Guest Post: Getting to Know Brisbane ( And Rowdy Fairy!)

For the next week I'm going to be super busy moving and settling into my new place so I've asked a few lovely ladies to come over and keep you company! Thanks so much Tania for guest posting! Brisbane is near and dear to my heart, it was the first city in Australia I ever saw, and Tania is lucky enough to live there! 

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Hi there everyone! My name is Tania and I have come to invade Becky’s blog for the day! Usually you can find me over at the Rowdy Fairy Blog, however today the lovely Becky has asked me to guest post and I am so thrilled to help her out!

Where is home for you? For me, home is the city of Brisbane, the city I live and grew up in, and I would love to share a piece of my home with you.

When people think of Australia, their minds often turn to Sydney, Melbourne, the Outback or the Great Barrier Reef, however not many people know of Brisbane.

Brisbane is a fully fledged capital city with a population of 2.2 million people. The city centre is full of sky scrapers that tower over the beautiful Brisbane River which runs right through the centre of the city. 

Brisbane has also often been called the most typically Australian City in the country because of the warm weather and the close proximity to some of the country’s best beaches and outback areas. 

Brisbane Highlights:

Mt Cootha Lookout 

Mt Cootha and the area around it is a great spot for tourists! Head up the mountain to the lookout and you will find the best view of the city. It is one of the best city views you will find in the country. Around the mountain you will also find a nature reserve full of great bush tracks as well as the botanic gardens and planetarium. 

Here are a few pictures from the last time I visited the lookout from my ‘On The Weekend’ Post. 

Southbank

Southbank is another great spot for people to visit, and as the name suggests, it is on the South bank of the river opposite the city centre. Southbank is full of gardens, cafes, restaurants, shops, markets and a bunch of other fun recreational stuff, however the one massive highlight to this place would have to be the man made beach overlooking the river and city sky scrapers.

Yes you heard me right, a beach right in the middle of the city with lifesavers and all! Check out the pictures below and you must admit it looks pretty damn cool huh.

Riverfire

Riverfire is a yearly celebration in Brisbane to mark the end of Brisbane festival which lasts for a month every September. To celebrate Riverfire, which pays homage to the Brisbane River, a huge display of fireworks is set off right in the middle of the city on top of buildings, along the river and on the story Bridge. 

Some lasers and spot lights are also thrown in for good measure. This fireworks display is also much bigger than the new years fireworks. It certainly is a sight to see!

So if you are planning to visit Australia or if you are from Australia and want a new place to visit, why not pop over into my neck of the woods, Brisbane. It is pretty great here and I know you will love it just as much as I do! :-)

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Thanks so much for posting Tania! I'm super excited to go back to Brisbane now!

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Off to the Races: The Coffs Cup!

Every year in Coffs Harbour, the ladies brush off their fancy fascinators, and their misters pull that one suit and tie from the back of their closets. That's right, it's race day. In Coffs Harbour, the races are the first week of August (yes, I'm a bit behind on updating everyone with my life.. I'm working on it!) and it is the social event of the winter. It's the time to put your best foot forward and show off what you've been hiding all winter! Think the Melbourne Cup.. but smaller. And a bit more ghetto (sorry ladies but leather knee highs are not race day classy). 

Zana (in case you don't know Zana - what rock have you been living under? - she's this awesome chick who I adventured from Canada to Australia with) and I were super excited for the races, what girl doesn't love any excuse to dress to impress?

We spent the morning getting ready, gossiping, and generally having an amazing time. When it came to taking pictures the boys were a little more reluctant to get in their proper attire and stay in it! After a couple of beers both of them were itching to get out of their ties and jackets! 

It was so much fun getting ready and seeing everyone dressed to the nines. There were more than a few faux pas, but who am I to judge, my shoes were from Big W! 

I'm so lucky to have such an amazing couple of friends, they've made Australia feel so much more like home than I would have ever imagined! And to anyone who might wonder how the actual races were... I have no idea. Note to Trent: Drinking an entire bottle of Southern Comfort before any occasion is never a good idea #whitegirlwasted. The whole fun is getting ready anyways, right?!

