Living the dream

Our time in Brisbane has been very different in comparison to our time spent in Sydney. Because Dan and I are working ridiculous hours (in excess of 40 per week), it is making excursions (i.e. Blog-worthy material) hard to come by!! Having said that, because I get weekends off, we have been able to plan some day trips.
A few weeks ago Dan managed to get a Sunday off work, so we decided to head up the coast to the Glasshouse Mountains National Park. As there is a train station (and a 'town') called Glasshouse, it seemed only natural to get off the train at that stop. This turned out to be a bad choice. As we stepped off the train I could have sworn I saw a tumbleweed roll past, that's how deserted the place was! However, we weren't too worried, as we were surrounded by mountains, so thought it couldn't be far to the tourist information/courtesy bus/life of some sort.

So, in the midday heat, we set off along the long road towards what appeared to be the epicentre of the mountain range. After nearly two hours, the mountains were getting no closer (if anything they seemed further away!) and both Dan and I were beginning to flake. Although there were cars passing on the road, there didn't seem to be anyone around to ask for directions. We were getting some puzzled looks from drivers, making us think they don't get many people dressed as city folk in those parts!
Anyway, just as we were thinking about turning round and heading back towards the train station, we saw a lady with two dogs on what appeared to be a driveway to a house. Concerned, she asked us if we were lost. We explained our situation and, after consulting with her husband, she kindly offered to run us to the park's lookout. At this point I'd like to point out that we are not the sort of people to get into a car with a complete stranger under normal circumstances. But these were not normal circumstances - we were hot, thirsty, hungry and pretty desperate to get off the ridiculously long road we had been trudging along for what seemed like forever. And besides, the couple seemed so friendly and genuine that, on this occasion, I was willing to bend the rules. Our gamble paid off.
Jannean, as we were to discover, loves travellers. She often helps out backpackers who get lost in the park and has even, on occasions, let them stay in her house. She wanted to know all about Devon and what we were up to in Australia, and talked about the travelling she had done in the past.

Firstly she took us to the lookout, an amazing 360 degree view of the stunning national park. It turned out Jannean is a budding photographer, and she went snap happy taking lots of arty shots of me and Dan!

She then took us on the short nature trail around the side of the mountain, before driving us back down towards her house.

On the way past the lookout cafe, Dan suggested we buy her a drink to say thank you. So, the three of us sat on the veranda of the cafe, in glorious sunshine, drinking milkshakes and eating cake. It was very surreal, as we were chatting as if we had known each other for ages, not just an hour or so.
After our drinks, we assumed Jannean would drive us back to the station, as we'd already taken up a fair bit of her Sunday afternoon. However, she insisted on driving us all round the park, stopping at various vantage points to tell us old folk tales, or to get a good picture. It was like having our own personal tour guide and photographer, all rolled into one.

Finally, she took us to the tourist information which, ironically, was about 50 metres from the train station! It turned out that we had exited the station on the wrong side of the tracks - the whole of Glasshouse town was located on the other side! Again, inside the building, Jannean spent ages talking us through all the different leaflets and diagrams. It was clear that the Glasshouse Mountains are her babies, and she loves talking to people about them.
Four hours later (!) we parted company, after thanking her about a million times for rescuing us and spending so much time showing us around. If it hadn't have been for her our day out would have been very dull indeed, as we would have had to view the mountains from the side of a dusty road. For anyone planning on visiting the mountains I would say 'do it' because they are beautiful, but definitely hire a car (or a Jannean!) to do the leg work for you!

After the excitement of that weekend, Dan and I then didn't do a lot for a couple of weeks, until the weekend just gone. On Saturday night X Factor auditions were being held in Brisbane in front of a live audience. So, during the week, we got tickets to go and watch. However, due to a mix-up with seat allocations, we were informed that we no longer had tickets. I was disappointed, but resigned to the idea that we wouldn't be going. Dan wasn't going to give up so easily! As the tickets were free (the X Factor is new over here, so they are trying to drum up interest) Dan thought it was worth heading over to the auditions anyway, just in case. When we got there a massive crowd had gathered on the stairs to the Entertainment Centre and the presenter was doing various takes whilst the crowd were told to 'go wild' for the cameras.

As soon as the doors opened it became clear there was no way they were going to be checking the names of everyone in the audience, so Dan and I were able to sneak in!
It was so weird to see the famous X Factor stage, and the four empty chairs for the judges. Except over here they were to be filled by Ronan Keating, Natalie Imbruglia, Guy Sebastian (winner of Australian Idol) and the controversial radio DJ Kyle Sandilands rather than Simon Cowell et al.

