A Day at the Races. Crickey!

As I arrived in Brisbane, I was greeted at the gate by two lovely ladies, Steph and Zoe. They were my escorts to Eagle Farms for the Sport of Kings. Now, I've never been to a horse race before, but apparently it is a fancy affair. Nearly everyone was dressed to kill; suits, evening gowns, poofy hats, the works. We were slumming a bit in jeans, but they still took our money. We made it in time to wager on the final three races. I made 3 bucks on "Mi Casa su Casa", which reminded me of a certain Mexican restaurant, while Steph won $16 on "Hard to Catch", selected because the jockey wore a pink jersey. That pretty much sums up our whole betting strategy. After that, we supped at the pub before retiring to Barb and Ron's for the evening.

Steph brought some grits and maple syrup with her on the way over and I managed to smuggle in some Aunt Jemima, so the following morning we made the Smiths a traditional Southern breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and grits. The bacon we bought here; it's more like ham slices and doesn't crisp up quite right, but the rest turned out great. We were all surprised by how much they enjoyed it.

After breakfast, Steph and I went to the world famous Australia Zoo, home and final resting place :( of the Crocodile Hunter. It's a really nice zoo with a lot more chances to mingle with the animals than at other zoos I've visited. We got to feed kangaroos and elephants, cuddle with koalas, and wrestle crocodiles. That last one's not true, but the zoo had a great croc show that demonstrated how they stalk and kill their prey. They're fierce creatures. I was a little jealous that Steph had held a koala and I hadn't, but I finally got my turn at the zoo.

We got back that evening in time for some "roo on the barbie"; that's BBQed kangaroo. Yep, after feeding them earlier in the day, it was their turn to feed us in the form of tasty sausages and kabobs. Ron fired up the grill for us and their guests Marg and Heinz, Barb made some pavlova, and Zoe baked up some damper. All quite delicious and different than what we usually eat. Sated, we slept.

Great Ocean Road or the Greatest Ocean Road?

As hoped for, the weather cleared up some on Thursday, so I hired a bike for a couple of days to ride the Great Ocean Road. The plan was to ride until dusk and spend the night at the closest motel, then head back the other way the next day. I decided on a Yamaha FJR1300. It's a sport/touring bike that's designed to provide comfort for the long haul like a road sofa and agility in the corners like a crotch rocket and it delivered pretty well on both counts.

I left Melbourne at 10AM (Yep, I skipped out on the Wings game, so I didn't get to see them win it. Yay Wings!!!). After about an hour of freeway travel I was at the start of the road, then it was one breathtaking view after the next. It started with some nice sweepers cut into the side of the cliffs that overlooked the ocean, then turned inland to twist through a dense forest, before winding along the rolling farmlands until it returned to the coast once more. Words really can't do it justice, but it's easily the most scenic I've ever ridden. The clouds returned on Friday and it rained a bit, so the return ride wasn't as nice, but I loved the trip nonetheless. I didn't have too much trouble driving on the wrong side of the road until I returned to the city. I made a couple of wrong turns, but the GPS soon had me on the right course and the drivers here are more patient than you'll find in Atlanta.

All in all a great capper to my stay in Melbourne. Next stop, Brisbane!

Brisbane Ciy and Lone Pine Park :0)

On Thursday I took the train into Brisbane to meet up with Zoe. She had a 3 day conference downtown, so I stayed at the Sofitel with her. It is a SUPER nice hotel. The breakfast had everything you could POSSIBLY want; INCLUDING champagne! (All included!) Zoe and I went to a FABULOUS called Tukka
on Tuesday night. I had the chance to have Emu, an Australian bird. I was kinda hesitant at first, given that it's something new and it was cooked rare.....but it was SUPER DELICIOUS! I asked our waiter to see if the chef would take a picture of another plate of Emu for me......he didn't like the way the food was presented on the 5 plates he made for other guests....they weren't photo quality, so he made a special dish JUST for the photo.....how cool was that!



Friday morning I took a Brisbane City river cruise to Lone Pine Sanctuary. I learned some interesting facts about the river....it changes directions 4 times a day, craziness! The animals at Lone Pine were terrific! I got to see SO many Koalas! They have around 130 Koalas at the Sanctuary at all times. There were also dingos, wombats, kangaroos, emus; (yes, I had to face my dinner from the night before....sad.), all kinds of birds, goats, and other animals. I was able to hold a SWEET little guy named Bagel. He was absolutely beautiful! I'm in love for sure!

Friday night Zoe and I went shopping for the races on Saturday and walked around the markets on the river street. We ended up buying these cute little bags from a street vendor. Mine is the perfect bag for summer......pink polka dots with a white background.

Chris is coming tomorrow; Saturday........I'm getting excited!









Emu For Dinner on Thursday Night........YUM!





Emu on Lone Pine Sanctuary on Friday.......awwwww, so sweet....but OH SO GOOD!

Melbourne Update

Well, it's been cold and overcast the past two days in Melbourne. I haven't been too focused in my sightseeing. Melbourne seems to be known as the foodie capital of Australia, so there's not a lot in terms of other attractions. It has a zoo and an aquarium of course, but Steph and I are planning on going to those in Brisbane or Sydney.

Tuesday morning, I was at the Charles Dickens pub watching the Wings and Pens battle it out for the Cup. Yes, I know it's kinda sad to travel 11000 miles just to watch a hockey game, but this was a big one. The Wings were 30 seconds away from winning it all when the Pens scored to tie it. Three overtimes later, the Wings lost and are headed to game 6. I was destroyed. The three other hockey fans in the pub were pulling for the Pens (figures), but the locals showed me some sympathy when I collapsed in a heap. After that I did some shopping and got setup for free internet at the library.

