In which I buy a plush Platypus christened Percy

Saturday, something good happened for the family. They have a boat for sale which has been on the market for quite a while, and a family of three came to view it. When they arrived, Nic and I were in the swimming pool tugging Wookie (the dog) around on a surfboard. First impressions are magic, aren't they?
Wookie loved it, and we had a fun time both with him, and trying and failing ourselves to balance on a surfboard.


The family were very impressed by the boat, and the father asked if he could come back at some point when Pete was there so that he could listen to the technical stuffs, which was a very good sign. Yay for having expensive things to sell to give your funds a massive boost! Sharon and Pete are hoping to come back to England for a holiday at the end of June, so the money they could get from boat would cover their air-fares and a lot more.


Well anyway, in the afternoon Sharon and I decided to go for another bike ride. It was an easier ride, physically, than the day before, because Australia (I may have mentioned this before) is rather a lot more hilly than one would expect it to be. Occasionally I did have to stop off to walk the bike up a particularly steep hill, but with biking (and everything in life) the more you do it the better you get.


Sharon and I found a new exercise park in Samford Royal Estate, which as you can guess from the name is an upmarket section of the village. It's basically a large area in a bit of grassland, with various bits of gym equipment in it. Anyone is allowed to use it, and it's totally free. I mean, wow. What an incentive to work out :) If one could get past the embarrassment of working out in plain view of the public, it would be great. You don't get anything like that in the UK.
We also found a new pathway behind the area, but didn't have time to explore it since the two and I had been invited out for dinner.


The occasion - roast. The place - Ferny Grove. The dress code - well, I'm glad I talked to Sharon about it before we left. I was about to get dressed in smart clothes; I mean, when you're invited out to someone's house for a roast, people dress smartly. Whether it's to impress their hosts or just an excuse to dress nicely, I'm not sure. But that's what people do, right?

Well, not in Aus, apparently. This is a casual country, and even when formally invited to dinner one dresses casually. I think that even high waisted trousers, a tucked-in tank top with a white shirt unbuttoned over the top was a bit much, but this was a compromise. Being as British as I am, I wasn't going to turn up to someone's house in a shirt and shorts, so it was the most I willing to do.


Our hosts were Anna, and her parents Barbara and Hans. Anna is the long time girlfriend of Sharon and Pete's eldest kid, Adam. Adam and Anna came to stay with my family just over two years ago in Britain. She is awesome. Totally, 120% awesome, and it was great seeing her again. Adam is currently working up in the mines in North Queensland for months at a time, so Anna is living with her parents for the time being, and that's where we had our meal.


Had a nice meal, and I actually tried some roast lamb which is a big thing for me. It wasn't too bad, but chicken is still definitely the way to go. Caught up with Anna which was nice, and occasionally I'd talk to her parents when they asked me something. Her mum said to me 'You know, you have a gorgeous accent', which was nice to hear but also quite strange because I'm not quite sure how to reply to something like that. But I took the compliment - being well-spoken has its perks :)


The next day was Sunday, and Pete, Sharon, Kirsty and I headed to a place called Sandgate, which is a proper beachy-place when the tide is out. Unfortunately, the tide was in. That, coupled with the fact that Kirsty had work at 2pm, ensured that we did not stay too long.


Sharon Pete and I went on another bike ride when we returned. That made it three bike rides in three days! I told that to Bestie and she said something along the lines of 'Who are you?'. Which pretty much sums up my attitude to exercise. Mind you, things were a lot easier on the third ride, though I was pretty sure I had a seat-shape imprinted on my arse. 
We went to find out where that path that Sharon and I had discovered lead to. Turns out it took us thirty seconds to travel the entire thing. Ergo - not very far. 
Nothing much happened that night, but I did make Sharon and Pete an omelette each for dinner.