Before the contestants came out we had to do all sorts of ridiculous things for the producers to use as archive footage - such as looking shocked, booing, laughing etc! It was all good fun, but a bit tedious after a while. I was glad when the first auditionee finally came out. Throughout the night we saw a wide variety of talent, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. My personal favourite was a girl duo, whose name I've forgotten, who sang an Amy Winehouse number. They were sisters, and had clearly been singing together all their lives, as their voices and whole routine just gelled perfectly. I'll be interested to see if they make it past bootcamp and onto the live shows.

The next day was also very busy, as Dan and I had planned to go down to the Goldcoast to visit Dreamworld - Australia's largest theme park. When we visited two years ago we went to the water park next door to it, and thought at the time that we would like to go at some point in the future.

The weather was perfect, making it feel like a real holiday. We got there at about midday, so had a good five hours to go on all the rides and explore some of the attractions aimed at 'kiddies' (!).

Dan wanted to head straight for the 'worst' ride, the Giant Drop, but I said no, as I wanted to work my way up to that one by going on a few smaller ones to start with! I love roller coasters, so really enjoyed the 'motocoaster' and Cyclone. I was less enamoured by Claw - a giant swinging pendulum, which seemed to go on for far too long!!

After going on all the big rides, the only one which remained was the Giant Drop. The more I stood watching the tallest freefall ride in the world, the more I wondered what I was doing in the queue to go on it. The ride stands at 120 metres above the ground and can be seen from, literally, miles around. The ride itself is pretty simple. You are basically hoisted up to the top of the tower, suspended for a good 20 seconds, and then dropped at 135km/h. However, the 20 seconds feels more like 20 minutes!! I just kept focusing on a mountain on the horizon, not daring to look down! Although I was terrified, the adrenaline rush afterwards was awesome and, if it wasn't for the massive queue, I may have even gone on it again.

Come Monday morning, when my alarm went off at 4.15am, I was exhausted but happy to have had such an action-packed, enjoyable weekend.

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man

After a stressful month of hunting I can now finally say I have a job, Hooray! Since being here I have found it really hard to find work because of the length of time left on my visa. However, just over a week ago I replied to an ad on Gumtree asking if the job was still available (bearing in mind it had been posted ages ago), to which I received a reply saying 'yes'. The next day I popped to Oxford Street Bakery to chat to the owner. The bakery is situated in Bulimba which is a half hour walk from our place in Morningside. After a long chat about the bakery and how it is family-owned, Julie said how perfect I was for the job. The only thing I wasn't too sure about was my barista skills which she was interested in. If you remember, Jo and I took a coffee course while we were in Sydney which Jo went on to make the most of but I didn't! Anyway, Julie told me I could start in a few days and that one of her four daughters that work there would show me the ropes. I just hoped I could remember the difference between a latte and a flat white...! Well, it's been a week since then and I can safely say that I survived. All the staff are really friendly and made me feel very welcome. There are a few newbies there which takes the pressure off me a bit. Everything we sell at work is made on site and is of high quality. Each night I tried to explain to Jo how impressive everything is and how much we actually sell. Yesterday Jo came to the shop to have a look and was impressed with what she saw. She bought a 'Blondie', on my recommendation, which is basically a brownie made with white chocolate, yum! Just as I finished my shift she managed to sneak in a quick photo to show everyone at home my cool hat!

In the lead up to my job I have had a lot of free time. Each weekend Jo and I have tried to see a bit more of Brisbane and join in with any events taking place. Throughout June the local knitting community organised something called 'I Knit Brisbane'. Dotted around the city people have been showing off their knitting skills and putting their work on show for the general public. I met Jo after work one evening and we had a hunt to see how many we could find. There were so many that we came across but only a few that were worthy of a photo. The washing line was our favourite!

We later found I Knit Brisbane, along with all other going-ons, on a website recommended by Nichola called ourbrisbane.com (thank you). It was on this site we found out about lots of markets dotted around Brisbane in the coming months. There was one particular market called BrisStyle which was located in Hamilton. We visited Hamilton not long ago when we went to watch a film at The Dendy. This is the same chain that owned the cinema in Newtown, Sydney. The market was very cute. Each seller had something different and unique to offer. It was such a gorgeous day which helped bring out all the lovely colours and fabrics used on the individual stalls. There were lots of talented Australians all showing off their artistic and crafting skills. One thing that stood out for me were lots of bird cages hanging from a stall with knitted birds inside, very cute!