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A Day at the Beach

One of the most incredible things about living in Australia is the beach. Duh. Since I've been in Australia, it has been "winter" which essentially means I wear jeans and tshirts, and occasionally a sweater (or jumper). In the last couple of weeks it has warmed up heaps! We've been able to go out to the beach and do a little sunbathing and swimming which is so so exciting! It still gets chilly once the sun goes down, but being able to go to the beach is so much better than sitting indoors all day. Last week, Trent and I took his red border collie Jagger to the beach. Jaggy is such a sweetheart, and he loves to play fetch!

I've been having all these weird... "woman feelings" lately. I'm not sure if it's just because I'm growing up or my internal clock is ticking or whatever, but lately I've been thinking about babies. Now don't freak out mom, I'm not rushing to get pregnant and pop out a couple sets of twins (although maybe I could get a sweet tv show deal out of it...) but I've been feeling super motherly. I'd love to get a puppy, something to take care of. I love imagining what my life will be like in 10 years... I hope I have a house and a baby and a white picket fence and all of that.

Playing with Jagger is always fun, he's such an energetic dog, and he loves it when we take him to the beach. He's a bit scared of the water and after a while of playing he likes to cuddle. Whenever I watch movies or tv shows I find myself relating with the parental figure, as opposed to the child. I'm at a junction in my life. I've crossed the threshold of adulthood (in some ways, in others I'm still a big kid!) and although I'm not prepared in any other way for a child, maybe I'm emotionally ready. 

I want to be married when I have a baby. I want to be in a stable job, in a safe environment. I want to have travelled the world. I'm not saying that my life will be over after having a baby, but while I'm young and selfish and life is about me and my needs I'm going to fully take advantage of that!

For now I'm happy with my selfish amazing life, but it's funny how time changes your perspective!

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Dreamworld: The Happiest Place in Australia

Did you know there's no Disney Australia? Seems kinda weird, right? Apparently - according to Google - one was supposed to open in 2013 but helllooo, it's 2013 and there is no Disney... or flying cars. What a disappointment. No need to fret, Disney lovers, for I have found a nearly suitable replacement. Dun dun duuuuuuun: Dreamworld.

^^Hey look! That's me!! Out front of Dreamworld!! PS, I'm totally aware those shorts are extremely unflattering. They were a panic-y "omg I just went to Splendour in the Grass and now all of my clothes are covered in mud except for a dress but I can't wear a dress on a roller coaster" purchase.^^

Dreamworld is one of those great places where there are a million things for kids, and just as many roller coasters. Both of which are my faves! Seriously, the most exciting thing ever happened to me at Dreamworld, but I'll get to that in a second.

^^ First stop, Tiger island. We literally saw a big cat stuck in a tree. It was AWESOME. These two tigers did trick and jumped things and drank a lot of frozen milk.... I could totally keep a pet tiger, right?^^

^^And of course the obligatory stick your face in these and I'll take your photo shots! The wanted picture was me trying to look like an insane criminal... did it work?^^

^^ That awkward moment when you got to Dreamworld and get eaten by a shark... (That awkward moment when you're still saying "that awkward moment" Whatevs.)^^

^^ Our new BFFS, Kung Fu Panda (What's his name? I've never seen the movie), Donkey, Shrek, Fiona, and Puss in Boots. We exchanged emails so we can be pen pals. These new age theme park characters!^^

^^See, best pals! Okay, this one is a fake panda. It wasn't until later we realized we could get our picture with the REAL panda!!^^

^^These rides were super fun, it started raining so we decided we didn't really care if we got too wet or not. Trent made me sit in the front of the log, what a bully. Tower of Terror was SO MUCH FUN!! We went on once at the beginning of the day, and then decided later in the day we'd go on it again, just for kicks. Turns out they needed 7 people to run the ride so we kept getting to go over and over and over again! We went 4 times in a row before we finally decided to call it quits!^^

Ooh, okay now we're getting to the really exciting bit! There's a whole section of Dreamworld that has a whole bunch of animals native to Australia. We saw the endangered bilby, my first wombat, and heaps more! It was by far my favourite part of the whole park!

 ^^Check it out, that's me with a dingo pup and a real live croc, mate!^^

^^KANGAROOS! THAT YOU CAN TOUCH! AND FEED! I.was.in.heaven. Trent thought that I was such a goofball for being so excited (I guess this is like a regular Australian thing?) but after seeing kangaroos hop around everywhere and not being able to touch them this was a magical experience! You can see it on my face, I couldn't believe it!^^

Ok, ok, are you ready for this? Guess what I did?!

