Underneath the Arches

Southbank Parkland Arbour, Brisbane, Queensland

I decided to hop on the bus this morning. I'd avoided public transport through my holiday, which meant I probably didn't get around as much as I could have, but then again, there was less that passed me by too. I got on the City Sights hoho bus at Chinatown and began my mobile tour of the city. Haha, in spite of the various stops along the way, there weren't enough, as we passed by spot after spot I wanted to jump off the bus at. Heh, I should have done this on day one and taken notes of where to go. Another learning experience. At least I have a few places to go to if I ever make it back. After going through the city centre the bus wound its way out of town and up to Mount Coot-tha, where I did jump off to have a look at the city in the daylight. And what a sight! When I was up a couple of nights ago, I had seen the city defined by its lights, it's twinkling eyes in the night. Today, I saw its form.

Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia by population. However, by area, it outstrips is denser populated neighbours and this is clearly obvious from the top of One Tree Hill. Aside from the CBD, which climbs above the horizon, the rest of the city sprawls out at low level. As you gaze across the expanse, the river that snakes through it can be seen from time to time. It's a wonderful view of the city. I stopped off at the gift shop and picked up another batch of prezzies before heading back to the bus stop. As the bus arrived to pick me up again, we were treated to some more commentary from the driver. All morning, the passengers had been treated to lots of information about the sights as we were passing by and as I was picked up again to go back down into the city, some more was passed along. However, I hadn't realised how big a day it had been, especially the maternity wards! This morning, the driver told us that the population of the city was around 1.85 million. A little over an hour later as the driver gave us some general information on the city; it was up to just under 3 million. Wow! :-)

My next stop was Southbank. After meeting D for a bite of lunch, I wandered through the Parklands, passing by its famous Streets Beach, more golden sands and sparkling water, right in the middle of the city. Crossing over the Goodwill Bridge at the southern end and back into the city centre, I took in Old Government House and the Parliament building before going shopping one last time. This time, it was for me.

Last night J had been showing me her iPad mini, and very impressive it was too. I'd been struggling with my iPad since I had dropped it and smashed the screen on my first night at Hervey Bay. It still worked, but the spider web pattern of shattered glass made it difficult to read, never mind use the touch screen. On a whim, I had looked up the prices, expecting it to be a lot more expensive to buy out in Australia. Imagine my surprise and realisation at just how much the UK consumer is ripped off when I discovered that I could by any model of iPad or iPad mini for around $100 less than back home, and that was just from the Apple store. Looking further afield, I was actually able to knock off another $20! My only decision really, was which model to go for. When got the iPad 2 a couple of years ago, I decided to go for the 64GB wi-fi only model. I could never see myself using it away from home. After the issues and costs of wi-fi on this holiday, I decided to go for the 32GB mobile wi-fi model this time. Oh, and I went for the mini. I got that, a smart cover and a toaty wee 2TB external hard drive for the same price as I would have paid for the iPad mini in the UK. What's more, I could claim back the tax at the airport under the tourist refund scheme. Sweet! :-)

Before I'd left the flat this morning, I'd got the iron out. I had been told I was being taken out for my dinner tonight and so I thought I'd smarten myself up a little. When I say smart, I mean I got the jeans out for the first time since I arrived. I did take one of the shirts out of its vacuum pack though and give it the once over with the iron. When J and D got in from work we had time for a quick cuppa before getting ready to go out. Our destination was the Breakfast Creek Hotel for what I was promised would be the best steak in town. It was somewhere I had intended visiting for lunch at one point but never made it along. What can I say? Wow! As we passed by the kitchen on our way to our table we passed by the refrigerators filled with all sorts of cuts of meat. After seating ourselves and getting some drinks in, D and I headed back round to the kitchen to pick our cuts and order dinner. While there, I saw there were Morton Bay Bugs on the menu. I'd forgotten about them. Although I'm not a big fan of seafood beyond fish, I had thought to try one of these flathead lobsters, so when D suggested I add one to my dish, I did so on the condition that he gave me a hand to polish it off. Tonight was to be a true surf and turf, with prawns to start with as well. It was another experience as I had to autopsy them before I could try them. Off with the head, the legs, the shell, tail and then ripping out the intestinal tract. I don't know if I actually had my tongue sticking out as I did all this, but I do know that J and D had wolfed down a couple by the time I had my first ready to pop in my mouth. Hahaha... I had my subsequent morsels prepared for me. Thanks D! :-) When the main courses finally arrived (I had to apologise to J and D for asking for mine to be well done), OMG! How was I ever going to finish! Hahaha... somehow I managed. The steak was absolutely delicious. Sooo tender. The Bug was... different to what I expected. I'm not really sure what I expected it to taste like. Perhaps a little like tuna or swordfish. Meaty. But it wasn't. It was really strongly fishy in flavour. It was nice, but for a small crustacean it packed a lot of meat, and added to the steak... Ooomph, it was a stuffed me who rolled back to the apartment that night! Thanks so much J and D for a wonderful night out!

I had planned on going out to do some night shooting, but alas, even though it was my last night, I just couldn't make it. Something else to add to the list of things to do if I make it out here again one day.