariat stores buildings, “built entirely by convicts.” A nice lady gave us a tour of the museum and we learned a lot about early convict life and the mistreatment of the Aboriginals. I did so much “research” for this trip that I felt like I already knew everything she told us, but she told us that she preferred Sydney over Brisbane so I wanted to be her friend.
On our way over the something River, (we just call every river the Mississippi), we found ourselves in the middle of the best farmers market in the world. ENDLESS SAMPLES. We were over the moon. Fruit, avocado, bread and vinegar, bread and spreads, and the most delicious snack every created, date and almond chutney over sour cream on crackers. We planted ourselves in front of that table and basically ate lunch.
Across the river was a big library and an art museum and a public bathroom, some grass and a cultural center. We walked around quickly and then returned to the farmers market for seconds.
We also took a tour of the parliament building with the worst tour guide I've been with so far. He was very friendly and spoke very clearly and seemed very knowledgeable, but it was clear that tour-guiding was the last thing he wanted to do. His heart was really in chatting. We talked about our jobs and our hometowns and the educational system in Australia -- their school year begins in January and ends in November, giving their school years a single year date (2009 vs 2008-2009) – and a teensy bit about the Australian government system. At once point we were standing in front of the famous Speaker's Mace, the one he had glossed over at the beginning of the “tour,” and while he chatted away to another guy about Melbourne's football team, each of us wandered over to admire the bejeweled Mace and read the attached placard. In order to move him along, we interrupted his conversation and asked about the Mace. He replied, “Oh yeah, that's the one. Let's keep walking here and I'll show you the library.” We were so weary from our tour and carrying our crap around that we walked 20 meters through the Botanical Gardens and called it quits.
Australian thing of the day: Sweet chili and sour cream chips. Very tasty. Pretty mild spiciness compared to Flaming Hot Cheetos. Just my speed.
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