Our Weekend So Far

Hello everyone! Andrea here. I decided it was time once again for me to add a few tidbits about our Australian life.

This weekend is a long weekend down under and so far, we've made the most of it!

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny, warm Saturday so we started our day off by heading to our neighbourhood park to kick around our Aussie Rules Football. We picked one up a couple weeks ago and have really enjoyed going out on the weekends to get some exercise and have some fun! Luckily the park is really big and there wasn't anyone near us because we were both kicking the ball everywhere but straight!

After that, we decided that we would take the bus down to Racecourse Road and walk down the road to the nearest CityCat ferry terminal. Brisbane has a great public transit system (compared to Edmonton!). Not only do they have buses and an extensive train system, but they also have a high speed ferry/catamarans that travels up and down the river. Just like Edmonton, Brisbane is situated on a beautiful, large river. Unlike Edmonton, their river is much more developed than back home. They have a very shallow river valley that allows homes, businesses, etc to be built right along the river. So, it makes sense that they have a high speed ferry (City Cat) that takes you to one of the 16 docks along the river. They also have an inner-city ferry that can take you from one side of the river directly across to the other. The CityCats are fast! And the best part is that you can sit outside at the front or the back of the boat. We caught the ferry at the second last stop on the east side of the city. We decided that we would ride the CityCat all the way to the final stop at the University of Queensland. And what a ride it was! We had a first class view of some of the stunning homes along the river, the Story Bridge, the downtown skyscrapers and the beautiful parks that line the river. The journey from one end of the city to the other took just over an hour and cost each of us $2.50. Once we reached the University of Queensland, we took a walk around the campus and snapped a few pictures. The campus is absolutely beautiful!

Once we were done exploring the campus and got back on the ferry, it was getting dark out, and a little bit chilly...but don't tell the Aussies I said that. We're supposed to be tough Canadians! Going back in the dark was just as great as travelling in the Aussie sun! The city looked absolutely beautiful lit up and I was able to get a few, shaky pictures from the boat.

All in all, it was a lovely day!

Today was Sunday and despite the name, the sun seemed to be taking a day off. It was a bit cool so it was the perfect day to head to the Gallery of Modern Art. They have an exhibition there by Australian born sculptor Ron Mueck. I had never heard of him before, but after our excursion today, I will definitely be reading more about him. His bigger than life, but startling realistic human sculptures blew both of us away. We were in awe with the detail and accuracy of his sculptures. I didn't get any pictures, but here is his Wikipedia page where you can see some of his sculptures. I encourage you to read about his work and if you ever have the chance to see his work, make sure you go! You will be in awe!

After our day at the gallery, we headed home to make some supper and enjoy our Sunday evening.

Tomorrow...Uncle Errik is taking us on a walk in the hills surrounding Brisbane. Hopefully I can get some pictures and post them later!

Hope your weekend was just as lovely as ours!