Another day, another location

We've arrived in Brisbane! It's a bit surreal being in a big city again and it has a London feel about it because there's a winding river that runs through the centre. We said our goodbyes to our host and walked the 20 minutes to the bus stop. It was so bitterly cold this morning and sitting on a shaded bus stop didn't help at all. The coach came on time and soon we were on our way to Brisbane. The journey didn't take too long but it is tiring just sitting on a bus so when we arrived at the transit centre in the city we stopped for some lunch and a coffee to perk ourselves up. The hostel is about 10 minutes from where we were dropped so it's not too far to walk but it is at the top of a hill. We arrived and checked into our 4 bed dorm and had a great chat with the receptionist about where to go and what to see. We did a little research into what to do tomorrow and decided to spend the rest of the day exploring the river and the area called South Bank. We had to stop soon at a bench so I could strap up my toe again before we carried on walking. The city is very picturesque; sat on the river with interesting buildings, bridges and lots of trees and greenery. We didn't make it too far on South Bank because we passed a modern art gallery, something Nick said he hadn't visited before, so of course this meant a visit. Some of the pieces you could really connect with but some are almost so personal to the artist that you don't know what to make of it. Nick was making his own interpretations of each piece so he seemed to really connecting with the work. After exploring the exhibits we had a quick tea break at the gallery next door then had a wonder through it until it closed. They had a mixture of old and new art and I saw the work of an artist I studied at GSCE level which was quite exciting. We both liked one artist who had turned everyday objects into beautiful ceramic pieces with the traditional Chinese white and blue china pattern. As we headed back the sun was setting and the sky from the west side was the most beautiful rainbow of colours. Every sunset in Australia seems to be amazing and we sat on the bridge just admiring the view for a while. Back at the hostel after a food shop we made curry for tea which was delicious. They have a movie room here at over 150 films so we looked through the list and set upon watching Slumdog Millionaire. We've wanted to watch it since we left India and Nick hasn't seen it so it made sense. Unfortunately the film was controlled at reception so when we both really needed the loo we had to hold it and wait until the end because we couldn't pause it. Afterwards we met our room mates, two Belgium girls, before showering and getting ready for bed. We managed to fit in doing quite a bit of stuff even with only arriving today which was good and hopefully tomorrow we are able to see even more of this city.Read more