After Byron we went to Surfers Paradise for 2 days but due to the obscene weather, we didn't do much. Its a party beach place (kind of reminds me of Magalluf...) so will be good for a weekend away with a group. Will write more about it if i ever return.

We booked the bus to take us to Brisbane which isn't far from Surfers at all. We had booked Base hostel - theres 2 in Brisbane a few blocks from each other - but we were recommended to stay in Base Embassy. There ended up being a massive carry on with our booking so Holly, Stacey and myself were in a female sanctuary (some hostels have girl only dorms or floors which they sometimes automatically put girls into) and Oli was in a 8 bed dorm on his own. Ours was a 4 bed dorm and our 4th member of the room was an irish girl called Rosie. I ended up staying in this room for the whole 2 weeks i was there and became really good friends with Rosie. Base Embassy had a big cinema room which was awesome, spent a lot of time there watching movies, drinking goon.... haha.

We had a hard time in Brisbane at 1st. I was so happy to be there as i was getting to finally catch up with my Ozintro besties Sam, Jasmine, Simon and Scott but Holly, Oli and Stacey weren't enjoying the permanent rain we were having or the struggle to find work. Everyone we spoke to was struggling and very few had found work in Brisbane. Its hard going not having an income and slowly watching your hard earned cash piss away, it happens so easily. You can get weekly rates for hostels so its always good to book out a week in places where you can, they don't advertise their week prices either so its good to phone.
All the job hunting stress got too much for my 3 travel buddies and they decided to go to Melbourne at the end of the 1st week we were in Brisbane. I was devastated. I didn't want to go back to Melbourne... I didn't know what i was going to do and felt really alone. My Ozintro buddies were either travelling up the coast or had work so i had the fear of being alone all over again - think its harder in a city than it is in somewhere like Byron. Just at that point though, i spent all day looking for work for accommodation to give me some financial breathing space. I got a private message on Facebook from Lesleys boss. She had gone to work in a place called Casino an hour from Byron Bay at a little Hotel and they wanted me to work there for 8weeks - they had two irish backpackers arriving on the 1st of May. I was so happy i phoned my mum up at 5am and told her! I was to arrive for the 3rd of March to do my RCG course (like the alcohol one but for gambling) then i would start work on the Monday.

I had a great reunion night with my besties at Down Under Bar - where i ended up spending the majority of my 2 weeks! It was a bar Lesley had worked in for 5 months, backpacker friendly so loads of drink promotions and cheap food. Being in Queensland meant you can get shots and doubles too, NSW you can't. Another good place was Victorys on a Thursday, $3 drinks! Busiest club i have ever been in, so busy you couldn't enjoy it though.
Main nightlife is up at Fortitude Valley, so many massive clubs and bars but we never bothered going up. Down Under is convenient, fun and i bloody love it! DUB FOR THE WIN!

Clothes shopping in Brisbane is awesome! Cheap clothes, spent a fortune... Shock! They have a really awesome art gallery - not normally my thing but it was free and raining so we ended up there out of boredom. Theres also a massive library where you can get free wifi and internet access. Brisbane doesn't have a beach, it has a man made lagoon. I LOVED it! Its so cool sitting in the water looking at the skyscraper buildings behind you. Next to the lagoon is Southbank which has loads of little cafes, restaurants, Nandos(!) and the Wheel of Brisbane which we done one day, again in the pissing rain. Was so much fun and only cost $15.

Brisbane itself is a cool city. When you walk down the main street no two people are the same; everyones tattoo'd and unique, more relaxed than Sydney for sure!

I made a lot of awesome friends in Brisbane and waved off a few too. A girl from home arrived my last night in Brisbane so we took her out and i left her with crazy Rosie. Sam and Scott went up the coast and Jasmine was working as a waitress in a restaurant. When it comes to work we learned walking round handing CVs into places was the best thing to do.

I booked my bus for Casino - the walk to the bus station is all up hill... Great fun with a backpack! I left on Saturday the 2nd of March, total bag of nerves and once again broken hearted to be leaving somewhere else i loved but leaving a few awesome friends behind meant it wouldn't be long before i was back...