So Monday was a horribly rainy day. Like, really rainy. Nic and I were all ready to go to the Gold Coast, but got as far as the bottom of the drive and turned back because the rain was that bad. So what were we to do instead? Well, we nipped to the shops to get some necessities, and we made My Little Pony cupcakes! They were a beautiful creation, and so many of them! They were all vanilla flavoured, except for the Nightmare Moon ones which were peppermint. 
As they were Pony cupcakes, we put icing sugar into several different bowls and mixed in food colouring. It was great fun making purple, I can tell you. We made blue, pink, white, yellow, purple and orange. Oh, and black. Because I'm a brony and also was bored, I wanted to make the cutie marks as well, not just their coat-colour, so cracked open a packet of white choccy buttons and dipped them in food dye to place on the cakes. As you can imagine, my fingers were stained the colours of the rainbow. I also managed to get it on the soles of my feet, though how I achieved that is beyond me. It was amusing walking around with blue feet though.


We watched Ponies, ate Pony Cupcakes and generally had a good day. And still, it rained on...


Tuesday morning was no better, and the house awoke to find that the lake at the bottom of the garden was flooded over, and a little waterfall had been created. So naturally, Nic and I went to investigate. Got a few awesome photos of myself standing in the middle of this mini-waterfall, which was incredibly cool. We then went into the city, with a plan to watch a new movie called The Darkest Hour. Well, it's new in Oz at least - Oz is a bit behind the rest of the world when it comes to movies.


First port of call was food though, and I discovered a bakery chain called Brumby's, which I figure is the Aussie equivalent to the Bakers Oven. I had a bacon and cheese sausage roll which was delectable. Across the way, though, cause all these shops are in complexes, was Burger Edge. Now I didn't care about the burgers, but I certainly did care about the cute guys serving them. So much so, that I went and bought a bottle of Pepsi Max just to get a closer look at them. I love this country.


We never made it to the movie as Nic wasn't feeling too well, but I did find an ADORABLE platypus plushie in a gift shop, and a My Little Pony version of the board game Frustration. It's called Trouble - how cute is that?!


Nic and I arrived home in time to join the rest of the family for pizza at the local pub where they do offers on Tuesdays for half price. It was a lovely meal out with the people who are treating me like family, and I'm very grateful to them for that. It keeps the homesickness at bay.


That night Pete was worried about the dinghy attached to a tree on his flooded lake, so I got into my togs (swimming gear) and went out with him and Sharon in the pouring rain and pitch black to hoik this wooden boat onto a trailer and yanking it up their hilly yard. How awesome is that? Not something you get the chance to do every day.


Wednesday was another city day, this time it was Pete and I. We made a list of hostels in the city and went off to start exploring. We started off at Banana Backpackers, a little way away from Upper Roma Street. We explained that I was a wimpy English girl who wasn't too sure about staying in hostels, and the guy there was very friendly and helpful. He took us to see a room and accidentally disturbed two Danish girls whom they thought were out, but apparently they werent. Anyway, the room was fairly sized, and had two bunk beds in it. Suitcases, bras and clothes were strewn across the room, though it did look cozy.


The guy explained to us things about working, and how he wouldn't personally recommend I do a course in Pub-work, but I had a better chance of getting work than the Italian or Swedish travellers because of my accent, which was nice to hear. He did say that if I spent 3 months fruit picking across various parts of Australia, that I would be allowed to extend my working visa to another year, which would be handy but I don't think fruit picking is for me. I've heard that it's quite intense, and very hard work. Up at 4am, bed at 10pm. Doesn't sound very appealing. I might give it a try, but no way am I going to do it for three months.
The overall impression of Banana Backpackers was that it was a quiet, cozy place where people can get to know each other. Which sounds very appealing, compared to the other hostel we went to.


This one was more central to Roma Street which is the main train station in Brisbane. It's called Chill Backpackers, and is The Lonely Planet's pick out of all the hostels in the city, so it's got rather a good reference. It's around four storeys high, and is a hub of activity. The girl said she couldn't show me a room, but she showed me the facilities. She said a room could be as small as four, or as large as thirty. I'd take the small one, thanks. No, I think there I would feel like a stranger in a crowd. 
I mean it's just me anyway; no one else would be with me. If I want to find a travelling friend a huge place like that is not the way to do it.


Pete and I hung around the city a little longer, and I bought us both a Maccy D's. I also had one of the best milkshakes ever - called a Quake Shake, from Donut King. I had a flake chocolate bar mixed in with mine, and it was AMAZING. Like, milkshake Heaven. Was a bit expensive, but oh so worth it.


Well I'm gonna sign off for today as I'm knackered. Will hopefully get the next lot up on Tuesday :)