We were informed by one of the locals that they will be there again in July as well as a twilight market in the city. We might just have to go there again as there we lots of bits that caught our attention for our future house!
We took the river cat to the market but to get home we thought it would be nice to walk back to the city. The walk was a lot further than we thought, but it gave a chance to see parts of Brisbane we wouldn't have seen otherwise.
As you probably know by now, Jo and I like to explore, which normally means walking somewhere. I read in our trusty bible (Lonely Planet) that there is a great view over Brisbane from the top of a 'mountain'. The last time we went to a lookout was Mount Wellington in Tasmania back in 2008 which I'm still blown away by even today! We caught a bus from the city to Mount Coot-tha lookout. The drive to the top, as you can imagine, was very windy. On the way we passed Brisbane Botanical Gardens and a very big graveyard. Even though it was a Sunday, it was really busy. We hopped off the bus and went to admire the view. It's hard to capture it in a photo but believe me when I say it was a great view. Atop this mountain was a gift shop and a very expensive café which we soon avoided after realising a caramel slice was $8, ouch!

After taking in the beautiful view we thought it would be nice to walk back down instead of catching the bus. The walk down took us through a very big woods which was a bit bumpy on the feet. Halfway down we thought we were lost until we popped out onto a street of houses which looked like they stepped out of Neighbours! We followed the road out and came across a cute park. No one was about so being the kids we are we had a little bit of fun on the rides and the swings! :)

The following weekend was a special day in our diary. June 19 was our six year anniversary, wow! We both thought it would be nice to have a chill-out day and just potter around the shops. We agreed that we wouldn't spend much on each other as we are trying to save, but that didn't stop Jo buying me a very funky tea towel. Yes, I know, a tea towel, but the plan is to convert it into a cushion, as you do! The design on it is by an Australian artist called Russell Leonard. I, on the other hand, decided to make Jo's favourite dessert, Key Lime Pie. The last time I cooked it was probably two years ago so it was a bit of a surprise for her. Jo gave it a big thumbs up and two days later it was gone!

That evening we booked a table at a Turkish Restaurant called Mado. It is located on South Bank which is a very popular area for food and night life. The meal was amazing. It took us back to our holiday in Greece as that was the first time we discovered aubergine dip, but here they call it eggplant dip. After tucking into our starter, and feeling full already, our main was brought out. Jo had an 'eggplant boat' full of lots of veg (so Jo!) and I had a pizza-style pide. Turkish pide is basically a giant pita bread full of herbs and spices. This one in particular covered my plate and was very very filling. Just after we finished our main a blast of music came out of the speakers and out popped a belly dancer. Everyone got involved by clapping in time with the music. Some guests got up and danced with her. We both hoped she wouldn't ask us, as we were still waiting for our food to go down! She was out dancing for about half an hour which was very entertaining. We finished the meal off with a cup of coffee before finishing the night with a trip to the cinema. All in all we had a really nice day and enjoyed reminiscing about the last six years together.

Phase 2

We have been in Brisbane for less than four weeks, yet if someone told me I’d been here for four months I would probably believe them. From the moment our plane touched down at Brisbane International Airport at 8.30pm on Tuesday, May 18, it has been go, go, go.

Things got off to a shaky start, reminiscent of our arrival in 2008 when we turned up during Australian Open fever and had nowhere to stay. This time round we had arranged to stay with Lloyd, an old college friend, for the first couple of nights, until we found our feet. However, Lloyd had got confused and thought we were arriving on the Thursday. So, at around 10pm, we had to find somewhere to stay in a city we barely knew. Not the start we had hoped for! Anyway, we ended up in Bunk (a giant backpackers full of ‘young’uns’). Not really our cup of tea, but at least it was a bed for the night.
Later in the week we did actually manage to stay with Lloyd and he also lined up a job interview for me with the boss of the cafe that he works at. By the Friday I was working at Atomic Coffee on Albert Street in the CBD. At this point I should talk about the horrific start to that Friday.... By this time we were back at Bunk (it was like a magnet, we kept getting dragged back to that horrible place) and I was due to be at Cool Beans (another cafe owned by Lloyd’s boss) for 8.30am. It was pouring with rain and I had totally underestimated how long it would take to get there from the backpackers. By the time I arrived, nearly 10 minutes late, I was hot, sweaty and soaking wet. Not the first impression I had planned. Darren, the boss, doesn’t mince his words. He made it clear that I was late and that he wasn’t impressed and also that Anthony, the boss of Atomic Coffee, had been expecting me 10 minutes ago! Things were just getting better and better.... Darren gave me garbled directions to the cafe and I headed out into the rain, again. When I eventually arrived at Atomic I was chucked straight in the deep end – pouring shots for the head barista during the morning rush! I have had some barista experience from working at Dolce and Gelato, but nothing prepared me for the pace at  Atomic. The rest of that morning is a bit of a blur, but let’s just say I must have done something right because they asked me back on the Monday.

