Eat Street Markets in Brisbane

Before I got to Australia, I had it in my head that I would be able to do quick weekend trips to all the major cities around Sydney. Brisbane, Melbourne, they all appeared on the map to be a quick 3-4 hour bus ride away to me. Key word there was “appeared” because in reality I forgot to take into account just how gigantic this place is I now call home is. To get petty much anywhere outside of the city you are in is going to require either a flight or a 10+ bus ride. Considering the fact the I can only get off work for a max of three days at a time (Sat, Sun, Mon) I figured it would be in my best interest to fly to Brisbane to see my old friend Stuart whom I met in Sri Lanka 2 years ago.

I departed Saturday morning and arrived in Brisbane a short hour and a half later. I spent the day exploring the city with my trusty tour guide walking through parks, downtown, and the University of Queensland campus where Stu goes to school. It was a nice city…but I still like Sydney better. The highlight of the whole trip was taking a one hour ferry ride to a place called Eat Street markets which is essentially a food market made from old shipping containers. Super cool and amazing food. I got seafood paella and Stu got Roti, an old Sri Lankan favorite of ours.

Breakfast in Gold Coast and honestly one of the only pictures I took during my 24 hours there

The next day I took an hour long train ride down to the famous Gold Coast. I had read that is was “Australia’s Florida” and a short walk from my bus stop to the hostel I was staying at  confirmed this. I was staying in a part called Surfers Paradise which was especially touristy, but it is your typical beach town that consists of a long main street which various shops, cafe, etc and resorts along the beach. I made quick friends with a group of Canadians and spent the day with them by the pool before taking a night flight back to Sydney.

This week was relatively uneventful for me in terms of work. On Wednesday night I went out for dinner in Bondi with two of my Canadian friends. Everything is still going great down here. I really like my job and enjoy settling into a routine of sorts. We had daylight savings time just recently so I now have more time to run after work which I have really been enjoying.

Looking forward to the future, my internship ends on November 9th and I will be leaving for New Zealand on the 11th for a 3 week long trip. I arrive back to Australia in late November and from there it is still somewhat up in the air what I will do. I have been applying to a lot of jobs along the coast such as resorts and what not that offer “work for accommodation” deals as I will no longer have my apartment. So fingers crossed one of those works out.

P.S. For all my book lovers out there who want to know a little more about Australia I would highly recommend Bill Brysons, “In a Sunburned Country”. I read it last week and found it to be a very accurate and quite entertaining description of this country.