Anaïs in Brisbane
For these few days alone in Brisbane I found a Australian couple on Couch Surfing: Kylie and Conrad, both from Brisbane. I’m not in the center, around 20 minutes by bus. I suggest Lucie to come with me the first evening as she stays only one night in Brisbane. And couch surfing is so much better than backpackers! So I wanted to show her! We meet each other at the train station. Their apartment is quite far and the way goes up. Not so easy with 2 bags and the tent! When we arrive, Kylie is not here yet because she works late tonight (she is a chef and she teaches it). We talk with Conrad and then we cook dinner. We eat by watching a documentary about Australia. Very interesting! Then Kylie comes back home and we talk with her too. Then Conrad brings me around the area by car to show me the shops… Then we go to bed but before to sleep we talk with Lucie. It was quite a long time that we didn’t see each other so…
The next day, Lucie get up early to visit Brsibane. I meet Nadège a little bit later to rejoin Lucie at 10am. We visit an Asiatic exposition of modern art and then we bring Lucie to her bus at midday. With Nad, we go in a little market in the center. We buy a pie bacon-cheese and eat it by listening some Peruvian guys playing music. That reminds some great memories! We go after to the street beach: swimming and sunbath! Around 2:30pm we decide to take a ferry (we can take them with a bus ticket) to stop a little bit farther and continue by foot to Chinatown. It’s actually only one pedestrian street and not very long so it doesn’t take so much time to see all of it! So we go back to the center to do both our own shopping: I buy a lot of fruits to make me a big fruits salad the day after, I dream about it since so long! Then I take the bus to go home because I need to walk less than with the train… But I don’t know where is the stop in the city and I’m not sure about the number of the bus… So of course, I do wrong ^^ The bus go to the right area but not the right street…. And when I ask the bus driver, it’s a little bit too late! So I have to ask Nadège to guide me by text (she is already home with internet)!!!
Conrad is already here when I come back and Kylie works late again today. I’m still arrived early enough to see the end of the sunset from their balcony. Beautiful! They have the view on Brisbane, so nice! We talk about everything, about nothing, and I show him my sky diving movie (and I show it Kylie again when she come back) They dream about doing it so I only can recommend them to do it without to be doubtful. Then he goes to do some gym and I eat the leftovers of the day before by watching TV and I begin to do again my diary, I’m so late!!
Thursday, the 11th of February. First day hanging around since a long time and that’s so good! I’m alone at their place so I sleep a long time. Then I spend a moment in internet and in their
computer I find… some episodes of Gossip Girl that I haven’t see yet! Perfect! TV shows is always synonyms with relax and I miss it sometimes! So I begin one episode, then two, then three episodes… I make a break to cook a dark chocolate mousse for the evening and my fruits salad. Little lunch in front of the 4th episode… Then I get ready to go in the swimming pool (there is one in their residence and it’s always empty, great!) This is it: sunbath and swimming 
5th and last episode from Gossip Girl when I go back to the apartment. So good this hanging around day! Sometimes it’s good to take the time to do nothing! Conrad comes back a little bit after (the Australians go up early to go to work and so finish early: he comes back at 4:30pm!!) And he is pretty happy to find a chocolate mousse ;-) And I am happy to eat some too, I didn’t eat some since a long time… He shows me some pictures from their trip in Thailand and Japan, I already want to go there! Kylie comes back a little bit after. And with cherries, cool!
The next day, it’s kangaroo day! With Nad, we meet in the center to go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctury, the biggest p
ark with koalas in Australia. There are 130 koalas but also some birds (some parrots can say “hello” ^^), some reptiles, and a reserve with kangaroo, in which we can go! It’s very hot so the koalas sleep all the time! And the kangaroos too! We can still caress them and feed them, very nice! We go to see each animal, and also some shows: one with eagles and owls, one presentation about snake… Then we decide to take a picture with a koala. We can’t take a koala in our arm each day! I like this park very well! It’s much more than a zoo!
Before to come back, I buy a bottle a red wine to bring to my host. As I speak with them about the Caïpirinha the day before and as I didn’t find any cachaça, we do a « Caïpirinha de vinho »: red wine, lemon, sugar and ice cube. So the bottle that I just bought doesn’t stay long ^^ Kylie come back early too this night. Nice evening by talking, admiring the view from their balcony (I can’t get to much!) and watching TV!
Saturday, the 13th of February. New ”hanging around” day. Kylie isn’t here this WE but Conrad is. I use internet a little bit first and then I download the last episode from One Tree Hill (they are downloading all the time so I just ask if I can too ^^) That goes pretty fast so we talk and then there is the episode! I watch it (and he too ^^) This WE, it’s the Chinese new year and there are some animations in the city so we are going walking around his area to see if there are some stuff here too but nothing. When we come back, we go to the swimming pool. Swimming, sunbath, it’s so good the ”hanging around” day!! Conrad go to a comedy and I get ready to meet Nad in the city. We first go to the cinema (to see Valentine’s Day). The cinema is in an old building, it’s very nice! After the movie (a little bit déjà-vu but with good actors!) we go to Chinatown. The animations are already over, there is only one dragon left, who goes from a restaurant to another… We go to a restaurant to have dinner (a Vietnamese one, the Chinese one are all full!) I love always Asiatic food so much! Then we keep apart and we go back home each one in our direction. Perfect Saturday!
Sunday, last day in Brisbane. Sleep in to begin the day! Then we meet again in Chinatown 
with Nadège to enjoy the animation during the day: Chinese writing, dance show, music show (Chinese pop… so funny ^^) Chinese lunch this time! Then I come back around 4:30pm. I don’t want to miss the sunset his time! I stay on the balcony when I come back, writing my diary. It’s so good to sit outside, in the shadow with a little breeze (fortunately because it is too hot today!) I couldn’t wish for a better stay in Brisbane! We spend the evening talking, swimming (it’s funnier to go to the pool when it’s dark!) It’s very nice, we can talk about everything with Conrad!
The 5th of February, we say good bye to New-Zealand and hello Australia. No worries at the airport this time! The arrival in Brisbane by plane was so beautiful, with some stretch of sand, different kind of blue… First impressions of the country: it’s hot outside ^^ For the first 4 days, we stay to a German friend of a friend of Anaïs, Theresa. She lives with her husband Sebastian, her 11 months son Fridolin, and a Chinese family! It’s original for our first days in Australia! They are all very nice. During these few days, we visit the center with its big pedestrian mall, the sides of the river, the bridges… It’s a nice and beautiful city.
nd some other stuff (clothes, decoration…) We take a crêpe for lunch and we eat with the family. It’s quite far from the center so we walk a lot along the river. It’s nice but we get tired. We are not use to walk in big cities anymore! And the sun is so hot. We walk until the street beach, the beaches from Brisbane: there are big pools, which are fit up next to the river. It’s very nice for the people who can’t leave for holidays and the construction of this area is nice. 