Since then I have been working full time, Monday to Friday. The cafe is at the bottom of a giant office block and most of the customers are city workers, meaning that it is pointless opening at weekends. I spend most of my days off catching up on sleep as, to be at work for 7am, I have to catch the 5.45am train (or 5.15am when I start at 6am!). It’s tiring stuff but they pay well, so I can’t really complain. The people I work with are all very friendly. At the moment there’s a bit of a staff change-over going on, as quite a few people have left, but the newbies seem nice from what I can tell. Not that we get much time to chat, as it’s so busy all the time.
During our first week in Brisbane we went to visit Barry, Sue and Shane in Redcliffe. Barry and Sue used to live in Clinton Road, opposite my parents, but emigrated about 25 years ago. We stayed with them last time we were in Brisbane and thought we might stay this time for a while. However, Redcliffe is about an hour out of the city, which would have made job hunting virtually impossible. Barry and Sue were just packing up to go to the UK for 10 weeks, so it was nice to catch them before they left. We will hopefully see them again in August when they return. In the meantime Shane has offered to show us a few places, so we’ll probably meet up with him again soon.

Shortly after we arrived we were walking through Fortitude Valley and bumped in to Dan’s old school friend Joe, who moved over here about four years ago. Although Joe knew we were in Australia, we hadn’t yet told him we were in Brisbane, so I think he was pretty shocked to see us. That weekend he invited us to his house in Red Hill, where he lives with his girlfriend Steph, for a BBQ. Also at the BBQ was another of Dan’s school friends, Robin, who Dan hadn’t seen for years. They all had a right old catch up, gossiping about everyone they knew from the good old days and discussing what they were all up to now. After the BBQ we headed into the West End to watch a fantastic band – Chocolate Strings. They are classed as a ‘funk’ band, whatever that means! To me it sounded like a mix of jazz, blues and a bit of reggae. But, whatever it was, it was awesome and I even bought a CD afterwards.

After a week of hostelling both Dan and I were more than ready to find our own place. Being surrounded by drunk 19-year-old travellers when you have to get up for work at 5am is not fun. Anyway, we hunted around on Gumtree and made a shortlist. The first place we looked at was is the gorgeous area of Paddington
The next day we took a bus to Morningside, to view the second house on our list. Again, the area looked really promising, but I didn’t get my hopes up after last time. However, this house was lovely. A brand new development, made up of small townhouses. Although the room we would be living in was considerably smaller than the one in Newtown we didn’t mind, as the rest of the house was perfect. We didn’t say yes straight away, as we had another house to view that evening. However, after the third house turned out to be a party venue, we immediately said yes to the one in Morningside. We moved in to the house on Ison Street the next day. It felt so good to unpack and relax. The 20 minute commute doesn’t even bother me, because it’s worth it to stay in such a nice house. Plus I get to read my book on the train, so the time passes really quickly.

The house also occupies the owner, Anna, and two Brazilians – Miara and Larissa. All three are friendly and chatty and have given us lots of useful information about Brisbane. Miara is leaving soon unfortunately but, as her and Larissa share a room, I don’t think anyone else will be moving in.
This Monday is a public holiday, courtesy of the Queen’s birthday, so I think Dan and I are going to head out of the city to do some exploring. I think it’s hilarious that the Aussies have a day off for the Queen’s birthday yet, even though she lives in the UK, we don’t celebrate it at home. Personally I think Australians use any excuse for a holiday! Not that that’s a bad thing of course....

Are you STILL here?!?

Two months ago we arrived back safely in 'Sunny Devon'(!) with the idea of staying for a maximum of three weeks, before heading back to another part of Australia...eight weeks later and we were still there! We squeezed so much in whilst we were back including: the lovely wedding of Jen and Doug; a car boot sale; the delivery of 250 Betterware catalogues; the decorating of a dining room; visits to numerous friends and family and... starting to plan our own wedding for next year - phew!

Let me begin by talking about the first weekend when we got back which was all about Jen and Doug. Jo found a dress to wear in Sydney. I, on the other hand, left it to the last minute and bought a new suit in the two days we had between arriving home and going to the wedding (jammy!). I also bought a new tie to try and match Jo's lovely dress...!

