Brizzy, Sweet As

This morning we woke up to bid farewell to two good looking people – aka the Jennings were off to work. We had fresh squeezed orange juice with the oranges straight from the tree in their backyard! Louise mentioned how fantastic a bit of Vegemite on toast with butter was and that we should try it, so we decided to be a bit adventurous and go for a dab. It was creamy and good, but should be reserved to sample in small amounts. We got ready for the day, played a bit with Tibby (their adorable dog), watched some news etc. and were on our way to the city!

The bus station is just a stone throw away from the Jennings so we skipped up the road, caught the 204 and took it straight to the center of the town to where the windy river meets with lots of shops. As per the recommendation of many, we walked the famous river walk and stopped into the museums. Before that we needed a pick-me-up so we decided to grab a bit of coffee.
Coffee in Brisbane seems to be a tough thing to get right for Kristin. She is the simple customer over in America with nothing fancy, just straight up coffee with a bit of half and half. But so far this quest has failed, and she has ended up with either a cup of hot cream or full espresso. I told her to just give it up and get an espresso drink, which are quite delicious here such as skinny cappuccinos. I decided to try an espresso drink with marshmallows, not as sweet as you would think which is good and it hit the spot. But I think Kristin is going to get it right as tonight a few calls were made and we figure she needs to order a “long black with a bit of milk.” So we shall see…

We hit up the Modern Art Museum where there were some, as there are always in modern art museums, very interesting showcases. I enjoyed the Aboriginal Art section with bright fiery colors but also found the picture of what a man sees when he pokes himself in the eye…a very funny concept. The picture was a big black dot with red outer rim on the left and a smaller yellow circle to the right, or the light you see when you get poked in the eye. This artist probably had to poke himself in the eye multiple times before completing his masterpiece. When we walked into one room there was an enormous sculpture of a forlorn woman in bed that was like something out of Ripley’s. She would be a good match for Goliath or the Jolly Green Giant. A man also put up 9 TV screens showing pictures of John Wayne films. I know Grandfather Peterson would appreciate that one! The most calming part of the day was when we entered the “Song Dong” exhibit. They had massive stones in a dimly lit room with a video of the artist practicing calligraphy to soothing music. On the side were containers of water and calligraphy brushes so that you could interactively practice your calligraphy skills with a key on the stones. I brushed out the numbers and the symbols for happiness and longevity. Kristin brushed out lucky and harmony.

After our brains began to whirl from all the modern art, we walked a bit more through the park area singing songs from Enchanted. We stopped by a river café as the sun began to go down. Yes, the sun sets over here around 5pm! We took lots of pictures of the bridges, pools that people swim in along the river and the beautiful walkway that has a canopy of purple flowers covering overhead.

We went to Queens Street for some shopping and realized Heather Hirst would be close by and getting off work so we met up with her for dinner. It was a great run across the square and hug meeting followed by a catching up chat session standing in the middle of the hustle and bustling that lasted over an hour before we realized we should get some food. We grabbed a bite outside under some heaters, then walked to another place for a pitcher. She filled us in on Australian culture, such as zero tolerance for driving over the speed limit, even 1km! We got to hear more details about Shelley’s wedding, what it’s like working as a structural engineer with Australian construction workers. Apparently they are really respectful to women. The whole evening we were cracking up as Heather keeps you in stitches whenever she tells you a story. We saw where she worked, rode the marble elevators to use the nice bathrooms and rode home to the Jennings in the company car.

Not sure what the day holds tomorrow but we plan to live it up! Oh Brizzy…