Date: 21st July 2011

Place: Brisbane

Weather: Sunny but not as hot as usual

I had to get a taxi to the bridge hq but I didn't mind paying $10 since it was free to do. I asked how much it would normally cost and apparently the one I was doing was worth $90! The climb was awesome and I spoke to an Aussie guy and some couples from Texas.

The bridge wasn't as tall as I thought it was going to be but you could see some of the city sky line and also the river zig zagging from the harbour. I also learnt that when they had the bridge built the workers weren't given safety equipment but were given three free beers a day by the brewery next door to calm their nerves. Makes sense. It was also the original design for the Sydney harbour bridge but Sydney didn't really like it enough.

When we got down to the bottom again I got a certificate and then the reported, Lizzie, met me and asked if I had anything else planned for the day because they wanted me to do some more things. I said of course again and they took me to some other places.

First I had pictures at the bottom of the bridge, then we went to the Powerhouse which is an old converted powerhouse where they have gigs on and things. I had a free Gin & Tonic there and had pictures taken again. They then took me for pictures in the park and then outside the Gallery of Modern Art and on the bridge.

They were leaving me then and I would speak to Lizzie about the day tomorrow because they were basically doing an article first hand from a traveller and it would follow my day through the city. So I was given $100 to pay for my entrance to the gallery and my lunch. I had to give them the change and the receipts the next day.

Halfway through the gallery though I was called out and told apparently they needed to take pictures of me having lunch. They took me to a really nice restaurant on the south bank which has a man made beach and pool which is really cool. They asked me to order starters and mains and then they got me a bloody mary because they wanted something colourful in the picture. The food was amazing and after having some pictures taken with it they left me again and I could tuck in.

I could have gone back to the gallery but I had pretty much finished when they had called me out so I decided to just walk along the river and across the bridge again. I went shopping then to find some trousers since it is a bit chillier here than anywhere else Ive been. I decided not to in the end though because I only have one month here and its not that cold really.

When I finally got back to the hostel after my day out the girls all got back as well and I found out they were all going out to dinner in a bit to a really cheap place so I thought Id go with them to be social even though I really didn't need to eat. We went to a place near Chinatown and shared a bottle of wine and had a bowl of $4 pasta which was really nice. Ive missed western food.

Whilst we were eating an American guy came up to us and started talking to us. It turned out him and his friends are sailor type people and have just got off a boat after being on there for 20 days. They invited us for drinks with them but it then turned out they were going to a strip club so we all decided to head back to the hostel bar since Pam had to get up for work anyway so didn't want to stay out too late.

In the Down Under Bar they were just finishing off a quiz and I was super happy when I knew the answer to one of the questions which was 'what does Enshuldigung mean in German?' I couldn't believe I could still remember that it means excuse me from when I learnt it at GCSE. I was so impressed with myself J.

They moved us eventually from the tables because they were making the room for the dance floor. That's when the dancing began and the night that was supposed to end at 11pm ended up finishing at 1.30am which was only out of pure force that I got myself to bed at that time.