The ceremony and reception took place at Wellington Barn which is just outside Swindon. All guests were asked to arrive before 3pm ready for the ceremony. It was such a lovely setting for their wedding, as it is so remote with no distractions around. As we entered we were greeted by a seating plan which explained where everyone was sitting. Each table was named after a place in New York, which was the couple’s first holiday destination. We were sat on the 'Statue of Liberty' and the bride and groom were in 'Central Park'. All the tables looked really pretty with different flowers and individual favours covering each one.

After a short time everyone was ushered into the next room for the ceremony. I could see how nervous Doug was by the look on his face! Moments later the back door opened and in walked Jen with her dad. You could see Doug's face light up as they walked down the aisle. Jen was grinning like the Cheshire Cat, while Doug’s mum was in pieces. Jen looked stunning in her dress along with the bridesmaids who were all in purple (my favourite colour!)

 The ceremony, which included a reading from both Jo and Doug’s Gran, passed by in a bit of an emotional blur and before we knew it Jen and Doug were married! Shortly after, we all moved into the next room with a glass of Pimm's while the photographers were busy outside with the bride and groom. Jo and I joined in as the group photos took place including an 'X Factor' style video shoot! I noticed the photos had come to an end just as Jo noticed that Jen’s knuckles had turned blue with the cold! Nevertheless their photos came out lovely and captured all the emotions.

Before the food was brought out it was time for the speeches. Everyone knows the speeches make you nervous unless you are of course Jen’s dad, Dave! I knew that Dave is a teacher and so would already be used to big groups of people, but I never knew how easy he would make it look...! He got the whole room laughing as he played a sound bite of Jen as a child talking to her sister in a teacher-fied manor, which then led him on to say that he always knew she would follow in his footsteps! Doug’s speech followed which made me take down notes as he did a grand job while holding back the tears. The best man’s speech came after the food and included an insight into Doug’s days as a teenager which made everyone laugh, including Jen’s parents!

Next on the agenda was the wedding breakfast, which still makes me think of bacon and eggs because of its name! All three courses were very tasty, including the chocolate brownie dessert which was my favourite.

During the morning of the wedding our group was trying to think what the song was going to be for the first dance. We went through all the obvious choices and then that evening realised we were all wrong. Jen and Doug had asked their band to play the classic ‘Your Song’ by Elton John, which was sung beautifully while everyone watched the newlyweds finish the day off with an intimate dance.

Once the song came to a close the guests joined them for a dance. The rest of the evening was full of people letting their hair down, a diary cam and yet more eating!

The happy couple left the venue in style under a tunnel of hands made by the remaining guests. They both then hopped into a taxi before heading back to their hotel. The honeymoon was booked for two weeks in Canada which - judging by all 900 photos taken and videos clips of Doug struggling to get up a hill (in snow shoes of course) - went rather well...!

As you will know from reading the blog, we had a 'different' Christmas last year compared to other years! Having a picnic on the beach wasn't the same as a nice traditional meal with the family. My mum showed me when we got back that she had left up the Christmas decorations so we could have a belated get-together when we returned. A week after being back we rounded up the usual gang and had a late Christmas meal along with crackers. The food was lovely especially the rhubarb brúlée which went down a treat...! Mum and Dad really did excel themselves this year - thank you!

 For the remainder of our time back Jo and I tried to scrape together a few pennies to help go towards a flight back here. Our first job was to decorate a few rooms in Jo’s house. The hardest bit was painting the ceiling in the dining room (my back was crying!) but it was all worth it in the end as both Nichola and Dave were very happy with it and they will continue now to do the final touches.

One of the less enjoyable jobs was delivering Betterware catalogues to 250 residents in Braunton! I was paid on commission which sounded good at the beginning until I had people chasing me down the street to give me back their empty order sheets – joy! Another task was to have a car boot sale to get rid of all unwanted bits ‘n’ bobs including some stuff from our last car boot two years ago – oops! We ended up selling most of it and taking home £70 which was good news.

Whilst being home we both tried to see most of our friends and family whom are scattered up and down the country. It was nice seeing some friendly faces after all the time spent away in Sydney. I ended up going to Alton Towers with the lads which was a good laugh except for half the park having a power cut...!

And finally, you did read it right, we started to plan our wedding for next year, which we can confirm as being September 10, 2011! Without boring you too much we have secured a venue which will be Castle Hill, Filleigh, sorted out a photographer, got quotes for flowers and the food and of course book the registrar. I’m not going to delve too much into the wedding with pictures etc as we want to leave some bits for the actual day but I have left a link to the venue’s website if you fancy having a look...! http://www.castlehilldevon.co.uk
Sorry it’s been quite long but from reading the blog you can see we have been busy bees. We have now touched down in Brisbane after a long journey and to start from scratch again, starting with a job interview tomorrow. Wish us luck...!