Wednesday, I went to the bike shop to check on a rental. If the weather turns nicer, which it's supposed to, I'm planning on hiring a bike for a couple of days to ride the Great Ocean Road. Afterwards, I took in the Game On exhibit in Federation Square. Apparently, Australia has a large gaming culture and this exhibit has an interactive history of gaming. They had playable versions of practically every type of game machine ever made; from the old stand-up arcade machines, to the earliest consoles, to the latest PS3s/XBOX360s. Not something Steph would've been keen on, but I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, they forbade cameras, so I don't have any pics.

Hopefully, I'll have more exciting things to show in the next couple of days.

Day Trips with Barb and Ron

On Tuesday, Ron and I took a drive to Bribie Island. It's about a 35 minute drive each way from their place. It's a sleepy little town, not as built up as Hilton Head...but a relaxing place to visit. We had some FABULOUS fish 'n' chips. We chose our own fish, and they fried it up for us; Snapper was the fish of choice today, YUM. We ate along the water front, and walked around a bit. We ran into Terry and Craig; family friends. They came over for dinner that night with Riley, Terry's son and Ron and Barb's grandson. After dinner we played a great board game called Compatibility, which is a great group game! Bribie was relaxing and dinner with the family was a lot of fun too!

So Wednesday, Zoe is in Brisbane today through Saturday for a work conference. (I'll join her on Thursday and Friday night.) Barb and Ron; my fearless tour guides, took me for a car trip around to see some sights. We set out at 8:45am and got back around 3:30pm. First stop, Eumundi Markets. There were many neat vendors to check out. I found some native made things, however I found that Australia has the famous, "Made in China," too! How lucky!




The second stop was Kondalilla Falls. Brisbane has had SOOOOOO much rain lately. On Monday, they set a new record for the amount of rain falling in 1 day; the last record was set 13 years ago! Ron and Barb had over 70mills that day, and other places had over 160! Crazy......well, as a result the highest part of the falls were closed. We were able to walk around the lower part, which was nice too. Ron said this area of the falls usually only has a trickle of water...so seeing this brings hope to lesser water restrictions. (At the moment each person is limited to about 140 liters a day! Level 5 restrictions would raise this to about 170 liters/day.)

The third stop was to a nice little cafe' overlooking the Glasshouse Mountains. These "mountains" are the remains of volcanoes millions of years ago. Over the years, they have worn away, so only the core remains. They are quite a site to see. When we drove to see Simon, we could see them, and yesterday when we went to Bribie Island, there were places to see them as well. This location proved to have the best view!

The fourth place, just behind our little cafe', was a subtropical rain forest. I've never walked through a rain forest before, so this was a treat. It actually sprinkled while we walked through the circuit. There were HUGE trees....we saw the famous Gum Trees....600 years old, (or says the sign...), and I saw my first wallaby...the picture isn't great, but he's there, I promise!

Tomorrow I'm taking the train into the city to meet up with Zoe in the city...and another adventure awaits!

The Eagle Has Landed

It kinda felt like I was visiting another planet and that's when the excitement hit me, as I looked out of the airplane's window and thought, "That's an entirely different continent down there, and I'm about to explore it." So after 20 hours of flight time, three close encounters with immigration's crotch "bomb" sniffing dog, and this guy's cheery greeting, I know what Armstrong would've thought, "What the hell am I getting myself into?!"

Not much to report on the first day. After checking into my hostel, I set about aimlessly wandering the city streets, looking for lunch and photo ops. I ended up at the Rialto Towers, which have an observation deck on the 55th floor. I snapped a few shots and then hung out until the sun set. It was a gorgeous day.










Celebrity Sightings: I shared the flight from L.A. to Melbourne with Guy Pearce, star of such hits as Memento and L.A. Confidential.

So we go to a Chinese dive for dinner and guess what was playing when we walked in the door? You got it.

Australian Outback Spectacular

On Sunday, Zoe and I went to see the Australian Outback Spectacular. The arena is located south of Brisbane near the Gold Coast. I didn't realize that the Gold Coast area is full of visitor attractions; Wet 'n' Wild, Sea World, a Roller Coaster Park, etc.

While we waited to go in, there was a man playing Outback songs in the "pub." Zoe and I had a drink while we listened and saw the horses. We were given a stock man's hat; people who work on cattle farms here are called Stock men, not cowboys. Our hat had a red band across signifying we were on the "Wondoola Station" team. The other team had yellow bands on their hats.

Zoe used to live on a cattle farm in the Outback for 18 months and has told me many stories about living out there. During that time she worked in a 1 teacher school and was the principal as well. This change of job was the beginning of her career as school principal.

During the performance, we were given a 3 course meal; nice salad, steak dinner, and an Australian dessert called a pavlova. Pavlova is like a meringue that is topped with a little whipped cream surrounded by a raspberry sauce. I liked the raspberry sauce and whipped cream, the meringue didn't have much taste.

The show told the story of the Outback; how the herd the cattle, and sheep, using a dog, an RV, and a helicopter. They also showed how horses can be "broken" and techniques used train them. Towards the end of the show, they had audience participation by having people perform in different Outback events, chasing chickens, and riding horses. In the end, our team won!

It was a great evening.....although once AGAIN, we drove home in the rain. Will it EVER stop?

This video is of the singer in the "pub." He was really good. Dad, I know you would have enjoyed going to the show. There were MANY horses :0)