...Church. Brisbane Museum. Brisbane City Walk. Mooloolaba. Glass House Mountains. Stomping at Family. Brisbane River Fire Festival...

Yippee I'm in Bris Vegas. This is part of the trip I've really been looking forward to as it meant I could finally catch up with my mate Alex for a Toasty and Bubbles reunion. Alex used to be one of my clubbing partners in crime but three years ago he emigratedto Australia and we haven't had the opportunity to see each other since then.

Its been brilliant spending time with him again and meeting his lovely wife Kylie. They've made me unbelievably welcome and I'm just loving being in a nice home again with the added bonus of my own room and double bed, pure luxury. Kylie's also been cooking us some gorgeous meals and they've been taking me to some really interesting places. Its been so lovely seeing how Alex's life is over here and meeting his friends.

On the first weekend I arrived I joined Alex and Kylie at their church for the Sunday evening service. I'm not particularly religious but the church has been a major influence in Alex's life since his come to Australia and is very important to him so I wanted to go see what it was all about as it didn't sound like it was a typical type church. Firstly it was on an industrial estate, Alex is in charge of the mixing desk for the band and they don't have hymns. I was intrigued from what I'd heard and more astounded when I attended the service. The venue wasn't like a church at all but more like a club with a stage where the rock band performed. It was all very MTV with large plasma screens, bright colours and a real upbeat vibe. It was unlike any church service I'd attended before. I was really quite impressed with it and could see why it attracted a congregation who were primarily in their twenties. It definitely was an enlightening experience.`

Because of turning up a bit earlier than expected Alex is still at work so I've been busy keeping myself entertained during the days by sight seeing in Brisbane. I visited the Brisbane Museum where I had a private guided tour around their latest exhibition and found out a lot about Australia's history and the aborigines plight. I also went up the clock tower at the Town Hall and did the self guided Brisbane City Walk where I got to see many of the cities landmarks and places of interest like the Botanical Gardens.

During the week I also joined Alex and one his friends in the studio to see them working on one of their tracks. It was a really interesting evening seeing the creative process and lovely to spend time with Alex doing something that his passionate about.

On Friday Alex had the day off of work so he took me up the coast to Mooloolaba which is a trendy coastal resort about an hour and half drive north of Brisbane. We had a brilliant day catching some sun and enjoying a really nice lunch. On the way back to Brisbane we made a detour to White Horse Mountain where the Bush Fire Lookout Point is for this area and got to see spectacular 360 degree views of the area near the Glass House Mountains. In the evening Alex, Kylie, a few of their friends and me ventured out to the Valley where we went to Family and I got to actually have a stomp again. It was a bit of a different experience to the clubs at home but still a good laugh and the tunes were pretty good.

Then woke up early this morning to join Kylie at the West End markets, which were really cool with a very alternative vibe. In the evening we went into the city to go watch River Fire, an extraordinary fireworks display marking the beginning of the annual River Festival, which is a week of festivities celebrating the iconic Brisbane River. To start the show two RAAF F1-11s dumped and burned and then the most amazing pyrotechnic display started up with fireworks going off everywhere from boats on the river, off of buildings and even attached to the bridge we were standing on. It was a really cool night and Jodie had just arrived in Brisbane so it was great to catch up with her.

Having a amazing time in Brisbane so far and I can't wait until next week as Alex has taken holiday from work so we can start to get up to some old style Toasty and Bubbles terrorising.

Photo: Kylie, Alex & me out clubbing at Family in the Valley

[Next blog entry: Brisbane Sunday September 9th 2007]