Walking to the grocery store listening to Adele tell me that
me to “throw my soul into every open door” made me realize that I am in the
beautiful city of Brisbane in the adventurous country of Australia alone but
not lonely on Valentines Day. I was going to get the regular fruits, veggies
and sliced chicken (bc it is much cheaper than the turkey here), BUT then I
decided I would say “Happy Valentines Day Self!” I thought about one of the
last meals I had in Austin and the meal that came to mind was with Krista at
her house drinking Bundaburg Rum (from Australia – pictured below). There was a
few of us there and with the combination of ingredients brought from our
separate houses, we made a fabulous and intense meal of pumpkin ravioli with
garlic roasted tomatoes. Although quite a winter meal, I decided the warm and
comforting feeling it brought forth was worth it in the hot summer heat of
Queensland. Besides, it was about to storm outside and cooling down and bit. I bought the necessary ingredients,
along with onion, zucchini, feta and Shiraz and headed home to love on myself
the best way I know how: through my taste buds. I cooked and shared my wine
with my very funny and great story-teller of a flat mate, Craig, not Greg as he
adamantly proclaims.
Dinner and Bundaberg with Krista in Austin, TX before the departure date!
Just to give you an idea, and to show you how appropriately
inspired by Adele I actually was, here is a photo of my flat. A beautiful old
Queenslander home with a huge open space in the lounge room and big wide windows/doors
that open with welcome and ease. Also, people should be highly aware that there
is NO central air here in Australia. Some people do not even have A/C units,
also known as Air Cons here. People leave their windows ajar day and night to
feel the breeze. If there are A/C units they are only in selected rooms in the
house, mostly the lounge or master bedroom. What this means is that you don’t
sleep with a blanket and sometimes not even a sheet and if you are lucky you
have a fan.
The cool air blows on me now as I write and my wine sinks
with perfect gratitude.
This weekend I made it out both nights to see what Fortitude
Valley had to offer. It looks much like Red River in Austin where you can find
both trendy, alternative and classy looking people all out for various reasons:
much needed beers after work, music shows, film festivals, dates, to find dates
or fill lonely nights etc. I was there for drinks and experience, obviously.
The second night I was actually there for a short film festival, which was
interesting, different and quite enjoyable. It was called Flicker Fest. They showed around 10 or so short 15-20
minute films.
I spent the weekend with new friends walking the South Bank
City Walk (7 km city walk across the Story Bridge and around Kangaroo Point)
where we saw people picnicking, abseiling, rock climbing, running, swimming at
the Street Beach, biking, drinking and enjoying Sunday afternoon. Whoever visits me here this is a MUST.
During the day there are a ton of people but I hear that night walks are just
as enjoyable and much much cooler, especially now. South Bank has proven itself to be one of my most favorite
places in Brisbane so far for all of the reasons listed above and more. Here
are a few shots of South Bank and Brisbane River, which flows around the city
in a snake form bringing diversity in sights and calm movement in a fast paced
place.
Outside of the Queensland Art Museum
Each day I get up and dance 20 minutes to work. I wear my tennis bc
comfort wins over fashion when you are 27 years old and have the feet of a 70
year old ex-marathon runner. I might not look cool but I feel it.
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