Where in the World are Francis & Greg: Australia

March 20 -21 Brisbane, Australia

G'day from Down Under (Australia).

Our night flight from Malaysia to Brisbane went pretty fast (thanks Mike for the sleep aid). We booked seats in the exit row, so had a bit of extra room. Plus the seat in the middle of us wasn't used so we were able to put one of our suitcases there and it made a pretty good place to put our heads. We woke up to sun and were about 45 minutes to landing (the flight was about 8 hours and we slept most of it). We were very excited to see our dear friends, Angela and Monique! (Angela was an exchange teacher who lived across from us in Fredericton a few years back. She and her daughter Monique became our close "mates" (Australian talk for friends). Well after we zoomed through customs, we came out into the arrivals to have a very enthusiastic greeting from them. It was like family being united after so many years. They had the Canadian flags and a sign welcoming us. It was a one of those great moments in our travels. Since our flight didn't land in Brisbane but about an hour away we spent the time sight seeing and taking in the Gold Coast and Surfer's Paradise (some of the nicest beaches in the world and also some of the best surfing in the world). It just so happened that further north they were getting ready for a hurricane (cyclone is what it's called here). That made the waves even bigger. The sun was out and the wind, off the water, was making the 28 degree temperature so perfect!

We arrived back to their home in Brisbane to find our bed covered with Aussie products and a welcome card. Now we can drink and eat Aussie for days.

March 21

Today we spent the morning just getting caught up with each others news and having some laughs. In the early afternoon they took us down to Southbank, which is a wonderful walking area with a long boardwalk, man made beach, shops, restaurants and food shops. We had wonderful cupcakes first (only shared) because then we went for ice cream. The ice cream was one of the best we have ever had... Mmmmm I'm sure we will try other flavours before we leave Brisbane. We just walked around and took in the sites of Southbank including a pretty cool free art gallery. We had to get back to the house since we had dinner guests coming for 7:00. Monigue's Grandmother, who we met when she came to Fredericton and two of Angela's friends, Marie and David, came over for a wonderful dinner. It was a great night of food and chat. They left about 9:30 and we finished packing, since we are off again. We are going for 6 days/nights out to Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays (Islands on the Great Barrier Reef).