^^I HELD A KOALA!! It pooed on me a little bit which was gross but LOOK, there's me (looking sickly pale in that lighting, yuck) with a KOALA. In MY arms!!! He was so soft and cuddley, and someone must have been heavily sedating him with eucalyptus because he was literally like a teddy bear. What a lovely little fella, I never wanted to let him go!! Whenever anyone asked me how my weekend was, my response was always "AWESOME, I held a koala!" Apparently this makes me weird. No one in Australia is actually jealous of that... so that's why I had to put it on my blog. Look everyone, be jealous (or not, but just look because I think it's incredibly cool!)^^

Holding a koala also happens to be number 21 on my 21 Before 22 List, so check that one off!

^^On our way out we ran into Kenny Koala and Belinda Brown, who are sort of like the Mickey and Minnie of Dreamworld. They're sort of more awesome because they're koalas and not mice, but they're also less awesome because Kenny and Belinda are awkward names (no offense). None the less, Trent was about as excited as I was seeing a real koala to see these two. He insisted we take a picture and you can tell by his grin he was happy about it. It's all about the little things, right!^^

Farewell Dreamworld, you really are the happiest place in Australia. Until we meet again, my fine furry friends. 

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The Gold Coast aka Sun, Sand, and Sizzler

After our lovely amazing time at Splendour in the Grass and jumping out of a plane on my 21st birthday, we decided to not end the fun right away and head up to The Gold Coast for a couple of days!

^^Queensland is pretty awesome because they don't have a sign saying welcome they just have this big red thing (which I googled, and I still have absolutely no clue why it's there. But, it's cool)^^

^^In case anyone was wondering what our trip looked like, it was something like this! Except that's all highway driving which means it was probably less straight and more out of the way round-about-y!^^

^^ After 4 days with nothing but rain boots and mud it was SO nice to be able to take my shoes off and dig my toes into the sand. PS, can anyone recommend a good self-tanner? Look at those white feet!^^

 ^^ We stayed at Vibe Hotel in Surfer's Paradise. It was a nice-ish budget hotel, pretty much all we wanted was a nice shower and a comfy bed. It was walking distance from everything in Surfer's Paradise, aka party central! Our room even had a great view of the river!^^

 ^^One afternoon we went to TimeZone which was AWESOME. 4 hours of non-stop fun for just over $50. We even walked away with prizes! We got one of the packages which included bumper cars, a bagillion games, and laser tag which I kicked ass at! I ended up getting first place at laser tag (against Trent and 4 strangers) which surprised all of us! Unfortunately the only picture we got was of me awkwardly busting out my DDR moves!^^

^^Another World's Largest Thing!! Yay! I can't believe there are so many giant things in Australia! Watch out Texas, I'm pretty sure everything is bigger down under! (he he he)^^

^^Blah, soo full after the yummiest dinner at Sizzler! Not gourmet by any means, but they have this gigantic all you can eat salad bar. YUM. That's the most excited face I could muster because holy moly was I full!!^^ 

^^This is on the way back home to Coffs Harbour! They actually burn the fields of sugar cane to make it easier to harvest! It looks so cool to see all of the smoke and the big field on fire, and it smells like candy too!!^^

We stayed in Surfer's Paradise for 2 nights, the first day was mainly spent exploring and at TimeZone, the second day we went to Dreamworld (!! I'll post about that next yay!), and the last day we went and did some outlet shopping on our way home! 

One of the most memorable (and the scariest!) things that happened during our trip was on the way to Sizzler. We got into a car accident!!! We were driving along and a lady pulled out to our left. She proceeded to drive diagonally across 3 lanes of traffic straight towards us! I was on the left side of the car (remember, this is Australia where things are backwards) and I started to freak out because she wasn't stopping! Trent laid into the horn but she obviously did not get the message and her car intersected with the aluminium tray of Trent's truck! Luckily, that tray is virtually indestructible and neither of us were hurt. We pulled off at the next turn and the lady took off! I was so shaken after that, but neither of us were hurt!

The Gold Coast was super fun, and I'm sad we didn't get to see more of it, hopefully our next trip will be a bit longer (and include a pub crawl or two!)

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