Brisbane 14th Feb to 18th Feb

We finally made it to Brisbane, a bit of a milestone when it comes to traveling the east coast, mainly due to the fact that it's a major city. After arriving at the transit centre we were picked up by Beau and his sister who took us to Lauchie's house for our first night in Brisbane. As we arrived it brought memories of Uni flooding back as it was mainly a lad's house. The place was called HQ and we soon found out why, all friends dropped in and crashed there before and after nights out, a true party household, and just by coincidence there was a leaving party taking place tonight. After an afternoon of catching up on their Asia antics we made our way to the supermarket to stock up before getting back to start the house party. As the night kicked off so did the drinking games, 4 kings being the main attraction along with beer pong, a true winner of a game when there are Pom's around. Obviously we sided against the Aussie's and naturally they were a push over! With many jokes about us and them flying about the night was very long and as our bed was not going to be available for long into the night and we were tired we made our way to Beau's car, 'without intention of driving it for the police of the family' but only to use it as a bed. Making our way down the road we found the car and took shelter for the night but as you can imagine it was not the best night's sleep and made worse by the 20 mosquitoes that took shelter with us. The next morning we awoke to the howling of the kookaburra's cries and the Sunday morning church bells so with no intention of staying in the car any longer we sprung to life and absorbed the morning air and nutella on toast.

Although the day started so brightly it soon started to slow as both of us were tired and in need of rest but, after a brief catch up with the family back home before their bed time, we took a trip back down the road to find something for lunch. After that we spent the next few hours chatting to anyone who had awoken from their comma's. Not long into the afternoon Beau arrived back to pick us up as our next three nights would be spent in more comfort at his joint. As we arrived at his sister's house we were happy to see cable TV and a big sofa which is pretty much where the three of us spent the rest of the day. As the evening pulled in we met Lila again and her boyfriend and co-owner Matt. Pleased that we had been welcomed to stay with them we loved even more the comfort that was provided for our stay and we were even treated to an Australian style roast dinner, 'a roast cooked by Aussie's'. As the previous night had been so hectic it was not long before we hit the sack, but not before being made an English cup of tea down under style.

The following day we departed nice and early to get into Brisbane to explore the city and the surrounding area. With a few things to do as well we mixed the chores with the sight seeing while sucking in the first sun we had seen for a few days. After a battle in STA 'not the first' we made our way to City Hall where we went up the clock tower for a fantastic view over Brisbane and also took the chance to see some of Brisbane's local art in a free gallery. Into the afternoon and a few extras later we headed down Queen's Street and into the mall for a bite to eat. The interesting thing about Brisbane is that the streets are all names well known to the English Monarchy, and incase you are one to get lost, like me, the streets are easy to follow, girls names go one way and boys names the other, 'easy'. After lunch, and a failed trip to the post office in anticipation of the arrival of my cards, we headed across the river where Brisbane's culture really comes to life. After looking around some of the modern art we headed for the man made beach where we cooled our feet and our bites off before grabbing a fruit shake at a local juice vendor. As we headed back to base at Beau's house, fully exhausted from the days events we looked forward to treating our hosts to a true British dish, 'Toad in a hole'. Beau gave us a lift to the supermarket where we picked up the essentials and made our way back to the kitchen to hopefully deliver a Delia special, obviously ours would be better than hers, I mean we only used her as a guide… After promising so much the pressure was on so Rachel took charge of the sausages and batter while I tackled the veg and onion gravy, with my own spin of course as the gravy needed to be special. Once the sweat had poured out and the stomachs started to rumble we served it up and were informed we had done a top job. Naturally the onion gravy took 1st prize but many who have experienced my cooking would expect such an outcome, 'or not when rice is on the menu'. Once the clean up was complete and before we got our heads down we sat and watched Underbelly, an Australian series based on a true story, a must download I thinks.

On our last full day in Brisbane our activities were limited mainly due to the weather again. We did book our theme parks for the time we would be in Surfer's Paradise and then headed back to STA and the post office for another failed attempt in picking up my cards. As the day wore on we found a shop with a closing down sale where we brought a pair of shorts each for $15, always hunting bargains, before making our way to starbucks for a coffee break. Traveling has been full of surprises and here we were joined by a drunk who then decided to be slightly confrontational in his manner of demanding $2. Without breaching blog regulations, I told him to be on his way in the politesse manner possible. After one more look at Brisbane's cultural network we jumped back on the bus for our final night with our friends from Thailand.

The evening began with the decision to have a BBQ where we were joined by Lauchie and the reunion was complete. So, not only did we have 5 star comfort, we were treated to a Aussie BBQ as well, a match made in heaven. The night concluded with some interesting history conversations which I will bring home and share and a farewell to Lauchie as he headed home as the night came to a close. We awoke early the next morning and with a farewell from Beau and his family that was Brisbane done, a good time to catch up with friends and see a city growing fast around a river like the Thames. In the hope that we will see the boys in England in the near future we felt the goodbyes were not forever but were glad we had met them on Phi Phi viewpoint and very grateful for the hospitality they provided here in Australia. After locking up we made our way to the post office where I collected my cards and then to STA where our flights were finally sorted in both our favours. We packed up and made our way back to the transit centre where our journey here had begun four days ago and before we knew it we were on our way to Surfers Paradise.