On Thursday, April 22, after finishing a day of classes, Rachel and I took the train into Brisbane to meet the rents. Clearly this venture was far from uneventful as walking towards my parents hotel as we almost died do the car crash that occurred right on the street we were walking alongside, sending one car flying onto the sidewalk merely feet ahead of us. This got me quite shaken up and helped us quicken our pace, not to mention has made me overly cautious while walking around now. But we made the next few blocks safely and I was even happier to see my parents given my near death experiences. Just as Donna will be Donna- whether in America or Australia- she dragged Rachel and I on a walk around Brisbane, because her day on a plane and around the Koala Sanctuary and Brisbane river had just not been long enough for her (don't worry- Glenn was running during this time...I think they both worked out more in their 2 weeks here than I have all semester?!...I don't know why this surprised me...It doesn't at all.) Once we walked...got lost..and got back we met up with Brittney and went out to dinner in South Bank. Following our leisurely dinner (it takes forever to finish a meal in this country) we went on an exhilarating ferris wheel ride (sarcasm) overlooking the city. When it was time for the parents to finally pass out from their long days, Rachel and I went back with Brittney to stay with her friends Jullian and Mike, whose apartment we have come to consider our Brisbane home. It was nice to see them again and spend the night catching up and reunite with our comfortable pullout couch in their quite apartment where there are no birds and lawnmowers to wake them up in the morning.
Despite the quiet we did have to get up early the next morning as Glenn rented a car and we were driving to the Sunshine Coast! I was very nervous to get into a car after witnessing my car crash and my nerves were not overly calmed as he kept forgetting which side of the car to get in on...but I trusted my dad and he did a great job driving :) We arrived at our hotel in great timing and in one piece, checking in to our Hyatt Resort, a welcomed change to hostels and dorm rooms. To get around the hotel due to the resort style golf carts drove around as shuttles to take guests from the reception area, to the village center, to rooms, etc. The shuttle driver who helped settle us in informed us of the kangaroos that lived on the hotel grounds, a fact that got us very excited. I was skeptical about seeing them at first but every day we saw more and more! That night we headed up to Noosa to check out the area for dinner. While we could not see the beach of the area due to the dark the town was very cute and we had a great italian dinner, although everyone on the sunshine coast seemed to think rachel and i were under 18 as they kept taking away our wine glasses and the lady in the hotel gym even asked if we were 16! insulting?
On our second day on the sunshine coast we woke up super early for our day on Fraser Island. When we woke up we were very nervous due to the rain...but we hoped that this would stop....It did not. It poured the whole day, making the enjoyment of an island rather difficult. As I had already been to Moreton Island, which I was told was pretty similar to Fraser Island but less touristy, I was not so upset but felt bad that my parents did not get to see it properly. The waters of Lake McKenzie were still clear blue despite the rain and our steak and fish lunch was still delicious, so regardless the day was not a complete bust. Atleast noone got eaten by a dingo! We spent the rest of the night warming up in the hotel room, ordering roomservice and watching movies on TV. A much welcomed relaxing night.
The next day when we woke up, Rachel and I walked around and bought our postcards as my parents finished up their usual daily workouts (someone should inform them about what it means to go on vacation!). It was then time to leave our beautiful hotel and head out to Sanctuary Cove, a new area for me to discover on the Gold Coast. Once we arrived I was no longer upset about leaving our last hotel as this one proved to be just as beautiful. Rachel and I quickly settled in to our new room, loving the fact that the closet in this room was easily twice the size as our bathroom at school. Hmm...It was then time for high tea. Glenn's favorite. Sandwiches, scones, yoghurt and pastries all came on a cute little stand and my latte was delicious as always (I love lattes in this country and drinking coffee in america may now be difficult...although ice coffee will be welcomed back at any time!) Don't worry, my dad and I shared a pizza as well because that all clearly was not enough food to eat before dinner! With all that it was time to rest before dinner. By the time dinner came around none of us were hungry...but we had to eat before it was too late for dad. For dinner we walked down by the marina the hotel was next too. Very cute area filled with shops and nice restaurants. My favorite part was the many parking spots throughout the area designated for "buggies only" (aka golf carts). We settled on this italian restaruant where we got to eat in comfy chairs...and even though none of us were hungry when we sat down we all managed to finish our meals.
The next day, though we planned on heading out early and up to Mt. Tambourine before taking the parents to see my school, after waking up early to sit in the sun we changed our priorities around. It was so nice out at the hotel's man made salt water pool, made to look like an ocean complete with sand that we decided to stay for the morning and ate a leisurely lunch out at the marina. We then packed the car back up and headed over to Griffith Uni for the grand tour of my apartment and the campus. After a walk through class life I took them over to my night life area, Surfer's Paradise. Here we walked around by the water and shops, looked at some uggs, and ate some dinner. After this meal it was time for them to head back to Sanctuary Cove and me to get ready for another week (3 days) of classes.
For them the rest of the week would be spent in Cairns and Sydney while I pretended to catch up on school work before heading off to Melbourne where they would meet me next!!
whens the part where you ate FISH????
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