Brisbane

Maxine and Mom are in Australia!
They got here Friday and came to my school, I showed them around the school and they loved it, I'm pretty sure it didn't take too long for them to fall in love with Australia. Especially considering there is a snowstorm back home, I think they will appreciate being in the sunshine!

Friday afternoon after I took them around school, we headed to Surfer's Paradise. It was a little windy for a beach day so we went to the beach for a little while and spent some time shopping. Then we headed to Brisbane.

The hotel was really nice!!! It was also great to sleep somewhere that wasn't a dorm room or a hostel. We began planning our weekend before we went to bed.

Saturday we went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, where I took them to see koalas and kangaroos, among other animals. I really do love koalas, no doubt that they are my new favorite animal. We spent a few hours there then went back into the city. My mom found out about a bridge climb and Maxine wanted to do it. It is called the Story Bridge Climb, and it is one of only 3 bridge climbs in the world. It was pretty cool being able to see the city from 22 stories high and learn some of the history. By the time we were done, we were exhausted with aching feet and ready for dinner. We went back to the hotel to get changed and then headed to the Pier to explore our dining options. It was such a gorgeous area for dinner by the river! We ended up at a restaurant called Siana, which was really delicious Asian food!

On Sunday, I had considered going to the Australia Zoo, which I've heard great things about, but it was alot of extra traveling, plus we had just seen some animals, and we wanted to have some more time to explore Brisbane, and have a leisurely day. We spent the day going on the Wheel of Brisbane (a big ferris wheel), walking around Brisbane Cultural Centre (we went to the museum and Modern Art Gallery), walked around South Bank (looked around the Market and found a spot for lunch), then ended the afternoon at the Botanical Garden.

Oh! And apparently Ben Lee had a show in Brisbane on Saturday night. He stayed at the same hotel as us and we met him Sunday morning when he had breakfast the same time as us! That was a pretty cool incident. Ben Lee is an Australian indie pop singer songwriter, he sings that song "Catch My Disease", and he's got a bunch of other fun songs. He was nice and told me he liked my shirt :)

Anyways, this weekend is the big trip to Sydney/Mardi Gras! I'm really excited to finally get to Sydney!!! I am going to buy my wig tomorrow for Mardi Gras, nobody has bought light pink yet so I'm thinkng that will be my color!